Order types

Every trade on Markets starts with an order. The order type you choose determines how and at what price your trade executes. Getting this right matters — especially when setting Take Profits and Stop Losses.

The six order types

1. Market order

Execute immediately at the best available price.

• ✅ Guaranteed to fill
• ⚠️ You don't control the exact price — you pay the spread
• Best for: Entering or exiting quickly when speed matters more than price precision

⚠️ On thin markets, market orders can fill significantly away from the displayed price. If a stock has low liquidity on Markets, use a Limit order instead.

2. Limit order

Set the exact price you want to buy or sell at. Only executes if the market reaches your price.

• ✅ You control your entry/exit price
• ⚠️ Not guaranteed to fill — if price never reaches your level, nothing happens
• Best for: Entering at a specific price, or exiting with price certainty

Example: NVDA is at $190. You place a limit buy at $185. Your order only fills if NVDA drops to $185.

3. Scale order

Automatically splits your order across a price range, filling at multiple levels.

• ✅ Great for dollar-cost averaging into or out of a position
• ✅ Reduces market impact on larger sizes
• Best for: Building or unwinding a position gradually without moving the market

Example: Buy 100 units of TSLA between $200 and $195, split into 5 equal chunks every $1.

4. TWAP (Time-Weighted Average Price)

Splits your order into smaller pieces and executes them at regular intervals over a set time period.

• ✅ Minimises slippage on large positions
• ✅ Mimics how institutional traders enter the market
• Best for: Large position sizes where a single market order would move the price against you

Example: Buy 500 units of NVDA over 30 minutes in equal increments every 5 minutes.

5. Stop limit

Triggers a limit order when price reaches a specified level.

• ✅ You control the fill price
• ⚠️ If price moves through your limit too fast, the order may not fill at all
• Best for: Stop Losses where you want to avoid bad fills, in liquid markets

Example: You're long NVDA at $193. You set a Stop limit at $188 with a limit of $187.50. If price drops to $188, a sell limit fires at $187.50 — you won't fill below that, but may not fill at all if price falls faster.

6. Stop market

Triggers a market order when price reaches a specified level.

• ✅ Guaranteed to trigger and fill once price is hit
• ⚠️ Fill price is not guaranteed — fill happens at whatever the book offers at trigger time
• Best for: Stop Losses where you prioritise exiting the position over the exact exit price

Example: You're long NVDA at $193. You set a Stop market at $188. If price drops to $188, a market sell fires immediately — you'll fill near $188 but not exactly.

Take profit orders — market vs limit

When you set a take profit on an open position, you choose between two execution types:

⚠️ Important: A take profit market order does not guarantee you fill at your target price. It guarantees you fill near that price under normal conditions — but on thin markets or during fast price spikes, the fill can be significantly lower (for longs) or higher (for shorts).

Quick reference

Order options & parameters