Order Types

• Market OrderBeginner7 min read

  A market order buys or sells immediately at the best price currently available, without setting a price limit.

• Limit OrderBeginner7 min read

  A limit order buys or sells only at a price you specify or better, so you control the price — but the order may never be filled.

• Trailing StopIntermediate6 min read

  A trailing stop is a stop order that follows the price at a set distance as the trade moves in your favour, but never moves back.

• Stop-Limit OrderIntermediate6 min read

  A stop-limit order becomes a limit order once a trigger price is reached, giving control over the price but no guarantee of a fill.

• OrderBeginner4 min read

  An order is an instruction to a broker or exchange to buy or sell a specific quantity of an asset under conditions you set, such as price or timing.

• Stop OrderIntermediate4 min read

  A stop order stays inactive until the price reaches a trigger level and then becomes a market order — used to limit losses or to enter when price breaks a level.

• Time-in-Force: IOC, FOK and GTCIntermediate4 min read

  Time-in-force tells the venue how long an order stays active. Immediate-or-cancel (IOC) fills what it can at once and cancels the rest; fill-or-kill (FOK) must fill completely at once or not at all; good-till-cancelled (GTC) stays open until filled or cancelled, although many brokers limit how long.

• ExecutionBeginner3 min read

  Execution is the moment an order is actually filled — when a matching buyer or seller is found and the trade takes place at a specific price.

• One-Cancels-the-Other OrderIntermediate3 min read

  A one-cancels-the-other (OCO) order links two orders so that when one executes, the other is cancelled. The classic use is a stop-loss and a take-profit on the same position.

• Buy to Open, Sell to CloseIntermediate3 min read

  These labels say whether an order opens or closes a position: buy to open and sell to close for long positions, sell to open and buy to close for short positions — common in options trading.

• Partial FillBeginner3 min read

  A partial fill happens when only part of your order is executed, usually because there was not enough volume available at your price.

• Post-Only and Reduce-Only OrdersIntermediate3 min read

  A post-only order is a limit order that is cancelled instead of executed if it would trade immediately, so it only ever adds liquidity (and usually pays maker fees). A reduce-only order can only shrink an existing position, never increase or reverse it — useful for stops and targets on derivatives exchanges.

Each term is defined in one sentence. Terms marked “Article in preparation” will get a full step-by-step article.

• Pending Order

  BeginnerArticle in preparation

  A pending order waits for price to reach a level before it becomes a trade. Buy limit and sell limit orders aim for a better price than now; buy stop and sell stop orders wait for price to break through a level first.