What is a limit order? Meaning, examples and fees
A limit order is an instruction to buy or sell at a specific price or better: a buy limit order fills only at your limit price or lower, and a sell limit order only at your limit price or higher. You get control over the price, but no promise that the order will be executed at all.
Limit orders are one of the basic stock market order types, and on crypto exchanges they can also lower your trading fees.
What is a limit order, in plain words?
A limit order sets the maximum price you will pay when you buy, or the minimum price you will accept when you sell. If the market never reaches that price, nothing happens and you keep your cash or your coins.
Compare it with a market order, which says “buy or sell now at the current market price”. A market order is executed immediately; a limit order waits until a buyer or seller shows up at your specified price.
- Buy limit order: usually set below the current price. “Buy 20 shares at €49.50 or less.”
- Sell limit order: usually set above the current price. “Sell 0.02 BTC at €63,000 or more.”
The “or better” part matters. If you place a buy limit at €50 and someone is already selling at €49.80, you pay €49.80. That is called price improvement.
How does a limit order work?
When you place a limit order, your broker or exchange sends it to the order book: the list of all waiting buy orders (bids) and sell orders (asks). Your order joins the queue at your price, first come, first served, until an opposite order matches it.
Three things can happen next:
- Full fill. The price hits your limit and there is enough volume on the other side, so the entire order is executed.
- Partial fill. Only part of your order trades, for example 12 of your 20 shares. The rest keeps waiting.
- No fill. The price never reaches your limit, or touches it only briefly while orders ahead of yours take the volume. The order expires or stays open until you cancel it.
Buy limit order example
A buy limit order lets you buy at a lower price than today’s, if the market comes to you. Say an ETF trades on Xetra at €50.20 and you place a buy limit for 20 shares at €49.50, a total of €990.
- If the stock price dips to €49.50 or lower during the trading day, your order fills at €49.50 or better.
- If the stock price moves up to €52 instead, your order stays unfilled and you miss the move.
At most stock brokers the fee is the same for market and limit orders. At DEGIRO, an order on Xetra costs €3.90 plus a €1 handling fee under its Dutch price list, so €4.90 either way. Trade Republic charges €1 per order with Best Price, or €2 with Direct Price. We checked both fee pages on 23 October 2026.
Sell limit order example
A sell limit order sets the minimum sell price you will accept. Say you hold 0.02 BTC, the current price is €60,000, and you want to take profit at €63,000. You place a limit order to sell at €63,000.
If the price reaches €63,000, you sell for €1,260 before fees. If bitcoin never gets there, you keep your coins. The “take profit” button on many crypto exchanges is simply a sell limit order with a friendlier name.
Limit order vs market order
The difference between a limit order and a market order is price control versus speed. A market order gives you immediate execution at the prevailing market price, while a limit order gives you an exact price ceiling or floor but may never trade.
| Market order | Limit order | |
|---|---|---|
| Execution | Executed immediately | Only at your limit price or better |
| Final price | Not known in advance | Your price or better |
| Main risk | Paying more in fast moving markets | The order never fills |
| Crypto exchange fee | Taker fee | Often the lower maker fee |
Bid price, ask price and current price
The price you see on a chart is usually the last traded price. To buy straight away you pay the ask (the lowest sell order); to sell straight away you get the bid price (the highest buy order). The gap between them is the spread. A market order always crosses the spread, and in thin markets it can also eat through several price levels, which is called slippage. A limit order caps both.
Limit orders on crypto exchanges
On crypto exchanges, limit orders work exactly as they do on the stock market, with one extra: they often cost less. Order-book exchanges use a maker-taker model, where a limit order that waits in the book adds liquidity and pays the maker fee, while a market order pays the higher taker fee.
Example on Bitvavo, as checked on 23 October 2026 (0.15% maker, 0.25% taker on EUR markets):
- €1,000 market buy: 0.25% × €1,000 = €2.50
- €1,000 limit buy that rests in the book first: 0.15% × €1,000 = €1.50
That saves €1.00 per €1,000. A limit order priced at or through the current price fills at once against existing orders and counts as a taker trade, so a buy limit must sit below the best ask to earn maker status. Many exchanges offer a “post-only” option that cancels the order instead of letting it fill as a taker.
The simple “buy” button in many crypto apps is not an order-book trade at all. On the Crypto.com App, for example, buying costs a 0.8% fee plus a possible spread under its EEA schedule.
Market, limit and stop orders compared
Stop orders are the third basic order type, and they work the other way round: they wait until the price moves through a trigger price and then act.
- Stop order: when the stop price is hit, it becomes a market order. Execution is almost certain, the price isn’t. This is how a stop-loss usually works.
- Stop-limit order: when the trigger price is hit, the stop limit order becomes a limit order. You get more control over the execution price, but in a fast fall the order may not fill at all.
Our guide to market vs limit orders covers all the order types side by side.
How long does a limit order last?
A limit order lasts as long as the time-in-force you choose. The usual options:
- Day order: cancelled at the market close if not filled. Common at stock brokers.
- Good-till-cancelled (GTC): stays open until filled or cancelled. Some brokers set a maximum date.
- Immediate-or-cancel and fill-or-kill: trade now, fully or partly, or cancel.
Crypto markets trade 24/7, so a GTC order can fill at 3 a.m. Stock exchanges such as Xetra and Euronext have fixed trading hours. Some brokers also offer extended hours trading on other venues, where fewer traders are active and spreads can be wider: use a limit order there.
When to use limit orders
Use a limit order when the price matters more than the timing:
- stocks or ETFs with low volume, at the open or during market volatility, when price gaps are common;
- larger trades, where a market order could move the price against you;
- small coins with thin order books;
- regular crypto buys where you want the maker fee.
Use a market order when you must trade now, for example to exit a position quickly in a liquid market.
Common mistakes and risks
Limit orders protect your price, not your result. Watch for these pitfalls:
- Missed trades. A limit set too far from the market never fills, and the stock or coin moves away from you.
- Forgotten open orders. A GTC order you forgot about can fill weeks later, when you no longer want it. Check your open orders regularly.
- Price gaps. A stock can open far from its previous closing price after overnight news. A stop order can then fill far below its stop price, while a limit order won’t fill beyond your limit, but may not fill at all.
Investing involves risk: a good limit price doesn’t turn a bad investment into a good one, and crypto prices can fall sharply within minutes.
Why it matters for EU investors
In the EU, brokers must follow MiFID II best execution rules: they have to take sufficient steps to get you the best possible result, looking at price, costs, speed and likelihood of execution. A limit order adds your own price protection on top. The EU ban on payment for order flow also applies from 30 June 2026.
For crypto, an exchange that runs a trading platform under MiCA must have clear, transparent operating rules and a transparent, non-discriminatory fee structure. Before you trade, check the licence and compare costs on our low-fee crypto exchanges page.
Related terms
Questions people ask
What is a limit order for crypto?
A crypto limit order is an instruction to buy or sell a coin at a set price or better on an exchange's order book. If it waits in the book before it fills, most exchanges charge the lower maker fee instead of the taker fee.
What is the disadvantage of using a limit order?
Execution is never certain. If the price never reaches your limit price, or only part of the order fills, you can miss the trade completely while the market moves away from you.
How long does a limit order last?
That depends on the time-in-force you choose. A day order expires at the market close, while a good-till-cancelled order stays open until it fills or you cancel it, sometimes up to an end date your broker sets.
Why is my limit order not selling?
A sell limit order only fills when a buyer is willing to pay your limit price or more. If the bid price stays below your limit, or other sell orders at the same price are ahead of yours in the queue, your order keeps waiting.
Is it better to use a limit order or a market order?
Use a limit order when the price matters more than speed, for example with thinly traded stocks, small coins or large trades. Use a market order when you need to trade now in a liquid market and can accept a slightly different final price.