What is a market order?
A market order is an instruction to buy or sell a stock, ETF or crypto-asset immediately at the best price currently available. It guarantees that your trade happens (as long as there are willing buyers or sellers), but not the exact price you will pay or receive.
What is a market order, in plain words?
A market order says “fill this now, at whatever the market price is”. You choose what to trade and how much, but not the price. Your broker or exchange matches it straight away against the best opposite orders waiting in the order book.
That makes the market order the simplest order type, and on many apps the default. It is the right tool when getting the trade done matters more than squeezing out a better price.
How market orders work in financial markets
When you place a market order, the platform sends it to an execution venue: a stock exchange such as Xetra or Euronext, a market maker, or the exchange’s own order book for crypto. The order is executed immediately against the best available prices on the other side.
Bid price, ask price and current price
Every market has two prices at any moment:
- Bid price: the highest price a buyer is currently willing to pay. A market sell order fills at the current bid.
- Ask price: the lowest price a seller is willing to accept. A market buy order fills at the ask.
The gap between the two is the spread. The “current price” on a chart is usually the last traded price, which may differ from the price quoted for your order. So your execution price can be slightly higher (when buying) or lower (when selling) than the number you saw a second earlier.
A worked example in euros
Say an ETF shows a bid of €100.00 and an ask of €100.10. You place a market order to buy 10 units and pay 10 × €100.10 = €1,001, plus your broker’s fee. On DEGIRO, ETFs in the core selection cost €0 plus a €1 handling fee, so the total is €1,002.
Now a crypto example. A small token’s order book has €500 of sell orders at €1.00, €700 at €1.02 and €800 at €1.05. A €2,000 market buy eats through all three levels:
| Price level | Spent | Tokens received |
|---|---|---|
| €1.00 | €500 | 500.00 |
| €1.02 | €700 | 686.27 |
| €1.05 | €800 | 761.90 |
| Total | €2,000 | 1,948.17 |
Your average price is €2,000 ÷ 1,948.17 = about €1.027, roughly 2.7% above the €1.00 you saw on screen. That difference is called slippage. On top of it you pay the taker fee: on Bitvavo that is 0.25% for a market order, or €5 on €2,000 (fee page checked 23 October 2026).
When to use market orders
Use a market order when speed matters and the market is deep, so the spread is tight and your order won’t move the price. Typical cases:
- Buying a large, actively traded ETF or stock during normal trading hours.
- Buying or selling bitcoin or ether on a major exchange in small amounts.
- Getting out of a position quickly, for example after bad news events.
A market order generally works well for long-term investors buying a few hundred euros of a popular fund. For them, a few cents of difference in the security price rarely matters, and the investment strategy is about time in the market rather than a perfect entry.
Market order risks during market volatility
The main risk of a market order is that you get a worse price than expected. This happens in three situations:
- Fast moving markets. During sharp market volatility, prices can move between the moment you tap “buy” and the moment your order fills.
- Thin liquidity. In small-cap stocks or small tokens there are few orders near the current price, so a market order runs through several price levels.
- Price gaps. Stock markets close overnight. If news breaks after the previous trading day, the opening price can be far from the previous closing price, and a market order placed overnight fills at that new opening price.
Market orders also pay the higher “taker” fee on crypto exchanges, because they remove liquidity from the order book. See maker and taker fees for how that works.
Market order vs limit order
A market order prioritises execution; a limit order prioritises price control. With a limit order you set a specified price, and the order only fills at that price or better.
| Market order | Limit order | |
|---|---|---|
| Execution | Near-certain if there are willing buyers or sellers | Only if the market reaches your limit price |
| Price | Not fixed in advance | Never worse than your limit |
| Crypto fee | Taker fee | Often the lower maker fee |
| Best for | Liquid assets, speed | Volatile or illiquid assets, a specific price target |
Limit price and limit orders
A buy limit order sets the maximum price you will pay. A sell limit order sets the minimum price you will accept. If the stock hits your target price, the order fills; if it never gets there, the order stays open or expires. That is the trade-off: price protection, but no guarantee of execution.
Market, limit and stop orders
Market, limit and stop orders are the three basic order types on almost every broker and exchange. A stop order waits until the price reaches a trigger price, then becomes an active order.
Stop orders and stop-limit orders
A sell stop order (often called a stop loss order) becomes a market sell order once the stock reaches your stop price. It is used to limit losses if the price falls. Because it becomes a market order, it can fill below the stop price when the stock drops quickly or gaps down.
A stop limit order turns into a limit order instead, so you control the worst price you accept. The catch: if the price drops straight through your limit, a stop limit may never fill. Our guide to order types covers all of them in more detail.
Extended hours trading and order timing
Stock exchanges have fixed market hours: Xetra and Euronext run their regular trading session from 9:00 to 17:30 CET. Some brokers offer extended hours trading on other venues, but liquidity is thinner and spreads wider outside the regular trading session, so a market order there can fill at a worse price.
Crypto markets never close, but liquidity still varies through the day and at weekends. On stock brokers you usually choose between a day order, which expires at the end of the trading session, and a “good till cancelled” order, which stays open until you cancel it.
Why this matters for EU investors
In the EU, investment firms licensed under MiFID II must take all sufficient steps to get the best possible result when they execute your order, and publish an order execution policy. Crypto firms licensed under MiCA that execute orders for clients have a similar duty. That protects you from obviously unfair fills, but not from slippage in a thin market.
Before you place a market order, check the bid and ask rather than the last price, check the estimated total including fees, and switch to a limit order for large orders or small assets.
Related terms
Questions people ask
What happens when you place a market order?
Your order is sent to the market and filled straight away at the best available prices on the other side. If your order is larger than the first price level, part of it fills at the next prices, so your average price can be slightly worse.
Is it better to use a limit or market order?
Use a market order for small trades in liquid stocks, ETFs or major coins when speed matters. Use a limit order for large trades, illiquid assets or volatile moments, when price control matters more than an instant fill.
Is a market order risky?
A market order is not riskier than the asset itself, but it carries price risk: in fast or thin markets you may pay noticeably more, or receive less, than the price you saw. On crypto exchanges it also pays the higher taker fee.
How long does a market order take?
During market hours, a market order on a liquid asset usually fills within seconds. If you place it while the exchange is closed, it waits and fills at the next opening price.
What is an example of a market order?
You want to buy €500 of an ETF and tap "buy" without setting a price. The broker fills your order at the current ask price, for example €100.10 per unit, and charges its fee.