Market vs limit orders: price, fills, and fees
Compare market and limit orders with a worked example. Understand price control, partial fills, maker and taker fees, and how N1 handles execution.
A market order asks to trade against available liquidity immediately. A limit order sets the worst price you will accept: a maximum when buying, or a minimum when selling. The trade-off is execution urgency versus price control. Neither choice guarantees that the entire order will fill in every market condition.
These instructions describe how you want to trade. They do not determine what you own. You can encounter them when buying an asset or trading a derivative; spot vs perpetual futures explains that separate choice.
Market and limit orders at a glance
| Question | Market order | Limit order |
|---|---|---|
| What does it prioritize? | Immediate execution against available liquidity | Execution at the specified price or better |
| Is the displayed price guaranteed? | No; the order may trade across several prices | Fills must respect the limit, but the whole order may not fill |
| Can it fill partially? | Yes, depending on liquidity and venue protections | Yes, unless an all-or-nothing instruction applies |
| Can it wait on the order book? | An immediate order does not rest | A resting limit order can wait; time-in-force determines the treatment |
| Is it always a maker order? | It generally takes existing liquidity | No; an immediately executable limit order can take liquidity too |
The SEC's order-type guide describes the core price distinction for stocks. Execution rules and protections vary across venues, so check how the particular market implements the instruction.
A market order can fill at more than one price
Imagine this hypothetical order book for a BTC market. These are sell offers available to a buyer, not a live N1 quote.
| Available quantity | Ask price per BTC | Value at that level |
|---|---|---|
| 0.05 BTC | $100,000 | $5,000 |
| 0.05 BTC | $100,100 | $5,005 |
A buy for 0.10 BTC that consumes both levels spends $10,005 before fees. Its average execution price is $100,050 per BTC: $10,005 divided by 0.10 BTC.
The best ask was $100,000, but only half the requested quantity was available there. The additional $5 compared with buying the entire amount at that best ask illustrates the effect of limited depth. Prices and available quantities can also change between viewing the book and submitting the order.
On a perpetual market, $10,005 is the position's entry notional in this example, not necessarily the amount of collateral required. On fully paid spot, it is the purchase amount before fees.
A market instruction therefore does not mean “buy the whole amount at the number on the screen.” Execution may stop short if there is insufficient liquidity, a protection price is reached, or the market cannot accept the order.
A limit controls price, not completion
Now submit the same 0.10 BTC buy with a $100,000 limit. Against this snapshot, only the first 0.05 BTC can execute. The offer at $100,100 is outside the limit.
What happens to the remaining 0.05 BTC depends on the order instruction. It might rest at $100,000, or it might be canceled if the order is immediate-or-cancel. If the price rises and never returns, a resting remainder may never execute.
For a sell order, the direction reverses: a $100,000 limit permits execution at $100,000 or above. It does not permit a sale below that price.
A price touching your limit on a chart still does not prove your order should have filled. The chart may show a last trade rather than the executable bid or ask. Other orders may be ahead of you, and there may not be enough quantity left when your turn arrives.
A limit order can still pay taker fees
“Market” and “limit” describe order instructions. “Maker” and “taker” describe the role an order plays when it executes.
A resting order supplies liquidity. An incoming order that matches against it consumes liquidity. In the example above, a buy limit at $100,100 can immediately consume both sell offers. It is price-limited, but it still acts as a taker.
One limit order can also have both roles: part fills immediately as a taker, while the remainder rests and later fills as a maker. A post-only instruction is the explicit way to request resting-only behavior where the venue supports it.
The applicable fee schedule determines the charge for each fill. A lower quoted maker fee does not make every limit order cheaper, and waiting for a fill has its own execution trade-off. See the all-in cost of a trade for how fees, spread, slippage, and holding costs fit together.
How order instructions work on N1
N1's order-type documentation defines these instructions for central limit order book markets:
| Instruction | What happens |
|---|---|
| Limit | Trades at the limit or better, then posts the remaining quantity |
| Post-only | Posts only if it would not execute immediately; otherwise the action is rejected |
| Immediate-or-cancel (IOC) | Fills immediately within its constraints, then cancels the remainder |
| Fill-or-kill (FOK) | Fills the entire amount immediately or cancels without a partial fill |
N1 matches its order-book markets by price-time priority: better prices first, then earlier resting orders at the same price. Amount, margin, market-state, and price-band constraints also apply.
Some N1 markets instead use request for quote (RFQ). They execute against quotes from market makers rather than a shared resting order book. A request's price bound limits acceptable execution, but the order-book queue example above does not describe RFQ matching. Check the execution mode of the market you are trading.
Before submitting an order
Decide the amount you want to trade and whether it is expressed in asset units or quote value. Check the available liquidity, any price bound, and what happens to an unfilled remainder. Then review the actual fills, average price, and fees after submission; an accepted order is not the same as a completed trade.
Is a limit order always better?
No. It gives you price control, but the trade may remain incomplete while the market moves. The relevant question is which execution constraint matters for the trade you intend to make.
Does a limit order protect against liquidation?
An entry limit only constrains the entry price. Once a leveraged position exists, it is still subject to margin requirements and liquidation. A resting exit order also may not fill in time.
Is a stop order the same as a limit order?
No. A stop specifies a condition that activates an order. A limit constrains the price at which an order may execute. A stop-limit combines both, so activation alone does not guarantee execution.