Market Orders vs Limit Orders and Why Should Canadians Care?

• Market orders prioritise speed and are filled immediately at the best available price.
• Limit orders prioritise price control, but may not fill if the market never reaches the desired price.
• Understanding the difference in order types can help users manage volatility, execution risk, and trading costs.

Key takeaways: Market orders prioritise immediacy and simplicity. An order is executed immediately at the best available price, provided there is sufficient liquidity.Limit orders prioritise price control rather than speed. However, there is a risk the order may not be filled at all. Choosing the right order type can reduce unexpected execution prices and help with risk management.

Market order: executes immediately at the best available price.
Limit order: executes only at a specified price (or better).
Slippage: when the final execution price differs from the price a user expected due to market movement or a lack of liquidity.
Order book: A list of buy orders (called “bids”) and sell orders (called “asks”) on an exchange-style platform.

A market order refers to a user’s order to buy or sell crypto immediately at the best available price. Market orders typically fill instantly because they match with existing orders in the order book. Market orders can be filled at different prices.

Market orders can fully or partially fill at a slightly different price during high volatility or low liquidity.
 

A limit order refers to a user’s order to buy or sell crypto at a specific price. The order will only execute if the market reaches the limit price and there is sufficient liquidity to fill it. 

Market orders prioritise speed, which forces the user to accept the current market price. A limit order prioritises price control, but the trade may only partially execute or not execute at all if the market does not reach the desired price.

Slippage is when a trade executes at a different price than what is expected. It can happen when markets move quickly or when an order is too large relative to the available liquidity at the top of the order book.

For example, a user wants to buy 10,000 fictitious ABCCOIN, which currently trade at $1.00. If the order book only shows 5,000 ABCCOIN for sale at $1.00 and the next best price is 5,000 ABCCOIN at $1.10, the market order will fill accordingly.

The user might ask, “Why was half of the order filled at $1.10 when the market price was $1.00?” but this is how market orders are designed to operate. It filled the complete order at the best available prices. A limit order can reduce slippage because it sets a fixed (or better) execution price.
 

Market orders are commonly used when:

• A user wants an immediate fill and is not concerned with differences in price.
• A user is trading a highly liquid asset and the order size is relatively small.
• A user does not want to set price conditions.
• A crypto asset is moving fast and a user wants to execute without delay.
   

Limit orders are commonly used when:

• A user demands control over execution price.
• A user wants to avoid buying during a short-term spike or selling during a short-term dip.
• A user is comfortable waiting for the market to reach their price, fully knowing it may not happen.
   

Most regulated crypto trading platforms charge the same for both types of orders. Ndax lists a flat trading fee of 0.20% on both types of buy and sell orders on its published fee schedule as of February 2026. A flat trading fee means the same percentage rate applies to each trade, regardless of size or order type.

Crypto prices can be volatile, and order types affect whether a user prioritises speed or price control. It is impossible to prioritise both.

Understanding the key differences between market and limit orders can help users better manage their expectations. It all comes down to whether a user accepts their order will be filled immediately at the current price, or the user waits for the market to come to their price, which may not happen at all.
 

Ndax offers an order book where bids and asks are visible. Users can place market and limit orders by paying attention to the available liquidity. 

What is the main difference between a market order and a limit order?
A market order executes immediately at the best available price. A limit order executes only at a set price (or better) and may not fill.

Are limit orders guaranteed to execute?
No. Limit orders only execute if the market reaches the limit price and there is sufficient liquidity. A limit order can also be partially filled if there is some available liquidity.

Are market orders guaranteed to execute?
In most cases, yes. This assumes there is sufficient liquidity.

Why do Canadians need to understand slippage?
Slippage can increase the “all-in” cost of a trade. Not understanding the concept can ruin the user’s experience and create frustration.