Basics
In one sentence
An instruction to trade immediately at the best available price - certain to fill, uncertain what price you get.
Market orders buy certainty of execution and pay for it twice: once in the spread, once in whatever slippage occurs. On a liquid major in the London session that cost is tiny. In a thin altcoin at 3am it is not.
Most exchanges classify a market order as a taker order and charge the higher fee tier for it.
The mistake it causes: using market orders by default, turning a small, invisible cost into a permanent tax on an edge.
A market order fills now, at whatever price the book provides. You pay for that twice: once in the spread, once in whatever slippage occurs. On a liquid major during London the total is negligible. On a thin token at 03:00 it is not.
On most crypto venues a market order also classifies you as a taker, which carries the higher fee tier. A venue charging 0.02% maker and 0.06% taker charges three times as much for impatience, on every trade, permanently.
| 20 trades/month on $1,000 | Per year |
|---|---|
| All maker at 0.02% | $96 |
| All taker at 0.06% | $288 |
Planned entries. If you decided in advance where you want in, a limit order gets you that price and the cheaper fee. Using market orders for entries is the most common way retail traders pay a permanent tax they never notice, because each individual instance is small.
This term is explained in context in the primer .
More in Basics: Spread, Leverage, Margin, Liquidity.
Education only, not financial advice. Trading is high risk and most retail accounts lose money.
