Market vs Limit Orders: Fees, Fills and When to Use Each
Market order vs limit order: how each fills, maker vs taker fees, slippage, and when to use which — with examples from PnL World's tournament terminal.
Every trade starts with a choice: market order or limit order. The difference decides your fill price, your fee and sometimes whether you get filled at all. In a trading tournament, where every basis point counts toward your place, it is one of the simplest edges you can control.
The difference in one table
| Market order | Limit order | |
|---|---|---|
| What you say | "Fill me now, at the best available price" | "Fill me only at this price or better" |
| Fill | Immediate (if there is liquidity) | Only if the market reaches your price |
| Price | Not guaranteed — can slip | Guaranteed or better |
| Liquidity | Takes it from the order book | Adds it to the order book (if it rests) |
| Usual fee | Taker fee (higher) | Maker fee (lower) if it rests on the book |
| Risk | Slippage | Not getting filled |
How a market order fills
A market buy takes the lowest asks in the order book, level by level, until your size is filled. A small order fills at the best ask. A large order "walks the book" and its average price is worse than the price you saw — that difference is slippage.
How a limit order fills
A limit buy at 60,000 fills only at 60,000 or lower. If the price is above your limit, the order rests on the book and waits. If the market trades down to your price, you are filled — and because you provided liquidity, you usually pay the maker fee.
A limit order placed at or through the current price (a buy above the best ask) fills immediately like a market order and pays the taker fee — it is "marketable".
Fees: why it adds up
Fees are charged on the notional position size. On PnL World's crypto basket, the taker fee is 0.05% and the maker fee is 0.02%.
Example: a 200,000 position opened and closed with market orders pays 0.05% × 2 × 200,000 = 200 in fees. The same round trip with resting limit orders pays 0.02% × 2 × 200,000 = 80. On a 100,000 bankroll, that difference is 0.12% of the account — on one trade. Over dozens of trades in a tournament, it can decide places.
When to use a market order
- You need to be in or out now: a breakout, a stop-out, news.
- The order book is deep and your size is small relative to it.
- Closing a losing position before it gets worse.
When to use a limit order
- You have a planned entry level and can wait.
- You are taking profit at a target.
- You trade frequently and fees matter.
- The market is thin and a market order would slip.
Stop orders
A stop order waits for a trigger price, then becomes an order:
- Stop market — on trigger, sends a market order (taker fee). Used for stop-losses: certainty of exit beats price.
- Stop limit — on trigger, places a limit order. Price control, but it may not fill in a fast move.
More in stop-loss and take-profit.
How orders work in PnL World tournaments
- Market orders fill against the live Binance order book, with realistic slippage on large orders.
- Limit, stop, take-profit and stop-loss orders trigger on live prices.
- Maker and taker fees apply as on an exchange and are part of your result — so is funding on perpetual positions.
- At the end, open positions are counted as if closed now at the mark price, including the exit fee.
See the official rules and crypto trading tournaments.
FAQ
Is a limit order always cheaper? Only if it rests on the book before filling. A marketable limit order pays the taker fee.
Can a limit order be partially filled? Yes. If only part of your size trades at your price, the rest keeps waiting.
Why did my market order fill at a worse price? Slippage: your size took liquidity from several price levels.
Which order should beginners use? Limit orders for planned entries and exits, and a stop-market for the stop-loss.
PnL World tournaments are simulated: trades are executed against live market data, but no real-money positions are opened on any exchange. Nothing here is financial advice.
Next: Stop-loss and take-profit · What is PnL in trading? · Perpetual futures explained