Order Basics Lab
Buy or sell, market or limit;see exactly how each order actually fills.
Your market buy order filled immediately at ₹100.00.
A Market order always fills, but never lets you control the price. A Limit order controls the price, but might not fill at all.
This Lab shows how an order meets the market. A share has a bid, the best price buyers will pay, and an ask, the best price sellers will accept. You choose to buy or sell, as a market or a limit order, and the Lab shows whether your order fills straight away, at what price, or whether it waits.
How to use this Lab
- Choose Buy or Sell.
- Choose Market or Limit.
- For a limit order, move the slider to set your limit price, from ₹98 to ₹102.
- Read the result panel: Filled, with the price, or Not filled yet, with what the price would have to do for your order to fill.
- The bid is fixed at ₹99.50 and the ask at ₹100.00 in this Lab. The point is the mechanics, not live prices.
What to notice
- A market order always fills, at the other side's price
- A market buy fills at the ask and a market sell fills at the bid. You are certain to trade, but you do not choose the price.
- A limit order controls the price, not the fill
- A buy limit at or above the ask fills at the ask. A buy limit below the ask waits, and it may never fill. The same is true for a sell limit above the bid.
- The gap between bid and ask is a cost
- Buy at the market and then sell at the market straight away, and the difference between the ask and the bid is what you gave up. Try it with both.
Orders against a bid of ₹99.50 and an ask of ₹100.00 (hypothetical)
A market buy fills immediately at ₹100.00. A market sell fills immediately at ₹99.50.
A limit buy at ₹99.50 does not fill, because sellers are asking ₹100.00. It rests until the price falls to ₹99.50 or below, and it may never fill. A limit buy at ₹100.00 or higher fills at ₹100.00.
Buying 100 shares at the market and selling them straight away at the market means buying at ₹100.00 and selling at ₹99.50. That is ₹0.50 a share, or ₹50 on 100 shares, lost to the gap before any charges.
What this Lab does not show
- The Lab uses one fixed bid and ask. Real prices move all the time, and a real order book has many price levels and quantities, which can change the price a large order gets.
- It shows a single order against the best prices only. Real orders may fill in parts.
- It does not include brokerage, taxes or other charges.
- It does not recommend any order type or trade. Maetis does not give investment advice.
Common questions
- What is the difference between a market order and a limit order?
- A market order trades right away at the best available price. A limit order trades only at your price or better, so it may not trade at all.
- What are the bid and the ask?
- The bid is the highest price a buyer is willing to pay. The ask is the lowest price a seller is willing to accept. The gap between them is the spread.
- Why did my limit order not fill?
- Because no one was willing to trade at your price. It waits until the price reaches your limit, and it might never do so.
- Which order type is better?
- Neither. A market order gives certainty of trading and gives up control of the price. A limit order gives control of the price and gives up certainty of trading.