Market Order

A market order puts speed first. When you place a market buy order, it is filled at the lowest available ask price. When you place a market sell order, it is filled at the highest available bid price.

For example, if a share has a bid of 24.98 and an ask of 25.02, a market order to buy 100 shares will usually be filled at around 25.02, costing about 2,502 plus any fees.

Market orders are almost always executed, as long as there are buyers or sellers in the market, which makes them useful when getting the trade done matters more than the exact price.

The trade-off is price uncertainty. In fast-moving or thinly traded markets, the price can change between placing the order and its execution, and large orders may be filled at several prices as they work through available sellers or buyers. This difference from the expected price is called slippage. Investors who want control over the price they pay or receive often use limit orders instead.