How Do the US Stock Order Types Compare on Pluang?
The four US Stock order types differ mainly in what they guarantee. A Market Order buying at a market price of $145.00 may fill above or below $145.00, because it takes the best price available and guarantees execution rather than price. A Limit Order with a limit price of $100.00 fills at $100.00 or lower and never higher, guaranteeing the price but not the fill. A Stop Order with the market at $90.00 and a stop price of $110.00 turns into a Market Order once $110.00 is touched, so the execution price may differ from $110.00. A Stop-Limit Order with a stop price of $100.00 and a limit price of $105.00 activates at $100.00 and then fills only between $100.00 and $105.00. Market Orders are DAY only, while the other three support DAY or GTC validity.
- Market Order: buying at a market price of $145.00 may fill above or below it — execution guaranteed, price is not
- Limit Order: with a limit price of $100.00, the order fills at $100.00 or lower and never higher — price guaranteed, execution is not
- Stop Order: market at $90.00 with a stop price of $110.00 becomes a Market Order at $110.00, so the fill price may vary from $110.00
- Stop-Limit Order: stop price $100.00 with limit price $105.00 activates at $100.00 and fills only between $100.00 and $105.00
- Validity: Market Order is DAY only; Limit, Stop, and Stop-Limit Orders support either DAY or GTC
- Hours: only Limit Orders are accepted in the 24-Hour Market's extended sessions; the rest are Regular Market hours only
- Minimums: $1.00 to buy on a Market Order and $1.50 on Limit, Stop, and Stop-Limit Orders; $0.40 to sell on all four
Related questions:
Q: Which order type should I use if I just want to buy now?
A Market Order is the one designed for that. It takes the best price available immediately, so execution is effectively assured, and it carries the lowest buy minimum at $1.00. The trade-off is that the fill price can land above or below the price you saw when you placed it, which matters more on volatile or thinly traded stocks.
Q: Which order type gives me the most price control?
A Limit Order, or a Stop-Limit Order if you also want a trigger condition attached. Both cap the worst price you will accept — a maximum on a buy, a minimum on a sell — and neither will ever fill outside that boundary. The cost of that control is that the order may not fill at all if the market moves away from your range.
Q: What is the difference between a Stop Order and a Stop-Limit Order in practice?
They share a trigger but differ in what happens after it. With the market at $90.00 and a stop at $110.00, a Stop Order becomes a Market Order at $110.00 and fills at whatever is available. A Stop-Limit Order with a stop of $100.00 and a limit of $105.00 activates at $100.00 and then refuses anything outside that band.
Q: Do all four order types work at all hours?
No. Only Limit Orders are accepted in the 24-Hour Market's Overnight, Pre-Market, and Post-Market sessions, and always with DAY validity there. Market, Stop, and Stop-Limit Orders, plus Stop Loss and Take Profit, are confined to the Regular Market session, which runs 21:30–04:00 WIB in standard time and one hour earlier under US Daylight Saving Time, so they cannot be placed outside that session.