ForexVue
Level 2 · Lesson 4 of 14 · 4 min read

Market Orders in Forex: Buy Now, Sell Now

The simplest order type. Click, and it happens.

Laurent Researched and written by

The Instant Order

A market order is the simplest type of order: you tell your broker "buy this pair right now" or "sell this pair right now," and the order executes immediately at the best available price.

Market Order: How It Works
1
You see EUR/USD at 1.0850 and click Buy
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2
Your broker finds the best available ask price
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3
Order fills at 1.08502 (the current ask)
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4
You now have an open long position ✅

When you buy, you get the ask price (the higher price). When you sell, you get the bid price (the lower price). The difference is the spread, which you learned about in Level 1.

Slippage

Sometimes the price you see is not the price you get. This is called slippage.

You see EUR/USD at 1.0850 and click buy. In the milliseconds between your click and the broker executing the order, the price moves to 1.0852. You get filled at 1.0852 instead of 1.0850. That's 0.2 pips of slippage.

Slippage is usually tiny (0-1 pip) under normal conditions. But during major news events, it can be significant (5-20+ pips). This is one reason why trading during news releases is risky for beginners.

When to use market orders: When the timing of entry matters more than the exact price. For example, you see a breakout happening and you need to be in NOW, even if you lose a pip or two to slippage. If you can wait for a specific price, use a pending order instead (next lesson).
Classic beginner moment: "I set a Buy Limit above the price because I want to buy when it goes higher." That is a Buy Stop, not a Buy Limit. Everyone confuses these the first time. The next lesson's diagram lays out all four pending order types. Study it until the difference clicks. It will save you real money.
✅ Check your understanding
A market order executes at the exact price you see on screen.
✅ Check your understanding
You place a market BUY order on EUR/USD. Which price do you get filled at?

Key Takeaways

  • • A market order executes immediately at the current best available price.
  • • You buy at the ask price and sell at the bid price.
  • • Slippage can occur in fast-moving markets.
  • • Use market orders when you need to be in a trade right now.
Glossary: Market Order
Session Overlaps: When the Market Gets Loud Pending Orders: Set It and Wait