Buy Limit vs Buy Stop: Forex Order Types Explained
A buy limit sits below the current price and buys if the price falls to it; a buy stop sits above and buys if the price rises to it. Limit orders fill at your price or better, while stop orders become market orders that can fill at a worse price.
Module 3 · Lesson 5 of 7
What you'll learn
- The difference between a market order and a pending order.
- How a buy limit differs from a buy stop, and where the sell versions sit.
- Which price, Ask or Bid, triggers each pending order in MetaTrader 5.
- How to set each order type in the MetaTrader 5 New Order window.
- Why stop orders can fill at a worse price, and how expiry works.
This lesson is part of the MetaTrader 5 Basics module.
What is the difference between a buy limit and a buy stop?
A buy limit is an order to buy below the current price, and a buy stop is an order to buy above it. A buy limit waits for the price to fall to your level. A buy stop waits for the price to rise to your level. Both then open a long (buy) position. The table shows how they fill.
| Buy limit | Buy stop | |
|---|---|---|
| Placed | Below the current Ask | Above the current Ask |
| Triggers when | The Ask falls to your level | The Ask rises to your level |
| What you expect | A dip, then a rise | A rise that keeps going (a breakout) |
| Fill price | Your price or better | Your price or worse |
| Trade-off | It may never fill | Slippage in a fast market |
The fill rules come from MetaQuotes' MetaTrader 5 help on executing trades. An easy rule to remember: a limit order waits for a better price than now, and a stop order waits for a worse one. For a buyer, lower is better, so the buy limit sits below.
What is a market order and what is a pending order?
A market order buys or sells straight away at the best price available now, while a pending order is an instruction to buy or sell later, only if the price reaches a level you choose. A market order is the instant Buy or Sell button. A pending order waits on the server, showing no profit or loss, until it triggers.
Definitions
- Ask and Bid: you buy at the Ask and sell at the Bid. The gap is the spread, explained in the spread, commission and swap lesson.
- Slippage: the gap between the price you asked for and the price you actually got.
- Long and short: a buy opens a long position, a sell opens a short one. See the going long and short lesson.
What are the types of pending orders in forex?
MetaTrader 5 has four basic pending orders: buy limit, sell limit, buy stop and sell stop. Limits sit on the better-price side of the market and stops on the worse-price side. Buy orders trigger on the Ask and sell orders on the Bid, as set out in MetaTrader 5's basic principles of trading.
| Order | Placed | What you expect | Triggers on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy limit | Below the current price | A dip to your level, then a rise | Ask falls to your level or lower |
| Sell limit | Above the current price | A rise to your level, then a fall | Bid rises to your level or higher |
| Buy stop | Above the current price | A rise through your level that continues | Ask rises to your level or higher |
| Sell stop | Below the current price | A fall through your level that continues | Bid falls to your level or lower |
One detail beginners often miss: MetaTrader 5 charts are drawn from Bid prices, but buy orders trigger on the Ask, which sits above the Bid by the spread. Turn on "Show Ask price line" in the chart properties to see both.
What are buy stop limit and sell stop limit orders?
A stop limit order is a stop order that places a limit order instead of a market order. A buy stop limit's stop price sits above the current Ask. Once the Ask reaches it, a buy limit is placed at a lower price. A sell stop limit mirrors this below the Bid. It controls the fill price but may never fill.
What is the difference between a sell limit and a sell stop?
A sell limit is an order to sell above the current price, and a sell stop is an order to sell below it. Both open a short (sell) position and trigger on the Bid. A sell limit expects a rise to your level and then a fall. A sell stop expects a fall through your level that continues.
How do a buy limit and a buy stop play out?
The same market move can fill one order, both, or neither, depending on where each order sits. EURUSD is quoted at 1.08480 Bid and 1.08500 Ask. You place two 0.10 lot orders, worth about $1 per pip each: a buy limit at 1.08200, 30 pips below the Ask, and a buy stop at 1.08800, 30 pips above it.
| What the price does | Buy limit at 1.08200 | Buy stop at 1.08800 |
|---|---|---|
| Ask falls to 1.08200 | Fills at 1.08200 or better | Still waiting |
| Ask rises to 1.08800 | Still waiting | Triggers and sends a market order |
| Price stays between the two | Waits until it expires or you cancel it | Waits until it expires or you cancel it |
Suppose the buy limit fills at 1.08200. If the Bid later rises to 1.08500, the position is 30 pips, or $30, ahead. If the Bid falls to 1.07900 instead, it is $30 behind. The order controlled your entry price, not the direction.
Now suppose news pushes the price up fast. The buy stop triggers at 1.08800 but fills at 1.08850. That is 5 pips of slippage: 5 pips × $1 per pip = $5 of extra cost on 0.10 lot. The pip value calculator works out other sizes.
How do you place each order type in MT5?
To place any order type in MetaTrader 5, press F9 to open the New Order window, choose the symbol, set Type to Market Execution for an instant trade or Pending Order for a limit or stop, pick the order from the second Type list, enter the volume, price, stop loss, take profit and expiry, then click Place.
The window changes with the Type you choose. These are the fields, as the MetaTrader 5 help on executing trades lists them:
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Symbol | The instrument, such as EURUSD. It starts on the chart you opened the window from |
| Type | Market Execution (Instant Execution on some accounts) for a trade now, or Pending Order for a trade later |
| Type (pending) | Buy Limit, Sell Limit, Buy Stop, Sell Stop, Buy Stop Limit or Sell Stop Limit |
| Volume | The size in lots, such as 0.10 |
| Price | The level the order waits for. For a buy limit it must be below the Ask, for a buy stop above it |
| Stop Limit price | Stop limit orders only: the price of the limit order placed once the stop price is reached |
| Stop Loss and Take Profit | The exits attached to the position once the order fills |
| Expiration | GTC, Today or Specified, as in the table below |
| Place (or Buy and Sell) | Sends the order. A market order shows Sell by Market and Buy by Market buttons instead |
For the worked example above, the buy limit is Type Pending Order, Buy Limit, Volume 0.10, Price 1.08200; the buy stop is the same with Buy Stop and Price 1.08800. If the price you type is on the wrong side of the market, for example a buy limit above the Ask, MetaTrader 5 does not accept it, which is a quick check that you chose the right order.
On the MetaTrader 5 mobile app, open Quotes, tap the symbol and choose Trade. Tap the execution type at the top, switch it to the pending order you want, fill in the price, volume, stop loss, take profit and expiry, and tap Place. The full routine, with how to modify or delete an order, is in pending orders in MT5.
How long does a pending order stay open?
A pending order stays active until it triggers, you cancel it, or its expiry is reached. Until then it shows in the Trade tab as an order, not a position. You choose the expiry when you place the order. These are the options in MetaTrader 5's guide to executing trades:
| Expiry setting | How long the order lasts |
|---|---|
| GTC (good till cancelled) | Until you remove it yourself |
| Today | Only during the current trading day |
| Specified | Until the expiration date you enter |
The order window lists the options your broker offers on each symbol.
How do you manage slippage and missed pending fills?
You manage pending-order fills by knowing the trade-off: a triggered stop order becomes a market order and fills at the next available price, while a limit order fills only at your price or better and can be skipped. Allow for slippage on stop orders around news, and set expiries so old orders do not trigger.
The SEC's investor bulletin on stop and stop-limit orders describes the same mechanics: once triggered, a stop order becomes a market order, and its fill can differ from the stop price.
- Slippage and gaps: in a fast market, or when prices jump after news or over a weekend, a stop order fills at the next available price. Allow for that distance in your position size.
- Missed fills: a limit or stop limit order is skipped if the price jumps past it and never returns. Use a stop order when getting in matters more than the exact price.
- Margin at trigger: if free margin is too low when the order triggers, MetaTrader 5 cancels it and moves it to History as Rejected, so keep enough free margin for your pending orders.
- Old orders: a GTC order can trigger weeks later. Review pending orders in the Trade tab, or use the Today or Specified expiry.
- Exits: an order sets your entry; the exit is set by a stop loss and take profit, covered in the stop loss and take profit lesson.
Try it on demo
On a demo account in MetaTrader 5, open a new order window for EURUSD and set the Type field to Pending Order. Place a buy limit below the Ask and a buy stop above it, at the smallest volume, with expiry set to Today. Check that both show as orders, not positions, in the Trade tab of the Toolbox, then delete them. The full walkthrough is in the place your first trade lesson.
Quick check
- EURUSD is at 1.08500. You want to buy only if the price dips to 1.08200. Which order fits?
- A buy stop placed above the current price triggers when
- Which order is placed above the current price to open a short position?
- Your buy stop at 1.08800 fills at 1.08850 on 0.10 lot of EURUSD, at $1 per pip. The slippage costs
- What does a buy stop limit do once its stop price is reached?
Frequently asked questions
When should you use a buy stop instead of a buy limit?
A buy stop fits when you only want to buy if the price rises through a level, such as a breakout above a recent high. A buy limit fits when you only want to buy after a fall to a lower level. The two express opposite expectations about the next move.
Is a buy stop the same as a stop loss?
Not in MetaTrader 5. There, a buy stop is a pending order that opens a long position when the Ask rises to your level. A stop loss is attached to a position you already hold and closes it to limit the loss. Some stock-market guides call any stop order a stop-loss order, which causes the confusion.
Why did my buy limit not fill when the chart touched my price?
Because MetaTrader 5 charts show the Bid, while a buy limit triggers on the Ask, which is higher by the spread. The chart line must fall about one spread below your level before the Ask reaches it.
Can a pending order fill at a different price than I set?
Yes, a stop order can. Once triggered it becomes a market order and can fill worse than your level in a fast or gapping market. A limit order fills only at your price or better, but it may not fill at all.
Sources
- MetaQuotes, MetaTrader 5 Help: Basic Principles, accessed 19 October 2026: definitions of market and pending orders; buy limit and buy stop trigger on the Ask, sell limit and sell stop on the Bid; where each order sits relative to the current price and what traders usually expect; buy stop limit and sell stop limit place a limit order once the stop level is reached; a triggered pending order that cannot be executed, for example because free margin is not enough, is cancelled and moved to history with the Rejected status. https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/trading/general_concept
- MetaQuotes, MetaTrader 5 Help: Executing Trades, accessed 19 October 2026: limit orders fill at the specified price or better, without slippage, but execution is not guaranteed; a triggered stop order sends a market order that fills at the specified price or worse, with slippage if the market moves against it; expiry options GTC, Today and Specified (until an expiration date). https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/trading/performing_deals
- MetaQuotes, MetaTrader 5 Help: Chart Settings, accessed 19 October 2026: bars are formed from Bid prices, the Ask is used to open long positions, and the Show Ask price line option displays it. https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/charts_advanced/charts_settings
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov, Stop, Stop-Limit, and Trailing Stop Orders: Investor Bulletin, 13 July 2017, updated 18 August 2026: a stop order becomes a market order when the stop price is reached, the fill can differ from the stop price; a stop-limit order may not be executed if the price moves away from the limit. https://www.investor.gov/additional-resources/news-alerts/alerts-bulletins/investor-bulletin-stop-stop-limit-trailing-stop
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