Market orders vs. Limit orders

Market Orders

A market order is an order to buy or sell a security at the available market price. When placed during normal market hours (9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (ET)), a market order will typically be executed within seconds of being entered. Market orders placed during non-market hours will be entered when the market opens.

Note: There may be a short delay between the time your trade is completed and the time your positions are updated online.

Limit Orders

A limit order is a request to buy or sell a security once a customer-specified price has been reached or surpassed. Once the target price has been reached or surpassed, ShareBuilder will then execute the trade. A limit order is not the same as a stop-loss or stop-limit order.

Important: In certain circumstances, it may not be possible to fill a limit order in a single market day. In these cases, ShareBuilder may partially fill the order over multiple days, which can lead to multiple charges of the real-time trade commission. Learn more about partially filled orders.