Perps Order Types Explained: Market, Limit, Post Only, Reduce Only, Stops and Take Profit
What each perps order type does, when to use it, and how maker and taker fees plus slippage change the real cost of every trade.
Perps exchanges offer seven order types most traders use: market, limit, post only, reduce only, stop market, stop limit and take profit. Each one trades off speed of fill against price control and fees. This guide explains what each order does, when to use it, and how slippage and maker or taker fees change your real cost.
Key takeaways
- Market orders fill now at a cost: taker fees plus any slippage through the order book.
- Limit and post only orders control price and usually pay the lower maker fee, but may never fill.
- Stop market orders get you out; stop limit orders can be skipped in a fast move.
- Mark your stops and take profits reduce only so they can never open a new position.
Maker vs taker: why the order type changes your fee
An order that rests on the book and waits is a maker order. It adds liquidity. An order that matches an existing resting order straight away is a taker order. It removes liquidity. Most perps venues charge takers more than makers, and at some venues and fee tiers makers pay very little or even receive a rebate.
Fees are charged on notional, not margin. Example figures: a maker fee of 0.02% and a taker fee of 0.05% on a $20,000 position.
| Entry and exit | Entry fee | Exit fee | Round trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taker in, taker out | $10 | $10 | $20 |
| Maker in, taker out | $4 | $10 | $14 |
| Maker in, maker out | $4 | $4 | $8 |
Check one line: $20,000 × 0.0005 = $10. On a trade risking $100, a $20 round trip is a fifth of your risk. For short term traders, the order type is part of the strategy, not an afterthought. Check your venue’s or firm’s fee schedule for the real rates.
Market and limit orders
Market order
A market order buys or sells straight away at the best prices available. It always pays the taker fee. If your size is larger than the size at the best price, it fills at worse prices further down the book. That gap is slippage.
Example figures: you market buy 2 BTC. The book shows 0.8 BTC at $60,000, 0.7 at $60,010 and 0.5 at $60,025. Your fill costs 48,000 plus 42,007 plus 30,012.50, which totals $120,019.50. That is an average of $60,009.75, or $19.50 of slippage on top of fees.
Use it when getting out matters more than price, such as closing a losing trade or exiting before a known event.
Limit order
A limit order sets the worst price you accept. A buy limit fills at your price or lower. If it rests on the book it pays maker fees. If you set it through the market, for example a buy limit above the current ask, it fills at once as a taker.
Use it for planned entries at a level, such as a pullback to support. The risk is missing the trade when price turns just short of your order.
Post only and reduce only
These are flags you add to an order, not separate order types on every venue.
- Post only makes a limit order cancel itself if it would match immediately. It guarantees you are the maker. Use it when fees decide whether a strategy works, such as range trading or scalping.
- Reduce only means the order can only shrink an existing position. It can never increase it or flip it to the other side. Use it on every stop and take profit.
Here is why reduce only matters. Say you are long 1 BTC with a take profit sell order resting above. You close the trade by hand. Without reduce only, the old take profit can still fill later and open a 1 BTC short you never wanted.
Stop market, stop limit and take profit
These are conditional orders. They sit hidden until price reaches a trigger, then they send a market or limit order.
| Order | What happens at the trigger | Main risk |
|---|---|---|
| Stop market | Sends a market order | Slippage in a fast move |
| Stop limit | Sends a limit order at your set price | No fill if price jumps past your limit |
| Take profit market | Sends a market order at a profit level | Small slippage, taker fee |
| Take profit limit | Sends a limit order at a profit level | Price touches and reverses before filling |
Example figures: you are long with a stop limit triggered at $59,000 and a limit at $58,950. Price drops from $59,100 to $58,800 in one burst. The trigger fires, but the market is already below your limit, so nothing fills. You are still long and the loss keeps growing. A stop market would have closed you out, likely somewhere near $58,850 to $58,900.
For protective stops, most traders accept slippage over the risk of no fill, so they use stop market. Stop limit makes more sense for entries, where missing a trade costs nothing.
Many venues let you choose whether a trigger watches mark price or last traded price. Last price reacts to every wick on that one exchange. Mark price is smoother. The mark price vs last price guide covers the trade off.
Which order should you use when?
- Planned entry at a level: limit, with post only if you want the maker fee guaranteed.
- Breakout entry: stop market above the level, accepting taker fees and some slippage.
- Protective stop: stop market, reduce only, placed the moment you enter.
- Profit target: take profit limit or plain limit, reduce only.
- Emergency exit: market order.
Most venues also let you set time in force. Good till cancelled rests until filled or cancelled. Immediate or cancel fills what it can at once and cancels the rest. Fill or kill fills the whole order at once or nothing.
How this fits prop firm rules
On a prop firm account, fees and slippage hit your balance like any other loss. They count toward the daily loss limit and the maximum drawdown. A stop that slips $30 past your plan on a busy day can be the difference between a bad day and a breached account.
Example figures: a $1,000 daily loss limit, $150 risk per trade and $14 average fees per trade. Six full losses cost $900 in price plus $84 in fees, which is $984. That is right at the limit before any slippage. Size so your worst realistic day, fees included, stays well inside it.
Some firms require a stop on every trade, cap position size or limit trading around news. Rules vary by firm; check each firm’s page on PropFirmXchange. Compare published rules on the perps prop firms page and use find an account to filter by budget. For a full walkthrough of placing trades, read how to trade perps.
Questions traders ask
Is a stop limit safer than a stop market?
No, not for exits. A stop limit controls price but may not fill at all in a fast move. For protective stops, a stop market is usually the safer choice.
Why was my limit order charged a taker fee?
Because it matched straight away. A limit priced through the market fills against resting orders and counts as taker. Add post only if you want it cancelled instead.
Should take profit orders be reduce only?
Yes. Reduce only stops an old take profit from opening a new position after you have already closed the trade by other means.
Perps trading carries a high risk of loss, and fees and slippage add to it. Most prop firm accounts are simulated. Nothing here is financial advice.