A practical comparison of limit orders and market orders, including their connection to maker fees, taker fees, and execution timing. This page is written around the core ideas behind maker and taker activity: liquidity, order-book depth, execution timing, and fee differences.

Limit orders

Market orders

Makers add liquidity and usually pay less, while takers remove liquidity and usually pay more for immediate execution.

A limit order can still become a taker order if it crosses the spread and matches instantly. The deciding factor is not the label alone but whether the order adds liquidity or removes it.

Use limit orders when you want price discipline and lower fees. Use market orders when immediate execution matters more than fee savings or exact entry precision.

Key differences at a glance: makers normally use non-immediate orders, often limit orders, to add liquidity to the book. Takers normally use immediately matching orders, often market orders, to remove liquidity. Makers are typically linked with lower fees or rebates, while takers are typically linked with higher fees and faster execution.