What a market order is
A market order opens a position straight away at the current price. A buy fills at the ask price, the higher of the two quotes. A sell fills at the bid price, the lower one. The gap between them is the spread, so a new position starts slightly in loss.
If you want to enter later at a set price, use a pending order instead. See Pending orders.
Leveraged forex and CFD trading can lose money fast, and losses can be larger than you expect. Practise the steps on a demo account first. See the MT5 demo account.
- Choose an instrument and open its chart.
- Open the new order window.
- Set the volume in lots.
- Set a stop-loss and a take-profit.
- Press Buy or Sell, then check the open position and its result.
Before you click: size the position
Volume in MT5 is measured in lots. A lot is a standard contract size, and its value depends on the symbol. The same volume can mean very different risk on a currency pair, gold or an index.
Work out the volume from your balance, the share of it you are willing to risk, and the distance to your stop loss:
Fill in the empty fields to see the result.
Rounded down to 0.01 lot so the risk never exceeds your limit.
To check the lot size, minimum volume and volume step for a symbol, open its contract specification. See Contract specifications.
Open a market order in MT5 desktop
Open the order window. Use any of these:
- Click New Order on the toolbar.
- Right-click a symbol in Market Watch and choose New Order.
- Right-click the chart and choose Trading, then New Order.
- Use the keyboard shortcut (see Keyboard shortcuts).
Check the symbol. The Symbol field at the top shows the instrument. Change it from the drop-down if needed. Symbol names can carry suffixes that differ between account types, so pick the one shown in your Market Watch.
Check the order type. The Type field shows the execution mode the server uses for this symbol:
- Market Execution: the order fills at the price available when the server receives it. There is no deviation field.
- Instant Execution: the order fills at the price you see, within the deviation you allow. If the price moves further, you get a requote.
Enter the volume. Type the lot size from your calculation into Volume, or use the arrows. MT5 shows the margin needed for the trade in the window. Margin is the part of your funds the broker holds while the position is open.
Set stop loss and take profit. A stop loss closes the trade at a loss limit you choose. A take profit closes it at a target you choose. Enter them as prices:
- For a buy, stop loss goes below the current price and take profit above it.
- For a sell, stop loss goes above the current price and take profit below it.
You can leave them empty and add them later, but a position with no stop loss has no automatic loss limit. See Stop loss and take profit.
Set the deviation (Instant Execution only). Deviation is the largest price change, in points, you accept between the quote you see and the fill price. A small value means more requotes. A large value means a fill further from the price you saw. Under Market Execution, this slippage risk still exists, but you cannot set a limit.
Add a comment (optional). The Comment field lets you label the trade, for example with the setup name. It shows in your history.
Confirm. Click Buy by Market or Sell by Market. Under Instant Execution the buttons read Buy and Sell. MT5 then shows a confirmation with the fill price, or an error message. If you see an error, see MetaTrader errors.
For faster entry from the chart without this window, see One-click trading.
Ready to try it on a real or demo account?
Partner link · trading carries a high risk of loss
Open a market order in the MT5 mobile app
The Android and iPhone apps follow the same logic. Labels can shift slightly between app updates.
- Find the symbol. Open Quotes and tap the instrument.
- Open the order screen. Tap Trade in the menu that appears, or tap the trade icon on the chart screen.
- Check the type. The top field shows Market Execution or Instant Execution.
- Set the volume. Use the field or the step buttons next to it.
- Set stop loss and take profit. Enter prices in the SL and TP fields.
- Set the deviation if the symbol uses Instant Execution.
- Confirm. Tap Sell by Market or Buy by Market.
The open position appears in the Trade tab, with its current profit or loss. Install the app only from the official app stores. See Mobile apps.
Read the trade on the chart
Once the order fills, MT5 draws trade levels on the chart of that symbol:
- Position line: a horizontal line at the opening price, labelled with the direction and volume.
- Stop loss and take profit lines: separate horizontal lines at your SL and TP prices, if you set them.
On desktop, you can drag the SL and TP lines to new prices if trade levels are switched on in the chart settings. The Trade tab of the Toolbox lists each position with its open price, current price, SL, TP, swap and profit. Swap is the overnight charge or credit for holding a position (see Swap fees).
To close a position, double-click it in the Trade tab and use the close button, or use the close cross next to it. Your closed trades move to the History tab. See Trade history.
Hedging and netting accounts
How a new order behaves depends on the account mode:
- Hedging: each order opens a separate position, even on the same symbol in the opposite direction.
- Netting: one position per symbol. A new order adds to it, reduces it or reverses it.
See Hedging vs netting.
A note for traders in Pakistan
Learning the platform is one thing. Where you trade is another. On this point, per the SECP, offshore platforms have no Pakistani licence or oversight and offer no legal protection or recourse. Read Law and regulators before you fund any account. For position sizing and loss limits, see Risk management.
Frequent questions
Why is there no deviation field in my order window?
The symbol uses Market Execution. The fill price is the one available when the server receives the order, and you cannot set a slippage limit.
Why did my buy open below the line I clicked on?
Charts in MT5 show the bid price by default. A buy fills at the ask, which is higher by the spread. You can show the ask line in the chart settings. See Chart setup.
Can I add a stop loss after the trade is open?
Yes. Double-click the position in the Trade tab and choose to modify it, or drag the levels on the chart if trade levels are on.
Why are the Buy and Sell buttons greyed out?
Common causes are a closed market, a volume outside the allowed range, a read-only connection or not enough free margin. Check the message in the Journal tab.
What volume should I start with?
There is no single correct volume. It depends on your balance, your stop distance and how much you are prepared to lose. Use the lot calculator above, and practise on a demo account first.
