What is trade execution
Trade execution is the process of turning your order into an actual trade at a specific price, size and time.
When you press Buy or Sell, the order is only a request. Execution happens when the broker, dealer or exchange accepts it and fills it. The execution report then shows the final price you got, which may differ from the price on your screen.
- Symbol: the instrument you trade.
- Order type: a market order fills now; a pending order waits for your price.
- Volume in lots: sets the position size and how much each pip is worth.
- Stop-loss and take-profit: prices at which the position closes by itself; empty or 0 means none.
- Comment: an optional note for your records.
- Bid and ask: you sell at the bid and buy at the ask; the gap between them is the spread.
- Sell and Buy buttons: send the order at once.
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Precise definition
Formally, execution is the point at which an order is matched with a counterparty and becomes a binding transaction. It has four outputs:
- Fill price: the price at which the trade was done.
- Fill size: all of the order, or part of it (see fill and partial fill).
- Execution time: when the fill happened, usually stamped to the millisecond in trade logs.
- Venue or counterparty: an exchange, a liquidity provider, or a dealer acting as principal (see A-book and B-book).
Execution speed is the delay between sending the order and receiving the fill confirmation. Slippage is the gap between the requested price and the fill price. Slippage can go against you or in your favour.
Worked example (hypothetical)
A trader watches EUR/USD and sees a buy (ask) price, call it price A. They send a market buy order.
- In the time the order travels to the server, the market moves.
- The order fills at price B, slightly above price A.
- The difference between A and B is negative slippage. On a larger position, the same gap costs more in account currency.
To see what a given price gap means in money for your lot size, use the pip and profit tools on the calculators page.
If the trader had placed a limit order at price A instead, the order would fill only at price A or better. It might not fill at all if the market moved away.
Execution types in MetaTrader
In MetaTrader 5 and MT4, the symbol specification shows an execution mode:
| Mode | How it works | Requote possible? |
|---|---|---|
| Instant execution | Fills at the shown price or returns a new quote | Yes |
| Request execution | You request a price first, then confirm | Yes |
| Market execution | Fills at the next available price, so slippage is possible | No |
| Exchange execution | Order goes to an exchange order book | No |
You can also see execution in the trade journal, in the "Price" column of the history tab, and on your account statement.
Edge cases
- Gaps: after a weekend or a major news release, stop orders can fill well beyond the stop level.
- Thin liquidity: during rollover or a flash crash, spreads widen and fills can be poor.
- Order type rules: fill or kill and IOC orders cancel instead of filling partly or late.
- Errors: a fat finger error is executed like any other order.
Leveraged forex and CFD trading can lose money fast, and poor execution in a fast market can make the loss larger. See risk management.
Related terms
Day order · Front running · Clearing and settlement · Trading glossary · Trading basics
Frequent questions
What is trade execution in simple words?
It is the moment your order becomes a real trade at a definite price and size.
What does order execution mean in forex?
It means the broker fills your buy or sell order, either at the shown price, at a requoted price, or at the next available market price.
Why does execution speed matter?
The longer the delay, the more the price can move before the fill. That increases the chance of slippage.
Is slippage always a loss?
No. A fill can come at a better price than requested as well as a worse one.
Where can I check my fill price?
Check the trade history or journal in your platform, and your account statement.