An order type tells a broker how to fill your trade. Knowing the basics helps you read your broker’s order screen and understand why a trade filled where it did. This article explains the common types and which ones you can use in Ezana today.
How it works
- Market order: fills right away at the best available price. You get speed and certainty of execution, but not an exact price.
- Limit order: fills only at your chosen price or better. You control price, but the order may never fill.
- Day: an order that expires at the end of the trading day if it has not filled.
- Good til canceled (GTC): an order that stays open across sessions until it fills or you cancel it. Brokers usually cap how long a GTC order can live.
Which order types you can use in Ezana
- Mock portfolio: every order is a dollar-amount order that fills immediately at the latest price, much like a market order. Limit orders and durations are not currently available in mock trading.
- Ezana brokerage (Alpaca) accounts: order entry is not currently available in the app.
- Connected external brokerages: placing orders through a connection is not currently available. Use your brokerage’s own app, where its order rules apply. See Executing Trades From Ezana.
Step-by-step: choosing an order type at a broker
- Decide what matters more: getting filled now, or getting a specific price.
- For large, heavily traded stocks where speed matters, a market order is usually fine.
- For thinly traded or volatile stocks, use a limit order to avoid a poor fill.
- Pick Day for a one-session attempt, or GTC to keep a limit working.
- Review open orders at your broker and cancel any you no longer want.
Things to know
- Market orders can fill at a different price than the one you saw, because prices move between click and fill.
- Large limit orders can fill in pieces (partial fills).
- Stop and stop-limit orders are not currently available in Ezana.
Related articles
FAQ
Q: Why did my mock trade fill at a slightly different price than I expected?
A: Mock trades use the latest available quote when you submit, which may have moved since the page loaded.
Q: Can I practice limit orders in mock trading?
A: Not currently. Mock orders always fill immediately.