Glossary
Slippage
The difference between the price you expected and the price your order actually filled at, caused by the order eating through the book.
A market order fills against whatever resting orders are on the book. If your order is larger than the quantity available at the best price, the remainder fills at the next price, then the next. The average price you end up paying drifts away from the price you saw when you clicked. That drift is slippage, and on a thin market it can dwarf the trading fee.
Slippage is the reason our low-fee ranking still weights liquidity: MEXC quotes the lowest fee on the list, but a few thousand dollars in a mid-cap pair can slip further there than the same order costs in fee plus slippage on Binance. The fee is visible before you trade; slippage only shows up afterwards, which is why traders underestimate it.
You control slippage with limit orders — you set the worst price you will accept and the order simply does not fill beyond it — and with size: splitting a large order over time, or trading the pair on the venue where it has the deepest book. The comparison table on every ranking page shows the liquidity sub-score next to the fee for this reason.
Where this shows up
Frequently asked questions
Does slippage happen on limit orders?
Not against you. A limit order fills only at your price or better. The trade-off is that it may not fill at all if the market moves away.
Is slippage worse on futures?
It depends on the venue and pair. The largest perpetual markets are deeper than most spot markets, but a small altcoin perp can be far thinner than the same asset on spot.
Related terms and pages
Related terms
- Spread
The gap between the best price a buyer will pay and the best price a seller will accept. You cross it on every trade, and it is a cost even when the fee is zero.
- Limit order vs market order
A market order fills now at whatever price the book offers; a limit order fills only at your price or better, or not at all.
- Maker and taker fees
The two trading fees an exchange charges: a lower maker fee for orders that add liquidity to the book, a higher taker fee for orders that remove it.
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