What Is a Fill?
A fill is the execution of your order. When you place a trade, the order sits with the broker waiting to be matched with a counterparty. When the broker finds a match and your order executes, that’s a fill.
A fill confirms:
- What you bought/sold: EUR/USD or GBP/JPY, etc.
- How much: 1 lot, 0.5 lot, 3 lots, etc.
- At what price: The exact price your order executed
- When: The exact time of execution
The fill is the moment you have a real trade, not just a pending order.
Market Orders vs. Limit Orders: Two Types of Fills
Market Order = Instant Fill
You want to buy EUR/USD right now. You place a market order. The broker immediately fills you at the current ask price (1.0852). You’re instantly long EUR.
Market orders fill immediately but at whatever the current market price is. You don’t control the price.
Limit Order = Conditional Fill
You want to buy EUR/USD but only at 1.0850 or better. You place a limit order. The broker waits until EUR/USD drops to 1.0850, then fills you. Or the limit order waits forever if price never reaches 1.0850.
Limit orders let you control price but may never fill if price doesn’t reach your target.
Stop Orders: Fills That Trigger Trades
A stop order is placed above or below market price. When price reaches the stop level, the order converts to a market order and fills at market price (not necessarily at the stop level).
Stop-Loss Example:
You’re long EUR/USD at 1.0850. You place a stop-loss order at 1.0800 (50-pip risk). If EUR/USD drops to 1.0800, your stop converts to a market order and fills at the next available price—possibly 1.0800, possibly 1.0795 (slippage).
The stop level triggers the fill, but the actual fill price might be worse.
Partial Fills
If liquidity is low or your order size is large, you might get a partial fill—some of your order executes, but not all.
Example: You order 5 lots of a less-liquid pair. The broker finds 3 lots at your limit price. You get a partial fill of 3 lots. Your remaining 2-lot order sits as a pending order, waiting for more liquidity.
During normal hours on major pairs (EUR/USD, GBP/USD), full fills are instant. During low-liquidity times (weekends, early Asian morning) or exotic pairs, partial fills are common.
Fill Price vs. Entry Price
Fill Price: The exact price at which your order executed.
Entry Price: What you consider your entry into the position.
Normally, they’re the same. But with slippage, they differ:
- You place a limit order to buy EUR/USD at 1.0850
- Your limit order sits pending for 10 seconds
- Price drops to 1.0849, then jumps to 1.0851 (no fill at 1.0850)
- You hear about news, quickly place a market order
- Your market order fills at 1.0854 (slippage of 4 pips)
Your target entry was 1.0850, but your actual fill was 1.0854. That 4-pip slippage reduces your profit potential on the trade.
Slippage: The Reality of Fills
Slippage is the difference between your expected fill price and your actual fill price.
Causes of Slippage:
- High volatility: Price gaps, no liquidity at your target price
- Economic news: Major announcements cause liquidity shocks
- Slow execution: Market order sits in queue, price moves before fill
- Market maker re-quoting: Broker changes price before filling you (only on market makers)
- Low liquidity: Exotic pairs, off-hours trading, low volume
How to Minimize Slippage:
- Use limit orders instead of market orders (you control price)
- Trade major pairs (EUR/USD, GBP/USD) during peak hours (London/New York overlap)
- Use ECN brokers (direct liquidity, no re-quoting)
- Avoid trading during major economic news
- Position size appropriately (smaller orders = better fills)
Re-Quotes: Market Maker Trap
Some market maker brokers will re-quote you. You place a market order at their quoted price, but before filling you, they change the price.
Example: EUR/USD market order at 1.0850. Before filling, the broker shows a new price of 1.0853 and asks if you accept. If you decline, your order is canceled. This is a re-quote.
ECN brokers don’t re-quote. Your order fills at the quoted price, or not at all (no partially executed, no re-quote).
If you’re getting re-quoted often, consider switching brokers.
Fill Confirmation and Documentation
When you get a fill, the broker sends you:
- Confirmation email/notification: Shows all trade details
- Trade ticket: Reference number for the trade
- P&L log: Your fill price, current market price, unrealized/realized P&L
Keep these records. They’re proof of your entry price if you ever dispute a trade.
Why Fill Prices Matter to Your Edge
If your strategy plans for 100-pip trades but slippage averages 5 pips on entry and 5 pips on exit, your real profit is only 90 pips. Over 100 trades, that 10-pip slippage × 100 = 1000 pips of lost profit.
This is why professional traders obsess over fill quality. A broker with 1-pip better average fills = thousands of dollars over a year.
Tracking Fills in Your Journal
Always log:
- Intended entry price: What you planned
- Actual fill price: What you got
- Slippage: The difference
- Broker used: So you know which broker is giving you the best fills
Over time, you’ll see which brokers are best for your strategy.
PipJournal Tracks All Your Fills
PipJournal logs every fill—entry price, exit price, slippage on entry, slippage on exit—and calculates the exact P&L from each trade. Over time, PipJournal will show you which brokers are giving you the best fills, which pairs you get slipped on most, and which times of day your fills are most reliable. This data helps you optimize your broker choice and trading times.
