Trading
Market Order
An order to buy or sell at the best available price, immediately; may incur slippage.
Detailed explanation
A market order submits a request to execute at the current best available prices in the Kalshi order book. It prioritizes speed over price certainty, so you may fill at a price different from the last quoted price, especially in thin liquidity. For Kalshi binary markets (YES/NO), a market order might be filled at the prevailing YES or NO price, subject to the bid/ask dynamics and available size. Market orders bypass any specified price limit, so they are typically filled quickly but with price risk if the market is volatile or illiquid.
Worked example
You place a market order to buy 10 YES contracts for market XYZ-2024-12-31 at the current best YES price of 42¢ and NO price of 58¢. If the best YES fills at 44¢ and NO remains at 56¢, your edge is affected by the actual executed price and the $1.00 settlement structure.
FAQ
- What is the main difference between a market order and a limit order?
- A market order seeks immediate execution at the best available price, while a limit order sets a maximum or minimum price and may not fill if those limits aren’t met.
- Can a market order be rejected or partially filled?
- Yes. If there isn’t enough liquidity, a market order may partially fill or fail to execute beyond available stock in the book.
- What risks come with market orders on Kalshi?
- Slippage is the primary risk: you pay more on the YES side or get less on the NO side than expected, impacting edge.
See Market Order on a live Kalshi market
KalshiArb scans every open Kalshi market for arbitrage edges where YES + NO < $1.00. Plug in your Kalshi API key and start receiving alerts in under 5 minutes.
Related terms
- Open InterestTotal number of unsettled Kalshi contracts across YES/NO in a market.
- 24H VolumeTotal number of contracts traded in the last 24 hours for a market.
- LiquidityLiquidity is the ease of buying or selling a contract without moving the price much.
- SlippageThe difference between expected execution price and the actual fill price after placing an order.
- SpreadThe gap between the best bid and best ask on a contract side.
- Fill-or-Kill OrderAn order that must be fully filled immediately or cancelled in its entirety.
- Limit OrderAn order to buy or sell at a specified price or better, not at market.