Slippage in spot trading: why your fill price differs
Slippage in spot trading is the gap between your expected price and the price your fill actually gets. Thin liquidity and fast moves widen it.
Vahe HakobyanEditor-in-chief
Updated Oct 6, 20263 min readFact-checked
On this page
- Thin liquidity and fast moves widen the gap.
- Market orders accept slippage; limit orders cap price.
- A DEX tolerance reverts a swap instead of filling worse.
- Slippage is not price impact, which moves the market.
Spot trading means buying or selling a cryptocurrency for near-immediate delivery. The quote can change before your order arrives.
What is slippage in spot trading?
Slippage is the difference between the quote you saw and the average price your order got. The order can meet prices that are no longer the ones your platform showed.
What causes slippage?
Slippage grows when the market cannot absorb your order at the quoted price. The bigger your order, the further the fill can move.
How do order types affect it?
A market order fills at whatever prices are available, so it accepts slippage. A limit order caps your price but can leave the trade unfilled.
What is slippage tolerance?
On an automated market maker DEX, you set a slippage tolerance before a swap. It is the largest price move you will accept, and if the price moves past it while the transaction waits, the swap reverts. Traders often split large orders or use limit orders to cut slippage.
How is it different from price impact?
Price impact is the change your own order makes in the market price. The two effects often appear together, but one comes from your order size and the other from the market around it.
Frequently asked questions
US tax rules treat crypto as property, so your basis is what you paid. A different fill changes your gain or loss.
Your tolerance is a limit, not a promise. A price move past it reverts the swap.
Yes. The book can improve while your order is in flight, so your fill can beat the quote.
The spread is the gap between the best bid and best ask at one moment. Slippage shows up later.
