Hyperliquid Order Types Explained: Limit, Market, Stop, TWAP, and Scale

Short answer: Hyperliquid supports the full set of professional order types: market and limit orders, stop-market and stop-limit, standalone trigger orders for breakouts, TWAP for slicing large size over time, scale orders that ladder limits across a price range, and position-level take-profit and stop-loss. Time-in-force flags (GTC, IOC, and ALO post-only) and a reduce-only flag let you control exactly how an order rests, fills, or closes. Everything executes gaslessly on Hyperliquid's chain. You pay maker or taker fees and funding, not gas. The right choice depends on whether you are prioritizing speed, price, fee rebate, or controlled execution of size.

What order types can you place on Hyperliquid?

Hyperliquid offers the same toolkit a professional derivatives trader expects, executed on a fully on-chain order book. The core set is market, limit, stop-market, stop-limit, trigger, TWAP, and scale, plus take-profit and stop-loss that attach to a position.

On top of the order type, you control behavior with time-in-force flags and a reduce-only flag. Those modifiers are where a lot of the real control lives, because the same limit order behaves very differently as a normal resting order versus a post-only one.

One thing to keep in mind across all of them: orders execute without gas on Hyperliquid's chain. Your costs are the maker or taker fee and funding on the position, not a per-transaction gas charge, which makes frequent order management and tactics like scaling practical.

How do market and limit orders work?

A market order fills immediately against the best available prices in the book. On Hyperliquid it is implemented as a marketable limit order priced deep through the book so it crosses and fills right away. You get speed and certainty of execution, and you pay the taker fee plus whatever slippage the book depth implies.

A limit order sets the worst price you will accept and rests in the book until matched. By default it is good-til-canceled, so it stays live across sessions until it fills or you cancel it. Matching follows price-time priority, meaning better prices fill first, and among equal prices the order that arrived earlier fills first.

The practical difference is the classic trade-off. Market orders prioritize getting in or out now. Limit orders prioritize price and can earn the maker side of the fee, but carry the risk of not filling if price never reaches your level.

What is post-only (ALO), and how do the time-in-force flags work?

Time-in-force flags decide how long an order lives and how it is allowed to fill. Hyperliquid supports three you should know.

GTC, good-til-canceled, is the default for limit orders. It rests until filled or canceled. IOC, immediate-or-cancel, fills whatever it can right away and cancels the rest, which is useful when you want an immediate partial fill without leaving a resting remainder. ALO, add-liquidity-only, is post-only: it will only ever rest as a maker order, and if it would execute immediately against the book it is rejected instead.

Post-only matters for two reasons. It guarantees you pay the maker fee rather than the taker fee, which compounds for active traders, and on Hyperliquid post-only orders are given high priority in block processing. If your strategy depends on earning the maker side, ALO is how you enforce it.

How do stop and trigger orders differ?

A stop order activates only when price reaches a level you set. A stop-market becomes a market order at that point and fills immediately, prioritizing exit certainty. A stop-limit becomes a limit order at your specified price, prioritizing fill price but risking no fill if price gaps past your limit.

Stops are usually defensive, used to cap a loss or protect a gain. The trade-off between stop-market and stop-limit is the same speed-versus-price decision as regular orders, but it matters more, because stops fire during fast moves when depth is thin and gaps are common.

A trigger order uses the same activate-at-a-level mechanic offensively. You can arm an order to fire when price breaks a level you are watching, so a breakout entry executes the moment your condition is met without you sitting at the screen. Same machinery, different intent: stops protect, triggers attack.

When should you use a TWAP order?

A TWAP, time-weighted average price order, breaks a large order into many small sub-orders released over a chosen duration. On Hyperliquid these sub-orders are sent at regular intervals, roughly every 30 seconds, each capped at a maximum slippage per slice so no single piece chases price too far.

The point is to reduce market impact. Dropping large size into the book at once walks the price against you and signals your hand. Spreading it over time lets the book refill between slices, so your average fill is closer to the prevailing price. If the schedule falls behind because slices were skipped for slippage, the order catches up on later intervals.

Use a TWAP when your size is large relative to the book depth on the pair, or when you want to build or unwind a position quietly. For small orders in a deep market it adds nothing. For size in a thinner pair it can be the difference between a clean fill and a self-inflicted move.

What does a scale order do, and how do TP/SL work?

A scale order places a ladder of limit orders evenly across a price range you define. Instead of one limit at a single price, you get multiple resting orders stepping through the range, which averages your entry or exit across a zone rather than betting on one exact level.

Take-profit and stop-loss orders attach an automatic exit to a position. By default they fire as trigger-market orders when their level is hit, closing the position at market for certainty. A key behavior is scope: a position-level TP or SL closes the entire position when triggered, while an order attached to a specific parent order is tied to that order's fill. Knowing which you set matters, because it determines whether the whole position or only part of it exits.

Together, scale orders and TP/SL let you automate both sides of a trade. You ladder into a zone, then let predefined profit and loss levels manage the exit without manual intervention.

Which order type should you use when?

The choice comes down to what you are optimizing. For immediate execution, use a market order and accept the taker fee and slippage. For a specific price and a maker rebate, use a limit, and add ALO if earning maker fees is essential. To protect a position, use a stop-market for certainty or a stop-limit for price control.

For entries you cannot watch live, arm a trigger order at your breakout level. For large size, slice it with a TWAP to minimize impact, or ladder it with a scale order to average across a range. For hands-off exits, set position-level TP and SL so the trade manages itself.

Whatever you place, the order is only as good as the read behind it. Knowing where liquidity rests, whether the tape is being absorbed, and how crowded positioning is tells you which level to set and which order type fits the conditions.

Buildix gives you that order-flow read across 530+ pairs with native Hyperliquid support, so you can place the right order type at the right level instead of guessing. Start free at buildix.trade.

Common questions about Hyperliquid order types

Does Hyperliquid charge gas for placing orders? No. Orders execute on Hyperliquid's own chain without per-transaction gas. Your costs are the maker or taker trading fee and funding on open positions, which makes active order management and tactics like scaling practical.

What is the difference between ALO and GTC? GTC is a standard good-til-canceled order that can fill as maker or taker. ALO is post-only: it will only rest as a maker order and is rejected if it would execute immediately. Use ALO when you must pay the maker fee rather than the taker fee.

What is a TWAP order best for? Executing large size with minimal market impact. It splits the order into small slices released over time, each with a slippage cap, so the book refills between slices and your average fill stays close to the market price. It adds little value for small orders in deep markets.

Does a stop-loss close my whole position? A position-level stop-loss closes the entire position when triggered. A stop attached to a specific order is tied to that order instead. Check which one you are setting so you know whether the full position or only part of it exits.

What is the difference between a stop and a trigger order? Mechanically they both activate at a price level. A stop is typically defensive, used to cap losses or protect profits. A trigger is used offensively, to fire a breakout entry the moment price reaches your level without manual action.