A limit order lets you choose the maximum price you’re willing to pay when buying a stock or ETF. Instead of purchasing immediately at the current market price, you can tell Robinhood to buy only when the price reaches your target.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to place a limit order on Robinhood, set your limit price, choose how long your order stays active, and cancel or change it if your plans change.
What Is a Limit Order on Robinhood?
A limit order is an instruction to buy or sell a stock at a specific price or better. When buying, your limit price is the maximum you’re willing to pay per share. When selling, it’s the minimum price you’re willing to accept.
For example, imagine an ETF is trading at $32.80, but you only want to pay $31 per share. You can place a limit order at $31 and wait for the market price to reach that level.
If the price never drops to $31 or lower while your order is active, the order won’t execute.
This differs from a market order, which attempts to buy or sell immediately at the best available price. A limit order gives you more control over the execution price, but it doesn’t guarantee that your trade will go through.
Step 1: Find the Stock or ETF You Want to Buy
Open the Robinhood app and locate the stock or ETF you want to purchase.
You have two options:
- Tap the magnifying glass at the bottom of the screen and search for the stock by its name or ticker symbol.
- Scroll down to your stocks and ETFs if you already own the investment.
Tap the investment to open its details page. You’ll see information such as its current market price and other trading details.
For this example, imagine the ETF is trading at approximately $32.80.
Step 2: Open the Order Screen
On the investment’s details page, look for the Trade button, usually near the bottom right of the screen.
Tap Trade, then select Buy.
Robinhood will typically open the market order screen by default. This screen allows you to enter a dollar amount and buy at the best available price.
To place a limit order on Robinhood instead, tap the order-type selector near the top right of the screen. It may display Dollars or another order type, depending on your current screen.
You’ll see a menu with different ways to place a trade, including recurring investments, limit orders, stop orders, trailing stop orders, and stop-limit orders.
Select Limit Order to continue.
Step 3: Enter the Number of Shares and Your Limit Price
You’ll now see the fields needed to configure your order.
Enter the number of shares
First, enter how many shares you want to buy.
For example, if you have approximately $33 available and the ETF costs around $32.80 per share, you could enter one share.
Make sure your available cash is sufficient to cover the order.
Set your limit price
The limit price is the most important part of the order.
Robinhood may display two prices:
- Bid: The highest price buyers are currently willing to pay.
- Ask: The lowest price sellers are currently willing to accept.
When buying, the ask price is particularly relevant because you’re purchasing shares from someone willing to sell.
Robinhood may automatically populate your limit price with the current ask price. You can leave it as is or enter a different amount.
For example, if the ask price is $32.81 but you want to pay no more than $31, replace the suggested price with $31.
Your limit order on Robinhood will then instruct the app to buy your selected number of shares only at $31 per share or less.
If the market price never reaches your limit while the order is active, your purchase won’t happen.
Remember that setting a lower price doesn’t guarantee you’ll get a bargain. The price might never fall to your target, meaning you could miss the opportunity to buy the investment.
For long-term investors, it’s worth considering whether waiting for a lower entry price fits their investment strategy.
Step 4: Choose Your Trading Session
Next, select the trading session in which your order can execute. Depending on the investment and account, Robinhood may offer options such as regular market hours, extended hours, and 24-hour trading.
Regular market hours
Regular trading hours for US stock markets are generally 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on trading days.
The app may display these times in your local time zone.
Extended-hours trading
Extended-hours trading provides access to certain trading sessions before the regular market opens and after it closes.
However, extended-hours trading can involve lower liquidity, wider bid-ask spreads, and greater price volatility. Not every order or investment is eligible.
24-hour trading
Robinhood offers eligible investments through its 24-hour market service, subject to the app’s supported trading sessions and eligibility rules.
Availability can vary by security and account. Check the current schedule displayed in the app before placing your order.
Choose the session that best matches your intentions. If you don’t need extended-hours or overnight trading, regular market hours may be the simpler option.
Step 5: Set the Time in Force
The time-in-force setting determines how long your limit order remains active before it expires or is canceled.
Robinhood may offer options such as a day order and a good-till-canceled order.
Day order
A day order remains active for the applicable trading session. If your limit price isn’t reached before the order expires, the unfilled order is canceled.
This option is useful if you only want to buy at your target price during the current trading day.
Good till canceled
A good-till-canceled order can remain active for an extended period, subject to Robinhood’s current rules and the expiration date shown in the app.
For example, if you set a limit price of $31 and the ETF is trading at $32.80, your order could remain open while you wait for the price to fall.
Be careful with this setting. If the price reaches your limit days or weeks later, your order may execute automatically.
Before choosing good till canceled, make sure you still want to purchase the investment at that price. Check your open orders regularly and cancel any orders you no longer want.
Step 6: Select the Correct Account
If you have more than one Robinhood account, check which account will be used for the trade.
Depending on your eligibility and account setup, you might have an individual brokerage account and a retirement account, such as a Roth IRA.
Select the account in which you want to place the order.
This matters because different accounts can have different tax treatments, contribution rules, and investment considerations.
If you only have one account, this step should be straightforward. If you have multiple accounts, double-check your selection before continuing.
Step 7: Review Your Limit Order on Robinhood
Before submitting your order, Robinhood provides a review screen showing the main details.
Check the following information carefully:
- Investment: Confirm that you’ve selected the correct stock or ETF.
- Number of shares: Verify the quantity you want to buy.
- Limit price: Make sure the maximum price is correct.
- Trading session: Confirm when your order can execute.
- Time in force: Check when the order expires.
- Account: Ensure you’re placing the order in the correct account.
- Estimated cost: Confirm that the expected purchase amount fits your available cash.
For example, a review screen might show an order to buy one share at a limit price of $31, with an estimated cost of $31.
You may also see a statement explaining that the order will execute at your limit price or better.
When buying, better means a lower price. If the market price moves quickly from $31.10 to $30.80, your order could execute at $30.80, provided the order is eligible and sufficient shares are available at that price.
Your limit price is the maximum you’ll pay per share for the execution of a buy limit order, excluding any applicable fees or other costs.
If everything looks correct, continue to the submission step.
Step 8: Submit Your Limit Order
Once you’ve reviewed the details, follow Robinhood’s on-screen instructions to submit the order. This may involve swiping up or confirming your trade.
After submission, the app should display a confirmation that your order has been placed.
Don’t be surprised if the screen shows zero shares purchased out of the total you requested. For example, it might display zero of one share.
This doesn’t necessarily mean something went wrong. It usually means your order has been submitted but hasn’t executed yet.
Your limit order on Robinhood is now waiting for the market to meet your price requirements.
If the price reaches your limit and the order can be filled, Robinhood can execute the purchase automatically. If the price never reaches your limit, the order may remain open until it expires or you cancel it.
Step 9: Check, Replace, or Cancel Your Order
After placing your order, you can review its status in the app.
Tap the option to view your order or navigate to your open orders. The details typically include the investment, account, limit price, order status, and expiration information.
If your order is still open, you may have options to replace or cancel it.
How to replace a limit order
If you change your mind about the price you’re willing to pay, select the option to replace the order, if available.
You can then adjust the limit price or other permitted order details and review the updated order before confirming.
Keep in mind that changing an order may affect its priority in the market, and the replacement may not take effect immediately.
How to cancel a limit order
If you no longer want to make the purchase, select Cancel Order and follow the on-screen instructions.
A cancellation isn’t always instantaneous. If the order executes before the cancellation takes effect, you may still end up purchasing the shares.
Always check the final order status to confirm whether the order was canceled or executed.
If you placed a limit order only to learn how the process works, cancel it before leaving the app if you don’t actually intend to make the purchase.
Final Thoughts on Placing a Limit Order on Robinhood
Learning how to place a limit order on Robinhood is relatively straightforward once you understand the available settings.
The process involves finding your investment, selecting a limit order, entering the number of shares and your target price, choosing a trading session, setting the time in force, and reviewing your order before submitting it.
The biggest advantage of a limit order is price control. When buying, you specify the maximum price you’re willing to pay per share. However, your order isn’t guaranteed to execute, even if the market briefly reaches your limit.
Use limit orders when having control over your entry price matters to your strategy, and remember to monitor open orders that remain active for an extended period.
With those basics in mind, you can make more informed decisions about when and how to place trades on Robinhood.
