Price-time priority

Price-time priority is the standard matching rule: better prices execute first, and among equal prices the order that arrived first executes first. It is why placement timing has economic value.

market microstructure · updated 2026-09-08

See also

• Matching engine — The matching engine is the exchange system that pairs incoming orders with resting orders according to published priority rules, u…
• Queue position — Queue position is where an order sits in the line at its price level under time priority. A good queue position is valuable, which…

Terms that refer here

Matching engine · Queue position

Back to the full glossary — 261 defined terms.