CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74–89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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For a day trader, the order types your broker supports are not a minor detail — they are the tools you use to control every entry, exit, and stop. A broker with a thin order menu forces you to babysit trades manually. A broker with a full order set lets you automate risk and react faster. This guide explains which order types matter for intraday trading and compares what the major EU-available brokers actually offer.
The order types that matter for day trading
Market and limit orders
The basics. A market order fills immediately at the best available price; a limit order fills only at your chosen price or better. Every broker supports both. For a day trader, the question is fill quality — how much slippage you get on a market order during fast conditions, which depends on execution model, not the order type itself.
Stop-loss and take-profit
Non-negotiable for intraday risk control. A stop-loss closes a losing trade automatically; a take-profit locks in a target. What varies between brokers is whether stops are guaranteed. A standard stop can slip past your level in a gap; a guaranteed stop-loss order (GSLO) fills exactly at your level for a small premium. Not every EU broker offers GSLOs.
Trailing stops
A trailing stop follows price by a set distance as a trade moves in your favour, then holds when price reverses — locking in profit without manual adjustment. Essential for momentum day traders. Check whether the trailing stop runs server-side (works even when your platform is closed) or client-side (only works while your terminal is open). Server-side is far more reliable.
Stop-limit and OCO orders
A stop-limit triggers a limit order once a stop price is hit — useful when you want a stop but refuse to accept unlimited slippage. An OCO ("one-cancels-the-other") pairs two orders so that filling one cancels the other, letting you set a bracket around a position in a single action. These are the orders that separate a basic platform from a serious trading one.
Partial fills and position scaling
Day traders often scale in and out of a position rather than entering all at once. Check whether the platform allows partial position closes and whether it nets or hedges multiple positions on the same instrument. cTrader and MT5 handle this differently from MT4 — worth testing on a demo before committing.
Order-type comparison: major EU-available brokers
The table below compares order-type support across brokers commonly available to EU retail traders. Feature availability can depend on account type and platform (MT4, MT5, cTrader) — always confirm on a demo account before depositing.
Availability shown is indicative of publicly documented platform features at the time of writing and can change. "Server-side" trailing stops run on the broker's servers; "client-side" only work while your platform is open. Confirm current support directly with the broker on a demo account.
How to test this in 10 minutes
Open a demo account, then try to place each order type you rely on: a trailing stop, a stop-limit, and an OCO bracket. If the platform cannot do one you need, you have your answer before risking any money. A platform limitation you discover mid-trade is far more expensive.
Which order set fits which trader
- Scalpers and momentum traders — prioritise server-side trailing stops and fast, low-slippage execution. cTrader brokers (Pepperstone, IC Markets) are strong here.
- News and gap traders — value guaranteed stop-loss orders to cap downside through volatility. IG is one of the few EU-available brokers offering GSLOs.
- Systematic and semi-automated traders — want OCO brackets and reliable partial-fill handling. MT5 and cTrader both support this; MT4 is more limited.
- Beginners — a solid stop-loss and take-profit is enough to start. Do not pay a premium for order types you will not use yet.
Order-type variety is one input among several — regulation, spreads, and withdrawal track record matter at least as much. Use this alongside our full broker comparison rather than in isolation.
Compare brokers side by side
See regulation, spreads, minimum deposits, platforms, and order support for all major EU-available brokers in one table.
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