What is the difference between an MIT and a limit order?

A limit order rests in the book at its price and fills only if sellers trade enough at that price to reach its place in the queue, so a touch does not guarantee a fill. An MIT sends a market order on the first touch, so it executes, but possibly at a worse price than the trigger. One gives price certainty, the other execution certainty.

Is an MIT order held at the exchange on CME futures?

CME's published futures order types do not include an MIT, so it is held by the broker or the platform that offers it and converted to a market order when triggered. Ask your broker where the trigger is monitored, because that decides what happens if your connection drops.

Market-if-touched (MIT) order

A market-if-touched (MIT) order sends a market order once price trades at a chosen level, with a buy MIT placed below the current market and a sell MIT above it. It is the mirror image of a stop: it enters on the pullback rather than on the breakout, trading a guaranteed price for a guaranteed execution once the level is touched.

Senzoukria · Glossary · Updated September 2026

How it triggers

An MIT has a trigger price and no limit. A buy MIT sits below the market: when a trade prints at or below the trigger, a market buy is sent. A sell MIT sits above the market and fires when a trade prints at or above it. The limit-if-touched (LIT) variant sends a limit order instead of a market order once touched.

Four ways to buy at a level
Order	Placed relative to market	Activation	What is sent
Buy limit	Below	None, it rests in the queue	Nothing: fills when sellers reach it
Buy MIT	Below	Trade at or below the trigger	Market buy
Buy stop	Above	Trade at or above the trigger	Market buy, or protected market
Buy stop-limit	Above	Trade at or above the trigger	Limit buy at the limit price

MIT versus a resting limit at the same price

Suppose the market is at 4,996.00 and you want to buy a pullback to 4,990.00. A buy limit at 4,990.00 joins the bid queue behind whatever already rests there, say 350 contracts. If only 200 contracts trade at 4,990.00 before price bounces, the limit never fills. A buy MIT at 4,990.00 fires on the first print there and sends a market order, which takes the best offer at that instant, often 4,990.00 or 4,990.25 on a one-tick spread. You are in the trade, at the cost of paying the spread and possibly a tick of slippage.

The two orders also leave different traces in the order flow. The limit is filled passively: the seller who hits it is the aggressor, so the trade counts on the bid side of the footprint. The MIT becomes an aggressive buy and counts on the ask side, adding to delta.

Who holds the trigger

CME's published order types for futures list market with protection, limit, market-limit, stop-limit and stop with protection. An MIT is not among them, so where a broker or a platform offers MIT on CME futures, the trigger is watched outside the exchange, on the broker's servers or on the trader's own machine, and the market order is only sent when the condition is met. The location matters during a disconnect: a trigger watched by a local application does nothing while that application is offline, even if price trades through the level.

In Senzoukria

The order ticket offers Market, Limit, Stop and Stop limit, with DAY, GTC, IOC and FOK as time in force. There is no MIT or LIT type, and the application does not simulate one by watching price on your machine. The closest tools are a resting limit order at the level, or a price alert: an alert line on the chart detects the crossing and plays the alert sound, but it sends no order.

Common mistakes

Placing a buy MIT above the market, where it is already touched, or confusing it with a buy stop.
Expecting the trigger price as the fill. The order becomes a market order and fills where the book is.
Using an MIT in a thin book, overnight or around releases, where the market order can travel several ticks.
Relying on a platform-held trigger without knowing whether it survives a disconnect.

In the same section

Sources

CME Group Client Systems Wiki: Order Types for Futures and Options (2026-09-25)

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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between an MIT and a limit order?: A limit order rests in the book at its price and fills only if sellers trade enough at that price to reach its place in the queue, so a touch does not guarantee a fill. An MIT sends a market order on the first touch, so it executes, but possibly at a worse price than the trigger. One gives price certainty, the other execution certainty.
Is an MIT order held at the exchange on CME futures?: CME's published futures order types do not include an MIT, so it is held by the broker or the platform that offers it and converted to a market order when triggered. Ask your broker where the trigger is monitored, because that decides what happens if your connection drops.

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