What Is the Best Bid and Offer (BBO)?

A Best Bid and Offer (BBO) is a smart limit order type that lets you quickly place a limit order at the best available price in the current order book. Instead of entering a price manually, the system automatically selects the corresponding price, helping you place orders faster and capture market prices more efficiently.

BBO allows you to quickly set the price of a limit order based on the selected BBO option. When you place an order using BBO, the system automatically uses the matching quote from the order book to determine the order price.
 

1. Types of BBO Order Available on XT

Four types of BBO prices are available on  XT:

Type	Description	Example
Counterparty Price 1	The best price on the opposite side of the order book. Buy orders use the Best Offer, or "Ask" (Ask 1), and sell orders use the Best Bid (Bid 1).	When orders are placed, buy orders are automatically submitted at the current Ask 1, and sell orders at the current Bid 1.
Counterparty Price 5	The Level 5 price on the opposite side of the order book. Buy orders use Ask 5, and sell orders use Bid 5.	When orders are placed, buy orders are automatically submitted at the current Ask 5, and sell orders at the current Bid 5.
Same Order-Book Side Price 1	The best price on the same side of the order book. Buy orders use Bid 1, and sell orders use Ask 1.	When orders are placed, buy orders are automatically submitted at the current Bid 1, and sell orders at the current Ask 1
Same Order-Book Side Price 5	The Level 5 price on the same side of the order book. Buy orders use Bid 5, and sell orders use Ask 5.	When orders are placed, buy orders are automatically submitted at the current Bid 5, and sell orders at the current Ask 5.

Counterparty Price VS. Same Order-Book Side Price

• Counterparty Price: Matches existing orders on the opposite side of the order book, typically executing immediately (Taker).
• Same Order-Book Side Price: Places your order at the same-side quote in the order book and waits for the opposite side to match it (Maker).

2. How to Place an Order with the BBO option?

Scenario 1: Placing an Order from the Trading Panel

1. On the Futures trading page, select Limit Order as the order type.
2. Click the BBO button to enable BBO mode.
3. The price input field will change to a dropdown selector, with Counterparty Price 1 selected by default.
4. Choose your preferred price from the dropdown (Counterparty Price 1 or 5, or Same Order-Book Side Price 1 or 5).
5. Enter the order quantity and click Buy (Long) or Sell (Short).
6. Review the order details in the confirmation window and submit the order.

To return to the standard limit order mode, click the BBO button again.

Scenario 2: Setting Take-Profit / Stop-Loss for a Position

1. In the Positions panel, click TP/SL for the relevant position.
2. Select BBO as the order type.
3. Choose the desired BBO price (Counterparty Price 1 or 5, or Same Order-Book Side Price 1 or 5).
4. Enter the trigger price (BBO sets the execution price; the trigger price must still be entered manually).
5. Confirm and submit.

Once the latest market price reaches the trigger price, the system snapshots the order book at that moment and submits a limit order at the selected BBO price.

3. BBO Order Price Rules

• Price Snapshot: The order price is locked to the real-time order book when you click Place Order/Confirm.
• Price Precision: BBO orders follow the minimum tick size, ignoring display settings.
• Partial Fills: Any unfilled portion stays in the order book at the original price, like a standard limit order.

4. Usage Restrictions

The BBO feature will be unavailable (button greyed out) in the following cases:

Restriction Type	Description
Order Type	Only Limit Orders are supported. Market Orders, Trigger Orders, and Trailing Orders are not supported.
Time-in-Force	Not supported when IOC or FOK is selected.
Advanced Settings	Not supported when Take-Profit / Stop-Loss conditions are enabled in the trading panel.

If BBO mode is enabled and you then select TP/SL or set the order to IOC (Immediate or Cancel) or FOK (Fill or Kill), the system will automatically switch back to the standard Limit Order mode.
 

5. Special Scenarios

Insufficient Order Book Depth

• If the order book has fewer levels than your selection (e.g., only 2 levels but you choose Counterparty or Same Order-Book Side Price 5), the system will show: "The current order book depth does not support BBO limit pricing. Please try again later or use another order type."
• For TP/SL orders, if the chosen level isn’t available, the system will automatically select the nearest level (e.g., Level 4 if Level 5 is unavailable). If no levels are available, it will sequentially use the Last Price, Mark Price, and Index Price as fallback.

Viewing Orders

• Open Orders: Orders placed in BBO mode show the actual price captured at submission.
• Order History: Orders are labeled “Limit BBO” for easy identification and review.

6. FAQ

Q: How does a BBO order differ from a regular limit order? 
A: A BBO order is a limit order, but the price is set automatically from the order book, helping you capture the best available price faster. Regular limit orders require manual price entry.

 

Q: Will a BBO order’s price change after submission? 
A: No. The price is locked at confirmation. Once submitted, it behaves like a standard limit order and won’t update with the order book.

 

Q: How to choose between Counterparty Price and Same Order-Book Side Price? 
A: Depends on your strategy:

• Counterparty Price: Choose for faster execution by directly matching existing orders.
• Same Order-Book Side Price: Choose to aim for a potentially better price, though execution may take longer.

Q: Why is the BBO button greyed out? 
A: BBO is unavailable if any of the following apply:

• Time-in-Force is set to IOC or FOK
• TP/SL conditional orders are active
• The current order type is not a limit order

If any of these conditions are met, the BBO button will appear greyed out.