What is a scale order?
A scale order places several limit orders at once, spread across a price range, instead of one order at one price. On Hyperliquid it is listed as multiple limit orders in a set price range. For a buy, a dip fills the orders it reaches and leaves the rest waiting, so the size and average price depend on how far the price goes.
- A scale order is a set of limit orders spread across a price range and placed together.
- In the example, 40 units are split into 5 buys of 8, from 99 down to 95.
- A dip to 96.60 fills the top three: 24 units at an average of 98.00. The two lower orders keep waiting.
- The deeper the dip, the larger the position and the lower its average, because the position grows while the price falls against it.
- Its full risk is the case where every order fills: $120 at a stop of 94 with all 40 units, against $96 with three filled.
What a scale order is
A scale order spreads one intended size across several prices. Instead of one limit buy of 40 at 97, it places, say, 5 buys of 8 at 99, 98, 97, 96, 95. Each is an ordinary limit order that rests on the book until it fills or is cancelled.
The appeal is not having to pick one price. The trade-off is that the market decides the size you end up with: a shallow dip fills a little, and a deep one fills it all.
How the fills add up
Each order that fills adds its units at its own price, so the average entry is the average of the filled prices, weighted by size. A dip to 96.60 fills 3 orders: 24 units at 98.00. Every order filled means 40 units at 97.00. Going long and short shows how the entry price averages as a position grows.
That is the catch. The further the price goes against the first order, the larger the position becomes, so a scale buy is most fully in the trade exactly when the price has fallen the furthest.
Sizing it against a stop
With one stop at 94 under the whole ladder, the loss at the stop depends on how many orders filled: $40 with one, $96 with three, $120 with all five. The order’s full risk is the case where every order fills. How much to risk covers sizing from the loss at the stop.
A scale sell works the same way upside down: sells spread above the price, filled as it rises.
On Hyperliquid
Hyperliquid’s order types list Scale as multiple limit orders in a set price range. Each order sits at a price that is a whole multiple of the market’s tick size, and fills in price-time priority like any other limit order.
In BuildTrade™, the order ticket has no scale order. The same ladder can be built from separate Limit orders, each listed in Open Orders, where any one of them can be cancelled on its own.
Five buys of 8, one stop
Example numbers40 units split into 5 limit buys of 8, at 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, with one stop at 94 under all of them. The table shows the position after dips to four depths. Fees left out.
- Total size, units
- 40
- Units per order
- 8
- Highest order
- 99.00
- Lowest order
- 95.00
- Stop
- 94.00
| Lowest price reached | Orders filled | Units held | Average entry | Loss at the stop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99.50 | 0 | 0 | — | $0 |
| 98.50 | 1 | 8 | 99.00 | −$40 |
| 97.00 | 3 | 24 | 98.00 | −$96 |
| 95.00 | 5 | 40 | 97.00 | −$120 |
The deeper the dip, the larger the position and the lower its average, and the larger the loss if the price carries on to the stop: from $40 with one order filled to $120 with all five.
Mistakes that cost traders money
- Sizing for the first fill.
The full risk of a scale order is the case where every order fills, at the largest size.
- Reading a lower average as a better trade.
The average falls because the position grew while the price fell against it.
- Leaving the unfilled orders behind.
If the price turns before the lower orders fill, they keep waiting. Cancel them once the reason for them has gone.
- Putting the stop inside the ladder.
A stop above the lowest orders can close the position while orders below it still wait to open a new one.
- Expecting time between fills.
In a fast drop the whole ladder can fill in moments, so the full size is on before there is time to react.
Try it in BuildTrade™
In the Book tab on the Trade screen, read the bids below the price. A ladder of Limit buys would join the queue at each of those prices and fill only as far as sellers come down.
Order types, Hyperliquid Docs (read October 20, 2026).
Order book, Hyperliquid Docs (read October 20, 2026).
Entry price and pnl, Hyperliquid Docs (read October 20, 2026).
BuildTrade™ is independent of, and not endorsed by, Hyperliquid.