# Slippage

## Definition

Slippage refers to the difference between the expected execution price of a market order and the actual price at which the order is filled. In the context of price slippage, it specifically measures the price impact caused by executing a market order that consumes multiple levels of available liquidity from the order book.

**Example:**\
If you market buy BTC and your order is filled across multiple limit sell orders ranging from $90,000 to $90,002, the slippage is **$2** — representing the difference between the initial price level and the highest execution price within your order.\
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These individual slippage values are then combined to provide three key metrics:

1. **Maximum Slippage:** The largest price deviation recorded in a single trade.
2. **Total Slippage:** The sum of all price deviations across trades.
3. **Average Slippage:** The average price deviation per trade.

These metrics are broken down into four categories:

* **Buy:** Slippage from buy trades.
* **Sell:** Slippage from sell trades.
* **Total:** Combined slippage from all trades (buy + sell).
* **Delta:** The difference between buy and sell slippage (buy - sell).

**Key Factors Influencing Slippage:**

* **Order Size:** Larger orders are more likely to consume liquidity at multiple price levels.
* **Market Liquidity:** Thin order books with low liquidity often result in higher slippage.
* **Market Volatility:** Rapid price movements can amplify slippage.

Slippage is a critical metric for assessing trade execution quality and understanding the cost associated with market orders, particularly in volatile or low-liquidity environments.