Take Profit / Stop loss (bracket) orders

“Take Profit / Stop loss” is available when placing Market or Limit orders on any Kraken Pro futures market. Also known as Bracket orders, this allows you to configure exit points (Take profit (TP) and Stop loss (SL)) before you submit an order to open a position (called the primary order): whether that means exiting the trade in profit, or, stopping out to limit losses. In this article “Take Profit / Stop loss” will be referred to as “TP/SL” for short.

With TP/SL, you can set either one, or two exit points from the position you are about to enter. If you place both a Take profit and a Stop loss: when one is triggered it’ll automatically cancel the other order. This functionality is known as One Cancels the Other (OCO).

Regardless of whether the Primary order executes partially or fully, it will trigger the TP/SL. The TP/SL ensures partial filling is taken care of by placing the same quantity of TP/SL as the primary order fills, making sure the position is always protected.

For trigger-based orders, you can choose which price will activate your take profit or stop loss orders by setting the conditional trigger signal to Mark Price, Index Price, or Last Price.

How to set Take profit / Stop Loss in a Kraken Pro derivatives market

On the Order Form when Market or Limit order is selected, you will see a new dropdown called Take profit / Stop loss, you can select a Simple, or Advanced mode:

When you select the Simple Mode, two fields labeled Take profit (TP) and Stop loss (SL) will appear. These allow you to specify the exact prices at which you would like either of these orders to trigger or, you can set a % entry distance from your primary order price.

You have the flexibility to enter values in both the TP and SL fields if you wish to set both parameters. If you prefer to set only one, simply fill in either the TP or SL field and leave the other fields empty. Even if you leave both empty, you can still place your primary order without a TP or SL set.

After entering a value in either the TP or SL field, an estimated Profit and Loss (P&L) will be displayed based on your order quantity and the prices you've specified.

Switching to Advanced mode adds additional flexibility for traders looking to fine-tune their strategy. In this mode, a new dialog appears, giving you the option to trigger orders based on specific Profit and Loss (P&L) amounts.

In Advanced mode, you can apply Take Profit (TP) and Stop Loss (SL) orders to your entire position, the current order, or both:

  • •

    Entire position: TP/SL orders won't have a predefined quantity. When triggered, they will match your open position quantity, ensuring that your entire position is closed without leaving any remaining open positions on the chosen market.

  • •

    Current order: TP/SL orders will have the same quantity as your primary order. When triggered, they will close exactly the quantity specified in the primary order.

Advanced mode also offers additional order types like Take Profit Limit and Stop Loss Limit orders, providing more control over how your orders are executed.

You can apply TP or SL orders even after you’ve opened a position. To make this seamless, we’ve provided convenient shortcuts accessible from various points:

  • •

    Open Orders table

  • •

    Open Orders details (modal)

  • •

    Open Positions table

  • •

    Open Positions details (modal)

Simply click the Add TP/SL button in any of these sections to open the Advanced TP/SL Order Form.

When you access the form from the Open Positions table or Open Position Details, there will be a dropdown at the top that gives you the flexibility to:

  • •

    Set TP/SL for your entire position: Close your entire open position by setting TP/SL orders without specifying a quantity. When triggered, these orders will match the total quantity of your open position, ensuring it's fully closed.

  • •

    Set partial exits (Partial TP/SL): Decide to close only a portion of your open position. Specify the exact quantity you wish to close when setting up your TP/SL orders.

When accessing the form from the Open Orders table or Open Order Details, you can set TP/SL orders specific to your open orders. This lets you define exit strategies for orders that haven't been executed yet.

I want to specify a % distance from my primary order entry price

Current price of BTC Perp is 69,000 USD and I want to place a buy Limit order at 69,000 USD, I have already done my risk analysis and decided I want to Take profit when the price moves up 10% and Stop loss if the price moves down 5%, then I go ahead and select Take profit / Stop loss simple or advanced and specify my Take profit entry distance as +10% and Take profit price is automatically calculated to 75,900 USD, then I specify my Stop loss entry distance as -5% and my Stop loss price is automatically calculated to 65,550 USD.

I want to specify an absolute price for my TP/SL

Current price of BTC Perp is 69,000 USD and I want to place a buy Limit order at 69,000 USD, I have already done my risk analysis and decided I want to Take profit when the price hits 70,000 USD and Stop loss if the price moves down to 68,500 USD, then I go ahead and select Take profit / Stop loss simple or advanced and specify my Take profit price as 70,000 USD and entry distance is automatically calculated to +1.45%, then I specify my Stop loss as 68,500 USD and entry distance is automatically calculated to -0.72%.

I want to specify a P&L for my TP/SL

Current price of BTC Perp is 50,300 USD and I want to place a buy 1 BTC Limit order at 50,000 USD, I decided I want 100 USD profit and 50 USD loss, then I go ahead and select Take profit / Stop loss Advanced and choose trigger by P&L and specify my profit as 100 USD and Take profit price is automatically calculated to 50,100, then I specify my loss as 50 USD and Stop loss price is automatically calculated to 49,950 USD

I want to set only Take profit and specify a % distance from my primary order entry price

Current price of BTC Perp is 69,000 USD and I want to place a buy Limit order at 69,000 USD, I have already done my risk analysis and decided I want to Take profit when the price moves up 10% then I go ahead and select Take profit / Stop loss simple or advanced and specify my Take profit entry distance as +10% and Take profit price is automatically calculated to 75,900 USD, then I leave Stop loss fields empty and place my order with only Take profit and no Stop loss.

I want to set only Stop loss and specify an absolute price for my SL

Current price of BTC Perp is 69,000 USD and I want to place a buy Limit order at 69,000 USD, I have already done my risk analysis and decided I want to Stop loss if the price moves down to 68,500 USD, then I go ahead and select Take profit / Stop loss simple or advanced and I specify my Stop loss as 68,500 USD and entry distance is automatically calculated to -0.72%, then I leave the Take profit fields empty and place my order with only Stop loss and no Take profit.

Note: If your primary order has reduce only enabled, you will not be able to add TP/SL.

Need more help?