Price Variation
a.k.a. Execution variance
The gap between the price you expected when you placed an order and the price you actually got.
In plain English
The gap between the price you expected when you placed an order and the price you actually got.
Price variation is the difference between the price on your screen when you clicked and the price you were filled at. In fast markets, prices move between your click and the fill, so the result can be worse (or occasionally better) than you expected.
It is closely related to slippage. Some brokers publish execution statistics showing how often clients get positive versus negative price variation, which is a handy way to judge their fill quality.
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