Cheatsheet: Differences between US stock exchanges

Since US equities are fungible across exchanges, does it really matter where you trade? Our cheatsheet explores some of the key differences between the NMS exchanges, including:

• Primary listing venues. These are important for IPOs.
• Venues with auction imbalance data. These are critical for strategies like index rebalancing.
• Maker-taker vs. taker-maker pricing models. These offer different ways to achieve effective execution prices that bypass the sub-penny rule.
• Retail price improvement programs. These are designed to attract retail order flow.
• Extended pre-market and post-market trading sessions.
• Primary colocation site. These determine costs and infrastructure requirements for connecting to the venue.

Note: Exchange hours and other details change periodically. This cheatsheet was last updated in November 2025. Always double-check exchange documentation for the most up-to-date information.