How to place an iceberg order on Kite
An iceberg order on Zerodha Kite is a large order that is split into a series of smaller visible legs, each of which is released to the exchange only after the previous leg has been filled. Other market participants can see only the current active leg in the order book; the total order size is hidden, which reduces market impact and prevents other traders from pricing against your large order. The iceberg order reference article explains the concept; this guide covers the placement procedure on Kite.
Why use an iceberg order
A large limit order visible in full in the market depth panel signals to other participants how much demand (or supply) exists at that price. Other traders may front-run the order by buying just ahead of a large bid and selling at a slightly higher price. By revealing only a fraction of the total quantity at any given time, the iceberg order reduces this information asymmetry.
Iceberg orders are primarily relevant for:
- Institutional and high-net-worth investors transacting in large quantities relative to average daily volume.
- Retail traders accumulating or distributing a position over a session without moving the market against themselves.
- Situations where the bid-ask spread is tight and maintaining queue position matters.
For typical retail quantities in large-cap liquid stocks, a plain limit order is sufficient and iceberg mechanics add complexity without benefit.
Understanding legs and leg size
An iceberg order’s total quantity is divided into legs. Kite enforces these constraints:
- Minimum leg size: Each leg must be at least 10% of the total quantity.
- Maximum legs: No more than 10 legs are allowed.
- The leg quantity must be a whole number (no fractions) and must be consistent with the scrip’s market lot.
Example: You want to buy 5,000 shares of a stock. You choose a leg size of 500 shares. That is 10% of 5,000, which satisfies the minimum leg size requirement. The order will have 10 legs (5,000 / 500 = 10), which satisfies the maximum legs constraint.
If you choose a leg size of 1,000 shares, the order will have 5 legs (5,000 / 1,000 = 5), each at 20% of the total, also valid.
If you choose a leg size of 400 shares, that is only 8% of 5,000, which is below the 10% minimum, Kite will reject this configuration.
Step-by-step procedure
Log in to Kite
Open kite.zerodha.com and sign in with your client ID, password and TOTP.
Open the order ticket
Locate the scrip in your marketwatch. Hover over the row and click Buy or Sell. The standard order ticket opens.
Select LIMIT as order type
In the order ticket, select LIMIT from the Order type selector. Iceberg orders are only available for limit orders, not market orders. Enter a tentative limit price in the Price field (you can adjust it in the next step before submitting).
Enable iceberg mode
In the order ticket, look for a More options link or an Iceberg toggle below the standard fields. Click it to expand the iceberg configuration section. Two new fields appear: Total quantity (or Qty, which you may have already filled) and Iceberg quantity (the per-leg size).
On some Kite versions, the iceberg option is displayed as a checkbox labelled “Iceberg order” or a dedicated tab alongside the regular order fields.
Set total quantity and leg size
- In the Qty field (or Total quantity if separate), enter the full number of shares you want to buy or sell (for example, 5,000).
- In the Iceberg quantity or Leg size field, enter the per-leg quantity (for example, 500). Kite will display the calculated number of legs (10 in this example) as a confirmation.
- Verify that: (a) leg size is at least 10% of total, and (b) the number of legs does not exceed 10.
Kite blocks the full order value from your available margin at order placement, not just the first leg’s value.
Enter limit price and submit
Enter or confirm the limit price in the Price field. This price applies to every leg of the iceberg order. Click Buy or Sell. Kite places the first leg as a limit order in the exchange order book immediately.
Monitor in the Order book
Navigate to Orders in the left navigation. You will see the active leg with its leg quantity as the displayed order. Each time a leg is completely filled, Kite automatically submits the next leg at the same limit price. The order book continues to display only the current active leg’s quantity to other market participants.
In the Kite order book, the iceberg order may show a parent order with the total quantity for your own reference, with child orders for each leg visible separately. The exact display depends on the Kite version.
What can go wrong
- Leg size below 10% minimum. Kite rejects the order with a validation error. Increase the leg size to at least 10% of the total.
- More than 10 legs. Reduce the total quantity or increase the leg size so that the number of legs does not exceed 10.
- Market moves away from limit price mid-execution. Later legs may not fill if the market moves beyond your limit price before all legs are executed. You can modify the limit price of the remaining legs (see How to modify a pending order on Kite), though modifying an iceberg mid-execution re-queues the active leg.
- Insufficient total margin. Kite blocks the full order value at placement. If your available balance is less than the total order value, the order is rejected even if the first leg could be funded individually.
Related guides
- How to place a limit order on Kite
- How to place a basket order on Kite
- How to modify a pending order on Kite
- How to read the Kite order book
- Iceberg order reference article
References
- Zerodha Support, Iceberg orders on Kite, support.zerodha.com.
- NSE India, Disclosed quantity orders, regulations, nseindia.com.
- SEBI, Circular on algorithmic trading and order types, sebi.gov.in.
- Zerodha Varsity, Advanced order types, zerodha.com/varsity.