Kite stock SIP overview
A stock SIP on Kite , Zerodha’s trading platform, is a recurring delivery purchase of equities or exchange-traded funds from a saved basket , placed automatically on a schedule the investor sets. On each scheduled date the SIP fires every order in the linked basket as a CNC delivery order in the cash market, using only the cash already sitting in the Zerodha account, with no minimum amount imposed by Zerodha and no fee for the feature itself.
The mechanism is the recurring layer wrapped around the basket feature. A basket is a saved list of cash-market buy orders; a stock SIP links one or more baskets to a calendar so the same orders repeat without the investor logging in to place them by hand. This makes it the direct-equity counterpart to a mutual fund SIP, but the two run on different surfaces and behave differently in ways that matter for funding, execution certainty, and tax. A stock SIP credits real shares and ETF units into the investor’s demat account at the day’s market price; a mutual fund SIP, run on Coin , credits fund units at the applicable NAV.
This article defines the stock SIP, sets out how it differs from a mutual fund SIP, explains the order placement and the schedule limits, and states the execution rule that catches new users: the SIP places an order only when the account already holds enough cash, and skips the cycle when it does not.
Conflict-of-interest disclosure. This guide is published by the WebNotes Editorial Team for informational purposes and is written independently. WebNotes operates a Zerodha account-opening referral programme, disclosed on the pages that carry the referral link; this guide does not carry it and earns no referral commission from the procedure described here.
What a stock SIP is
A stock SIP automates the basket order. The investor builds a basket of cash-market buy orders, names a SIP, links the basket, and sets a date and time for the schedule. On every scheduled date Kite submits each order in the basket. The orders are ordinary Kite orders: each can be a market or limit order with a quantity, routed individually to the exchange. The SIP does not bundle them into one atomic transaction; it triggers them in succession the same way a manual basket order does.
The feature is delivery-only. A stock SIP places CNC orders in the equity cash segment, so it buys shares and ETF units that settle into the demat account and stay there until sold. It does not place intraday MIS orders, NRML F&O orders, or commodity orders. The recurring buy is meant for accumulation, not for trading positions that square off the same day.
Funding comes from cash already in the Zerodha account. A stock SIP does not pull money from the bank on its own. The investor either keeps a cash balance in the trading account or sets up the e-Mandate facility on Console so the account tops up automatically before the SIP date. If the cash is not there on the scheduled day, the order does not execute, and the cycle is skipped.
How a stock SIP differs from a mutual fund SIP
Both invest a recurring amount on a schedule, but the instrument, the platform, the funding rail, and the execution certainty differ.
| Attribute | Stock SIP (Kite) | Mutual fund SIP (Coin ) |
|---|---|---|
| What it buys | Shares and ETF units, held in demat | Mutual fund units, held with the AMC and RTA |
| Platform | Kite, under Orders then SIP | Coin app and Coin web |
| Price | The day’s market price at execution | The applicable NAV per the cut-off rule |
| Funding | Cash already in the Zerodha account | AMC mandate that can debit the bank (e-NACH or UPI autopay ) |
| Execution certainty | Only if account cash is sufficient that day | Runs on the registered mandate unless the bank debit fails |
| Fractional investing | No; orders are whole shares or whole units | Yes; the full rupee amount buys fractional units |
| Minimum amount | None set by Zerodha; floor is one share’s price | The AMC minimum, often Rs 100 to Rs 500 |
| Brokerage | Zero on equity delivery at Zerodha; statutory charges apply | No transaction commission on Coin direct plans |
The fractional point is the practical divider. A mutual fund SIP of Rs 5,000 always invests the full Rs 5,000 because fund units are fractional. A stock SIP of Rs 5,000 into a single Rs 1,500 share buys three shares and leaves Rs 500 of intended investment unused that cycle, because the cash market does not trade fractions of a share. For high-priced scrips the gap widens; see minimum stock SIP amount on Kite for the per-scrip arithmetic and the way ETFs ease it.
The funding rail is the second divider. A mutual fund SIP debits the bank through the AMC’s mandate, so the money moves on its own. A stock SIP draws from the trading-account balance, so the investor must keep that balance funded or wire it through an e-Mandate on Console. A stock SIP will not reach into the bank by itself.
Order placement on each scheduled date
On the scheduled date and time, Kite submits the orders in the linked basket. The investor builds the basket with the scrip, exchange, transaction type buy, quantity, order type, and product code CNC for each line, exactly as in a standalone basket. The SIP then repeats that submission on every cycle.
Because the orders are delivery buys in the cash market, the cash requirement is the full order value: there is no intraday leverage on a CNC buy. The SIP checks the account balance at execution. If the balance covers the order, the order goes to the exchange and, on a fill, the shares settle to the demat account on the T+1 settlement cycle. If the balance falls short, the order is not placed and the cycle is skipped.
A stock SIP can hold a maximum of 50 SIPs per account, a basket can hold up to 20 orders, and up to 5 schedules can run on any single day of the month, each schedule on its own time slot. The schedule window runs from 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM with a 30-minute interval between slots, and each time slot allows only one SIP on a given day. These caps shape how a multi-scrip recurring plan is laid out across baskets and dates.
No guarantee of execution
A stock SIP does not guarantee that a cycle runs. The order executes only when the account already holds enough cash to buy the quantity set. This is the rule that most often surprises a new user who expects a mutual fund SIP’s certainty.
If funds are insufficient on the scheduled date, the SIP skips that cycle. The skip does not cancel the SIP; the next scheduled date triggers a fresh attempt against the balance available then. There is no carry-forward of the missed amount and no retry within the same cycle. The way to make execution reliable is to fund the account ahead of the date, either by keeping a standing balance or by registering an e-Mandate on Console that moves money from the bank before the SIP fires.
A holiday on the chosen date does not skip the cycle. If the SIP date falls on a non-trading day, Zerodha executes the orders on the next trading day. Corporate actions on a held scrip, a dividend, a bonus, a split, or a category change, do not automatically modify the SIP schedule; the investor reviews and edits the basket where a quantity or scrip is no longer appropriate.
Cost of a stock SIP
The stock SIP feature is free. Zerodha levies no separate charge for setting up or running a stock SIP. Each executed order is a standard equity delivery trade, so it carries the delivery charge schedule, not a SIP-specific fee.
On equity delivery at Zerodha the brokerage is zero. The statutory and exchange charges that apply to any delivery buy still apply on each executed SIP order: Securities Transaction Tax, the exchange transaction charge, GST on brokerage and transaction charges, the SEBI turnover fee, and stamp duty on the buy. For a small recurring ticket these are a few rupees per cycle; the figure varies with the order value and the exchange. See Zerodha charges for the current delivery rate card.
ETFs in a stock SIP
ETFs trade in the cash market like shares, so they sit in a stock SIP basket alongside equities and follow the same whole-unit rule. Their lower per-unit price makes them workable for smaller tickets where a high-priced share would not fill. NIFTYBEES tracks the Nifty 50, GOLDBEES tracks domestic gold prices, and LIQUIDBEES is a liquid ETF used to park cash; each trades at a unit price far below a large-cap share, so a modest recurring amount buys several units a cycle.
An index ETF stock SIP gives passive index exposure through a recurring delivery buy, an alternative to an index fund SIP on Coin for an investor who prefers to hold the ETF in demat and trade it on the exchange. The trade-off is the whole-unit constraint and the manual funding rail against the fractional, bank-debited convenience of the fund route. For the lot and minimum mechanics, see minimum stock SIP amount on Kite .
Where stock SIPs are managed
Stock SIPs live under the SIP tab inside Orders, on both Kite web and the Kite app. The tab lists every SIP, its name, the linked basket, the schedule, and the status. A reminder email reaches the registered email ID one day before a scheduled SIP date, and an intimation email arrives when a SIP triggers. To set one up, follow how to create a stock SIP on Kite ; to change the basket, amount, frequency, or to pause or delete it, follow how to modify a stock SIP on Kite . The frequency choices and how the execution day is chosen are set out in stock SIP frequencies on Kite .
Regulatory and platform context
A stock SIP is a Zerodha platform feature, not an exchange-recognised order type. Each order it submits is an ordinary cash-market delivery order subject to the full set of NSE and BSE trading rules and SEBI regulations: circuit limits, surveillance measures , and the trade-to-trade settlement constraint where a scrip is in that segment. A SIP order into a scrip that hits its upper circuit or is suspended for the day fails like any other order would, and that cycle is skipped. The SIP automates the timing and the repetition; it does not exempt the underlying order from any market rule.
See also
- Zerodha
- Kite (Zerodha)
- Basket order on Kite
- How to place a basket order on Kite
- How to create a stock SIP on Kite
- How to modify a stock SIP on Kite
- Stock SIP frequencies on Kite
- Minimum stock SIP amount on Kite
- CNC product code
- MIS product code
- NRML product code
- Market order on Kite
- Limit order on Kite
- Zerodha Coin
- Zerodha Console
- e-NACH
- How to SIP via UPI autopay on Coin
- SIP
- Demat account
- Settlement cycle (T+1)
- Zerodha charges
- ASM additional surveillance measure on Zerodha
- GSM graded surveillance measure on Zerodha
- T2T trade-to-trade stocks on Zerodha
- Circuit limits and price bands
- National Stock Exchange
- Bombay Stock Exchange
- SEBI
External references
- Zerodha support: How to create a stock SIP on Kite?
- Zerodha support: How to set up weekly, fortnightly, monthly or daily stock SIP?
- Zerodha support: Stock SIP category
- Kite by Zerodha
- SEBI
References
- Zerodha support, How to create a stock SIP on Kite? (as of 21 June 2026).
- Zerodha support, How to set up weekly, fortnightly, monthly or daily stock SIP? (as of 21 June 2026).
- Zerodha support, Stock SIP feature notes: delivery cash market only, funds in account, e-Mandates on Console, maximum 50 SIPs, no minimum amount, free of feature fee (as of 21 June 2026).
- SEBI (Stock Brokers) Regulations, 1992, for the cash-market delivery framework within which each SIP order is placed.