Market depth view on Kite
Market depth on Kite is the 5-level visible order book for a tradable instrument: the top five buy quotes (bids) and the top five sell quotes (asks), each with its aggregate quantity. It is what was historically called “Level 2 data” in the West. Kite renders the depth in a side panel on web and in the quote-screen on the mobile app.
How to open the depth panel
| Platform | Open path |
|---|---|
| Kite web | Click the scrip name in the marketwatch row, or use the keyboard shortcut F12 with a row focused |
| Kite mobile app | Tap the scrip row; the quote screen shows depth in the lower half |
The depth panel updates in real time during market hours.
What the depth shows
For every instrument, the panel has two columns:
| Side | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Bids (buy) | Five price levels above the current best bid, with cumulative quantity at each level |
| Asks (sell) | Five price levels below the current best ask, with cumulative quantity at each level |
Surrounding the depth, the panel also shows:
- Volume: Total shares traded today.
- OHLC: Open, high, low, close of the current day.
- Average price: Volume-weighted average price (VWAP) for the day.
- Circuit limits: Upper and lower circuit (price band) for the day.
- 52-week high / low: Highest and lowest price in the last 52 weeks.
- Bid-ask spread: Difference between the best ask and best bid.
Reading the order book
The depth panel makes it easy to assess:
Liquidity
A liquid scrip has tight bid-ask spread (a few paise) and large cumulative quantities at each of the five levels. An illiquid scrip has wide spread and thin sizes; a small market order will eat through multiple levels and execute at a worse average price.
Buy / sell pressure
If the cumulative bid quantity exceeds the cumulative ask quantity by a wide margin, near-term direction is biased upward (more buyers than sellers waiting). The reverse signals downward bias. This is a weak signal, not a reliable indicator; large orders are often broken up or hidden.
Order sizing for a limit order
For a limit order priced near the inside market, the depth at your price tells you how many shares can be filled instantly versus queued. If you intend to trade 10,000 shares and the cumulative bid at your price is 50, your order will sit in the queue until liquidity arrives.
Order sizing for a market order
A market order will execute through the levels until filled. The expected execution price is the volume-weighted average across the levels consumed. The depth panel lets you estimate slippage before placing the order.
Depth in the F&O segment
For F&O contracts, the depth follows the same 5-level convention. For deeply illiquid strikes (far OTM options on illiquid stock derivatives), depth may show only 1-2 levels with quotes, even during active market hours.
20-level depth
NSE introduced a 20-level depth feature for select segments, available on Kite as a separate product behind an additional subscription. The default Kite depth panel remains at 5 levels.
Depth versus chart
The depth panel and the price chart show different things:
- Depth = orders waiting at this moment.
- Chart = trades that have already happened.
These can diverge: depth shows future intent, chart shows past execution. Use depth for order placement; use chart for trend analysis.
Pre-open session depth
During the pre-open session (09:00 to 09:08 for equity), the depth panel shows the indicative open price and matching quantities accumulated so far. The actual opening price prints at 09:15.
See also
- How to use the marketwatch on Kite
- How to add scrips to the Kite marketwatch
- 20-market-depth feature on Kite
- Average price on market depth
- Day’s change in absolute and percentage
- 52-week high and low on the marketwatch
- Delivery volume percentage on the Kite marketwatch
- LTP under holdings vs marketwatch difference
- LTP difference marketwatch vs chart
- Limit order
- Market order
- VWAP
- Pre-open session
- Circuit limits on Indian exchanges
- Futures and options
- How to add F&O contracts to the marketwatch
- Kite Holdings tab explained
- Kite Positions tab explained
- Kite (Zerodha)
- Kite web
- Kite mobile app
- Zerodha
- National Stock Exchange
- Bombay Stock Exchange
- Order types in Indian equity
External references
References
- NSE India, Equity market data and order book, nseindia.com.
- Zerodha Support, Market depth panel on Kite, support.zerodha.com.
- Zerodha Varsity, Reading the market depth, zerodha.com/varsity.