F&O trading cost calculator: estimate charges before net P&L

This F&O trading cost calculator estimates futures and options charges and net profit or loss from your buy price, sell price and quantity. It uses standard NSE rates and built-in brokerage assumptions, with no broker, exchange or trade-date selector. Enter futures prices for Futures and option premiums for Options. Its total is a planning estimate; special fees, exercise settlement and your actual broker tariff need separate checks.

Enter contract units and lots in the right fields

Choose Futures or Options under Segment. Buy Price and Sell Price are rupees per unit of the selected instrument. Quantity (units per lot) is the contract's exchange quantity, while Number of Lots multiplies that quantity. The two quantity fields must not both contain the final number of units.

The form does not identify the underlying or look up its contract size. NSE's market-lot file checked on 15 October 2026 lists 65 units for October 2026 Nifty contracts. That does not validate the stored default for another series. Use the lot size reference tool alongside the exchange file when checking a specific contract.

The calculator assumes a matched buy-and-sell quantity at the entered prices. There is no order-count setting, broker plan, expiry date, volatility input or margin field. A multi-leg position with separately priced executions needs separate records rather than one combined index price.

Which charge uses which value?

STT means securities transaction tax; GST means goods and services tax. SEBI is the securities market regulator. IPFT means the exchange's investor protection fund contribution. NSE/FA/73061, dated 27 February 2026, changed the split between transaction charges and IPFT while keeping their combined outflow unchanged. This tool combines them in Exchange Charges instead of showing an extra IPFT card.

Futures value means price multiplied by units, rather than the margin deposit. Option transaction value means premium multiplied by units, rather than underlying index value. The dated charges log provides the supporting change history.

Brokerage here is an assumption, not your selected plan

For each side, the calculator uses the lower of ₹20 or 0.03% of that side's transaction value. It applies that rule to both menu segments. There is no way to enter a different brokerage rate or the number of separately charged orders.

For comparison, Zerodha's own tariff lists that percentage-or-cap rule for futures, but flat ₹20 per executed order for options. At small option premium values the calculator's brokerage can therefore differ from that published options tariff. Other plans and additional charges also need their own checks.

Do not describe this as a broker comparison. The F&O charges benchmark discusses named tariffs separately. The amount charged for actual executions comes from the applicable broker plan and account records.

Worked example: an October Nifty futures round trip

Assume a fictional buy at ₹25,000 and sell at ₹25,050 in an October 2026 Nifty futures contract. Enter Futures, Quantity 65 and Number of Lots 1. Prices are illustrative; the quantity is the exchange-listed October contract size checked on 15 October 2026.

Buy value is ₹25,000 × 65 = ₹1,625,000. Sell value is ₹25,050 × 65 = ₹1,628,250. Total Turnover is ₹3,253,250 and Gross P&L is (₹25,050 − ₹25,000) × 65 = ₹3,250. The brokerage cap applies on each side, giving ₹20 + ₹20 = ₹40 under the tool's formula.

The cards round each component separately while the total uses unrounded calculations. Adding the rounded cards can therefore differ from Total Charges. Breakeven Move displays ₹15 per unit in this example. It is the entered scenario's charges divided by quantity, rounded to whole rupees; it does not solve an exact future exit price because charges change with that price.

Costs this round-trip estimate does not settle

An option exercised at expiry is different from selling it at a premium. Exercise STT uses intrinsic value, the option's exercise value, and is payable by the purchaser. The page has no exercise category or strike and settlement-price fields. Read the STT explanation and examples when distinguishing those transactions.

There is also no funding-cost, collateral-shortfall, dealer-order, slippage or physical-settlement model here. Slippage means the difference between the intended price and the actual execution. Enter actual trading prices for a retrospective estimate, then reconcile any separately billed fees.

A zero option exit or a cleared price field is not safe input for modelling expiry: the formula can replace it with a positive stored price. Zero quantities can also be substituted. Review the resulting turnover after editing, and handle an expired worthless option through its actual settlement records.

Net P&L is after the charges modelled by this tool, not after personal income tax. In your journal, keep the broker's cost amounts and note any difference from the estimate. A small gross profit can still become a loss after actual expenses.

F&O cost calculator questions

Sources

• NSE STT circular for derivative transactions (checked 15 October 2026).
• NSE transaction charge and investor-fund revision (checked 15 October 2026).
• Zerodha F&O tariff and statutory-charge bases (checked 15 October 2026).
• NSE market-lot file by contract month (checked 15 October 2026).