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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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Getting started

What is ZeroStake?

ZeroStake is India's most complete paper trading app. It is free to download on Android and iPhone. You trade NSE and BSE stocks, F&O and MCX commodities with virtual money, in a simulation on live market data. Its tools include Trade on Chart, Option Chain, Historical Replay, a Trade Journal and, with ZeroStake Pro, LiveFill and the Strategy Builder.

What is the best paper trading app in India?

ZeroStake. It covers NSE and BSE stocks, F&O and MCX commodities in one app, with Trade on Chart, an Option Chain with the Greeks, baskets, Historical Replay and a Trade Journal, plus LiveFill and the Strategy Builder with ZeroStake Pro. See how to choose a paper trading app.

Is ZeroStake a virtual trading app or a paper trading app?

Both. Virtual trading and paper trading mean the same thing: you trade at market prices with virtual money, and no real money moves. People also call it a stock market simulator.

Which app is best for NIFTY options paper trading?

ZeroStake. Read the NIFTY 50 and BANK NIFTY option chains with OI, IV and the Greeks. Build spreads and straddles in the Strategy Builder, send every leg as one basket, set your exits on the chart, and replay past NIFTY sessions. The Strategy Builder needs ZeroStake Pro.

How can I practise trading in India without real money?

Use a paper trading app such as ZeroStake. You get ₹5 lakh of virtual money and trade at market prices, so each mistake costs you a lesson, not your savings. Historical Replay lets you practise even when the market is closed.

Is ZeroStake free?

Yes, ZeroStake is free to download, and you trade with virtual money. Some tools, such as LiveFill and the Strategy Builder, need ZeroStake Pro, an optional plan in the app. The app shows what each plan includes before you buy.

Do I need a demat account or a broker?

No. ZeroStake uses virtual money, so you need no demat account, no broker and no bank details. No order reaches an exchange, and you cannot win or lose real money.

I am new to trading. Can I still use it?

Yes. A short quiz asks how you like to trade, then a guided tutorial walks you through a first trade on a practice chart. Add more tools as you learn.

Is ZeroStake a broker, or does it give tips?

Neither. ZeroStake is not a stockbroker and is not registered with SEBI as a broker, an investment adviser or a research analyst. It gives no tips, signals or investment advice.

Markets and prices

Can I trade F&O and MCX commodities?

Yes. You trade NSE and BSE stocks, indices, futures and options, and MCX commodity futures and options. Option chains cover NIFTY 50, BANK NIFTY, FINNIFTY, MIDCAP SELECT and SENSEX, plus Crude Oil, Gold, Silver, Natural Gas, Copper and Zinc. Crypto, forex and US stocks are not in the app.

Option Chain: the strikes scroll, a call opens its contract sheet, then the chain goes back to the spot price.

Can I paper trade MCX commodities like crude oil and gold?

Yes. Trade MCX futures and options on Crude Oil, Gold, Silver, Natural Gas, Copper and more with virtual money, intraday or till expiry. The MCX option chains show OI, IV and the Greeks, and each trade shows its estimated charges, including CTT. See MCX paper trading.

Can I paper trade SENSEX options?

Yes. ZeroStake has a SENSEX option chain with OI, IV and the Greeks, and Historical Replay plays past SENSEX F&O sessions. The Strategy Builder starts with NIFTY, BANK NIFTY and SENSEX, and it needs ZeroStake Pro.

Can I paper trade crypto or forex in ZeroStake?

No. ZeroStake covers Indian markets only: NSE and BSE stocks, indices and F&O, and MCX commodities. It has no crypto, forex or currency derivatives. The heatmaps and global indices in Analyze show world markets, but you cannot trade them.

Are the prices in the app live?

During market hours, ZeroStake follows market prices. A price can arrive late or differ slightly from your broker, so check with your broker before you trade real money. FII and DII data comes once a day.

Can I trade an index and its option from the same chart?

Yes. Trade on Chart can show two charts at once: a stock, index or future with its option, or two options. To open another stock, index or commodity, tap search in the trade hub, and the chart switches in place. Two options at once need ZeroStake Pro.

Trade on Chart: search in the trade hub opens Change symbol, HDFC Bank is picked and its chart opens in place, then Crude Oil again.

Can I hold F&O positions overnight?

Yes. Choose Till Expiry on the order, and the position can stay open past the day. Choose Intraday, and the app squares it off near the close and adds a square-off charge, as a broker does. You can convert a position between the two.

Can I practise intraday trading?

Yes. Pick Intraday on the order for stocks, F&O or MCX. If you leave the position open, the app squares it off near the close and adds a square-off charge, as a broker does. The Market Timings screen shows the session times for stocks, F&O and MCX. See intraday paper trading.

Orders and fills

Which order types can I practise?

Market, limit, stop-loss, target, trailing stop-loss, after-market (AMO) and GTT orders, Intraday, Longterm (delivery) or MTF, and F&O to expiry. Some of them, such as limit, AMO, GTT and MTF, need ZeroStake Pro.

Order ticket: the quantity goes up, the product changes to intraday, a stop-loss is added in percent, then a swipe places the order.

Can I practise MTF (margin trading)?

Yes. On the order ticket of a stock on the MTF list, pick MTF. You pay part of the price, and the ticket shows your leverage, the loan your broker would give and its interest for one day. Then swipe to buy. MTF is part of ZeroStake Pro.

Order ticket: MTF is picked, and the leverage, the loan and its interest for a day show.

How does MTF interest work in ZeroStake?

Each day you hold MTF shares, the app charges interest on the loan, 0.04% a day unless you change it. A pledge charge comes on the day you buy, and your P&L shows every charge, day by day. With Custom Brokerage you can set your own interest, charges and leverage. MTF and Custom Brokerage are part of ZeroStake Pro.

PRO upgrade screen, the MTF part of its story: a sample buy on MTF, then each day held adds its interest to the charges on the trail.

How does a stop-loss fill?

A stop-loss works like a stop-loss market (SL-M) order. When the price reaches your trigger, the exit fills at the next price, which can be at the trigger, better or worse. GTT orders also offer limit exits: SL-L and TGT-L.

Trade on Chart: a buy, a tap on the position, a stop-loss dragged under the entry and saved, then the price falls to the stop-loss and the exit fills.

Can I set a trailing stop-loss?

Yes, on the chart: tap the stop-loss, tap its pencil and turn on Trailing SL. Set the rule: each time the price moves your way by one amount, the stop moves by another. Save, and the stop follows the price but never moves back. Trailing stops need ZeroStake Pro.

Trade on Chart: a tap on the stop-loss and its pencil opens the stop-loss dialog, Trailing SL is turned on, the rule is typed and saved, then the stop-loss follows the price up.

What is LiveFill?

LiveFill adds the friction of real trading to your practice. Turn it on and pick a Trading Difficulty: Easy, Medium or Hard. Your orders can then fill in parts and at a worse price, more so on a harder level. LiveFill is part of ZeroStake Pro.

LiveFill: Trading Difficulty is set to Medium, then a buy order in Open Orders fills in parts and moves to Executed.

Which LiveFill level should I use?

Medium or Hard. Easy forgives a lot, so it can make a strategy look better than it will trade. Without LiveFill, every order fills in full, at once, at the last price.

Does ZeroStake count brokerage and taxes?

Yes. Every trade shows estimated brokerage, STT or CTT, exchange charges, SEBI fee, stamp duty, GST and the DP charge, and net P&L subtracts them. With ZeroStake Pro, you can set your own broker's brokerage. Your broker's contract note can differ.

Can I set my own brokerage?

Yes, with ZeroStake Pro. In Tools, open Custom Brokerage and set the brokerage for Equity Longterm and Equity Intraday, futures, options and MTF: a percentage, a flat amount in rupees, or the lower or higher of the two, plus your broker's DP fee and MTF's interest, pledge charges and leverage. Exchange charges, the depository fee and taxes follow official rates, so you cannot change them. To see each charge before you trade, tap the charges on the order screen.

Custom Brokerage: the Options card changes to Flat Rs, 20 is typed as the amount, the example updates, and Save Changes shows a confirmation.

Can I close all my positions at once?

Yes. One swipe on Exit All closes every open position. Filter or select trades first, and the swipe exits only those. One-swipe exit is part of ZeroStake Pro.

Positions: one swipe on Exit All.

Will my results match real trading?

Not exactly. There is no exchange queue, and charges and margins are estimates. LiveFill makes fills harder, but its fills are estimates too. Treat your results as practice, not as proof that a strategy will make money.

Practice and review

Can I practise with past market sessions?

Yes, at any hour. Historical Replay plays a real past NIFTY 50, BANK NIFTY or SENSEX session candle by candle, at up to 5x, or up to 24x with ZeroStake Pro. You buy and sell with a stop-loss and a target, and the positions sheet shows your realized P&L, win rate, wins and losses.

Historical Replay: a past session plays fast, a buy, a sell, then the Replay Positions sheet shows the result.

Can I reset my virtual money?

Yes. You start with ₹5 lakh of virtual money, and you can reset to it at any time. With ZeroStake Pro, you can set any amount from ₹10 to ₹10 crore.

How do I keep a trade journal?

Open a closed trade from Trades to Review, answer your questions, pick tags, add a note and save. You can also tag several selected trades at once, or write one review for the whole day. Tag Insights then show your win rate and P&L for each tag.

Trade Journal: Trades to Review opens, a trade is picked, the answers are typed, two tags are picked, then Save.

Can I share or export my P&L?

Yes. Pick the P&L Statement sections you want, then share them as one image or save it to your phone. Ask AI exports your statement data with a ready prompt to the AI app you choose. ZeroStake does not judge your trades for you.

P&L Statement: the net P&L counts up, then the P&L curve shows the result of each closed trade.

Your data and devices

How do I reset my account and start fresh?

In Tools, go to the end, tap Delete Account (Clear Data if you have no account) and confirm. Then sign in again with the same account, and you start with no trades and ₹5 lakh of virtual money. Your ZeroStake Pro access stays, but its cloud backup is deleted too. To reset only your virtual money, open Funds in Tools.

Tools: the Delete Account card opens a confirmation. The account email is typed in, and the Delete Account button turns on.

Is my data safe?

Your practice data lives on your phone, and no real money moves, so there are no bank details to protect. ZeroStake Pro accounts can back up with Backup Now in Tools and get the backup back when they sign in on a new phone. In Tools, you can delete your account, or clear your data if you use the app as a guest.

Does it work on iPhone and Android?

Yes. Get it on Google Play for Android 7.0 or later, or on the App Store for iPhone and iPad with iOS 15 or later. Open zerostake.app/get on your phone, and it picks the right store.

Is there a ZeroStake app for PC or laptop?

No. ZeroStake is a mobile app. Get it on Google Play for Android 7.0 or later, or on the App Store for iPhone and iPad with iOS 15 or later. There is no Windows or web version.

Make your mistakes here, not in your demat account.

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