Zerodha just made a significant move in the Indian retail trading and algo space. With two major announcements in February and March 2025, Zerodha has revamped their Kite Connect API offerings, introducing a free Trading API for personal use and removing the additional ₹2000 fee for historical data in their paid Connect plan.
This is a significant move that lowers the entry barrier for developers, algo traders, and open-source platforms like OpenAlgo.
1. Kite Connect Personal API – Free for Individual Traders
In March 2025, Zerodha launched the Kite Connect Personal API, which allows individual users to:
- Place orders
- Track positions, holdings, and funds
- Use the API without paying any subscription fee
However, it’s important to note that the Personal API does not provide market data — neither live quotes nor historical data. This means users need to rely on external sources such as yfinance, NSE’s website, or commercial APIs for data.
“Kite Connect Personal gives you free access to your Zerodha account with all the essential features of Kite Connect, minus the market data (both real-time and historical).”
This offering is ideal for users who have their own source of market data or who are only interested in managing trades and portfolios programmatically.
2. Historical Data Now Included with Connect API (₹2000/month)
Until now, developers using Kite Connect had to pay separately for trading access and historical data — ₹2000/month each. But starting February 8, 2025, Zerodha has removed the additional charge for historical data. The standard ₹2000/month Connect subscription now includes:
- Historical chart data (up to 10 years of intraday data for NSE/BSE)
- Live market quotes via WebSocket
- Access to investing, trading, and reports APIs
“We’ve stopped charging for the historical data add-on on Kite Connect. All existing Connect apps now have historical data enabled by default.”
This brings tremendous value to serious algo traders and developers, particularly those involved in backtesting and signal generation.
Personal vs Connect – A Quick Comparison
| Feature | Personal API (Free) | Connect API (₹2000/month) |
|---|---|---|
| Order placement | Yes | Yes |
| Holdings, positions, funds | Yes | Yes |
| Historical data (iEOD, 1-min) | No | Yes |
| Live market quotes | No | Yes |
| WebSocket streaming | No | Yes |
| Suitable for | Individual, casual use | Algo, pro, and platform use |
Why This Matters
With increasing competition from brokers like Fyers, Angel One, Dhan, ICICI Direct, Shoonya, Paytm, Firstock , Aliceblue, and many other brokers offering free APIs, Zerodha’s updated pricing structure seems like a strategic move to stay relevant in the developer and retail algo ecosystem.
It also comes at a time when SEBI approves Retail Algo Trading, overall exchange volumes are seeing dips, and brokers are finding new ways to attract and retain active traders through better tools and data access.
Getting Started
To use these updated API offerings:
- Visit the Kite Developer Console
- Select “Personal” if you want free trading access without market data
- Select “Connect” if you want complete access including historical and live market data
- Register your app and start building with your API Key and Secret
Final Thoughts
Zerodha’s recent updates significantly lower the cost of building and running algorithmic trading setups in India. Whether you’re an independent trader, an open-source contributor, or someone building the next-gen algo platform, these changes offer greater flexibility at reduced cost.
Platforms like OpenAlgo stand to benefit the most, as they can now support both types of users — those who want a free setup and those looking for full-featured real-time access.
If you’re planning to integrate Kite APIs or want to automate your own trading system, now is the best time to start.
