Dhan API Charges Explained (2026): Trading API, Data API & Costs

Short answer: Dhan's trading (order-placement) API is free, and the Data API — live market feed, quotes, and historical data — is a separate paid subscription of ₹499 + applicable taxes per month. This guide breaks down exactly what you pay for, what you don't, and whether you even need the paid tier for journaling your trades. (Charges verified 13 July 2026 — always confirm current terms on Dhan.)

Is the Dhan API free?

Dhan splits its API into two parts, and only one of them costs money:

• Trading / Order API — free. Placing, modifying, cancelling orders, and reading your order book, trade book, positions, holdings and funds. Dhan markets this as “Trade with Algo, Connect Apps, Build Services using APIs for FREE.”
• Data API — ₹499 + taxes / month. The market-data subscription: Live Market Feed (WebSocket), Live Market Quotes (snapshot), Historical Data and Intraday Data. It auto-debits from your trading ledger and renews every 30 days.

Dhan has at times offered free Data API access to active traders who meet a monthly trade threshold. That waiver has changed over time — confirm the current terms directly with Dhan rather than relying on any fixed number. Official reference: Dhan Data API subscription.

Trading API vs Data API — which do you actually need?

The distinction matters because most people asking about “Dhan API charges” assume they must pay to connect an app. They usually don't. What you need depends on the job:

• Placing orders from your own algo / a third-party app → free Trading API.
• Reading your executed trades into a journal or analytics tool → free Trading API (order book / trade book). No Data API subscription required.
• Streaming live prices or pulling historical candles into your own software → paid Data API (₹499 + taxes).

Do you need the paid Data API for a trading journal?

No. A journal reads the trades you already executed — that comes from the free order/trade-book endpoints, not the live market-data feed. CernoQuant connects to Dhan with read-only access and never needs your ₹499 Data API subscription. It also never places or redistributes live market data — it works only from your own executed trades.

How CernoQuant uses the Dhan API

Once connected (read-only), CernoQuant turns your raw Dhan trades into a real feedback loop:

• Real charge decomposition — Dhan shows a total; CernoQuant breaks every F&O trade into STT per leg, exchange fees, GST, SEBI and stamp duty so you see the true cost of each strategy.
• Strategy-level performance — win rate and expectancy split by strategy, not one blended P&L number.
• Expiry-day and time-of-day analytics — where your edge actually is across the session.
• Behavioural pattern detection — tilt, revenge trades and size-creep after a loss, surfaced by Atlas.

Broker charges change frequently — the figures above were verified on 13 July 2026 and are for informational purposes only. Confirm current pricing with Dhan. CernoQuant is a trading journal and analytics platform, not a SEBI-registered investment advisor. Trading decisions are your sole responsibility.