By RamthaMedia Editorial Team
RamthaMedia Free eBooks · Second Edition · August 2026
Price: Priceless
· 16 min read
Preface
This book is for someone who has just opened, or is about to open, a trading and investing account and wants to know what actually happens after the login screen. It follows the first hour, the first week, and the months after — what changes as you trade more, borrow more, and eventually reach for more advanced tools. It does not replace the platform’s own help pages, and it does not predict returns.
What you can actually do here
Dhan’s support pages map out a lot more than logging in and buying shares — from watchlists and family accounts through margin, mutual funds and gold, to the tools traders reach for once the basic app stops being enough.
Before You Place a Trade
| Use | Who it fits | Where | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building a watchlist before risking money | First-time investors deciding what to track | Portfolio → Watchlist → add instruments to track prices without holding them | Kept as its own support topic, separate from Holdings The exact setup screen wasn’t part of what could be confirmed |
| Viewing a household’s holdings as one portfolio | Families managing more than one demat account | Portfolio → Family Portfolio | Its own support category, not folded into My Portfolio Each family member still needs an existing account |
| Checking whether the market is actually open before placing an order | Anyone trading around holidays or unusual sessions | Support → Market Session Status & Timing | A dedicated page separate from order-placement help Special or shortened sessions still need checking individually |
Placing and Managing Orders
| Use | Who it fits | Where | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setting an entry, target and stop-loss in a single order | Active traders who don’t want three separate orders open at once | Orders → Super Order | Documented as its own order category Exact field limits weren’t part of what could be confirmed |
| Placing an order under a T+5 settlement rule instead of standard delivery | Traders working with instruments that settle differently | Orders → order type → T+5 | Listed as a distinct order type, not a variant of a normal one Which instruments default to it wasn’t stated on the page read |
| Reading why an order failed instead of guessing | Anyone whose order didn’t go through | Orders → rejected order → reason shown | A whole support section is dedicated to rejection reasons Specific rejection codes weren’t captured in what was read |
Once Real Money Starts Moving
| Use | Who it fits | Where | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adding funds automatically instead of doing it manually each session | Regular traders tired of a manual step before every login | Payments → Fund Addition → AutoPay | AutoPay has its own page, separate from one-off fund addition Bank mandate setup steps weren’t confirmed |
| Keeping a running trade journal inside the account | Traders reviewing their own decisions, not just outcomes | Statements → Trader’s Diary | A named feature, not just a transaction log Whether entries can be exported wasn’t confirmed |
| Downloading a tax-ready report instead of building one from raw statements | Anyone filing capital gains at year-end | Statements → Journal P&L and Tax Reports | Kept separate from the general ledger download Format and coverage period weren’t confirmed |
Borrowing and Margin
| Use | Who it fits | Where | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buying more than your own cash covers | Traders wanting extra buying power on select stocks | Stocks → MTF | Site states a 5 Cr MTF funding limit on the login page Actual availability per stock or account wasn’t confirmed |
| Converting a leveraged position into a fully owned one | Traders who no longer want to carry margin overnight | Positions → MTF to Delivery Conversion | Its own conversion flow, not a side setting Timing rules for conversion weren’t confirmed |
Beyond Plain Equity
| Use | Who it fits | Where | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storing gold and silver bought at live exchange prices, with delivery to your door | Investors who want physical metal rather than an ETF | Products → Gold Vault | Described directly on the homepage, including storage and delivery Storage fees and delivery timelines weren’t confirmed |
| Applying for a new listing before it starts trading | Investors who want first access rather than buying after listing | Portfolio → IPO | Its own portfolio section, not folded into holdings Allotment mechanics weren’t confirmed |
| Buying listed shares outside the Indian market | Investors wanting exposure to companies not listed in India | Platforms → US Stocks | Announced directly on the login page as a new addition Currency conversion and remittance limits weren’t confirmed |
When the Basic App Runs Out
| Use | Who it fits | Where | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charting on TradingView while trading with a Dhan account | Chart-heavy traders who already use TradingView | Login → Dhan + TradingView | Its own login option, not a plug-in inside the main app Whether every order type carries over wasn’t confirmed |
| Building or running an automated trading strategy | Traders and developers writing their own rules | Login → DhanHQ | Positioned on the login page as a separate terminal for API access Specific endpoints and rate limits weren’t confirmed |
| Trading from a screen built around derivatives rather than general investing | Options traders who find the main app too general-purpose | Login → Options Trader | Its own login destination, separate from Dhan Web Feature differences from the main terminal weren’t confirmed |
Chapter 1
The First Hour: Choosing How You Log Into Dhan
A person has just decided to open a trading and investment account and lands on the login page expecting one obvious button. Instead there are five separate doors — Dhan Web, Options Trader, Dhan with TradingView, ScanX, and DhanHQ — and no indication yet of which one leads where.
The page describes itself as built for “everyone from Scalpers to Investors,” which is about as close as it comes to explaining why there are several logins instead of one. Someone planning to hold shares for years and someone planning to close a position within minutes are being pointed toward different starting screens before either has placed a single order.
Dhan Web works as the general terminal, the one most new accounts default to. Options Trader is kept as its own destination, built around derivatives rather than general investing. Dhan with TradingView pairs the account directly with an outside charting tool at the login stage itself, not as something added later. ScanX gets its own login too, which hints that screening for stocks is treated as a separate habit from placing an order. DhanHQ, labelled on the page as “the Trading Terminal,” is aimed at anyone planning to trade through code rather than by hand.
None of this has to be decided before opening an account. The account itself carries no yearly maintenance charge for as long as it stays open, according to the pricing page, so looking around costs nothing beyond the time spent doing it. The broker behind it is registered with the market regulator and holds membership across the country’s major stock and commodity exchanges — worth knowing before entering payment details, even if it’s not something to check daily. And the first time this happens on a new device, there’s a quieter option than typing a password: a QR code, scanned from the side menu of the mobile app, logs a session in directly.
Once logged in, the instinct is to go looking for something to buy. The more useful first move is quieter than that, and it’s where the next stretch of time is best spent before any money actually moves.
Chapter 2
The First Week: Watchlists, Timing, and Getting Organised
There’s money in the account now, and no position yet — which is exactly the point at which most people either buy something too quickly or stall completely. The screens worth opening first aren’t the order screens at all.
Watchlist sits apart from Holdings as its own support topic, which is a small but telling design choice: watching and owning are treated as two different habits, not one screen doing both jobs. Adding instruments here costs nothing and commits to nothing, which makes it the natural place to spend the first few days.
Anyone managing money for more than themselves will eventually run into Family Portfolio, filed under Portfolio and Investments as its own category rather than a setting inside an individual account. It exists specifically for households where one person tracks accounts belonging to a spouse, a parent, or an adult child, side by side, instead of switching logins to check each one.
There’s also a page most people never think to look for: SafeKeep, sitting in the same support section as My Portfolio and Sold Portfolio but distinct from both. Its name gives little away, which is usually a sign worth pausing on rather than skipping past — long-term holders in particular may want to understand what it sets aside before assuming their default portfolio view covers everything.
Before the first order goes in, one more habit is worth building: checking market session status and timing rather than assuming the market behaves the same way every day. Holidays and shortened sessions are common enough that Dhan gives the topic its own support page, separate from anything about placing an order itself.
With a watchlist built and the household’s accounts, if there are any, mapped out, the next question is no longer what to look at — it’s what actually happens the moment an order is placed.
Chapter 3
The First Trades: Order Types, Rejections, and Exits
The order screen looks simple until the dropdown for order type opens, and suddenly there are more options than a first-time trader expected to choose between.
One of them, Super Order, is documented as its own category rather than a variant of a standard order — built around setting an entry, a target, and a stop-loss together, in one form, instead of placing three separate orders and hoping they behave. For someone who wants to walk away from the screen with the exit already decided, this is the option worth understanding before the position is open, not after.
Another, T+5, is listed as a distinct order type tied to a settlement rule rather than the usual delivery timeline. It’s easy to miss entirely if the order-type dropdown is skimmed rather than read, and the support page treats it as separate enough from ordinary orders that assuming it behaves the same way would be a mistake.
Sooner or later, an order won’t go through. Dhan gives order rejections their own dedicated support section, distinct from placement help — a sign that rejections happen often enough on any trading platform to need explaining on their own terms rather than as an afterthought. Reading the stated reason before retrying saves more time than guessing at what went wrong.
Positions also carry their own exit tool: P&L Exit, which closes a position once a stated profit or loss level is reached rather than requiring someone to watch the screen and act manually. Used well, it’s less about predicting the market and more about not having to sit in front of it all day.
Trading regularly is one thing. What shows up a few weeks later — statements, ledgers, and the quiet cost of doing this every day — is another, and it’s where attention needs to shift next.
Chapter 4
The Month the Costs Start: Pricing, Statements, and Fund Flow
A month in, the account no longer feels new. Funds have gone in more than once, a handful of trades have closed, and the first question that used to be “what should I buy” has quietly turned into “what is this actually costing me, and where do I check.”
Adding funds manually before every session gets old quickly, which is presumably why AutoPay for fund transfers exists as its own support topic, separate from a one-off fund addition. Setting up a standing instruction once removes a small but repeated piece of friction from every trading day after.
Three separate pages cover what happened to the money and the trades: My Ledger for the account’s running financial history, My Statements for periodic summaries, and — less obviously — Trader’s Diary, which is documented apart from both. Rather than another list of numbers, it reads as a place meant for recording the reasoning behind a trade, not just its outcome, which makes it worth opening even on days nothing was bought or sold.
Come tax season, the difference between a raw ledger and a purpose-built report becomes obvious. Journal P&L and Tax Reports is kept as its own download, separate from the general ledger, specifically for the kind of summary a tax filing needs rather than the kind a trader checks daily.
One thing worth knowing early rather than discovering by surprise: settlement holidays affect when funds and shares actually move, and Dhan documents this as its own page rather than folding it into a general calendar. The account itself still carries no yearly maintenance charge, as stated from the very start — it’s the trading, borrowing, and fund movement around it that generates the costs worth watching.
Costs so far have come from trading with your own money. The next stage, for anyone who starts wanting bigger positions than their cash allows, involves borrowing — and that changes the maths in ways worth understanding before it happens by accident.
Chapter 5
The Point Where You Start Borrowing: Margin, Pledge, and MTF
There’s a stock a trader wants more of than their free cash covers, and the login page has already planted the idea: a stated 5 Cr MTF funding limit, advertised right there alongside the other new additions to the platform.
MTF — Margin Trade Funding — is the mechanism behind that number, letting a position be bought beyond what’s actually in the account. It’s presented on the Stocks side of the platform alongside Instant Pledge, which lets existing holdings be used as collateral rather than requiring fresh cash for every new position. Together, these are what turn a cash account into one that can take on genuinely larger positions.
Borrowing this way isn’t a set-and-forget decision. A position bought on margin can eventually turn into a longer-term hold, at which point converting it into a fully owned holding — rather than paying the ongoing cost of carrying margin — becomes the sensible move. MTF to Delivery Conversion exists specifically for this, documented as its own flow rather than a toggle buried inside the position screen, which means it has to be actively chosen rather than assumed.
There’s also a less obvious use of existing holdings worth knowing about: Rent Stocks, filed among the portfolio support topics under a name that doesn’t map to any term most equity investors already carry around in their head. It’s documented as its own topic, separate from every ordinary holding page, aimed at long-term holders who want their shares to generate something while they sit in the portfolio rather than doing nothing between trades.
Borrowing against your own portfolio is one way to grow what the account can do. The other is to stop treating the account as an equity-only tool in the first place.
Chapter 6
Growing Beyond Stocks: Mutual Funds, Gold, and New Markets
Someone who has been trading equities for a few months starts asking a different question: whether everything else — mutual funds, gold, a new listing, a company that isn’t even listed in India — needs a separate app entirely, or whether it’s already sitting inside the one they’re using.
Mutual funds turn out to be documented as their own full section: SIPs for regular monthly investing, orders for one-off purchases, switches between funds, redemptions, pledging fund units, and an AutoPay setup that mirrors the one used for regular fund transfers. The breadth of that section suggests mutual fund investing is treated as a genuine part of the account rather than a bolt-on feature.
Gold Vault is described directly on the homepage rather than buried in support pages: buying gold and silver at live exchange prices, then choosing between secure storage in the vault or delivery to your door. Both options sit side by side at the point of purchase, which means the decision between holding it as an investment and holding it physically is made once, upfront, rather than requested separately later.
For anyone wanting first access to a company before it lists, IPO applications are kept as their own portfolio section rather than folded into My Portfolio — worth checking before a listing everyone else only gets to buy after the fact. And for exposure beyond India entirely, US Stocks is announced on the login page as a new addition, sitting alongside the platform’s other trading options rather than requiring an entirely separate account elsewhere.
At this point, the account covers a genuinely wide range of what someone might want to invest in. What it doesn’t cover yet is the point where a trader wants tools the basic app was never built to offer — and that’s a different kind of growing up entirely.
Chapter 7
The Day the Basic App Runs Out: Scanners, Charts, APIs, and the Terminal
Months in, a trader who has built watchlists, placed Super Orders, borrowed on margin, and started a mutual fund SIP starts hitting the edges of the standard app — wanting a proper scanner, a familiar charting tool, or a way to automate a strategy instead of clicking through it by hand.
ScanX is offered as its own login destination rather than a tab inside Dhan Web, which points to screening being treated as a separate discipline from placing an order. Dhan with TradingView goes further still: logging in through that option puts trading inside TradingView’s own layout, useful for anyone who already thinks in that charting tool and doesn’t want to relearn a new one just to place a trade.
For traders who want to write their own rules rather than click through every decision, DhanHQ is positioned on the login page as the terminal built specifically for API and algorithmic access — kept apart from Dhan Web and Options Trader rather than added as a setting inside either. Options Trader itself remains its own destination too, aimed at a derivatives-focused screen rather than the general-purpose terminal most accounts start with.
One more page is easy to miss entirely: Super Trader Kit, filed under General support rather than anywhere near Platforms, where ScanX, TradingView, and DhanHQ actually sit. Its position there suggests it bundles or extends something rather than standing on its own, aimed at traders already using more than one of these tools who want them working together.
None of this is required to use Dhan well. If the goal is simply to buy and hold, the basic terminal covers that from the first login onward. If the goal is active, chart-driven trading, TradingView’s login is the natural next step before anything more complex is needed. If the goal is automation, DhanHQ is where that conversation starts — and if none of that applies yet, it’s worth knowing these doors exist without feeling any pressure to walk through them before they’re needed.
Questions readers actually ask
Does Dhan charge an annual maintenance fee on the demat account?
The pricing page states the demat account carries no yearly maintenance charge for as long as it stays open, described as a permanent feature of the account rather than an introductory offer — this refers specifically to the account fee, not brokerage or other charges.
Which login should I use — Dhan Web, Options Trader, or DhanHQ?
Each is its own destination from the login page rather than a setting inside one app: Dhan Web is the general terminal, Options Trader is positioned for derivatives-focused trading, and DhanHQ is described as the terminal for algorithmic and API access. Choosing one doesn’t lock out the others.
Can I log in without typing my password every time?
The login page offers a QR-code option, scanned from the side menu of the mobile app, as an alternative to typing credentials on a shared or new device.
What happens if my order gets rejected?
Order rejections have their own dedicated support section, separate from order placement help. The specific rejection reasons weren’t part of what could be confirmed here, but the page’s existence signals this is common enough to need its own explanation.
What is a Super Order, and how is it different from a normal order?
It’s documented as its own order category rather than a variant of a standard order, built around setting an entry, a target, and a stop-loss together instead of placing them as three separate orders.
Can my family’s accounts be viewed together?
Yes — Family Portfolio is a named section under Portfolio and Investments, kept separate from an individual portfolio view, though each family member still needs their own account.
Does Dhan let me buy US stocks?
US Stocks investing is announced directly on the login page as a newly added capability, listed alongside the platform’s other trading options.
How does Gold Vault work?
The homepage describes buying gold and silver at live exchange prices, then choosing between secure storage in the vault or delivery to your door — both options are presented as available at the point of purchase.
What is MTF, and is there a limit on how much I can borrow to trade?
MTF lets a trader buy beyond their own cash balance, and the login page advertises a raised funding limit of 5 Cr. Actual eligibility per stock or account wasn’t part of what could be confirmed here.
Can I convert a margin position into a normal holding?
Yes — MTF to Delivery Conversion is documented as its own process under the margin and pledge support section, separate from placing or closing an order.
Is there a way to invest in mutual funds without a separate app?
Mutual funds — including SIPs, switches, redemptions and their own AutoPay setup — are documented as a section of their own, suggesting they’re handled inside the same account rather than requiring a separate platform.
What is Trader’s Diary used for?
It’s listed under Statements and Ledger as its own topic, distinct from profit-and-loss or ledger downloads, pointing to it being a place to record trading decisions rather than just transaction numbers.
Can I trade using TradingView’s charts with my Dhan account?
Yes — Dhan with TradingView is offered as a separate login destination on the login page, meaning trading happens from inside the TradingView layout rather than the standard app.
Does Dhan have an API for automated trading?
DhanHQ is described on the login page as the terminal built for API and algorithmic access, kept separate from the standard web and mobile apps.
Everything above was read from Dhan’s own pages.
Open Dhan and try any of it yourself.
How this book was built
This book draws on Dhan’s pricing page, homepage, login page, and support pages covering orders, portfolio, statements, payments, mutual funds, margin and pledge, and platform-specific help. Most of these support pages could only be read as topic headings and page structure — the individual questions and answers underneath most of them were not part of what could be captured, and no tutorial pages were found on the site. Where a capability is confirmed only by the existence of its own support topic, this book says so directly rather than guessing at the screens involved. Numbers quoted from the login and pricing pages are reproduced as stated; nothing here is estimated or rounded.
Cover photo: Photo by Hanna Pad on Pexels. Illustrative image — not a screenshot of the site described.
