About nine out of ten. SEBI’s FY25 study found that 91% of individual F&O traders lost money, and data for FY26, shared in a Rajya Sabha reply in August 2026, shows roughly 90% made losses.
The rupee figures are large. Individual traders’ net losses were ₹1,05,603 crore in FY25 and ₹91,685 crore in FY26. The average loss per trader in FY26 was about ₹1.16 lakh. Younger traders fared no better: 88.5% of traders under 30 lost money.
Why the odds are so poor:
- Small margin controls a large contract, so modest price moves create big rupee losses.
- Option buyers pay time decay every day, and most cheap out-of-the-money options expire worthless.
- Brokerage, STT and other charges add up quickly for frequent traders. STT on option sales rose to 0.15% from 1 April 2026.
- Many traders start with tips or social media strategies and no risk rules.
What the data does not say is that F&O is impossible. Traders who last usually treat it as a business: sized positions, written rules, and hedged strategies. But the base rate should make any beginner slow down and learn properly before trading with real money.
Read our analysis of why 9 in 10 F&O traders lose money. Risk management comes before any strategy in our options and futures course.