The Nifty 50 tracks 50 large companies listed on the National Stock Exchange, while the Sensex tracks 30 on the BSE. All 30 Sensex stocks are also in the Nifty, so the two indices rise and fall almost in lockstep and have delivered nearly identical long-term returns.
This guide explains how each index is built, their base years and values, how free-float weighting works, where their sector weights differ and how much they overlap. It then compares returns over 5 to 30 years, the index funds and ETFs on each, the main milestones, and which one makes more sense to follow or invest in.
Nifty 50 and Sensex at a glance
Both are benchmark indices: a single number that summarises how the largest Indian companies are doing. NSE Indices Ltd runs the Nifty 50. The Sensex, short for “Sensitive Index”, is India’s oldest benchmark and is run by BSE’s index business.
| Feature | Nifty 50 | Sensex |
|---|---|---|
| Exchange | National Stock Exchange (NSE) | BSE |
| Number of stocks | 50 | 30 |
| Base date and value | 3 November 1995 = 1,000 | 1978-79 = 100 |
| Launched | 22 April 1996 | 1 January 1986 |
| Free-float weighting since | 26 June 2009 | 1 September 2003 |
| Reviews | Twice a year (changes effective end-March and end-September) | Twice a year (changes effective June and December) |
| Close on 30 September 2026 | 22,620.45 | 72,480.29 |
| Record closing high | 26,328.55 (2 January 2026) | 85,836.12 (26 September 2024) |
| Top sector | Financial services, 37.45% | Financial services (banks alone about 35%) |
The Sensex has a higher number simply because it started from 100 sixteen years earlier, not because it holds better companies. A 1% move in each is what matters, and that is almost always the same.
How stocks get in
Both indices pick large, liquid companies and review membership every six months. For the Nifty 50, a stock must be in the futures and options segment and must have traded at an average impact cost (the extra price you pay to trade a large order) of 0.50% or less for a ₹10 crore basket. The latest change took effect on 30 September 2026, when BSE Ltd entered the Nifty 50 and Wipro moved out. In the Sensex, InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) replaced Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles from 22 December 2025.
What free-float weighting means
Both indices weight each company by its free-float market capitalisation: the value of shares that are actually available to trade, leaving out shares held by promoters, governments and other locked-in holders. Bigger free floats get bigger weights.
Suppose a hypothetical company has a total market value of ₹8 lakh crore, and its promoters own 60%. Only 40% trades freely, so its free-float value is ₹8 lakh crore × 0.40 = ₹3.2 lakh crore. A widely held bank worth ₹6 lakh crore with no promoter would count at the full ₹6 lakh crore, so it gets almost twice the index weight despite a smaller total size. This is why widely held private banks dominate both indices.
Sector weights and concentration
The NSE factsheet shows the Nifty 50’s sector mix (as of 30 September 2026). Financial services take more than a third of the index.
| Sector | Nifty 50 weight |
|---|---|
| Financial services | 37.45% |
| Oil, gas and consumable fuels | 9.39% |
| Information technology | 7.52% |
| Automobile and auto components | 6.65% |
| Fast-moving consumer goods | 5.50% |
| Telecommunication | 5.10% |
| Metals and mining | 4.86% |
| Healthcare | 4.74% |
| Construction | 4.20% |
| All other sectors | 14.59% |
The Nifty’s five largest stocks are HDFC Bank (10.38%), ICICI Bank (9.05%), Reliance Industries (7.58%), Bharti Airtel (5.10%) and Larsen & Toubro (4.20%), together 36.31% of the index. In the Sensex, with only 30 names, the same giants weigh more. The portfolio of the UTI BSE Sensex Index Fund (as disclosed in October 2026) puts HDFC Bank at 11.84%, ICICI Bank at 11.39%, Reliance at 9.53%, Bharti Airtel at 6.11% and L&T at 5.17%, a combined 44.04%.
Banks show the gap clearly. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank make up 29.52% of the Nifty but about 35.45% of the Sensex. So the Sensex is a little more sensitive to banking news, and the Nifty spreads a bit more across metals, energy, pharma and hospitals.
How much the two indices overlap
Every one of the 30 Sensex stocks is also a Nifty 50 constituent (as of October 2026). That makes 60% of the Nifty’s names, but far more of its weight: the Nifty’s ten largest holdings, worth 52.27% of the index, are all Sensex members.
The 20 Nifty-only stocks are smaller within the index. They include ONGC, Coal India, JSW Steel, Hindalco, Grasim, Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors, Cipla, Dr Reddy’s, Apollo Hospitals, SBI Life, HDFC Life, Jio Financial Services and, since 30 September 2026, BSE Ltd. These names explain most of the small differences in returns between the two.
Why Nifty and Sensex move almost identically
With the same heavyweights and the same weighting method, the two indices are close to being the same portfolio. Using daily closing data from October 2016 to September 2026 (2,460 trading days), we calculated a correlation of 0.995 between their daily returns. A correlation of 1 means they move in perfect step; 0.995 is as close as two different indices get.
Calendar-year price returns show the same pattern. The gap is usually one or two percentage points and rarely changes the story.
| Year | Nifty 50 | Sensex |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 28.65% | 27.91% |
| 2018 | 3.15% | 5.91% |
| 2019 | 12.02% | 14.38% |
| 2020 | 14.90% | 15.75% |
| 2021 | 24.12% | 21.99% |
| 2022 | 4.33% | 4.44% |
| 2023 | 20.03% | 18.74% |
| 2024 | 8.80% | 8.17% |
| 2025 | 10.51% | 9.06% |
Small gaps can still add up over short periods. In early January 2026 the Nifty set a new closing record, while the Sensex stayed below its September 2024 closing high. Both have since fallen: on 1 October 2026 the Nifty was 14.8% below its record close and the Sensex 16.2% below its own. Read our explainer on what counts as a stock market crash to see how a fall of this size is usually classified.
Long-term returns compared
The figures below are price returns as CAGR (compound annual growth rate), measured to 30 September 2026. They exclude dividends, which add roughly 1 to 1.5 percentage points a year. NSE puts the Nifty’s total return since inception, with dividends reinvested, at 12.12% a year against 10.61% for price alone.
| Period to 30 Sep 2026 | Nifty 50 (start → end) | Nifty CAGR | Sensex (start → end) | Sensex CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 years | 17,618 → 22,620 | 5.13% | 59,126 → 72,480 | 4.16% |
| 10 years | 8,611 → 22,620 | 10.14% | 27,866 → 72,480 | 10.03% |
| 15 years | 4,943 → 22,620 | 10.67% | 16,454 → 72,480 | 10.39% |
| Since base | 1,000 (Nov 1995) → 22,620 | 10.62% over 30.9 years | 100 (Apr 1979) → 72,480 | 14.87% over 47.5 years |
Over 10 and 15 years the two are within half a percentage point of each other. The Sensex’s higher since-base figure reflects its earlier start, which includes the high-inflation, high-growth decades before 1995, not a better index. The five-year numbers are low because 2026 has been weak: the Nifty was down 13.43% for the year to 30 September.
Worked example: ₹10 lakh over 10 years
Suppose Meera had put ₹10,00,000 into each index on 30 September 2016, with no costs. In the Nifty: ₹10,00,000 × (22,620.45 ÷ 8,611.15) = ₹26,26,879. In the Sensex: ₹10,00,000 × (72,480.29 ÷ 27,865.96) = ₹26,01,033. The difference is about ₹25,800 on a ₹10 lakh investment over a decade, or roughly 1% of the final value.
Costs matter more than which index you pick. Suppose an index earns 11% a year before costs for 20 years. ₹10 lakh grows to ₹10,00,000 × (1.11 × 0.9995) to the power 20 = ₹79,82,070 with a 0.05% expense ratio, ₹76,68,628 at 0.25% and ₹65,94,221 at 1%. That 1% fee costs more than ₹13.8 lakh. Try your own numbers with our SIP calculator.
Index funds and ETFs on each index
You cannot buy an index directly, but you can buy a fund that holds the same stocks in the same weights. Far more money and far more fund choices track the Nifty 50, though large, low-cost options exist for both.
- SBI Nifty 50 ETF: India’s largest ETF, with about ₹2.16 lakh crore in assets (as of July 2026) and an expense ratio of 0.07% (Business Today).
- SBI BSE Sensex ETF: about ₹1.22 lakh crore in assets and a 0.05% expense ratio (Tickertape, 1 October 2026). Other Sensex ETFs from ICICI Prudential, Nippon India, UTI and HDFC charge 0.03% to 0.05%.
- UTI Nifty 50 Index Fund (direct): about ₹29,485 crore and a 0.25% expense ratio (Groww, October 2026), with SIPs from ₹500.
- UTI BSE Sensex Index Fund (direct): a much smaller ₹194.52 crore, with a 0.23% expense ratio (Groww, October 2026).
These are examples to research, not recommendations. When comparing funds on the same index, look at the expense ratio, tracking error (how far the fund’s return strays from the index) and, for ETFs, trading volume. Our guides on ETFs versus index mutual funds and the benefits of ETF investing go deeper. Both kinds of fund are taxed as equity: 20% on gains within 12 months, and 12.5% on long-term gains above ₹1.25 lakh a year.
Which should you track or invest in?
To follow the market, either index works; news channels quote both because they say the same thing. For investing, we’d lean slightly towards a Nifty 50 fund for three practical reasons: 50 stocks spread risk a little more than 30, Nifty funds have more choice and assets, and the Nifty is the benchmark for most large-cap and index funds, which makes comparison easier.
That said, a low-cost Sensex ETF is a perfectly good choice, and holding both adds almost no diversification. If you want broader exposure, add a different index such as a midcap or Nifty Next 50 fund rather than a second large-cap index. For how an index fund fits a plan, see our long-term investment strategies.
Checklist before you invest
- Pick one large-cap index, not both.
- Choose a direct plan or a liquid ETF with a low expense ratio.
- Check the tracking error over at least a year.
- Plan to hold for at least five to seven years, since both indices can fall 15% or more in a year.
- Use a SIP if you would rather not time your entry.
Milestones in the history of both indices
The dates below are the first close at or above each level, from daily closing data, except the Sensex’s 1,000 mark.
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 25 July 1990 | Sensex reaches 1,000 |
| 7 February 2006 | Sensex closes above 10,000 |
| 27 September 2007 | Nifty closes above 5,000 |
| 11 December 2007 | Sensex closes above 20,000 |
| January 2008 to March 2009 | Global financial crisis: Sensex falls about 61% from peak close to trough |
| 26 July 2017 | Nifty closes above 10,000 |
| January to March 2020 | Covid crash: both fall about 38% in ten weeks |
| 3 February 2021 | Sensex closes above 50,000 |
| 13 September 2023 | Nifty closes above 20,000 |
| 4 July 2024 | Sensex closes above 80,000 |
| 25 September 2024 | Nifty closes above 26,000; Sensex above 85,000 |
| 2 January 2026 | Nifty’s record close of 26,328.55 |
Common mistakes
- Comparing points instead of percentages. A 700-point Sensex fall and a 200-point Nifty fall are about the same 1% move.
- Owning both for “diversification”. With 0.995 correlation, a Nifty fund and a Sensex fund are close to the same holding.
- Judging the index by a five-year window. The five years to September 2026 produced about 5% a year; the 10- and 15-year numbers are nearer 10%.
- Ignoring valuation. The Nifty traded at a P/E of 19.36 on 30 September 2026. Our guide to the P/E ratio explains how to read that number.
FAQ
What is the main difference between Nifty and Sensex?
The Nifty 50 holds 50 large NSE-listed companies and the Sensex holds 30 on the BSE. They also have different base years and values (1995 and 1,000 for the Nifty, 1978-79 and 100 for the Sensex). Both use free-float weighting, and all Sensex stocks are in the Nifty.
Which has given better returns, Nifty or Sensex?
Over 10 years to September 2026 the Nifty returned 10.14% a year and the Sensex 10.03%, excluding dividends. Over 15 years the gap was under 0.3 percentage points. Neither has a lasting edge.
Why is the Sensex number so much higher than the Nifty?
Because it started from a base of 100 in 1978-79, while the Nifty started at 1,000 in 1995. The absolute number says nothing about performance. Compare percentage changes instead.
Should I invest in a Nifty 50 or a Sensex index fund?
Either works if the fund is low cost and tracks well. Nifty 50 funds offer more choice and spread money over 50 stocks instead of 30. Avoid holding both, since they overlap almost entirely.
How often do Nifty and Sensex stocks change?
Both are reviewed twice a year. Nifty changes take effect at the end of March and September, and Sensex changes in June and December. Usually only one or two stocks change at each review.
Ramesh Iyer is the pen name of the founder and editor of StocksInfo.AI, an independent investor in Indian equities, mutual funds and ETFs since 2020. Every article is researched from primary sources such as SEBI, AMFI, NSE and the Income Tax Department, and fact-checked before publishing. About us