Contents
All liquid funds compared
Largest fund first. Returns are for the direct plan, annualised, to 13 October 2026; for periods under a year they are simple annualised, which is how liquid fund yields are usually quoted.
| Fund | Expense ratio, direct | Expense ratio, regular | 7 days | 1 month | 3 months | 1 year | Average assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBI Liquid FundSBI Mutual Fund | 0.20% | 0.32% | 6.24% | 5.83% | 6.26% | 6.49% | ₹92,629 cr |
| HDFC Liquid FundHDFC Mutual Fund | 0.20% | 0.30% | 6.50% | 5.87% | 6.31% | 6.51% | ₹73,650 cr |
| Aditya Birla Sun Life Liquid FundAditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund | 0.21% | 0.35% | 6.72% | 5.99% | 6.40% | 6.60% | ₹71,052 cr |
| ICICI Prudential Liquid FundICICI Prudential Mutual Fund | 0.20% | 0.30% | 6.41% | 5.83% | 6.28% | 6.49% | ₹65,415 cr |
| Axis Liquid FundAxis Mutual Fund | 0.13% | 0.23% | 6.57% | 5.98% | 6.38% | 6.60% | ₹59,483 cr |
| Kotak Liquid FundKotak Mahindra Mutual Fund | 0.15% | 0.33% | 6.54% | 5.90% | 6.32% | 6.51% | ₹49,988 cr |
| Nippon India Liquid FundNippon India Mutual Fund | 0.20% | 0.38% | 6.54% | 5.95% | 6.39% | 6.57% | ₹44,216 cr |
| Tata Liquid FundTata Mutual Fund | 0.18% | 0.32% | 6.55% | 5.86% | 6.31% | 6.52% | ₹31,952 cr |
| UTI - Liquid FundUTI Mutual Fund | 0.15% | 0.25% | 6.54% | 5.90% | 6.34% | – | ₹30,165 cr |
| DSP Liquid FundDSP Mutual Fund | 0.12% | 0.21% | 6.65% | 5.95% | 6.36% | 6.57% | ₹26,732 cr |
| HSBC Liquid FundHSBC Mutual Fund | 0.13% | 0.22% | 6.46% | 5.87% | 6.30% | 6.49% | ₹23,171 cr |
| Invesco India Liquid FundInvesco Mutual Fund | 0.15% | 0.22% | 6.49% | 5.93% | 6.36% | 6.52% | ₹22,132 cr |
| Bandhan Liquid FundBandhan Mutual Fund | 0.07% | 0.23% | 6.42% | 5.85% | 6.25% | 6.50% | ₹19,832 cr |
| Mirae Asset Liquid FundMirae Asset Mutual Fund | 0.09% | 0.20% | 6.55% | 5.95% | 6.35% | 6.45% | ₹16,252 cr |
| LIC MF Liquid FundLIC Mutual Fund | 0.13% | 0.20% | 6.29% | 5.90% | 6.23% | 6.50% | ₹16,177 cr |
| Edelweiss Liquid FundEdelweiss Mutual Fund | 0.10% | 0.17% | 6.56% | 5.97% | 6.37% | 6.56% | ₹13,846 cr |
| Baroda BNP Paribas Liquid FundBaroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund | 0.08% | 0.16% | 6.63% | 5.97% | 6.30% | 6.48% | ₹12,744 cr |
| JioBlackRock Liquid FundJio BlackRock Mutual Fund | 0.10% | 0.23% | 6.85% | 6.04% | 6.46% | 6.60% | ₹11,524 cr |
| Sundaram Liquid FundSundaram Mutual Fund | 0.14% | 0.36% | 6.40% | 5.86% | 6.61% | 6.59% | ₹8,648 cr |
| Union Liquid FundUnion Mutual Fund | 0.07% | 0.17% | 6.50% | 5.90% | 6.30% | 6.52% | ₹7,522 cr |
| Bajaj Finserv Liquid FundBajaj Finserv Mutual Fund | 0.08% | 0.28% | 6.48% | 5.90% | 6.32% | 6.52% | ₹7,424 cr |
| Canara Robeco Liquid FundCanara Robeco Mutual Fund | 0.08% | 0.17% | 6.68% | 5.98% | 6.32% | 6.49% | ₹7,118 cr |
| Parag Parikh Liquid FundPPFAS Mutual Fund | 0.11% | 0.21% | 6.53% | 5.91% | 6.29% | 6.47% | ₹6,725 cr |
| Franklin India Liquid FundFranklin Templeton Mutual Fund | 0.14% | 0.20% | 6.25% | 5.91% | 6.33% | 6.55% | ₹6,057 cr |
| JM Liquid FundJM Financial Mutual Fund | 0.16% | 0.26% | 6.68% | 5.89% | 6.30% | 6.42% | ₹2,066 cr |
| Bank of India Liquid FundBank of India Mutual Fund | 0.09% | 0.15% | 6.59% | 5.97% | 6.41% | 6.54% | ₹1,895 cr |
| Quant Liquid Fundquant Mutual Fund | 0.31% | 0.59% | 5.41% | 5.33% | 5.92% | 6.08% | ₹1,487 cr |
| Mahindra Manulife Liquid FundMahindra Manulife Mutual Fund | 0.15% | 0.26% | 6.57% | 5.88% | 6.45% | 6.54% | ₹1,392 cr |
| PGIM India Liquid FundPGIM India Mutual Fund | 0.11% | 0.22% | 6.42% | 5.90% | 6.27% | 6.53% | ₹1,190 cr |
| TRUSTMF Liquid FundTrust Mutual Fund | 0.10% | 0.25% | 6.40% | 5.82% | 6.32% | 6.46% | ₹1,153 cr |
| Motilal Oswal Liquid FundMotilal Oswal Mutual Fund | 0.20% | 0.41% | 6.01% | 5.53% | 5.86% | 6.13% | ₹989 cr |
| The Wealth Company Liquid FundThe Wealth Company Mutual Fund | 0.10% | 0.27% | 6.23% | 5.87% | 6.34% | – | ₹791 cr |
| 360 ONE Liquid Fund360 ONE Mutual Fund | 0.23% | 0.35% | 6.04% | 5.78% | 6.24% | 6.30% | ₹728 cr |
| WhiteOak Capital Liquid FundWhiteOak Capital Mutual Fund | 0.13% | 0.23% | 6.53% | 5.83% | 6.34% | 6.44% | ₹712 cr |
| Quantum Liquid FundQuantum Mutual Fund | 0.15% | 0.26% | 5.84% | 5.27% | 5.88% | 5.94% | ₹546 cr |
| Abakkus Liquid FundAbakkus Mutual Fund | 0.21% | 0.29% | 6.22% | 5.64% | 6.02% | – | ₹530 cr |
| Shriram Liquid FundShriram Mutual Fund | 0.16% | 0.29% | 6.53% | 5.72% | 6.18% | 6.36% | ₹371 cr |
| Groww Liquid FundGroww Mutual Fund | 0.11% | 0.21% | 6.61% | 6.07% | 6.36% | 6.53% | ₹365 cr |
| Capitalmind Liquid FundCapitalmind Mutual Fund | 0.11% | 0.31% | 6.55% | 5.88% | 6.33% | – | ₹109 cr |
| ASK Liquid FundASK MUTUAL FUND | 0.13% | 0.28% | 6.10% | 5.82% | – | – | ₹104 cr |
| Navi Liquid FundNavi Mutual Fund | 0.26% | 0.32% | 5.92% | 5.37% | 5.50% | 5.78% | ₹78 cr |
| Unifi Liquid FundUnifi Mutual Fund | 0.09% | 0.15% | 5.31% | 5.12% | 5.28% | 5.83% | ₹55 cr |
| ITI Liquid FundITI Mutual Fund | 0.16% | 0.24% | 6.44% | 5.59% | 5.85% | 6.16% | ₹52 cr |
Expense ratio: total expense ratio of the direct and regular plans as disclosed on 13 October 2026. Returns: Direct-Growth plan NAVs to 13 October 2026. Average assets: July–September 2026, all plans. All from AMFI. A dash means the figure is not available, for example because the fund is too young or its units were changed. The order is by size; it is not a ranking or a recommendation.
What is a liquid fund?
A liquid fund is a debt mutual fund that may invest only in debt and money market securities maturing within 91 days: treasury bills, commercial paper, certificates of deposit and similar short-term paper.
SEBI adds safety rules on top. At least 20% of a liquid fund’s assets must be in cash, government securities, treasury bills or repo on government securities. It cannot park money in bank fixed deposits, and it cannot hold structured-obligation or credit-enhanced paper unless the government guarantees it. As with other debt funds, it can put at most 10% of its assets in any one issuer, less for lower-rated ones, and at most 20% in any one sector, with some exceptions.
Because the paper matures so quickly, the NAV moves very little from day to day. Liquid funds publish a NAV for every calendar day, weekends included.
How liquid funds earn
Almost all of the return is interest on that short-term paper, so it follows money market rates, which track the RBI’s policy rate. When the RBI raises rates, liquid fund yields rise within weeks as old paper matures and new paper is bought at higher rates; when it cuts, they fall. The RBI raised the repo rate to 5.50% on 7 October 2026 (what changed).
The 7-day and 1-month figures in the table are short-term yields, annualised, and move around more than the 1-year figure. Small differences between funds over a week mean little.
When a liquid fund makes sense
- Money you may need at short notice: an emergency fund, or cash set aside for a payment in the coming weeks or months.
- Parking money between investments: for example while you move a lump sum into equity funds in instalments.
- Not for long-term goals: the return follows short-term interest rates, well below what growth assets such as equity aim for over many years, though with far less risk.
Compared with a savings account, a liquid fund usually earns more, but it is not a bank deposit: there is no deposit insurance and no guaranteed return. Compared with a fixed deposit, there is no fixed rate and no lock-in; you can withdraw on any business day.
Exit load, which NAV you get, and instant redemption
Exit load
If you redeem within 7 days of investing, a small graded exit load applies, the same at every fund house: 0.0070% on day 1, falling by 0.0005 percentage points a day to 0.0045% on day 6, and nothing from day 7. On ₹1 lakh redeemed the day after investing, that is ₹7.
Which NAV applies
- Investing: if both your application and your money reach the fund by 1:30 pm on a business day, you get the closing NAV of the previous day. If either arrives later, you get the NAV of the day before the next business day on which the money is available.
- Redeeming: requests made by 3:00 pm on a business day get the closing NAV of the day before the next business day; later requests get the next business day’s NAV.
Instant redemption
Fund houses may offer resident individuals an instant redemption facility online: up to ₹50,000 or 90% of your holding in the fund, whichever is lower, per fund per day. It is optional, so check whether your fund offers it before you rely on it for emergencies.
How liquid funds are taxed
Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, which applies from 1 April 2026, gains on units of a fund that invests more than 65% of its money in debt and money market instruments are treated as short-term capital gains however long you hold them, if you bought the units on or after 1 April 2023 (section 76). They are added to your income and taxed at your slab rate, with no indexation.
Units bought before 1 April 2023 are held to different rules: held for more than 24 months, they are long-term, and long-term gains on them are taxed at 12.5% without indexation.
For resident investors there is no TDS on capital gains when you redeem. Dividend (IDCW) payouts above ₹10,000 in a year have 10% tax deducted. Tax rules change; check your own case with a tax adviser.
Risks to know
- Credit risk: a company whose paper the fund holds can default. Liquid funds hold mostly high-rated short-term paper, but defaults have hit Indian debt funds before. The monthly portfolio on the fund house’s website shows what each fund holds.
- Interest-rate risk: small, because nothing the fund holds runs beyond 91 days, but not zero.
- Not a deposit: there is no deposit insurance and no guaranteed return; the NAV can, rarely, fall.
How to choose a liquid fund
- Direct plan: the same portfolio for a lower expense ratio. See direct vs regular plans.
- Expense ratio: liquid funds earn much the same, so cost is a large part of the difference between them. How the expense ratio works.
- What it holds: a fund that earns a little more than its peers often does it by holding lower-rated paper. Check the monthly portfolio.
- Size: in a very small fund, one large investor leaving can force the fund to sell paper early.
- Ignore the 7-day figure: it moves from week to week and says little about the fund.
Questions people ask
Over the year to 13 October 2026, the direct plans of 38 liquid funds returned between 5.78% and 6.60%, with a median of 6.50%. Returns follow short-term interest rates, so they rise and fall with the RBI's policy rate; they are not fixed.
It is low-risk but not risk-free. It holds paper maturing within 91 days and must keep at least 20% in cash, government securities, treasury bills or government repo, so its NAV moves little. But it is not a bank deposit: there is no deposit insurance or guaranteed return, and a default on paper it holds would cut its NAV.
Redeem within 7 days and a graded exit load applies at every fund house: 0.0070% on day 1, falling to 0.0045% on day 6, and nothing from day 7. On ₹1 lakh redeemed the next day, that is ₹7.
For units bought on or after 1 April 2023, gains are treated as short-term however long you hold and taxed at your income-tax slab rate (section 76 of the Income-tax Act, 2025). There is no TDS on capital gains for resident investors.
Many fund houses offer resident individuals instant redemption online: up to ₹50,000 or 90% of your holding, whichever is lower, per fund per day. It is optional, so check your fund. Otherwise redemption follows the normal NAV rules.
Related
This page is educational research based on AMFI data. It is not a recommendation to invest in any scheme, or personalised investment advice. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks; read all scheme related documents carefully. Past returns do not guarantee future returns. Registration granted by SEBI, enlistment with IAASB and certification from NISM in no way guarantee performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors.