Compare Nifty 50 and Nifty 500 over the same dates, using the same kind of return series. For an investor-oriented comparison, use the total-return index (TRI) for both, because it includes dividends. State the date range, return type and data source; index-point levels alone are not returns.
What Nifty 50 and Nifty 500 represent
Nifty 50: a 50-stock benchmark
NSE Indices describes Nifty 50 as a diversified index of 50 stocks. It has used free-float market-capitalization weighting since 26 June 2009. As of 30 March 2026, it represented 53.73% of the free-float market capitalization of stocks listed on NSE. That is a dated coverage measure, not a permanent property of the index. NSE Indices: Nifty 50
Nifty 500: a broader listed-market benchmark
Nifty 500 represents the top 500 companies by full market capitalization and average daily turnover from the eligible universe. NSE Indices reported that it covered 92.04% of NSE-listed stocks’ free-float market capitalization as of 30 March 2026. It spans more company sizes than Nifty 50, but remains a rules-based index rather than every Indian security. NSE Indices: Nifty 500
The provider’s broad-market hierarchy places Nifty 50 and Nifty Next 50 within Nifty 100, and Nifty 100, Nifty Midcap 150 and Nifty Smallcap 250 within the Nifty 500 structure. The hierarchy shows why Nifty 500 is a natural broader comparator; it does not, by itself, explain why the indices’ returns differ. NSE Indices: equity-index methodology, March 2026
Choose the return series that matches your question
Price return measures index-price movement
The commonly reported Nifty 50 level is a price index. Price-return series do not include ordinary dividend receipts. Use them when the question is specifically about price movement, and compare price return with price return for both benchmarks. NSE Indices calculates total-return versions separately. NSE Indices: index FAQs
Total return includes dividends
NSE Indices says dividends are reinvested in its total-return index. For an investor-oriented benchmark comparison, compare Nifty 50 TRI with Nifty 500 TRI—not one TRI with the other index’s price series. The provider advises investors in index stocks to benchmark against the total-return index to assess returns against the index. NSE Indices: Total Return Index
Compare the indices over the same period
- Define what you are measuring. For index performance, compare index series. For an actual fund, compare its NAV total return after fees with the appropriate benchmark TRI; an index’s return is not the fund investor’s realized return.
- Select the broader benchmark. Nifty 500 is the clearest broad-market counterpart to Nifty 50 in the official hierarchy described above.
- Set one start date and one end date. Use identical dates and aligned observations for both series. Keep frequency and currency consistent, too. The exact window and observation frequency are comparison choices, not a rule stated by the index provider.
- Match return types. Use either price-return series for both indices or TRI series for both. The investor-oriented comparison is Nifty 50 TRI versus Nifty 500 TRI.
- Calculate each return from its own matching index levels. For cumulative return, use
(ending index level / starting index level) − 1. Apply it separately to each index series. - For multi-year periods, calculate annualized return separately. Use
(ending index level / starting index level)^(1 / number of years) − 1, and identify the exact period. NSE’s November 2019 broad-market methodology gives the price-index return relationship; the formulas here apply to each consistently selected series. NSE Indices: broad-market methodology, November 2019 - Label the result. State the start and end dates, whether the figures are cumulative or annualized, the return type and the source of the index values.
Keep market coverage and trading activity distinct
The dated coverage figures help describe breadth, but they are not returns and do not predict which index will perform better. NSE Indices also reported that, over the six months ending March 2026, Nifty 50 constituents accounted for 29.24% of total traded value of all NSE stocks, while Nifty 500 constituents accounted for 84.07%. Those are trading-value shares—not market-cap coverage or performance figures. NSE Indices: Nifty 50 NSE Indices: Nifty 500
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Distinguish an index from an investable fund
An index series has no fund expense ratio. An ETF or index mutual fund tracking either benchmark can produce a different investor return because of fees and tracking difference. For a fund comparison, use the fund’s NAV total return over the same dates and compare it with the corresponding benchmark TRI; do not present the benchmark’s performance as the fund’s result.
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