IPO GMP vs Kostak vs Sauda Rate: What They Actually Mean (And How They're Different)

Why These Three Terms Get Confused

I still remember the first time someone quoted me a "Kostak rate" and I assumed it meant the same thing as GMP. It doesn't, and mixing the two up can badly misjudge what a quoted number actually promises you. If you've spent any time on a grey-market Telegram channel, you've seen GMP, Kostak, and Sauda thrown around like they're interchangeable — "the grey market number." They're not. All three come from the same unofficial, unregulated IPO grey market, but each prices a different bet.

Here's the short version before the detail: GMP prices the share itself. Kostak and Sauda both price your application — but Kostak pays out no matter what, while Sauda only pays out if you're actually allotted shares.

GMP — Grey Market Premium

GMP is the premium buyers are informally willing to pay over the issue price, per share, based on where they expect the stock to list. If an IPO is priced at ₹100 and the GMP is ₹30, the grey market is pricing an expected listing around ₹130 — a 30% listing gain, directionally.

• What it prices: The share's expected value once it actually lists on the exchange.
• Who benefits: Only investors who get allotted shares — GMP is irrelevant to you if you don't get allotment, since you never end up holding the share it's pricing.
• How it's estimated: Informal broker networks quote a price based on subscription demand, sentiment, and comparable recent listings — it isn't derived from any exchange order book.

Kostak Rate

Kostak is a flat, one-time amount someone pays you for your entire IPO application — not per share, and not conditional on anything. You applied, you're holding an application with an uncertain allotment outcome, and a Kostak buyer pays you a fixed sum right now to take over that application and its outcome, whatever it turns out to be.

• What it prices: The application itself, independent of whether allotment actually happens.
• When you get paid: Immediately, at the agreed rate — regardless of allotment. If shares are allotted, the buyer keeps the upside (or downside). If nothing is allotted, the buyer still doesn't get their money back from you.
• Who takes the risk: The buyer. They're betting that the fixed Kostak price they paid is worth it against the odds of allotment and where the stock might list.

Subject to Sauda (Sauda Rate)

Sauda is also a payment for your application, but with one crucial condition attached to the name itself — "subject to" allotment. The buyer only pays you if your application actually results in an allotment. No allotment, no payment, deal void.

• What it prices: The application, but only in the allotment-succeeds scenario.
• When you get paid: Only after allotment is confirmed and shares actually land in your demat account.
• Who takes the risk: You, the seller — you're the one holding an application that might result in nothing, in which case the buyer walks away and you keep whatever (nothing) you applied for.

Side by Side

A Worked Example

Say an IPO is priced at ₹100/share with a lot size of 100 shares (₹10,000 per lot), and the grey market is quoting a GMP of ₹30/share.

• If you hold and get allotted: Your lot is worth an estimated ₹13,000 on listing (100 shares × ₹130), an expected gain of ₹3,000 — this is the GMP payoff, and it only materializes if you're actually allotted and the stock lists near where the grey market expected.
• If someone offers you a Kostak of ₹2,500/lot: You take ₹2,500 right now and hand over your application. Whether you would have been allotted or not is now the buyer's problem — you're paid either way, but you've also given up any shot at the full ₹3,000+ GMP upside if allotment did come through.
• If someone offers you Sauda at ₹2,000/lot (Subject to Sauda): You only get that ₹2,000 if you're actually allotted. If you don't get allotment, you get nothing from this deal (but you also weren't going to get anything from GMP either, in that scenario) — you've simply pre-sold your allotment-contingent upside at a discount to the full GMP value, in exchange for certainty of some payout the moment allotment clears.

Sauda is typically priced lower than the full GMP-implied gain, and often lower than Kostak too — the buyer is only paying for the allotment-conditional outcome, and prices in that uncertainty.

Important: None of This Is Regulated

GMP, Kostak, and Sauda all operate in the IPO grey market — an informal, over-the-counter network of brokers and traders that exists entirely outside SEBI's regulatory oversight. None of these deals are executed on an exchange, none are legally enforceable through any formal mechanism, and none are officially recognized as part of the IPO process. They function purely on trust within informal networks. Treat every number here as a market sentiment indicator, not a guarantee — a high GMP has, historically, sometimes failed to hold by listing day, and grey-market deals carry counterparty risk with no regulatory backstop if the other side doesn't pay up.

How to Actually Use GMP (Without Overtrusting It)

• Track the trend, not a single snapshot — a GMP that's climbed steadily through the bidding window is a more meaningful signal than a single high quote on day one.
• Weigh it against subscription data — strong QIB (institutional) subscription alongside a rising GMP is a stronger combined signal than retail hype with GMP alone.
• Never treat it as a return guarantee — GMP is an informal estimate made before the stock has actually traded; the real listing price is set by the exchange on listing day, not by the grey market.
• Use Kostak/Sauda offers as an exit option, not a strategy — they exist mainly for applicants who want certainty (Kostak) or a discounted-but-conditional payout (Sauda) instead of waiting out the full allotment-and-listing cycle, not as something to actively chase.

Track It on TopFund

See live GMP for every open and upcoming IPO on TopFund's Live IPO GMP Tracker, check the Subject to Sauda rate directly on each IPO's own detail page where available, and review historical Listing Gains to see how past GMP quotes actually compared to real listing-day performance before relying on any single number.

My Take

GMP prices the share. Kostak prices your application unconditionally. Sauda prices your application only if allotment comes through. All three are informal, unregulated grey-market indicators — fine as a directional read on sentiment, never something I'd treat as a guaranteed outcome. Know which one you're actually looking at before you let a number talk you into anything.