Most people learn to trade the expensive way. They open a broker account, finish KYC, put real money in, and discover what a stop-loss is after a bad day. We built StockYatra so the first hundred mistakes cost nothing.

The problem we started with

A beginner needs three things before risking money: a safe place to practise, lessons in plain language, and a reason to come back tomorrow. Paper-trading tools usually give you the first one and stop. StockYatra puts all three in one app.

The product choices that mattered

  • Free virtual coins, no KYC. Sign up and 10,000 coins land in your wallet. There is no demat or broker account to open, so a student can place a first practice trade in about a minute.
  • Three markets, one wallet. Nepal (NEPSE, in rupees), India (NSE, in ₹) and US stocks (in $) sit side by side. Comparing how different markets move is part of learning.
  • Real tools, not toy charts. Ten chart types and 46 indicators are free, with drawing tools and bar replay, plus position-size, risk/reward and compounding calculators.
  • Reasons to return. Weekly leagues, a monthly Cup, streaks, chat and a community turn practice into a habit.
  • An honest line on prices. Practice prices are simulated to resemble the real markets, are for education only and may be delayed. We say that plainly everywhere, because a practice app should never pretend to be a broker.

The stack

StockYatra is a small number of well-understood parts, chosen so a compact team can ship fast and keep it running.

  • Mobile app: React Native on Expo. One codebase serves iPhone and Android, and over-the-air updates let us ship fixes without waiting for a store review.
  • API: Node.js with Express and MongoDB. Orders, wallets, leagues and lessons all live behind one API that the app and the web terminal share.
  • Live updates: Socket.IO pushes price ticks, fills and chat to every open screen.
  • Web: a browser trading terminal at trade.stockyatra.com on the same account.
  • Operations: an internal Next.js control hub for the team to run leagues, review the community and watch the system.

Lessons from building it

  • One wallet across markets is harder than it looks. Rupees, ₹ and $ trade on different calendars and hours. Market hours and holidays are handled in one place, so every screen agrees about whether a market is open.
  • Real-time is a product feature. A fill that shows up a second late feels broken even in practice. Pushing updates instead of polling made the app feel trustworthy.
  • Free has to stay free. When we added StockYatra Pro, practice trading, leagues, the Cup, chat and the community stayed free. Pro adds extras; it never puts the core behind a paywall.

What it means for the software we build for others

StockYatra is a live product Lacspace designs, builds and runs end to end. The same approach we used here goes into client work: start with the smallest thing that helps a real person, ship it in versions, and keep it honest. If you are planning an app with its own backend, real-time features and admin tools, book a free call.

Frequently asked questions

What is StockYatra?

StockYatra is a paper-trading app from Lacspace. You get 10,000 free virtual coins and practise buying and selling on three boards: Nepal (NEPSE, in rupees), India (NSE, in ₹) and US stocks (in $). It runs on iPhone, Android and the web with one account.

What is StockYatra built with?

The mobile app is React Native on Expo, the API is Node.js with Express and MongoDB, live updates travel over Socket.IO, and the internal control hub is a Next.js app.

Are StockYatra prices real?

Practice prices are simulated to resemble those markets. They are for education only and may be delayed or inaccurate, which is fine for practice and the reason no real money is ever involved.

Is StockYatra free?

Practice trading on all three markets is free, with no per-trade fee, along with leagues, the monthly Cup, chat and the community. StockYatra Pro is an optional paid plan (Rs 199 a month or Rs 1,499 a year; on iPhone it is an App Store subscription in your local price) that adds extras such as leverage, more alerts, more strategies and more Lumi AI questions.

Can Lacspace build something like this for my business?

Yes. StockYatra is one of the products Lacspace builds and runs. If you need a real-time app with its own backend and admin tools, book a free 30-minute call and we will tell you honestly what we would build first.