The number
The 25 money market funds returned between 6.35% and 6.76% in the year to 1 October 2026. The median was 6.52%; the median liquid fund returned 6.47%.
All figures are for the Direct plan, Growth option, computed from daily NAVs to 1 October 2026. Returns over a year are compounded annual rates. For where money market funds sit among debt categories, see debt fund returns, overnight to gilt, where they came second behind ultra-short funds (6.53%).
How big is the gap between funds?
The best fund, Union, returned 6.76% and the worst, PGIM India, 6.35%. The difference is 0.41 points. On ₹10 lakh held for a year that is about ₹4,100, before tax.
The middle is tighter still. Nineteen of the 25 funds returned between 6.47% and 6.64%, a band of 0.17 points. Twenty of the 25 returned 6.47% or more, which is the liquid-fund median.
Compared with neighbouring categories
| Period | Money market | Liquid | Ultra short | Low duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | 0.52% | 0.46% | 0.51% | 0.43% |
| 3 months | 1.60% | 1.54% | 1.56% | 1.35% |
| 6 months | 3.65% | 3.28% | 3.61% | 3.40% |
| 1 year | 6.52% | 6.47% | 6.53% | 6.20% |
| 3 years (a year) | 7.37% | 6.94% | 7.23% | 7.34% |
| 5 years (a year) | 6.68% | 6.37% | 6.60% | 6.58% |
Median Direct Growth returns. Over a year the money market, liquid and ultra-short medians sit within 0.06 points of each other. Over three years money market funds are ahead of liquid funds by 0.43 points a year, and over five by 0.31.
Best and worst
| Fund | 1 year | 3 years (a year) | 5 years (a year) | Volatility | Worst 3-year fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union | 6.76% | 7.21% | 6.50% | 0.38% | 0.12% |
| LIC MF | 6.64% | 6.81% | n/a | 0.38% | 0.10% |
| Tata | 6.64% | 7.52% | 6.88% | 0.42% | 0.15% |
| Bandhan | 6.63% | 7.41% | 6.71% | 0.41% | 0.16% |
| Bank of India | 6.61% | n/a | n/a | 0.53% | n/a |
| ... | |||||
| JioBlackRock | 6.43% | n/a | n/a | 0.49% | n/a |
| SBI | 6.39% | 7.31% | 6.68% | 0.42% | 0.14% |
| PGIM India | 6.35% | 7.19% | 6.63% | 0.42% | 0.11% |
Rank on one year and rank on three years differ. LIC MF is second over one year but last over three (6.81%); Tata is third over one year and first over three (7.52%, with Axis next at 7.45%). Union, first over one year, is 20th of 23 funds over three (7.21%). A fund's one-year position says little about where it will be next year.
What the table shows
- The risk is almost the same in every fund. Volatility runs from 0.38% to 0.53% and the worst three-year fall from 0.10% to 0.19%. A choice between money market funds is not a choice about risk.
- Well-known fund houses sit all through the range. Kotak (6.57%), HDFC (6.55%), Aditya Birla Sun Life (6.54%), Nippon India (6.51%) and ICICI Prudential (6.51%) all fall in the middle band; SBI is second from last at 6.39%.
- Three-year returns spread wider than one-year. From 6.81% (LIC MF) to 7.52% (Tata) is 0.71 points over three years, against 0.41 over one. The longer the window, the more a small yearly difference compounds.
What this does not tell you
A gap of 0.41 points can disappear. The ranking over one year is a snapshot and the order changes from year to year.
Returns are not a promise. Money market funds hold paper that matures within a year, and their results follow short-term interest rates, which change.
Direct plans only. Regular plans carry a higher expense ratio and return less.
A few funds are young. Bank of India's and JioBlackRock's funds have no three-year record yet.
Where to go from here
The money market fund category page ranks every fund on these measures. For the same comparison in the next category down, read our liquid fund returns post, and for the difference between overnight and liquid funds, overnight vs liquid funds. The guide to overnight, liquid and ultra-short funds explains the differences in what they hold.
Frequently asked questions
How much did money market funds return in the last year?
The median money market fund (Direct plan, Growth option) returned 6.52% in the year to 1 October 2026. The 25 funds ranged from 6.35% (PGIM India) to 6.76% (Union), a gap of 0.41 points.
Are money market funds better than liquid funds?
Slightly, on this record. The median money market fund returned 6.52% over one year against 6.47% for liquid funds, 7.37% against 6.94% a year over three years and 6.68% against 6.37% over five.
Do money market funds ever lose money?
Not in the three-year record here. The median fund's worst fall from a peak over three years was 0.15%, and the largest, Aditya Birla Sun Life's, was 0.19%. No fund lost money over one or three months.
This is commentary on published data, not investment advice. WealthTicker is not a SEBI-registered adviser or distributor. Figures are as of the dates stated and can be revised by their source.
Keep reading
Arbitrage funds: 26 of 34 beat liquid funds in a year
The median arbitrage fund returned 6.60% in the year to 1 October 2026 against 6.47% for liquid funds, and none lost money over three months.
Credit risk funds: 7.55% median, 17.20% at the top
To 1 October 2026 the median credit risk fund returned 7.55% in a year, against 4.78% for corporate bond funds. The 12 funds ranged from 5.58% to 17.20%.
Gilt funds: 22 of 23 fell over the last three months
To 1 October 2026 the median gilt fund lost 0.84% in three months and made 2.45% in a year, against 6.47% for liquid funds. 23 funds compared.