Top 10 Indian Stock Brokers for Your Investment Needs

Let’s take a closer look at some of the top stockbrokers in India. They offer fantastic services and tools that can help you make smart investment choices. This blog post will walk you through their benefits, from commission-free trading to powerful research tools. It’s your guide to finding the right stockbroker for your investment needs.

The Context

Profitable investing starts with courage and a good stock broker — PlanB

With one difference, choosing a stockbroker is very similar to picking a stock.

Selling or swapping a stock is simple, but changing a stockbroker can be challenging, especially if you are in the midst of your investing journey. The first step in beginning your stock investment adventure is to choose a good stockbroker.

Important factors to take into account when choosing one are:

• Broker type
• Pricing
• Performance of trading platforms
• Trading segments
• Exposure leverage (for Futures trading)
• Historical reviews and
• Brand Reputation

What Is A Stockbroker?

A stockbroker is an individual or organization who is especially given a license to participate in the securities market on behalf of clients. They have the authority to buy and sell stocks and securities in a stock exchange on the investor’s behalf and they do so in exchange for commissions and fees.

The key importance of a stockbroker for an investor is the upkeep and maintenance of the Demat account. Whenever you buy or sell shares, they are credited to/from your Demat account. In simple words, if Stocks and shares were the currency, Demat acts as your savings bank account for credit & debit-related formalities.

A trading account on the contrary can be compared to a current account which is designed for carrying out day-to-day business transactions easily and where F&O trades and intraday equity trades are settled at a high frequency.

All stockbrokers work in sync with two depository participants namely Central Depository Services Ltd. (CDSL) and National Services and Depository Ltd. (NSDL) in India. There are reportedly over 300 hundred stockbrokers in India registered with SEBI and different stock exchanges as of November 2020.

They are catering to about 4 crores Demat accounts (which accounts for 2.9% of participation basis India’s population as of FY2020). As per recent research done by Market Mojo (an independent equity research website), 75% or approximately 3 crores of these accounts are inactive.

From a prospect standpoint as of FY 2020, just 1 crore or 0.72% of the Indian population was actively playing in these fields as compared to 55% of the population in the US (as per the 2019 Gallop Survey).

A positive opportunity indeed to open a Demat, if you learn how to invest in the Stock Markets.

Types Of Stockbrokers

There are two types of stockbrokers in India:

💬 Full-service brokers

💬 Discount stock brokers

Full-Services Brokers

Full-service brokers offer a wide range of services which includes research reports, advisory, and a relationship manager apart from helping you buy and sell shares. They also offer a wide range of products including Mutual Funds, IPOs, Debt, Insurance, and Loans.

They are a good choice if you want to purchase a long-term relationship. While this does not necessarily imply good returns, this connection helps in getting higher margins or margin funding that is typically employed for Trading purposes. In short, the money leverage. With all the add-ons, they usually charge a higher fee/commission than the other broker type.

A few examples are ICICI Direct, Sharekhan, HDFC Securities, Angel Broking, and Axis Bank

The Discount Brokers

Discount Brokers mostly work on a to-the-point approach and are online brokers specializing only in stock and commodity trading services. They do not offer add-ons like research and advisory, PMS (Portfolio Management Service), wealth management, and branch support. They are a good and prudent choice for DIY investors who are always in search of reasonable value for their money.

A few examples are Zerodha, Upstox, and 5 Paisa.com

The popularity of these brokers is sometimes subject to their advertising budgets. It is to be noted though that if you produce a product or service that exceeds your customer’s expectations while fulfilling their needs and wants, it usually sells for itself. So here’s a list of the Top 10 Indian Brokers basis their active clientele:

🖱 Please note that the term AMC in the below rankings implies Annual maintenance charges.

1. Zerodha (Discount Broker)

Zerodha is a fintech/financial services startup established in Bangalore that provides inexpensive retail stock brokerage services as well as additional alternatives for trading in bonds, currencies, and commodities. The company primarily employs the concept of discount broking, which entails charging transactions with little to no commission or brokerage to draw investors to the platform.

Due to this, Zerodha is well-known among traders and has a clientele of more than 1 million, making it the largest stockbroker in terms of clients.

≡ Trading & Demat Account Opening charges are ₹200.

≡ Trading Account AMC is ₹0.

≡ The Demat account AMC is ₹300 per year.

≡ Click here for complete details.

2. Upstocks (Discount Broker)

Located in Mumbai, Upstox is a discount stock broker. For traders and investors in the Indian stock market, Upstox provides a quick, dependable, and simple-to-use trading platform.

Upstox is a business that has made major technology investments. It offers its consumers a top-notch trading platform and resources. This contains Upstox Pro Web, Upstox MF, Upstox Pro Mobile, and Algo Lab, among others.

It also provides partner systems like Fox Trader, AmiBroker, Nest Desktop, and Dart Stock.

≡ FREE Account Opening.

≡ Get ₹1000 brokerage credit.

≡ ₹0 Demat AMC.

≡ Pay flat ₹20 for Equity Delivery, Intra-day, and F&O Trades.

≡ Pay ₹0 commission for Mutual Funds.

≡ Click here for complete details.

3. Groww (Discount Broker)

Groww is a Bangalore-based broker that provides direct mutual funds, initial public offerings (IPOs), and flat fee discount brokerage services online. The brand name Groww belongs to Nextbillion Technology Private Limited, a stockbroker registered with SEBI and a participant in the NSE and BSE.

Groww was first launched in 2016 as a platform for direct mutual fund investments. Midway through the 2020s, Groww added equity trading to its lineup of products and scaled up surprisingly fast on our top-10 list.

The organization also provides its clients with Fixed deposits, US Stocks, and Digital Gold as additional investment possibilities. Groww has a fixed brokerage approach, charging a flat ₹20 for each executed order for intraday, futures, and options (F&O) trading.

The maximum brokerage per order across all trading categories is ₹20.

≡ Equity Delivery is charged at ₹20 per trade (or 0.05% whichever is lower).

≡ Equity Intraday is charged at ₹20 per trade (or 0.05% whichever is lower).

≡ Equity F&O costs ₹20 per trade.

≡ ₹0 Demat AMC.

≡ Click here for complete details.

4. Angel Broking (Full-Service Broker)

Angel One was incorporated in 1987 and is one of India’s biggest full-service retail brokers, providing online discount brokerage services. This broker provides a comprehensive range of trading and investing services, such as stock and commodities broking, investment consulting services, margin lending, loans secured by shares, and distribution of financial products.

As of June 30, 2018, Angel One had 110 branches and 11,000 sub-broker offices spread over 1800+ Indian cities. Angel One provides just one straightforward trading plan, the “Angel iTrade” plan. This online trading strategy offers full-service brokerage services at very affordable brokerage rates that are now comparable to those offered by discount stock brokers in India.

≡ Account opening charges are ₹0 (Free) with some terms and conditions.

≡ Equity Delivery is FREE.

≡ Equity Intraday and Equity F&O are flat at ₹20 or 0.25% (whichever is lower).

≡ The Demat account AMC is ₹240 per year.

≡ Click here for complete details.

5. ICICI Direct (Full-Service Broker)

Number 3 on our list of top 10 Indian stock brokers is ICICI Direct. ICICIdirect is one of the largest retail stock brokers in India. ICICI Securities is part of ICICI Group. It serves more than 50 lakh users by providing online trading and investing services.

Equity, commodity, and currency trading are among the services that are offered by ICICI Direct at BSE, NSE, and MCX. The company also provides wealth products, home loans, loans against securities, fixed deposits, bonds, NCDs, and mutual funds.

≡ Account opening charges are ₹0 (Free).

≡ Demat Account Annual Maintenance Charges AMC is ₹300 per year.

≡ Demat Debit Transaction Charges (Sell Orders) is ₹20 per transaction.

≡ Call & Trade Charges are ₹50 per order.

≡ Click here for complete details.

6. 5paisa (Discount Broker)

Leading online stock broker 5paisa.com provides Indian retail investors with low-cost brokerage services.

The founders of IIFL have supported 5paisa Capital Ltd, a publicly traded and expertly managed company. It had more than 1.2 million customers as of March 2021. The three subscription packages that 5Paisa offers are the Basic Pack, Power Investor Pack, and Ultra Trader Pack. These programs provide you with a range of benefits, including no account opening fees and flat fees that were dropped from ₹20 to ₹10

≡ Account opening charges are ₹0 (Free).

≡ The brokerage ranges between ₹10-20 per order depending on the pack.

≡ Demat AMC is ₹25 per month or ₹300 per year.

≡ Click here for complete details.

7. Kotak Securities (Full-Service Broker)

Kotak Securities Ltd., an Indian full-service stock broker founded in 1994, provides retail investors with a 3-in-1 account (Bank, Trading & Demat Account). It provides investment opportunities in stocks, mutual funds, and derivatives (stocks, commodities, and currencies) through three different plans namely – Trade Free Plan, Trade Free Max Plan, and No Brokerage Plan.

Additionally, it provides third-party products like insurance, research, margin trade finance, depository services, and portfolio management services (PMS). The business also offers direct access to US markets. Kotak Securities provides its services through 153 branches and 1332 franchisees across 361 cities.

≡ Account opening charges are ₹0 (Free).

≡ The subscription fee ranges from ₹0-₹2499 depending on the plan.

≡ The Demat account AMC is ₹50 per month or ₹600 per year for all plans.

≡ Click here for complete details.

8. HDFC Securities (Full-Service Broker)

One of India’s top full-service stock brokers, HDFC Securities was founded in 2000. HDFC Securities is an affiliate of HDFC Bank. Customers can trade and invest in stocks, bonds, futures, options, buybacks, mutual funds, initial public offerings (IPOs), currency derivatives, commodities, stock portfolios, and more through the company. HDFC Securities is a SEBI-registered broker, and a participant in the BSE, NSE, MCX, CDSL, and NSDL exchanges.

HDFC Securities provides more than 30 products and has 1,800,000+ clients across various businesses. The company has more than 270 branches across India. Funds/shares are seamlessly moved from the linked Demat/Bank account to execute the transactions.

≡ The account Opening Fee is ₹999 (Including trading, bank, and DP account with HDFC).

≡ Delivery Based Trades for Resident Indians is 0.50% or min ₹25 or a ceiling of 2.5% on transaction value (Both Buy and sell).

≡ Delivery Trades for NRIs is 0.75% or min ₹100 or a ceiling of 2.5% on transaction value (Both Buy and sell).

≡ Trading Annual Maintenance Charges AMC is ₹0 for the first year and ₹ 750 from 2nd year onwards.

≡ Click here for complete details.

9. IIFL Securities (Full-Service Broker)

One of India’s biggest full-service stockbrokers, IIFL Securities was founded in 1995. IIFL Securities is a part of the IIFL Group, a well-known provider of financial services offering many different services.

IIFL is a reputable brand known for the caliber of its counsel, individualized attention, and application of cutting-edge technologies. In addition to providing online trading, IIFL Securities also provides research-based consulting services for a wide variety of financial products, including stocks, derivatives, commodities, insurance, FDs, loans, IPOs, and bonds.

NRI Trading and Investment services are also provided by IIFL Securities. Colombo, Dubai, New York, Mauritius, London, Singapore, and Hong Kong are among the cities where they have local representation.

≡ Account Opening Charges are ₹0 (Free).

≡ Demat Account AMC is ₹250 (Free for the first year)

≡ Equity Delivery, Intraday, Futures, and Options are charged flat at ₹20 per order

≡ Click here for more details

10. Motilal Oswal (Full-Service Broker)

Motilal Oswal holds the 9th spot on our list of the top 10 Indian stock brokers. Incorporated in 1987, Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd. (MOSL) is a Mumbai, India-based diversified financial services firm. The company offers trading services in Equity, Commodity, Currency, and Derivatives.

It also offers other products like Mutual Funds, IPOs, Gold, Insurance, and Fixed Income products. MOSL is widely recognized for its MOAMC discretionary Portfolio Management Service (PMS). As of March 2018, Motilal Oswal operated 2,200+ business locations across its network, which was distributed across more than 500 cities and towns. With about ₹69,500 Crore in depository assets, the organization has over 10,000 registered customers.

The company offers three account types namely – Default Account, Value Pack, and Margin Pack.

≡ Demat account opening charges are FREE

≡ Trading Account Opening charges are ₹1000

≡ The Demat account AMC is ₹299 per year

≡ Equity Delivery is at flat 0.50%

≡ Click here for complete details

Conclusion

While all the choices may look similar at first glance, you must first assess your style of investing before selecting a stockbroker. After that, you can search for the right kind of broker that delivers optimum value for your buck. Because the stockbroking industry is highly competitive, fees and plans are continuously subject to modification. The links on this page can be utilized to do more research.

When you finally settle for a stock broker, you may want to learn how to select your first stock.

🔔 Investing is expensive, but leaving comments on this blog is free!

P.S. – This article was last audited in November 2022.

Invest wisely!