Discount Brokers | Best Discount Brokers in India

Discount Brokers Best Discount Brokers in India

Discount brokers are stockbrokers who assist carry out a wide variety of business deals. Typically, they accept orders for stock, stock options and futures trading agreements. They are known by various names such as discount commodity brokers, discount stockbrokers and discount real estate brokers.  Compared to full-service brokers, discount brokers buy and sell orders at a decreased commission. 

Discount brokers allow an individual to buy “no-load” mutual funds at a reduced commission. Through an arrangement with a special fund, free mutual funds are sometimes presented.  Discount brokers will usually provide (for a small fee) a free 1-page Standard & Poor’s Stock report on the stocks you are requesting and a 5-10-page research report. Twenty-four-hour telephone stock quotations services are also provided, allowing the person to build trades.

Discount Brokers Types

There are four kinds of discount brokerage firms, “full-service,” “discount,” “deep discount” and “computer or electronic.” Full-service discount brokers present services that are identical to a full-service broker. They own local branch offices for personal service, newsletters, a personal account representative and considerable publications. Discount firms bring out the same functions as that full-service discount firms. The only dissimilarity is they don’t have local branches. Their trading commissions are around 1/3rd the price of a full-service agent. 

Deep discount brokers are stockbrokers who execute only stock and future option trades. They have fixed commissions (flat fees) for any stock or commodity trade of any size.  Computer or electronic brokers offer services comparable to deep discount brokers. Their service is mainly aimed at computer users who trade via the internet. 

Some discount brokers, who cannot be absolutely categorized, fall between “discount” and “deep discount.” They cater to skilled, high-volume traders with high demands for quality assistance.

8 Best Discount Brokers in India 2022-23

With the rise of Zerodha, the first discount broker which was established in 2010, the Indian broking industry saw a massive uproar.

As these discount brokers were presenting a cheaper brokerage plan, they were capable to attract a lot of customers compared to the expensive traditional and bank brokers.

Also Read: Finding a System to Day Trade Futures Market

List of Top Discount Brokers in India 

Zerodha

Zerodha, established in 2010 by Nitin Kamath, is the biggest discount in India that suggests free equity and mutual fund investments and flat brokerage on Intraday & all other traders.

It has over +7.5 million customers and contributes to over 15% of everyday retail trading volumes across the Indian Stock Market. Its mobile app ‘KITE’ has got around +5,000,000 downloads on the play store.

Also Read: Best Futures & Commodity Trading Platforms in 2022

Zerodha brokerage charges

Free equity delivery: All your equity delivery investments (NSE, BSE), are completely free — ₹0 brokerage.

– ₹20 intraday equity and F&O trades: ₹20 or 0.03% (whichever is lower) per accomplished order on intraday trades across equity, currency, and commodity trades across NSE, BSE, and MCX.

Zerodha Demat And Trading account opening Charges:

For opening a trading and Demat account at Zerodha, here are their charges:

— Equity Trading Account: ₹200

— Commodity Account:₹100

Pros of Zerodha:

  • Start investing & trading with No 1 Stockbroker or discount brokers in India for now
  • Technology First Approach App
  • Free Long-term Equity Delivery Trades for now
  • Flat max brokerage per trade is Rs 20 or 0.03% (whichever is lower) 
  • Innovative & User-Friendly stock or commodity trading platform
  • Big brand value and financial education materials providers
  • Direct Mutual Fund Investment from the same Demat account in equity or bond both

Cons of Zerodha:

  • Slow account opening procedure
  • Only the Indian market covered
  • No investor protection for now

Also Read: E-gold Investing: Make Money With Currency Trading

Angel One

Although Angel Broking worked as a full-service broker and delivered a percentage brokerage charge to its clients for over two decades. However, they later changed their business model (Nov 2019) from percentage brokerage to flat rates to contest with rapidly growing discount brokers like Zerodha, 5Paisa, Upstox, etc. 

Angel Broking now presents a flat rate brokerage plan, named ‘Angel iTrade PRIME’. On this platform, the delivery trading is FREE of cost. And for all different segments i.e. Intraday, F&O, Currencies & Commodities, they charge a fixed rate of ₹20 per trade. The same simple rate is applicable across stock or commodity exchanges and segments.

Angel Broking Brokerage Charge:

  • Delivery charges: Rs 0
  • Intraday Trading: Flat ₹20 Per Trade
  • Equity F&O: Flat ₹20 Per Trade
  • Currency F&O: Flat ₹20 Per Trade
  • Commodity F&O: Flat ₹20 Per Trade

Account Opening Charges with Angel Broking:

  • Account opening charge: Rs 0 (Nowadays Waived) but in general it varies from Rs 200 to 249
  • Annual Maintenance Charge: Rs 240 per annum
  • Trading Platform: Angel iTrade, Angel Broking Mobile App, Angel BEE

Pros of Angel Broking: 

  • Cheapest full-service broker with personalized assistance
  • Expert Research Reports & market advisory on app and web
  • Fast account opening procedure
  • Zero Brokerage on Long-term (Delivery) Trades, 
  • The flat Rs 20 per order for all other trades, 

Cons of Angel Broking: 

  • Margin funding is given to the customers without notification. This causes major confusion and customers pay weighty interest charges.
  • Angel broking doesn’t offer to trade in SME shares.
  • Angel RM and the sales team try to cross-sale other products and services.
  • GTC/GTT order structure not available.
  • Doesn’t offer a 3-in-1 account. 
  • Call & Trade are charged extra

Also Read: What is EMI and How is it calculated?

Upstox

Upstox is a fast-growing discount broker, backed by a set of leading investors including Kalaari Capital, Ratan Tata, GVK Davix, etc. It is also known as RKSV. Upstox formed as RKSV in 2012 and rebranded to Upstox in 2015. As of Dec 2021, Upstox has the second-highest number of active customers on NSE after Zerodha. The startup also became a unicorn in 2021 with a valuation of above $3 Billion.

Services offered: Upstox suggests trading services in equity, currency, and commodity.

Upstox Brokerage charges

While stock trading with Upstox, equity delivery trades are free of cost. For intraday trading on BSE, NSE and MCX, and F&O it is 0.05% or up to Rs. 20 per order exchanged. Irrespective of the order size, the brokerage cost is only Rs. 20 per order exchanged.

  • Delivery Charges: Rs 0
  • Intraday Trading: Rs 20 per executed trade order or 0.05% whichever lower
  • Futures Trading Charges: Rs 20 or 0.05% (whichever is lower) per trade order
  • Options Trading Charges: Rs 20 per trade

Upstox Demat And Trading account opening Charges:

  • Account opening charges: Rs 299
  • Annual Maintenance charges: Rs 300 Per annum
  • Stock and other Trading Platforms: Upstox Pro Web Stock Trading Platform, Bridge for AmiBroker, Developer Console, Option Chain Tool, Upstox MF Platform

Pros of Upstox:

  • Free delivery stock trading
  • Quick paperless Demat and trading account opening,
  • Margin against share is available on Upstox,
  • Zero Brokerage on Delivery and Flat Rs 20 per trade on other trades

Cons of Upstox:

  • Equity delivery brokerage is Rs 20 per trade. Most other brokers suggest brokerage free investment in the stock market.
  • Margin Funding is not available on stock delivery trades.
  • Upstox doesn’t present unlimited monthly trading plans.
  • Call and trade fee is charged at extra Rs 20 per executed order (Rs 20 Brokerage + Rs 20 Call & Trade Fee), which is not extra rechargeable by other brokers.
  • Additional Rs 20 per executed order is charged for Intraday square MIS/BO/CO orders when they are not squared off by the client.
  • Doesn’t provide stock tips or suggestions.
  • 3-in-1 accounts are not available as the company doesn’t provide banking assistance.
  • 24/7 customer assistance is not available.
  • Upstox NRI Stock Trading and Demat account are no more available (since Jan 2018).
  • Upstox doesn’t present API access for automated trading.

5Paisa

5Paisa is a part of IIFL (India Infoline) and presents the cheapest stock brokerage in India. IIFL launched 5Paisa to present a lower brokerage platform for its clients and to compete with the fast-growing discount broking industry. Along with a fast trading platform, 5Paisa also presents advisory reports and recommendations.

Services offered: Apart from trading in equity, currency, and commodity, 5Paisa also delivers its services in mutual funds, Insurance, and Personal loans.

5Paisa Brokerage charges

5Paisa presents free trading in equity and flat brokerage in other segments. Here are the brokerage charges offered by 5Paisa:

  • Delivery Trading: Rs 20 per trade
  • Intraday Trading: Rs 20 per trade
  • Equity Futures: Rs 20 per trade
  • Equity Options: Rs 20 per trade
  • Currency Futures: Rs 20 per trade
  • Currency Options: Rs 20 per trade

5Paisa Demat And Trading account opening Charges:

  • Account opening charges: FREE (Rs 650 as per official charge)
  • Annual Maintenance charges: Rs 45 per month (only for months when you trade through your demat account)
  • Trading Platform: Investor terminal web platform, trader terminal, 5Paisa share stock trading mobile app

Pros of 5Paisa:

  • Free delivery trading
  • A low brokerage of flat Rs 10 per trade
  • 100% paperless investing account 
  • Investment in stocks, mutual funds & insurance with the same account
  • Lower annual maintenance charges
  • Multiple brokerage plans are available based on clients’ preferences offering flexibility
  • Research reports and advisory (for higher plans)

Cons of 5Paisa:

  • No 3-in-1 account
  • Higher exchange transaction charges
  • No commodity trading facility
  • No availability of fixed per month brokerage plans.
  • Customer service is not up to the mark
  • The recommendations and suggestions are mainly robotics-based and purely depend on their algorithms.

Kotak Securities

Kotak Securities, being a stake of the Kotak group is one such broker. Traditionally a full-service broker, Kotak Securities joined the discount brokerage model in November 2020 with its Trade FREE Plan. Here, they announced zero brokerage for intraday training across components, the first-of-its-kind procedure in India. It is also known as Free Intraday Trading (FIT) plan by Kotak. 

In its TRADE FREE PLAN, KSL is proposing zero brokerage on intraday trades and Rs. 20 per order for all other future & options (F&O) trades including equity, commodity, and currency. Here are a few of the essential points on the Kotak Securities Trade FREE Plan to remark:

  • Zero Brokerage on Intraday Stock Trades
  • All other F&O Trades at Rs 20 per order per day
  •  FREE Demat Account (Rs 499 Opening Charges Waived Currently, check before you decide to open) 
  • Full Broker Services at a Discount brokerage rate delivering a wide range of investment options and research reports.

The following rates are applicable on Kotak for now:

  • Account Opening Charges: Rs 0
  • Annual Maintenance Charges: Rs 50 Per Month
  • Intraday Brokerage Charges (Equity): FREE
  • Delivery Brokerage Charges: 0.25% of Transaction

Pros of Kotak Securities Trade FREE Plan

  • Zero Brokerage on Intraday Trading
  • The flat brokerage of Rs 20/per order of F&O Trades
  • The benefit of Stocks as Margin (Instead of Cash Margin)
  • Full Broker Services at a Discount brokerage rate offering a wide range of investment options and research reports.
  • Multiple trading platforms to fulfil almost all customer requirements.
  • In-depth market Market Research Reports

Cons of Kotak Securities Trade FREE Plan

  • Higher Brokerage Charge on Delivery trades corresponded to discount brokers
  • Higher AMC compared to other leading brokers in India

Groww

Groww is one of the fastest-growing mutual fund investment platforms in India. Groww is the brand name for Nextbillion Technology Private Limited – a SEBI registered stockbroker and an associate of NSE and BSE. Originally, Groww a Bangalore-based startup was set up in 2016 as a platform to directly invest in mutual funds. Keeping up with the upsurge in demand for equity trading in the midst of the pandemic the company also contributed to equity trading.

The vision behind the Groww App was to set up was to create a powerful yet simplest to use App for mutual fund investment and stock intraday trading from anywhere. With this, the app came up with the philosophy of making “Investing should be as simple as online shopping in India”. Today the company presents Mutual Funds, Demat Services, Trading Services, Intraday Services, IPO Services, and Trading Exposure

The following rates are applicable on Groww for now:

  • Account Opening Charges: Rs 0
  • Annual Maintenance Charges: Rs 0
  • Brokerage Charges: Rs 20 or 0.05% per executed trade (Whichever is lower)
  • Account Opening Charges: Fre
  • AMC Charges: Free
  • Stock Equity Delivery Trading: Rs.20 per executed order or 0.05% of order value (whichever is lower)
  • Stock Equity Intraday Trading: Rs.20 per executed order or 0.05% of order value (whichever is lower)

Pros of Groww Demat & Trading Account:

  • Simple and intuitive user interface
  • One platform to invest in stocks, mutual funds, and gold.
  • Investing facility for Fixed Deposit (FDs) available

Cons of Groww Demat & Trading Account:

  • Currency and Commodity trading facility not available on Groww yet.
  • As a newer entrant, the stock trading platform is yet to be tested to work smoothly on high trading days.
  • The discount stock broker presents only a 2-in1 account where your trading and Demat account are linked. For your savings accounts, you would need the user to connect it with Groww to execute trades.
  • Unlike other stockbrokers, Groww doesn’t present call and trade features.
  • There are no physical branches of Groww in the area of the country. There is one special branch in Bangalore, and that’s it.
  • The option for NRI to trade isn’t available through the groww platform.
  • The margin trading facility is absent.
  • The recommendations and stock investment tips aren’t available; the only suggestions they offer are quite generic.
  • Popular financial tools and assistance that other stockbrokers provide generally are absent.
  • The platform doesn’t present 24/7 support, toll-free number, offline trading, and more.
  • Also, there is no dedicated software for computers. All trades have to be executed either through its official website or mobile application.

Paytm Money

Paytm received approval from the SEBI in 2019 in order to enter the discount stockbroking feature. Paytm over the years has tried to demonstrate itself as the one-stop platform for anything money-related in the recent past. After gaining traction post demonetization the online payments platform presented banking services, mutual funds, SIP, and pension products.

Paytm’s plans to enter stock broking couldn’t have come to consummation at a better time. Over 4.9 Million new demat accounts were opened in the last financial year. The lockdown charged due to the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the work from home model to be adopted. This has led to an increase in the first-time investors herding to the stock markets with the added disposable income, as they are forced to spend less on leisure due to the pandemic.

Here are the fee charges for Paytm Money Demat and Trading Account:

  • Account Opening Charges: Rs. 200 – One-time Digital KYC
  • Depository AMC: Zero Annual Maintenance Charges for your Demat account.
  • Delivery Charges:  Rs 0
  • Intraday Charges: Rs 10 per trade per day
  • Futures and Options Charges: Rs 10 per trade per day
  • Note: ₹1 per day as platform charges (billed annually for days exchange is open trade account)

Paytm Money Delivery Charges

  • Brokerage Rs. 0.01/- per executed order
  • Exchange Turnover Charges 0.00325% of turnover for NSE and 0.003% of turnover for BSE as per the delivery
  • GST 18% on Brokerage and Exchange Turnover Charges
  • Security Transaction Charges (STT) 0.1% of turnover on buy and sell orders
  • SEBI Turnover Fees 0.0005% of turnover
  • Stamp Duty 0.015% of turnover on buy orders

Paytm Money Intraday Charges

  • Charge Intraday Rates
  • Brokerage: 0.05% of turnover or Rs. 10/-, whichever is lower
  • Exchange Turnover Charges: 0.00325% of turnover for NSE and 0.003% of turnover for BSE
  • GST: 18% on Brokerage and Exchange Turnover Charges
  • Security Transaction Charges (STT): 0.025% of turnover on sell orders
  • SEBI Turnover Fees: 0.0005% of turnover
  • Stamp Duty: 0.003% of turnover on buy orders

Pros of Paytm Money:

  • Big Brand with multiple investment opportunities in the same platform
  • Lowest on Intraday – ₹10 per trade per day
  • Fast online account opening within minutes

Cons of Paytm Money:

  • Zero AMC but ₹1 per day as platform charges (And billed annually)
  • As a newer entrant, the trading platform is yet to be tested to work smoothly on high trading days.
  • Currency and Commodity trading facility not available yet on Paytm money platform.

Trade Smart

Trade smart is a Mumbai, India-based discount broker suitable for traders and investors looking for low brokerages, high margins, and a fast trading platform. Unlike most discount brokers, Trade smart online is not a contemporary setup. It is a part +25 years old VNS Finance & Capital Limited, which is a traditional stockbroker in India. It has over 100,000+ happy customers, averaging a day-to-day turnover of over Rs. 5000 crores

Services offered: Trade smart online suggestions brokerage services in stock, futures & options, commodity, and currency trading segments.

Trade Smart Online Brokerage charges:

This discount broker presents a flat brokerage of Rs 15 per trade irrespective of the trading volume in its ‘Value’ trading plan.

Additionally, it also proposes a ‘Power’ trading plan with a brokerage of 0.007% on the transaction, which is appropriate for small volume traders. 

Brokerage charges for delivery and intraday trading:

  • Delivery: Rs 15 per trade (Power plan) or 0.07% (value plan)
  • Intraday Trading: Rs 15 Per trade (Power plan) or 0.007% (Value Plan)

Trade Smart Online Demat And Trading account opening fees:

  • Account opening charges: Rs 400
  • Annual Maintenance charges: Rs 300 (1st year is free and Second year onwards)
  • Right now, Trade Smart Online is presenting a flat 100% off on the Account Opening Charges for a limited period. 
  • Stock Trading Platform: NEST Trader, SINE(Mobile App), SineWeb

Pros of Trade Smart Online:

  • Low and Unique stock Brokerage Plans,
  • The higher margin for stock trades,
  • Zero additional software charges,
  • Zero Demat AMC charge for the first year as per their recent offers 

Cons of Trade Smart Online:

  • 3-in-1 is not available,
  • No direct IPO Investment,
  • Call and trade at Rs 20 per executed trade (plus brokerage) as per the Trade Smart guide rule
  • Intraday positions (MIS, CO & BO) squared off by the RMS team are charged Rs 20 per trader extra.

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