Best Demat Trading Account In India 2023

I opened my first Demat account in 2006 after getting my first job because I wanted to invest 20% of my salary in the stock market.

I had no knowledge of stock investing at that time so I thought brokers like ICICI or Sharekhan would help me pick the right stocks. 

Opening an account with ICICI was easy because I was having a salary account with ICICI bank. They started sending me tips on stock trading and investing. 

I kept on buying and selling as per their recommendation but later I realized that I am losing a lot of money in the brokerage because ICICI was charging as high as 0.5% on my trades. 

I switched to Sharekhan to save brokerage but they were also charging 0.1% on the buy/sell transactions.

I came to know about discount broker Zerodha in 2015 that was charging ZERO on stock delivery and flat Rs. 20 per transaction for day trading.

In the last 2-3 years, many companies have started offering demat & trading services at flat rates. New companies waive off account opening fees and also offer some additional perks.

If you buy stocks worth Rs. 1,00,000 then you would pay approx 500 Rs.+ taxes to ICICI but the same you can buy at zero charges + govt fees + taxes from discount brokers like Zerodha, Upstox and 5Paisa.  

Our Top Picks For Best Demat & Trading Account in India

Every broker has some advantages and disadvantages. Discount brokers focus on improving their trading platforms while full-service brokers focus on improving customer service.

Your experience with discount broking customer service may not be good but you would save a lot of money in brokerage.  

Here is the list of the top 11 best Demat accounts in India 2023

1. Zerodha Demat Account – Best discount broker in India
2. Upstox Demat Account – Great for an alternative to Zerodha
3. Paytm Money Demat Account – Lowest brokerage of Rs 10 per trade
4. 5paisa Demat Account – Best for no AMC for only traders
5. IIFL Demat Account – Great for first-year free
6. Angel Broking – Great brokerage plan from full-service broker
7. Sharekhan Demat Account – offers a wide range of financial products
8. Religare Demat Account – Great for lifetime free AMC option
9. Motilal Oswal Demat Account – Great for financial services
10. ICICI Direct Demat Account – Good for ICICI account holders
11. HDFC Securities Demat Account – Easy option for existing HDFC customers

Best Demat Account With Lowest Brokerage in India 2023

#1. Zerodha Demat Account

Zerodha is the largest and most trusted discount broker with a user base of more than 90 Lakh. The biggest reason for Zerodha’s success is its customer support which is better than all other discount brokers. 

Zerodha charges a lower brokerage fee of 0.03% or Rs. 20 per executed order whichever is lower. You can save up to 90% as compared to other full-service stockbrokers if you trade in high volumes. The stock delivery trade is free at Zerodha. 

You will get a Kite trading platform with advanced charts, elegant UI and other tools for better technical analysis with Zerodha.   

Account Charges

• Demat & trading account opening charges – Rs 200
• Commodity account opening charges – Rs 100
• Annual maintenance charges – Rs 300 per year

Zerodha Brokerage Charges

• Equity Delivery- zero brokerage
• Equity Intraday- 0.03% or Rs 20 per executed order whichever is lower
• Equity Futures- 0.03% or Rs 20 per executed order whichever is lower
• Equity Options-  flat Rs 20 per executed order

Zerodha Trading Platforms

• Zerodha Kite 3.0 – A complete trading solution for the investors and traders that provides streaming price data, multi-market access, advanced charts and simple UI.
• Kite by Zerodha Mobile App – A mobile app version of Kite 3.0 for a seamless trading experience, especially for the young generation (Android/iOS) smartphone users.
• Zerodha Coin – A platform that lets you buy direct mutual funds online without paying any commissions.

Key Benefits of Zerodha

• Delivery is totally free. No brokerage on delivery.
• No minimum cap on brokerage per transaction.
• Maximum brokerage charge capped to Rs 20 irrespective of transaction volume.
• Provides margin upto 5 times for intraday MIS and Cover Orders (CO).

#2. Upstox Demat & Trading Account

Upstox is one of the best discount brokers in India due to cheap brokerage charges, and advanced technology platforms. 

Upstox charges a fixed brokerage of Rs. 20 per trade for intraday irrespective of the trading volume. You can save a good amount in brokerages when compared to other full brokers.

You will get the fastest & best online trading platform in India with Upstox which is the main requirement for trading. Upstox is offering Free account opening with zero AMC charges for a limited period.

Upstox Account Regular Fee & Charges

• Upstox Demat and Trading Account Opening – Free (limited time offer) 
• Upstox Annual Maintenance Charges – Zero (limited time offer) 

Upstox Trading Brokerage Charges 

Type	Brokerage
Equity Delivery	Rs. 20 or 2.5% whichever is lower
Equity Intraday	Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.05%
Equity Futures	Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.05%
Equity Options	Rs. 20 per executed order
Currency Futures & Options	Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.05%
Commodity F&O	Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.05%

Advantages of Upstox Trading Account

• Free account opening with zero AMC
• Great trading platforms
• Fix & low brokerage irrespective of trade volume

What We Didn’t Like

• Rs. 20 charges for delivery trade

#3. 5Paisa Demat Account

5Paisa charges the lowest brokerage charges of flat Rs 10. per trade under both the addons – Ultra Trader pack and Power Investor pack. You can place a single trade worth crores and pay brokerage of just Rs 10 per trade.

The Ultra trader pack comes with a monthly price of Rs. 999 and the Power Investor pack will cost you Rs. 499 per month. Without the pack, 5Paisa charges a flat brokerage fee of Rs. 20 per executed order.

You can use a 5Paisa mobile trading app for trading. 5Paisa mobile app is the best mobile app in India in terms of easy usability, user experience, and fast speed. 

You would get your 5Paisa account opened on the same day on submitting all the documents. If you are looking for the lowest brokerage demat account, then you go with 5Paisa. 

5Paisa Annual Charges Details

• Rs 0 per month – if holding value less than Rs. 50,000  
• Rs 8 per month – if holding value is Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 2 lacs
• Rs. 25 per month – if holding value is above Rs. 2 lacs

5paisa account opening is FREE. 

Margin provided by 5Paisa

Trading Segment	Margins Offered
Equity intraday buy/sell	Upto 5x
Equity F&O	1x
Currency F&O	1x
Commodity F&O	1x

5Paisa Brokerage Charges

5Paisa offers two addon plans – the Power Investor pack and the Ultra Trader Pack. Brokerage charges under both the pack are as under – 

Trading Segment	Power Investor Pack	Ultra Trader Pack
Equity delivery	Rs. 10 per executed order	Rs. 0
Equity Intraday	Rs. 10 per executed order	Rs. 10 per executed order
Equity F&O	Rs. 10 per executed order	Rs. 10 per executed order
Currency F&O	Rs. 10 per executed order	Rs. 10 per executed order
Commodity F&O	Rs. 10 per executed order	Rs. 10 per executed order

Note – Under the Ultra Trader pack, you get Rs. 1000 brokerage cashback every month. 

5Paisa Trading Platforms

• 5Paisa Trader Station Web – 5Paisa is for the low volume traders. The web-based platform gives easy access to portfolio, positions and holdings data.
• 5Paisa Trade Station V2 – Trade Station V2 is a platform for high volume traders in need of a powerful interface and faster execution. You get a real-time market price, advanced charts with tools and past stock prices. 
• 5Paisa App – The app is for trading on smartphones with easy access to markets and a great user experience. 

#4. Paytm Money Demat Account

Paytm launched – Paytm Money (broking & investment platform) in 2019, with the lowest flat Rs. 10 charges for intraday trading in equity cash, equity F&O and currency F&O.

60 lac users trust Paytm money for investments in stocks, mutual fund investments, NPS, IPOs and ETFs. Paytm money fees structure is similar to discount brokers.  

You can open Paytm Money Demat account if you are looking for the lowest broking changes.

Paytm Brokerage Charges   

• Delivery Trades – Lower of Rs. 15 or 2.5%
• Intraday trades – Rs. 15 or 0.05% of turnover per executed order whichever is less
• F&O trades – Rs. 15 or 0.02% of turnover per executed whichever is less

Paytm offers Demat AMC for – Rs. 0 as compared to a minimum of Rs. 200 at other stockbrokers. But you need to pay Rs 30 per month as a trading platform fee.

But you need to pay additional charges like – 

• Annual Platform fees – Rs. 30 per month
• Call and Trade order charges – Rs. 100 per executed order
• Payment gateway charges – Netbanking – Rs. 10. UPI – Rs. 0

USP of Paytm Money Demat cum Trading Account 

• Rs. 0 delivery charges (1 paisa per order)
• One of the lowest flat Rs. 10 brokerages on trading

The account opening is hassle-free, paperless, and online. You need to download the Paytm money app from Google Playstore or the Apple store to complete KYC.

Paytm Money Platforms

• Mobile trading app
• Web Browser trading platform

Both the platforms are secured using 2-FA authentication, fingerprint and PIN protection. You can access real-time market information on top gainers, losers and sector-wise indices. Use advanced charts, indicators and drawing tools.

What I Didn’t like –

• Rs. 30 per month platform charges
• Commodity and currency trading options are unavailable

#5. IIFL Demat Account Review

IIFL Securities Ltd (IIFL) is one of the biggest full-service stockbroker with more than 24 Lakh customers. IIFL Demat account is good for investors who need guidance and research support while making investment decisions.

You would need to pay a percentage based brokerage for trading & value investing. IIFL offers 3 different brokerage plan which includes Investor plan, Premium plan and Super Trader plan.

Recently, IIFL has come out with iSERVE plan charging Rs. 20 per order for all the segments.

IIFL also offers value-added services which include 

• Research advisory
• Market & sector reports & Information
• Options Trading Using Sensibull
• Loan Products (Home, Personal, Gold, Against Property & Business Loan)
• Mutual Fund Investment
• Wealth & Financial Management
• NRI ServicesInstitutional Equities & Investment Banking

You can open IIFL Demat account Free along with zero AMC charges for the first year. 

IIFL Account Opening Charges (iSERVE plan)

• Account opening charges – FREE 
• First-year annual maintenance charges – FREE (limited time)
• Annual maintenance charges second year onwards – Rs 25 per month

IIFL iSERVE Plan Brokerage Charges

• Stock delivery – Rs. 20 per trade 
• Intraday, Equity F&O, Currency F&O and Commodity F&O – Flat Rs 20/trade

Benefits of IIFL Demat Account

• Free account opening & zero first year AMC 
• Lower brokerage charges as compared to other full-service brokers
• Research reports on 500+ stocks, sector summary, daily stock tips and recommendations
• Value-added services like IPO & mutual fund investment.

#6. Angel One Demat Account Review

Angel One (earlier Angel broking) is one of the oldest brokerage companies in India having 10 million customers.

Angel One‘s customer care service is up to the mark. I recommend Angel One only if your Adhaar Card is linked with your mobile number.

You can complete your entire application online and start trading after validating your identity with Adhaar OTP.

Angel One Brokerage Charges

Angel One charges a flat Rs 20 per trade irrespective of the trade volume.

Brokerage Charges Across the Trading Segments

Category	Brokerage Fee
Equity Delivery	Rs 0
Equity Intraday Trading	Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.25%
Equity F&O Trades	Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.25%
Currency F&O Trades	Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.25%
Commodity F&O Trades	Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.25%

Angel One Provided Trading Platforms

• Angel One Trade – A web-based platform useful for portfolio tracking and online web trading. The platform provides up-to-date market information and live news. I use Angel One trade platform for transactions.
• Angel One App –  Loaded with ARQ technology for personalized advisory. The app can be used to trade, view current market prices and track your portfolio.
• Angel Speed Pro –  An installable software comes with 30 days intraday and 20 years historical data. The platform integrates news flash and gives access to various reports. 

Additional Services

• Margin provided up to 5 times of the amount deposit
• You can start trading within 1 hour through digital KYC
• US Stock Market investment in partner with Vested Finance
• Stock Advisory and Portfolio Management Services

Account Opening and AMC Charges of Angel One

• Trading Account Opening Charges – Rs 0.
• Demat Account Opening Charges – Rs 0.
• Annual Maintenance Charges – Rs. 0 for the first year then Rs. 20 per month.

Best Demat Account for Small Investors

#7. Sharekhan Demat & Trading Account Review

Sharekhan is a full-service broker that includes trading, portfolio management, research and mutual funds along with investor education. Presently the company provides service from 3500+ share shops across 600+ cities to over 2.5 million customers.

Account Charges of Sharekhan account

• Trading Account Opening Charges – Nil
• Demat Account Opening Charges – Nil
• Annual Maintenance Charges – Rs. 400 per annum (1st year free)

Brokerage Structure

Trading Segment	Brokerage
Equity Intraday	0.10% on both 1st leg and on the 2nd leg
Equity Delivery	0.50% (min 10 paise)
Equity Futures	0.10% on 1st leg and 0.02% on the 2nd leg
Equity Options	Rs 100 per lot or 2.5% (whichever is  higher)
Currency F&O	Rs 30 per lot or 2.5% (whichever is  higher)

Sharekhan Trading Platforms

A. Sharekhan Website

Sharekhan trading website has supportive features such as dashboard, smart search, portfolio tracker, charts, etc for trading, researching, tracking and investing.

B. Sharekhan Mini

Sharekhan Mini can be accessed on your mobile browser even in low internet access bandwidth scenarios. Sharekhan Mini does not require app installation.

C. Sharekhan App

Sharekhan App is available for both Android and iOS devices, facilitates trading and mutual fund investments on the go. The app provides assistance with charts and flexible search features.

D. TradeTiger

TradeTiger is a web-based, desktop trading platform that provides features of a broker’s terminal.

Benefits of Sharekhan

• NIL account opening charges 
• No annual maintenance charge for the first year
• Sharekhan provides online & offline training workshops to investors
• Free call & trade facility

Drawbacks of Sharekhan

• Brokerage charges on the second leg.
• The brokerage rate is higher as compared to other stockbrokers. But you can negotiate at the time of account opening.

#8. Religare Broking Demat Account Review

Religare Broking is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Religare Enterprises Limited. Religare Enterprise is a diversified financial service group. Religare Broking serves more than 10 Lakh customers across both online and offline platforms.

Religare broking offers services in equity, currency, commodity trading and depository participant services.

Account Charges

• Demat Account Opening Charges – Nil
• Trading  Account Opening Charges – Nil
• Annual Maintenance Charges – Rs. 400 p.a. payable on a monthly basis

But there is an account processing charge of Rs. 500.

Note – You can avail of free lifetime AMC by paying either a one-time non-refundable fee of Rs. 1,111 or a refundable fee of Rs. 2,500.

Religare Demat & Trading Account Brokerage Charges

Religare charges a percentage-based broking fee. You can negotiate brokerage charges while opening demat and trading account. Maximum charges (on website) are below –

• Equity Intraday Charges – Maximum 2.5%
• Equity Delivery – Maximum 2.5%
• Equity F&O – Maximum 2.5% / Rs. 100 per lot

Advantages of Religare Broking

• Religare broking provides a mobile trading platform to place orders anytime from anywhere.
• Provides facility for investing in equities, derivatives, currency, futures, commodities and mutual funds through a single account.
• Provides intraday reporting and historical charting.

Disadvantages of Religare Broking

• Rs. 500 account processing charge.
• Rs 10 per offline order with a maximum limit of Rs 50 per day per segment.
• Religare charges Rs. 999 per annum for using EXE based desktop platform.

#9. Motilal Oswal Demat Account Review

Motilal Oswal provides a huge number of services such as private wealth management, retail broking, and distribution, institutional broking, asset management, investment banking, private equity, commodity broking, currency broking, principal strategies & home finance.

Motilal Oswal has more than 2200 business locations in operation with over 29 Lakh registered customers. Motilal Oswal’s solid research-based advice is the reason for such a strong customer base.

They spend around 10% of revenue on research and on hiring & training for research. I do my own research before buying any stocks, so their research calls are not helpful to me.

Account Charges

• Demat Account Opening Charges – Rs 0
• Trading  Account Opening Charges – Rs 0
• Annual Maintenance Charges –  up to Rs 899 depending on the scheme.

Note – You have the option to pay Rs. 2,500 as one time AMC charges under the lifetime AMC scheme.

Motilal Oswal Brokerage Charges

Segment	Brokerage
Equity Intraday	0.04%
Equity Delivery	0.40%
Equity Options	Rs. 50 per lot
Commodity Options	Rs. 200 per lot
Currency F&O	Rs. 20 per lot

Motilal Oswal Trading Platforms

• MO Trader Desktop EXE Trading Platform – A desktop-based platform that needs to be installed on your PC or laptop. The system provides access to over 30,000 research reports across all asset classes.
• MO Trader Web Platform – Where trading account can be accessed online easily with any browser on the web
• MO Trader Mobile App – A mobile platform for smartphone users providing real-time data and trade execution.

Benefits of Motilal Oswal

• Award-winning research advisory covering 21 sectors across 31,000+ research reports.
• Lots of value-added services like portfolio management services, FD, Gold, US equities & Bond investment

Best Bank For Demat Account in India ( 3-in-1 account )

#10. ICICI Direct Demat and Trading Account Review

ICICI direct is one the largest stock brokerage company having more than 50 Lakh customers. ICICI Direct provides a wide range of services and investment options which includes

• Investment in equities, derivatives, mutual funds, IPO, NCD & bonds, ETF and currency.
• Portfolio & Wealth management and NPS investment.
• Home, Gold, Business loans & loans against securities.

Who Should Apply

• If your trading volume is low then the ICICI Direct account is best for you.
• If you have an existing ICICI saving account and want to invest in IPO and Mutual Funds.
• You will get 3-in-1 account, i.e Saving + Trading + Demat account rolled into one
• The 3-in-1 account offers easy to transfer in and transfer out money.

ICICI offers 4 types of brokerage plans

1) ICICI direct Prime – with access to premium research reports and instant payout through eATM for the shares sold. 

Prime plan in Rs.	Cash	Equity Intraday/ Futures	Equity Options per lot	Currency Options	Currency Options
299 p.a	0.27%	0.027%	Rs. 40	Rs. 20 per order	Rs. 20 per order
999 Lifetime	0.22%	0.022%	Rs. 35	Rs. 20 per order	Rs. 20 per order
1999 Lifetime	0.18%	0.018%	Rs. 25	Rs. 20 per order	Rs. 20 per order
2999 Lifetime	0.15%	0.015%	Rs. 20	Rs. 20 per order	Rs. 20 per order
3999 Lifetime	0.12%	0.012%	Rs. 15	Rs. 20 per order	Rs. 20 per order
4999 Lifetime	0.10%	0.010%	Rs. 10	Rs. 20 per order	Rs. 20 per order

2) I-Secure Plan – Where a fixed percentage of brokerage is charged. 

	Trading Segment	Brokerage
	Equity Cash	0.55%
	Equity Intraday	0.050%
	Equity Futures	First Leg – 0.050% Second Leg – Rs. 50
	Equity Options	Rs. 95 per contract lot Second Leg – Rs. 50
	Currency F&O	Rs. 20 per order
	Commodity F&O	Rs. 20 per order

3) Prepaid Brokerage Plan – You have to pay prepaid brokerage (valid for lifetime) under this plan.

The brokerage rate is lesser as compared to the other plans. But your money will be locked & not beneficial for seasonal traders or investors to lock their money.

Prepaid plan (lifetime validity)	Cash	Equity Intraday/ Futures	Equity Options per lot	Currency Options	Commodity Options
Rs. 2500	0.25%	0.025%	Rs. 35	Rs. 20 per order	Rs. 20 per order
Rs. 5000	0.22%	0.022%	Rs. 30	Rs. 20 per order	Rs. 20 per order
Rs. 12,500	0.18%	0.018%	Rs. 25	Rs. 20 per order	Rs. 20 per order
Rs. 25,000	0.15%	0.015%	Rs. 20	Rs. 20 per order	Rs. 20 per order
Rs. 50,000	0.12%	0.012%	Rs. 15	Rs. 20 per order	Rs. 20 per order
Rs. 75,000	0.09%	0.009%	Rs. 10	Rs. 20 per order	Rs. 20 per order
Rs. 1,00,000	0.07%	0.007%	Rs. 7	Rs. 20 per order	Rs. 20 per order

4) ICICI Direct Neo Brokerage Plan – is suited if you trade mostly in the Equity Futures segment. You need to pay Rs. 0 per order for trading in Equity Futures under the plan.

But ICICI Direct charges Rs. 299 as one-time subscription fees for the Neo plan.

Charges for other segments are under –

Equity Options	Equity Intraday	Currency F&O	Commodity F&O
Rs. 20 per order	Rs. 20 per order	Rs. 20 per order	Rs. 20 per order

Note- 0.15% brokerage is applicable if you happen to take physical delivery of the F&O contract.

ICICI Direct Account Charges

• Account Opening Charges – NIL
• Annual Maintenance Charges –  charges for ICICI Direct Neo – Rs. 300 from first year onwards. AMC charges under other plans – Rs 700 (1st year free).

ICICIDirect Trading Platforms

• Trade Racer Web – A web-based platform with which you can do all the trading and investing activities. The web platform is accessible from any browser.
• Trade Racer Desktop – Installable trading platform with features like live streaming quotes & research calls and an integrated fund transfer system.

If you want to compare ICICI Direct with Zerodha then you check side by side comparison of ICICI Direct vs Zerodha.

#11. HDFC Securities Review

HDFC Securities Limited is a subsidiary of India’s largest private bank HDFC Bank. HDFC securities provide a 3-in-1 account that integrates your saving account, trading account and the demat account.

Account Charges

• Account Opening Charges – NIL
• Account Annual Maintenance Charges –  Rs 750

HDFC Securities Brokerage

Trading Segment	Brokerage charged
Equity Delivery	0.50% or minimum Rs. 25
Equity Intraday	0.05% or minimum Rs. 25 for both buy & sell
Equity Futures	0.025% or minimum Rs. 25 for both buy & sell
Equity Option	1% or premium amount of Rs 100 whichever is higher applicable to both buy and sell
Currency Futures	Rs. 12 on each side
Currency Options	Rs. 10 on each side
Commodity Futures	0.020% or minimum Rs. 20 per order
Commodity Options	Rs. 100 per lot

HDFC Trading Platform

• HDFC Pro Terminal – Pro terminal is a web-based trading platform with real time market data and features like market analysis and sentiment analysis. HDFC charges Rs. 1,999 for 12 months for the Pro terminal use.
• HDFC Securities Mobile Trading – HDFC mobile platform allows trading in equities and derivatives in just a few clicks using mobile phones.

Benefits

• Due to integrated accounts, funds can easily transfer from one account to another. Only helpful for HDFC saving account customers.

Drawbacks

• If you are a new customer to HDFC,  then firstly you have to open a savings account.
• Rs. 1,999 charges for using Pro trading terminal

Top 11 Demat Account Brokerage Charges Comparison in India

Demat Account	Trading Charges	Delivery Charges
Zerodha	Rs 20 per executed order	Rs. 0
Upstox	Rs 20 per executed order	Rs. 20
Paytm Money	Rs 10 per executed order	1 paisa per order
5Paisa	Rs 10 per executed order	0/10 per executed order depending on the pack
Angel One	Rs 20 per executed order	Rs. 0
IIFL Securities	Rs 20/trade	Rs 20/trade
Motilal Oswal	0.04%	0.40%
Sharekhan	0.10% on both 1st leg and the 2nd leg	0.50%
Religare Broking	Negotiable. Maximum 2.5%	Negotiable. Maximum 2.5%
ICICI Direct	0.007% to 0.050% depending on plan	0.07% to 0.55% depending on plan
HDFC Securities	0.05% or min Rs.25 both buy & sell	0.50% or min Rs.25

Which account you should open and why?

I tried to collect all the required information in a single article. Kindly let me know in the comments which account you are opening. For the best experience in trading, Open Zerodha account

if you already have Zerodha account and want to open another account, then open a FREE Upstox account 

For the lowest brokerage charges, Open FREE Paytm Money account. 

Don’t spend much time deciding about the Demat accounts, rather spend more time on learning how can you make money from the share market and trading.

FAQs