Discount brokers usually do not provide trade advice, unlike a full-service broker. But they provide extremely cheap brokerage on trading.
Discount brokers are a better option for investors and traders who frequently trade because of the lowest brokerage charged by the discount brokers.
- Trade frequently
- Do not need investment advice
- Have a small portfolio
Select Your Favorite Section
5 Best Discount Broker in India
#1. Zerodha
Zerodha is the biggest discount broker in India having over 10 Lacs customer base and known for lower brokerage charges. Zerodha charges a fixed brokerage of Rs. 20 per trade irrespective of the trading volume.
Zerodha is a member of BSE, NSE, MCX & MCX-SX and allows you to trade
- Stocks
- Mutual Funds
- Futures & Options
- Govt. Securities
- Sovereign Gold Bond
Zerodha Brokerage Charges
Zerodha offers 0% brokerage on Stock Delivery and a flat Rs. 20 per trade on Intraday Trades.
Here is the link to open an account with Zerodha
Zerodha Charges Details
| Type | Brokerage |
| Equity Delivery | Rs. 0 |
| Equity Intraday | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.01% |
| Equity Futures | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.01% |
| Equity Options | Rs. 20 per executed order |
| Currency Futures & Options | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.01% |
| Commodity F&O | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.01% |
- Zerodha trading account opening charges – Rs. 300
- Zerodha demat account opening charges – Rs. 100
- Zerodha trading account AMC – Rs. 0
- Zerodha demat account AMC – Rs. 300
Zerodha Margin
| Segment | Margin |
| Equity Delivery | No Margin |
| Intraday Equity | Up to 20 times |
| Equity Futures | 40% of the normal margin (NRML) |
| Equity Options | No margin |
| Currency Futures | 40% of the normal margin (NRML) |
| Currency Options | No margin |
| Commodity | 40% of the normal margin (NRML) |
My Opinion about Zerodha
- Zero brokerage for delivery
- Low & fix brokerage irrespective of trade volume
- No minimum balance required to open the account.
- In-House trading platforms
- Frequent delays and service down during trading hours
- The margin provided is low as compared to other brokerage companies
- Cannot invest in IPO through Zerodha
#2. Upstox
Upstox (earlier known as RKSV securities) is a discount broker good for traders who look for low brokerage, high margins, and decent trading platforms.
What I like the most about Upstox, is their high tech and advanced trading platforms.
If you are looking for advanced and easy to use trading platforms you should go with Upstox. You would also get low brokerage charges and high margins which are key points for trading.
Upstox offers fixed brokerage of Rs. 20 per trade irrespective of the trade volume.
Upstox Brokerage Charges
Upstox offers 0% brokerage on the stock delivery
Here is the link to Open Account with Upstox
| Type | Brokerage |
| Equity Delivery | Rs. 0 |
| Equity Intraday | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.01% |
| Equity Futures | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.01% |
| Equity Options | Rs. 20 per executed order |
| Currency Futures & Options | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.01% |
| Commodity F&O | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.01% |
Call & trade service is also available at Rs. 20 per order.
- Upstox Equity demat and trading – Rs. 300 (includes first year AMC)
- Upstox Commodity trading Account – Rs. 150
- Upstox AMC – Rs. 150
Upstox Intraday Margin
| Segment | Basic | Priority Pack |
| NSE/BSE Cash | 15X | 20X |
| Index Futures | 3X | 4X |
| Stock Futures | 3X | 3X |
| Index Option Sell | 3X | 4X |
| Stock Option Sell | 3X | 3X |
| NSE Currency | 4X | 4X |
| MCX Future | 2.5X | 3X |
Upstox Margin OC/OCO orders
| Segment | Basic | Priority Pack |
| NSE/BSE Cash | 20X | 25X |
| Index Futures | 3X | 4X |
| Stock Futures | 3X | 3X |
| Index Option Sell | 3X | 4X |
| Stock Option Sell | 3X | 3X |
| NSE Currency | 4X | 5X |
| MCX Future | 3X | 4X |
| NSE Option Buy | 1.33X | 2X |
My opinion about Upstox
- Zero brokerage charges for delivery
- Great trading platforms
- Fix & low brokerage irrespective of trade volume
- You cannot invest in FPO and IPO through Upstox
#3. 5Paisa Discount Broker
5Paisa is the only discount broker in India which offers a flat fee of just Rs. 10 per trade. You can save huge money on brokerage charges if you trade high volumes regularly.
5Paisa allows you to trade on BSE, NSE, MCX, and MCX-SX exchanges.
The best thing about 5Paisa is its extremely fast and paperless account opening process. I was able to complete all the documentation just within 15 minutes.
5Paisa is best for traders who need access to an easy platform for trading or high volume trader who want to save money on brokerage charges.
5Paisa Brokerage Charges Details
0% on stock delivery – Zero brokerage on long term investment
Flat Rs. 10 per trade (for day trading)
Detailed 5 Paisa Charges
| Transaction | Charges |
| Stock Intraday Trading | Rs. 10 per order |
| Stock Delivery | Rs. 10 per order |
| Stock F&O Trades | Rs. 10 per order |
| Currency F&O Trades | Rs. 10 per order |
- 5Paisa Demat account can be opened with a registration fee of Rs. 650 (non-refundable)
- Annual Maintenance Charges – Rs. 400 (first year free)
100% Fees Waiver on Account Opening Charges (Only for CashOverflow Readers)
Here is the special link to open a FREE account with 5Paisa
You would save Rs. 650+GST that 5Paisa charges for account opening.
5Paisa Margin / 5Paisa Leverage
| Category | Margin |
| Equity Intraday Trading | Up to 20 times |
| Equity Delivery Trading | Up to 3.5 times |
| Equity Futures Intraday Trading | 3 times |
| Currency Futures | 1 time |
My opinion about 5Paisa
- Paperless & fast account opening process
- Good customer care support
- Cheaper & fix brokerage charges (no complexity)
- Great trading platform
- Trading by calling them over the phone is very costly – Rs. 100 per call.
- Some traders faced server down issues in peak hours of trading
#4. Wisdom Capital
Wisdom Capital offers 3 different plans freedom plan, pro plan and ultimate plan to the investors. The plans are different on the basis of brokerage charges and margin provided.
The freedom plan offers zero brokerage charges across all the segments but doesn’t provide a good margin.
The pro plan and ultimate plan are for higher margin requirement for which you would need to pay a little higher brokerage.
The annual maintenance charges for all the three accounts is the same.
- Trading account opening charges – 0
- Demat account opening charges – 0
- Trading account AMC – 0
- Demat account AMC – Rs. 999
Wisdom Capital Brokerage Charges
| Brokerage Plan | Freedom Plan | Pro Plan | Ultimate Plan |
| Equities | Zero | 0.005% Intraday & Delivery | 0.007% Intraday & Delivery |
| Future | Zero | Rs. 9/trade | 0.005% |
| Options | Zero | Rs. 9/trade | Rs. 15/Lot |
| Commodity | Zero | Rs. 9/trade | 0.005% |
Call & Trade Charges at Rs. 20 per executed order
Wisdom Capital Margin
| Brokerage Plan | Freedom Plan | Pro Plan | Ultimate Plan |
| NSE Cash | Up to 5X | Up to 40X | Up to 60X |
| NSE Futures (MIS) | 1X | 6X | 15X |
| NSE Futures (Cover Order) | 1X | Up to 20X | Up to 20X |
| NSE Options | 1X | 1X Buy & 6X Sell | 1X Buy & Up to 15X Sell |
| MCX (MIS) | 1X | 6X | Up to 10X |
| MCX (Cover Order) | 1X | Up to 20X | Up to 20X |
| Deliver in NSE Cash | 1X | Up to 4X | Up to 5X |
My opinion about Wisdom Capital
- Multiple brokerage plans
- High Margin
- Low brokerage
- Poor technology
- You cannot invest in IPO, FPO, Mutual Funds, FDs, NCDs and Offer For Sale (OFS)
- Higher Annual maintenance charges as compared to other discount brokers
#5. Samco
Samco is known for low brokerage charges and high exposure, margin products and free trading products.
One unique feature about Samco is that you can take a loan against stocks and other financial products.
Samco is a member of BSE, NSE, MCX, MCX-SX & NCDEX and allows you to trade
- Equity
- Currency
- Commodity
- Bonds
- ETFs
Samco Brokerage Charges
| Segment | Brokerage |
| Equity Delivery | Lower of 0.2% or Rs. 20 per order |
| Equity Intraday | Lower of 0.02% or Rs. 20 per order |
| Equity Futures | Lower of 0.02% or Rs. 20 per order |
| Equity Options | Lower of 0.02% or Rs. 20 per order |
| Currency Futures | Lower of 0.02% or Rs. 20 per order |
| Currency Options | Lower of 0.02% or Rs. 20 per order |
- Trading account opening charges – 0
- Demat account opening charges – 0
- Trading account AMC – Rs. 400
- Demat account AMC – 0
Samco Margin
| Equity MIS | Up to 3 to 10 times on MIS |
| Equity Cover Order | Up to 50 times |
| Futures | Up to 50% of NRML* Margin |
| Options | N/A |
| Currency Futures | Up to 60% of NRML margin |
| Currency options | 50% of NRML margin |
| Commodity | 40% of NRML margin |
(*NRML = Normal margin)
My opinion about Samco
- Low brokerage charges
- High margin
- No account opening charges
- Low performing trading platform
- Average customer service
- Investment in IPO and mutual funds is not supported
Conclusion
From the above list, I find Zerodha, Upstox and 5 Paisa to be best in term of brokerage charges, margins and trading platforms provided.
However, 5 Paisa charges for stock delivery, plus the Rs. 100 charge on call to trade is very costly. Hence, for Intraday trading, you can choose between Zerodha and Upstox.
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