Zerodha and Motilal Oswal work on two different business models as compared to each other. Zerodha operates on a discount model charging a flat Rs. 20 brokerage fees but does not provide any kind of advisory services.
Zerodha low brokerage and decent margins (12.5X) suit the new generation beginner traders who carry out their own research, are cost-conscious and want to optimize trading costs.
Whereas Motilal Oswal is a full-service stockbroker known for solid research-based advice and hand-holding. They have an expert in-house research team to assist clients in investing and trading.
Motilal Oswal is better suited to the traders who require trading tips and guidance.
Motilal brokerage house is also good for time-constrained long term investors who can pay high brokerages (0.50% on delivery trades) for value-added services like wealth & portfolio management.
Below is a brief comparison table between Zerodha vs Motilal Oswal
Motilal Oswal vs Zerodha Comparison
| Particulars | Zerodha | Motilal Oswal |
| Type | Discount broker | Full-service broker |
| Helps trade-in | Stocks, Equity F&O, Currency F&O and Commodity F&O, Bonds and Govt-Securities | Stocks, Equity F&O, Currency F&O and Commodity F&O |
| Brokerage Charges | Details for Zerodha Plan | Motilal Oswal |
| Equity delivery | Rs. 0 | Up to 0.50% depending on the plan |
| Equity Intraday | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% | Up to 0.50% on each leg depending on the plan |
| Equity Futures | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% | Up to 0.050% on each leg depending on the plan |
| Currency Futures | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% | Up to 0.040% on each leg or up to 20 per lot both depending on the plan |
| Commodity Futures | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% | Up to 0.040% on each leg depending on the plan |
| Equity Options | Rs. 20 per executed order | Up to Rs. 100 per lot on each leg depending on the plan |
| Currency Options | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% | Up to Rs. 20 per lot on each leg depending on the plan |
| Commodity Options | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% | 0.030% on each leg |
| Margin for Intraday | Up to 12.5X | Up to 20X |
| Account Opening Charges | Zerodha | Motilal Oswal |
| Demat & Trading Account | Charges for Demat & Trading account is clubbed – Rs. 200 | Rs. 0 |
| Commodity Account | Rs. 100 | Rs. 0 |
| Demat AMC Fees | Rs. 300 | Up to Rs. 800 depending on the plan |
Let’s review both Zerodha and Motilal Oswal in detail to get depth knowledge.
Zerodha Demat & Trading Account Review
Zerodha broke the long old tradition of charging high percentage-wise broking fees and introduced the flat Rs. 20 brokerages in India. The flat rates are straight forward fees and relieve you from the hassles of calculating the trading volume (price x number of shares) every time.
The flat brokerage rates combined with an online trading facility have helped Zerodha reach more than 2 million in the client base.
You can use Zerodha demat and trading account to invest in
- Stocks & IPOs
- Futures and Options
- Direct mutual funds
- Currency derivatives
- Commodity derivative
- Bonds and Government Securities
Zerodha Brokerage Charges Details
The brokerage charges at Zerodha are as under
| Trading Type | Brokerage Charges |
| Equity Delivery | Rs. 0 |
| Equity Intraday | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% |
| Equity Futures | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% |
| Equity Options | Rs. 20 per executed order |
| Currency Futures and Options | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% |
| Commodity F&O | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% |
But the rest of the value-added services like Screeners, Stock reports and Smallcase are charged.
The prices for value-added services are as under.
Margin Provided Under Zerodha Trading Account
You have margin available on Intraday (MIS), Cover orders (CO) and Bracket Orders (BO) products. Learn more about MIS, CO & BO orders and intraday trading here.
The Margin for Intraday (MIS) is as under.
| Segment | Margin |
| Equity Delivery | No Margin |
| Intraday Equity | 3 to 12.5 times depending on the scrip |
| Index Futures | Margin required is 35% of the normal margin (NRML) |
| Equity Futures | Margin required is 45% of the normal margin (NRML) |
| Index Option Writing | Margin required is 35% of the normal margin (NRML) |
| Stock Option Writing | Margin required is 45% of the normal margin (NRML) |
| Currency Futures & Option Writing | 50% of the normal margin (NRML) |
| Commodity Futures & Option Writing | 50% of the normal margin (NRML) |
But the sad part is that Zerodha does not disclose upfront the margin provided on BO & CO products.
Zerodha Account Opening Charges
There are charges for demat & trading account opening
| Particulars | Charges |
| Trading and Demat account opening charges | Rs. 200 |
| Commodity Account | Rs. 100 |
| Trading account annual maintenance charges | Rs. 0 |
| Demat account annual maintenance charges | Rs. 300 |
People who cannot open an account online can opt for an offline account opening. But you need to pay an additional Rs. 300.
Read our full review on Zerodha
Best For
Zerodha is best for regular traders who don’t want to pay high brokerage and are happy to trade in low margins.
Pros
- Zero brokerage on delivery trades
- Rs. 20 brokerages on other segments
- Tools like Console, Sentinel and Coin
Cons
- Frequent delays during trading hours.
- Lower margin as compared to other discount brokers
Motilal Oswal Demat & Trading Account Review
Motilal Oswal is a full-service broker whose professional services can be leveraged to create and manage long term wealth.
The kind of services Motilal offers is best for time-constrained high earning investors who want to build a solid wealth corpus through equity investment for their future financial goals.
The services include
- Retail broking and distribution
- Mutual Funds
- IPO
- Insurance
- Gold Investment
- Portfolio & wealth management
Motilal Oswal has 30 years of wealth-creating experience and over 10 Lakh customer base. The company has more than 69,500 crores of depository assets and is present at 2200+ locations pan India.
Motilal Oswal Brokerage, Admin and AMC Charges
Motilal offers three different plans on demat account. The brokerage details under each plan are as under.
Motilal Oswal Account Opening Charges – NiL
Let’s look at the Motilal Oswal brokerage charges and AMC charges for their various plan
1. Value Pack brokerage plan
| Value Amount | Delivery | Intraday (on each leg) | Futures Equity & Currency (on each leg) | Futures Commodity (on each leg) | Options Equity (per lot on each leg) | Options Currency (per lot on each leg) |
| Rs. 2000 | 0.40% (min 2 paise) | 0.040% | 0.040% | 0.030% | Rs. 50 | Rs. 20 |
| Rs. 3000 | 0.35% (min 2 paise) | 0.035% | 0.035% | 0.025% | Rs. 45 | Rs. 18 |
| Rs. 5000 | 0.30% (min 2 paise) | 0.030% | 0.030% | 0.020% | Rs. 40 | Rs. 15 |
| Rs. 10,000 | 0.25% (min 2 paise) | 0.025% | 0.025% | 0.015% | Rs. 30 | Rs. 12 |
| Rs. 30,000 | 0.20% (min 2 paise) | 0.020% | 0.020% | 0.010% | Rs. 25 | Rs. 11 |
| Rs. 50,000 | 0.15% (min 2 paise) | 0.015% | 0.015% | 0.008% | Rs. 25 | Rs. 10 |
| Rs. 1,00,000 | 0.10% (min 2 paise) | 0.010% | 0.010% | 0.007% | Rs. 20 | Rs. 8 |
- Admin charges under the value pack for all the slabs is Rs. 199 from the first year itself.
- The AMC charges are NIL for the first year. From the second year onwards the charges are Rs. 299 per annum.
2. Margin Scheme brokerage plan
| Margin Up to | Delivery | Intraday (on each leg) | Futures Equity (on each leg) | Options Equity (per lot) | Currency F&O (per lot) | AMC Charges p.a | Admin Charges p.a |
| Rs. 9,999 | 0.50% (min 5 paise) | 0.050% | 0.050% | Rs. 100 | Rs. 20 | Rs. 800 | Rs. 199 |
| Rs. 10,000 to 24,999 | 0.50% (min 5 paise) | 0.050% | 0.050% | Rs. 100 | Rs. 20 | Rs. 299 | Rs. 199 |
| Rs. 25,000 to 49,999 | 0.40% (min 3 paise) | 0.040% | 0.040% | Rs. 75 | Rs. 20 | Free | NIL |
| Rs. 50,000 to 99,999 | 0.03% (min 3 paise) | 0.030% | 0.030% | Rs. 70 | Rs. 20 | Free | NIL |
| Rs. 1 lakh to 2,99,999 | 0.25% (min 3 paise) | 0.025% | 0.025% | Rs. 50 | Rs. 20 | Free | NIL |
| Rs. 3 lakh to 4,99,999 | 0.02% (min 2 paise) | 0.020% | 0.020% | Rs. 40 | Rs. 20 | Free | NIL |
| Rs. 5 Lakh | 0.015% (min 1 paise) | 0.015% | 0.015% | Rs. 25 | Rs. 20 | Free | NIL |
| Margin Up to | Commodity Futures (on each leg) |
| Rs. 9,999 | 0.04% |
| Rs. 10,000 to 24,999 | 0.04% |
| Rs. 25,000 to 49,999 | 0.04% |
| Rs. 50,000 to 99,999 | 0.03% |
| Rs. 1 lakh to 2,99,999 | 0.02% |
| Rs. 3 lakh to 4,99,999 | 0.02% |
| Rs. 5 Lakh | 0.01% |
3. AMC 999 brokerage plan
| Trading Type | Brokerage Charges |
| Equity Delivery | 0.50% |
| Equity Intraday | 0.05% on each leg |
| Equity Futures | 0.05% on each leg |
| Equity Options | Rs. 100 per lot |
| Currency Futures and Options | Rs. 20 per lot |
| Commodity F&O | 0.030% on each leg |
You need to pay admin charges of Rs. 199 annually and the AMC charges are Rs. 800 yearly.
Margin Provided by Motilal Oswal
The information on margins for various trade types is not available on the Motilal Oswal website. That is because they provide customized margin based on your risk capacity and past trading experience.
New traders can expect the below margin facility to trade intraday. However, the margins are negotiable at the time of account opening.
| Segment | Margin |
| Equity Delivery | 4X |
| Intraday Equity | Up to 20X depending on the stock |
| Equity Futures | 3X |
| Commodity Futures | 3X |
Check out – best discount brokers in India.
Motilal Oswal Stock Trading Platforms
#1. MO Investor trading platform review
MO Investor is a web-based financial fitness and trading platform with Robo Wealth and ACE tools (advise on a combination of equities). Both tools help you to select the right stock and offer professional investment strategies.
The platform comes with stock scanners and the facility to place bulk orders.
One can multiple chart types with intervals ranging from 1 minute to 5 years with 9 technical indicators.
#2. MO Trader trading platform review
MO Trader is a trading platform for advanced traders integrated with algo based products like Trade Guide Signal, Option Writer and Option Decoder.
Using MO Trader you can
- Apply up to 20 screeners
- Create and place bulk orders
- Create and view 4 multi-asset watch lists
- Add up to 50 scrips in a single watchlist
- Access research on 260+ companies & 21+ sectors
#3. Desktop-based trading platform review
The Motilal Oswal desktop platform needs to be downloaded on your laptop or PC using exe.file from the website.
The desktop trading platform is loaded with advanced tick-by-tick stock price charts and tools. One has on hands more than 40 indicators for technical analysis. You have the option to create a multi-asset watchlist.
The platform lets you access over 30,000 research reports and trade tools like Trade Guide Signal, Option Writer and Option Decoder.
#4. MO Investor App and MO Trader App review
Both MO Investor and MO Trader app are the miniature version of their corresponding full-fledged trading platforms.
Both apps help you trade anywhere at any time and are compatible with Android and iOS smartphones.
Unique Smartwatch App
The Motilal Oswal unique smartwatch is loaded with an app for
- Getting the latest market updates
- Receiving instant notifications
- Knowing portfolio, position and margin details
Motilal Oswal Best For
Traders and investors who require research advisory, trading tips, reports and handholding while trading. You can also open an account if you trade low volumes or do not mind paying money for other services.
Advantages of Motilal Oswal
- Solid research advisory
- Wealth & portfolio management services
- Smartwatch app
Disadvantages of Motilal Oswal
- A lot of brokerage plans
- Admin charges
- Account foreclosure charge of Rs. 500
Motilal Oswal vs Zerodha (Complete Comparison Table)
Let compare each factor of Zerodha and Motilal Oswal side by side to give your better clarity
| Particulars | Zerodha | Motilal Oswal |
| Type | Discount broker | Full-service broker |
| Helps trade-in | Stocks, Equity F&O, Currency F&O and Commodity F&O, Bonds and Govt-Securities | Stocks, Equity F&O, Currency F&O and Commodity F&O |
| Helps invest in | Mutual Funds IPO – through Bhim UPI | Mutual Funds IPO Insurance Gold Wealth & PMS services |
| Based out of | Bengaluru | Mumbai |
| Branches | 120 and partner offices | 2200+ |
| Customer Support | Through calls, e-mails and tickets | Through calls and e-mails |
| Forum | Trading QnA Forum | None |
| Learning Resources | Zerodha Varsity | Educational video, ebooks and articles on the website |
| Brokerage Charges | Details for Zerodha Plan | Motilal Oswal |
| Equity delivery | Rs. 0 | Up to 0.50% depending on the plan |
| Equity Intraday | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% | Up to 0.050% on each leg depending on the plan |
| Equity Futures | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% | Up to 0.050% on each leg depending on the plan |
| Currency Futures | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% | Up to 0.040% on each leg, up to 20 per lot both depending on the plan |
| Commodity Futures | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% | Up to 0.040% on each leg depending on the plan |
| Equity Options | Rs. 20 per executed order | Up to Rs. 100 per lot on each leg depending on the plan |
| Currency Options | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% | Up to Rs. 20 per lot on each leg depending on the plan |
| Commodity Options | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% | 0.030% on each leg |
| Call and Trade Facility | Yes | Yes |
| Charges for Call and Trade | Rs. 50 per order | Charges not disclosed |
| Margin for Intraday | Details for Zerodha Plan | Motilal Oswal |
| Equity delivery | 0 | 4X |
| NSE/ BSE Cash | 3 to 12.5 times depending on the scrip | Up to 20X depending on the stock |
| Index Futures | Margin required is 35% of the normal margin. i.e. 2.857X | Information not available |
| Stock Futures | Margin required is 45% of the normal margin i.e. 2.222X | 4X |
| Index Option Sell | Margin required is 35% of the normal margin. i.e. 2.857X | Information not available |
| Stock Option Sell | Margin required is 45% of the normal margin i.e. 2.222X | Information not available |
| NSE Currency | 50% of the normal margin i.e. 2X | Information not available |
| MCX/ Commodity Futures | 50% of the normal margin i.e. 2X | 5X |
| Margin for OC/ OCO | Details for Zerodha Plan | Motilal Oswal |
| NSE/ BSE Cash | Does not disclose upfront. You need to use BO & CO margin calculator | Information not available |
| Account Opening Charges | Zerodha | Motilal Oswal |
| Demat & Trading Account | Charges for Demat & Trading account is clubbed – Rs. 200 | Rs. 0 |
| Demat AMC Fees | Rs. 300 | Up to Rs. 800 depending on the plan |
| Commodity Account | Rs. 100 | Rs. 0 |
| Trading Platforms | Zerodha Kite 3.0 Zerodha PI | MO Trader & MO Investor Desktop Trading platform |
| Cloud Alert Tool | Sentinel | None |
| APIs | Kite Connect API supports Python, Java, PHP, NodeJS, C#, and .Net. | None |
| Trading App | Kite Mobile App | MO Investor App MO Trader App |
F&Q
Q: Who can open a demat and trading account?
A: Indian resident, HUF, NRI, proprietary firm, partnership firm or company can open a demat and trading account.
Q: What is a paperless account opening?
A: It is an online account opening process involving zero paperwork, Aadhaar authentication and uploading of documents.
Q: What is e-sign?
A: eSign is a digital electronic signature. An account opening form has to be authenticated by e-signing the digital form. Aadhar fetches the e-sign of individuals.
Q: Can one start trading immediately after making payment?
A: Almost immediately, after account activation and complete the in-person verification process.
Why You Might Prefer Zerodha Trading Account
Zerodha trading account helps new traders and investors get started (on low cost) in the world of stock trading and investing.
You can get hands-on the online trading platform, experiment intraday trading and build a small portfolio of around Rs. 2 to 3 Lakhs.
New generation tech-savvy online investors would love their Kite 3.0 platform, Sentinel (cloud alert tool) and Zerodha coin for investing in mutual funds.
Why You Might Prefer Motilal Oswal Trading Account
Motilal Oswal is a veteran stockbroker with years of experience in wealth creation for its loyal clients.
Motilal Oswal fulfills your trading needs only if you are looking for research reports, trading tips and hand-holding and do not mind paying extra money.
You can also pick Motilal Oswal if you intend to create long term wealth based on market research and other value-added investment services like wealth & portfolio management services.
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