10 Best Discount Broker in India 2023

In 2010, Zerodha was the first discount broker in India to start a new trend that saved up to 90% of brokerage fees.

Earlier, full service brokers charged a percentage base high brokerage fee for stock delivery and intraday trading. 

Full service brokers still charge the high brokerage fee but now we have a lot of discount brokers who charge a fixed brokerage as low as Rs 9 per trade and provide free stock delivery. 

Let’s understand the basic difference between discount brokers and full service brokers for better clarity. 

Difference Between Discount Broker & Full Service Broker

Full Service Broker vs Discounted Broker

Discount brokers provide you only platform for stock trading. You don’t get any advisory service from the discount broker. That’s the reason you get low cost brokerage plans as compared to full-service brokers

Full service brokers provide research reports, trading and advisory services in stock, commodities, currencies, Mutual funds, and IPOs. Advisory services increase their cost, so they charge higher brokerage from their customers. You can go through the zero brokerage trading account in India.

For me, Discount brokers are better options as I suggest to do our own research for trading and value investing. And you would end up saving a handsome amount on brokerage fees. 

I have listed the important factors that I have used to review the discount brokers. Check out the factors before moving to the list of best discount brokers in India. 

Discount Broker in India Comparison Table 2023

We have shortlisted the best discount brokers in India based on their brokerage rates, trading platform performance, client base, and customer support.

RankingDiscount BrokerBrokerage Charges
1Zerodha0.03% to Rs. 20 per order
25paisaRs. 10 to Rs. 20 per order
3Upstox0.05% to Rs. 20 per order
4SAS Online0.01% to Rs. 9 per order
5FYERS0.03% to Rs. 20 per order
6Wisdom Capital0.01% per order
7Samco0.05% to Rs. 20 per order
Trade Smart0.007% to Rs.15 per order
9ProStocksRs. 15 per order
10TradeJini0.05% to Rs. 20 per order

Top 10 Best Discount Broker in India 2023

#1. Zerodha (Most Trusted Discount Broker)

Zerodha web

According to our research report on top 20 stockbrokers in India, Zerodha was the first and most trusted discount broker in India with more than 64 lakh+ client base. Zerodha started its operations in 2010 and has 10+ years of experience in the brokerage industry.

Zerodha introduced the flat brokerage system in India by charging Rs. 20 per order for intraday. The stock delivery is free. 

You can also invest in direct mutual funds without paying any commission to Zerodha. 

You can utilize multiple platforms according to your requirement. The platforms that Zerodha provide are –

  • Zerodha Kite – Minimalist stock trading platform with simple and easy to use user interface
  • Zerodha Coin – To invest in direct mutual funds and bonds
  • Console – To invest in IPOs and you all trading and investing reports

Zerodha has also collaborated with Sensibul for Options trading and Small case for thematic investing. You can check the best option trading apps in India that offer cheap brokerage rate on option trading.

You can also utilize 100+ technical indicators like fibonacci retracement for quick market movement analysis.

Zerodha is popular for their quick customer support with a ticket resolution window of 48 hours. They are also very responsive to tweets if you are not satisfied with their customer service assistance.

Brokerage Charges 

SegmentBrokerage Fee
Equity DeliveryFree
Equity IntradayRs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% (whichever is lower)
Equity FuturesRs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% (whichever is lower)
Equity OptionsRs. 20 per executed order
Currency/Commodity Futures Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% (whichever is lower)
Currency/Commodity OptionsRs. 20 per executed order

Account Opening and Maintenance Charges 

TypeCharges
Account Opening ChargesEquity – Rs. 200
Commodity – Rs. 100
Annual Maintenance ChargesRs. 75 per quarter (Rs. 300 annually)

Zerodha Margin Benefits

SegmentMargin
Equity DeliveryNo Margin
Intraday Up to 5X
Stock Futures and OptionsUp to 2X
Indices Futures and OptionsUp to 2X
Currency FuturesUp to 2X
Currency OptionsNo margin
Commodity FuturesUp to 2X
Pros
  • Free equity delivery
  • Fast and efficient trading platform
  • Good customer support
  • 100+ technical indicators
  • Minimalistic mobile app user interface
Cons
  • No leverage on equity delivery
  • Zerodha app hangs in the peak hours sometimes

Best for – Zerodha is best for traders who want a trusted broker which provides better trading platforms and charge less brokerage fees. 

#2. Upstox (Zerodha Alternative)

Upstox

Upstox (detailed review) is the fastest-growing discount broker in the last 2 years. Now Upstox becomes the 2nd biggest discount broker after Zerodha in terms of customer base. Upstox charges a fixed brokerage of Rs 20 per trade. 

You can also open a 3-in-1 account with Upstox. The 3-in-1 account includes savings, demat and trading accounts in one account. The benefit of a 3-in-1 account is that you can transfer funds from a savings account to a trading account and vice versa in a single click. 

Secondly, you earn interest on the unallocated money that you are not using in a trading account.

Upstox also offers you to invest in direct mutual funds, IPOs and digital gold directly from the Upstox trading app. You can also use the Upstox coupon code for free demat and trading account opening fee with zero AMC charges.

Brokerage Charges 

SegmentBrokerage Charges
Stock DeliveryRs 20/order or 2.5% (whichever is lower)
Stock IntradayRs. 20/order or 0.05% (whichever is lower)
Stock FuturesRs. 20/order or 0.05% (whichever is lower)
Stock OptionsFlat Rs. 20 per executed order
Futures – Currency/Commodity Rs. 20/order or 0.05% (whichever is lower)
Options – Currency/Commodity Flat Rs. 20 per executed order
Call Trade ChargesRs. 20/call

Account Opening and Maintenance Charges 

TypeCharges
Account Opening ChargesFree
Annual Maintenance ChargesZero
Pros
Cons
  • Customer support is need to be improved

Best for – If you are looking for a Zerodha alternative along with free account opening.

Check outZerodha vs Upstox detailed review

#3. 5paisa (Best for Occasional Traders)

5paisa home

5paisa is the second cheapest discount broker in India. If you are a high volume trader, you can enjoy brokerage as low as Rs. 10 per trade with their premium plans. You need to pay Rs 499 for the power investor pack and Rs 1199 per month for the trader pack. 

You only need to pay the maintenance charges only for the month in which you make any trade. This feature makes 5paisa ideal for occasional traders. 

If you are a short term trader you can benefit from their “Swing Trader” tool, that offers you trading strategies by analysing market movements from 2 days up to 20 days. You can use the paper trading apps to practice your trading strategies without risking real money.

5paisa trading platform are easy to use and carry decent user interface 

Brokerage Charges 

SegmentBasic PlanPower Investor Pack
(499/Month)
Ultra Trader Pack
(1199/Month)
Stock DeliveryRs. 20/orderRs. 10/orderZero
Stock IntradayRs. 20/orderRs. 10/orderRs. 10/order
Stock FuturesRs. 20/orderRs. 10/orderRs. 10/order
Stock OptionsRs. 20/orderRs. 10/orderRs. 10/order
Commodity/Currency F&ORs. 20/orderRs. 10/order Rs. 10/order 
Call Trade ChargesRs. 100/callRs. 100/callFree

Account Opening and Maintenance Charges 

TypeCharges
Account Opening ChargesFree (Rs. 0)
Annual maintenance chargesRs. 300 annually (Rs 25 per month)

5paisa Margin Benefits

CategoryMargin
Equity Intraday TradingUp to 4X
F&O Exposure IntradayUp to 5X
Option Writing ExposureUp to 6X
Currency Futures1X
Pros
  • Easy user interface
  • One stop place for multiple investment types like trading, mutual funds and insurance
  • Detailed stock analysis by MarketSmith India
  • Pro pack for high volume trading
Cons
  • Trading platform crawls in the peak hours sometimes
  • No free equity delivery
  • Call to trade is very expensive in basic plan at Rs. 100/call

Best for – Traders who use the services occasionally as they need to pay Rs 25 only for the month they used the 5paisa services. 

#4. SAS Online (Cheapest Discount Broker)

SAS ONline

SAS Online is the cheapest discount brokerage in India. You can trade at Rs. 9 only and if you are a heavy trader, you can go for Rs. 999 monthly plan for unlimited trades every month.

They have more than 50,000 clients who trade on the SAS online platform. You can use margin up to 10X leverage in Equity cash.

You can trade using their Web trading platform “Alpha”. Alpha is a lightweight and fast trading platform but it glitches sometimes.

You can aiso install Alpha Mobile app to trade on the go, but the app is a basic app with some bugs. The app also misses many important features like showing margin requirement in order window.

Brokerage Charges 

SAS Online offers 3 brokerage plans to cater different needs of investors and traders as discussed below.

1. Regular Brokerage Plan

SegmentRegular Brokerage Plan
Equity DeliveryRs 9 per executed order or 0.01% whichever is lower
Equity IntradayRs 9 per executed order or 0.01% whichever is lower
Equity F&OFlat Rs. 9 per executed order
Currency/Commodity – F&OFlat Rs. 9 per executed order

2. Trading Plan

You get unlimited free orders across all the segments but you have to pay a regular monthly fee as mentioned below.

Equity PlanRs 999 per month
Currency PlanRs 499 per month
Commodity PlanRs 1999 per month

3. Pro Plan

With Pro plan, you get unlimited free orders in equity delivery, intraday, and F&O. However, you need to pay a regular monthly fee of Rs 1999 per month. It’s important to note that the Pro plan does not cover trading in MCX and CDS. For trading in MCX and CDS you need to buy a separate trading plan.

Through pro plan, you get the below benefits.

  • Unlimited trading at Zero brokerage across all segments except MCX and CDS. 
  • Earn 3.5% p.a. interest on lying cash in the trading account
  • Trade unlimited against pledged collateral 
  • Free access to NEST trader software and Alpha APIs.

Account Opening and Maintenance Charges 

TypeCharges
Trading Account Opening FeeRs 200 for equity
Rs 200 for commodity
Demat Account Opening ChargesRs. 200
Annual Maintenance ChargesRs. 200

SAS Online Margin 

SegmentMargin
Equity DeliveryUp to 4X
Intraday Up to 10X
Stock Futures and OptionsUp to 2X
Indices Futures and OptionsUp to 2X
Currency FuturesUp to 2X
Currency OptionsUp to 1.5X
Commodity FuturesUp to 2X
Pros
  • Lowest trading charges at Rs 9 per order
  • Unlimited trading plan for heavy traders at Rs. 999/month
  • More leverage facility than other competitors
Cons
  • Trading platform is not efficient
  • App contains bugs and misses important features
  • No free equity delivery

Best for – If you want the cheapest brokerage rate with monthly plans. 

#5. FYERS (Theme Based Investing)

FYERS

FYERS offers theme based stock investment. They have 100+ pre-designed portfolios that you can choose from or customize as per your investment goals.

For example, You can choose a theme “Banking Magnets” in which your money will be invested in the banking sector, corporate, retail and microfinance sectors. 

You can utilize 70+ technical indicators and 20+ years historical End of the Day “EOD” data for deep analysis of market trends.

Brokerage Charges 

SegmentBrokerage Fee
Equity DeliveryFree
Equity IntradayRs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% (whichever is lower)
Futures (Equity, Currency, Commodity)Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% (whichever is lower)
Options (Equity, Currency, Commodity)Rs. 20 per executed order
Thematic InvestingBuy – Free
Sell/Modify – Free

Account Opening and Maintenance Charges 

TypeCharges
Account Opening ChargesFree
Annual Maintenance ChargesFree

FYERS Margin Benefits

SegmentMargin
Equity DeliveryNo Margin
Intraday Up to 10X
Stock Futures and OptionsUp to 4X
Indices Futures and OptionsUp to 4X
Commodity Futures and OptionsUp to 3X
Pros
  • Free equity delivery
  • No brokerage on buying in thematic investing
  • 70+ technical indicators
  • 20+ years historical EOD data available
Cons
  • Multiple investment options like mutual funds not available
  • Poor customer support service

Best for – If you want to invest in pre-defined investment portfolios. 

#6. Wisdom Capital

Wisdom capital

Wisdom Capital offers a Pro plan with lifetime free access by charging a one-time fee of Rs 999. Additionally, there is no account opening fee associated with Wisdom Capital.

Wisdom Capital offers 0.01% brokerage charges on equity trades (including delivery, and intraday) while on F&O and commodity trading you will be paying Rs. 9 per order as per official website information.

However, you can negotiate at Rs. 5 per order through telephonic conversion, making it a low-cost option among other discount brokers in the industry.

Brokerage Charges 

SegmentPro Plan
Equities Delivery0.01% per order
Equities Intraday0.01% per order
NSE FutureRs 5/Trade
NSE OptionsRs 5/Trade
Currency F&ORs 5/Trade
MCX CommodityRs 5/Trade
Call & Trade ChargesRs 20/Executed Order

Account Opening and Maintenance Charges 

TypeCharges
Account Opening ChargesFree
AMC ChargesRs.999 + GST (One-time charges for a lifetime)

Wisdom Capital Margin Benefits

SegmentPro Plan
Equity Delivery
Intraday Upto 10 X 
Stock Futures and OptionsUpto 2X
Indices Futures and OptionsUpto 2X
Currency FuturesUpto 2X
Currency OptionsUpto 2X
Pros
  • No Brokerage in Freedom plan
  • No Account opening fee
  • No AMCs for lifetime
  • High leverage facility in ultimate plan
Cons
  • Offline account opening
  • No investment options for mutual funds, IPO or bonds
  • Slow mobile app

Best for – If you want you to open lifetime free account by paying a onetime fee of Rs 999. 

#7. SAMCO (Zero Balance Trading)

Samco Discount Broker

If you are looking for a best stock broker in India that offers you margin trading with cash collateral, then go with Samco.

Samco allows you to pledge 100% of your shares to trade further unlike other brokers where you have to deposit 50% cash collateral and 50% stock collateral.

You can utilize their Stock Pledge Monitor that allows you to check if promoters are not pledging heavy amounts of stocks to manipulate the market. That gives you an edge over others to avoid investing in those shares where promoter pledging percentage is high.

You can also use separate apps for mutual funds or to buy valuable stocks for long term investment. Read our list of best brokers for mutual funds investment to know about top brokers to cater to your mutual funds’ investment needs.

Brokerage Charges 

SegmentBrokerage Fee
Equity DeliveryRs. 20 per executed order or 0.50% (whichever is lower)
Equity IntradayRs. 20 per executed order or 0.05% (whichever is lower)
Equity F&ORs. 20 per executed order
Currency F&ORs. 20 per executed order or 0.05% (whichever is lower)
Commodity FuturesRs. 20 per executed order or 0.05% (whichever is lower)
Commodity OptionsNot Available

Account Opening and Maintenance Charges 

TypeCharges
Account Opening ChargesFree
Annual Maintenance ChargesRs. 400 (1st year free)

Samco Margin Benefits

SegmentMargin
Cash Plus (Equity Delivery)Up to 4X
Stock Plus 100% margin against pledged stocks
Intra Plus (Futures and Options)Up to 15X
Pros
  • High leverage facility
  • Innovative tools to make smart trading decisions
  • Welcome bonus with 100% first month brokerage cashback
  • 100+ technical indicators
  • Zero balance trading
Cons
  • No free equity delivery
  • App logs out randomly
  • No regular app updates

Best for – Margin trading without cash collateral

#8. Trade Smart (Ultra Low Brokerage) 

Trade Smart

Trade Smart offers “ultra low” brokerage on trading. They offer 0.007% brokerage per order for intraday. 

Trade Smart is the second cheapest discount broker after Wisdom Capital.

Trade Smart provides the “SINE”  trading platform with 80+ indicators for analyzing the stock market moves.

You can also install the Trade Smart SINE app but that has lots of bugs like funds addition is slow.

Trade Smart claims to have more than 100 members customer support team to provide quick assistance to the clients. 

Brokerage Charges

SegmentValue Trading PlanPower Trading Plan
Equity Delivery0.07% per executed orderRs. 15 per executed order 
Equity Intraday Trading0.007% per executed orderRs. 15 per executed order 
Equity Futures0.007% per executed orderRs. 15 per executed order 
Equity OptionsFlat Rs. 7 per lotRs. 15 per executed order 
Currency Futures0.007% per executed orderRs. 15 per executed order 
Currency OptionsRs. 7 per lotRs. 15 per executed order 
Commodity Futures0.007% per executed order Rs. 15 per executed order 
Commodity OptionsRs. 7 per lotRs. 15 per executed order 

Account Opening and Maintenance Charges 

TypeCharges
Account Opening ChargesZero (Free)
Annual Maintenance ChargesRs 300 Yearly (Free for 1st Year)

Trade Smart Margin Benefits

SegmentMargin
EquitiesUp to 10X
Equities F&OUp to 2X
Currencies F&OUp to 2X
Commodities F&OUp to 2X
Pros
  • Offices in 1000 cities
  • No hidden fees
Cons
  • No free equity delivery
  • Low performance in peak hours

Best for –  If you are looking for an alternative that charges the lowest brokerage. No requirement of free stock delivery. 

#9. Prostocks (Unlimited Plans)

ProStocks

Prostocks (detailed review) offers low brokerage as well as unlimited trading plans as well.

You can either trade for flat brokerage of Rs. 15 or you can opt for unlimited trading by paying monthly charges of Rs. 899 per month. You can also pay Rs. 8999 annually for unlimited stock trading.

You can also pay Rs. 499 monthly or Rs. 4999 yearly for unlimited currency trading.

Prostocks offer 3 trading platforms – 

  • Prostocks Web – You can use it through web portal
  • Prostocks Desktop – You can download and install in your system for faster execution
  • Prostocks Mobile – Smartphone app to trade on the go

Brokerage Charges

SegmentBrokerage Charges
Equity DeliveryFree
Equity Intraday TradingRs. 15 per trade 
Equity F&ORs. 15 per trade 
Currency F&ORs. 15 per trade 
Commodity F&OProStocks does not provide trading in commodity F&O.
Unlimited TradingEquity – Rs. 899 per month
Currency – Rs. 499 per month

Account Opening and Maintenance Charges 

TypeCharges
Account Opening ChargesFree
Annual Maintenance ChargesFree (Rs. 1000 as refundable security)

Prostocks  Margin Benefits

SegmentMargin/Exposure/Limit/Leverage
Equity DeliveryUpto 1x 
Equity IntradayUpto 7x 
Equity FutureUpto 2x  
Equity OptionUpto 1x  
Currency FutureUpto 1.5x
Currency OptionUpto 1x
Commodity Future
Commodity Option
BO & CO MarginUpto 20x (Time Exposure)
Pros
  • Zero AMC fee
  • Unlimited plans available
Cons
  • No commodity trading available
  • High demat account security fee of Rs 1000 (refundable)

Best for –  unlimited stock and currency trading

#10. Tradejini (High Equity Leverage)

TradeJini

TradeJini demands the lower of Rs. 20 per order or 0.05% as intraday brokerage. Trade Jini has emerged as a reputable discount broker with their brokerage offices in 1000 cities across India.

TradeJini has Vega Pro trading platform and mobile app that allows you to create multiple watchlists with options to categorize Industry wise or promoter wise.

TradeJini also offers better margin leverage on equities as compared to other peers.

Brokerage Charges

SegmentBrokerage Charges
Equity DeliveryRs. 20/order or 0.1% (whichever is lower)
Equity Intraday TradingRs. 20/order or 0.05% (whichever is lower)
Futures – Equity/Currency/CommodityRs. 20/order or 0.05% (whichever is lower)
Options – Equity/Currency/CommodityRs. 20/ Executed Order

Account Opening and Maintenance Charges 

TypeCharges
Account Opening ChargesRs. 300
Annual Maintenance ChargesRs. 300 annually

TradeJini Margin Benefits

SegmentMargin Leverage
Equity SpotUp to 10X 
Equity F&O Up to 2.5X
Commodity  F&O Up to 3X 
Currency  F&O Up to 2X
Pros
  • Low brokerage
  • Customized watchlists on trading platforms
  • Offices across 1000 Indian cities
Cons
  • Equity delivery brokerage percentage is little high

Best for – high margin trading in stocks

We can add single plus point along with the Broker name like Zerodha (most trusted), 5Paisa (2nd cheapest), SAS online (cheapest), XYZ (high leverage).

Factors to Compare the Discount Brokers in India 

Factors to Compare the Discount Brokers in India

#1. Is Lower Brokerage Fee the Best?

Discount brokers in India charge brokerage fees starting from Rs 9 per trade to Rs 20 per trade.
Brokerage fee should not be the sole parameter to finalise the discount brokers. 

By paying a genuine brokerage fee of Rs 20 per trade you can get a service from a top broker like Zerodha. If you try to cut the cost below Rs 20 then you would be ready to compromise on service end. 

I have explained the other important factors in coming points.  

#2. Efficient Trading Platform

Trading platform performance is like salt in the food, it’s presence is not felt but it’s absence makes all things “tasteless”. 

If the trading platform is slow, takes time to show the live market, hard to use the different charts & tools then you would never focus on your trades. 

Choose a discount broker that provides large historical data to analyse the past performances of the market and provide various technical indicators like bollinger bands, moving averages and charting options like candlesticks to watch real time market trends.

You should also check mobile trading apps performance if you are going to do trading through your mobile phone. 

#3. Reputation of Broker

Reputation of a broker depends upon the number of clients the broker possesses. More clients means more people trust that broker. 

For example, Zerodha has the highest number of client base with more than 64 lakh+ customers. 

#4. Great Customer Support

If you are going for a discount broker that means you are not expecting any offline office of a broker in your city. 

That means their customer support must be highly efficient to resolve your queries at hand. For example, Zerodha has a 48 hour ticket window, so they have to close the ticket in the fixed time frame.

Discount brokers mostly have bad customer support, you may escalate on social media like Twitter but don’t expect quick resolution. 

#5. Margin Leverage

If you are an experienced trader, you may have 2 priorities –

  • Paying less brokerage
  • Enjoy high leverage

You should first check which broker offers you high margin leverage but as per SEBI’s new norms no broker would provide you up to 5x margin only.

#6. Multiple Investment Options

You might be interested in mutual funds, gold or IPOs along with stock trading, so it would be more hectic if your broker doesn’t offer you multiple investment options.

Because you have to open another account where you get the rest of the investment facilities. A one stop shop broker is an ideal option for distributed investments.

If you want to invest in IPOs, you can check our report on upcoming IPOs 2023-24.

Final Verdict 

If you are looking for the best discount broker, then Zerodha is on the top because you get low brokerage, fast trading platform and good customer service.

If you are an occasional trader then you can go with 5paisa and as you only need to pay maintenance charges for the traded month.

Upstox is my third recommendation as they have upgraded their trading platform a lot and they also offer less brokerage to their clients.

FAQS

Can I have 2 demat & trading accounts?

Yes. You can have any number of demat & trading accounts but the broker must be different.

Can I have 2 accounts with Same Discount broker?

No. You can’t have 2 accounts with the same discount broker because your account number is attached with your PAN card and a broker provides only 1 account per PAN card. You can open account on your family member name.

What is the safest broker?

All the listed discount brokers are registered with SEBI and work under the guidelines of SEBI and RBI. So all the discount brokers are equally safe.

Which online broker has the lowest fees?

SAS Online has the lowest fee of Rs. 9 per trade.

Are Discount Brokers safe in India?

Yes. Discount brokers are registered and regulated with SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India). So you can go with discount brokers without any doubt.

Which is the most trusted broker in India?

Zerodha is the most trusted broker in India with low brokerage fees, fast trading platform and good customer service. Currently Zerodha is the trusted by more than 64 lakhs+ customers

Which is the best discount broker in India for beginners?

Zerodha is the best discount broker for beginners as Zerodha charges a brokerage fee lower of Rs 20 or 0.03%. So, you need to pay less brokerage if you make small trades in the beginning.

Zerodha trading platforms are easy to use and provide advanced tools & charts.

About Rajan Dhawan

Rajan has covered personal finance and investing for over 5 years. Previously, he was in the IT field for 8 years after completing his MCA but his deep interest in personal finance led him to become an investing expert. He is passionate about investing, stocks, startups, and cryptos.

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