I had savings account with ICICI bank, so they offered me a free Demat account with no annual fee. ICICI Direct was my first Demat account. I was happy to get the free account without having any idea about their brokerage charges. After using it for 3 years, I realized that ICICI Direct charges one of the highest brokerage charges.
I switched to Zerodha in 2014. Zerodha charges Rs 300 annual maintenance charges, but the charges never pinch me because I am happy with my overall experience with Zerodha.
I opened a free Demat account with Upstox in 2020. I felt Upstox still needs to work hard on their customer support.
After using a few Demat accounts, I realized you need to be more careful while choosing a broker for a free Demat account on factors like
- Brokerage charges (you may end up paying high brokerage charges like me).
- Good technology in terms of trading platforms, trading apps, and easy-to-connect with the third-party services
- Customer support
I have made a list of the 7 best free Demat accounts with zero annual charges in India to help you out with your Demat account dilemma.
Free Demat Account With No Annual Charges
#1. Upstox
Upstox keeps changing its offers more frequently but currently, Upstox is offering free account openings with zero annual maintenance charges
Upstox is the best option for a free Demat account considering its robust trading platforms and discounted brokerage fee.
You get discount brokerage (starting from 0.05% to Rs. 20 per order) with Upstox which is slightly higher than Zerodha. Earlier Upstox provides free stock delivery, but now Upstox has started charging a fixed brokerage of Rs 20 on stock delivery. You can go through our comparison of the Zerodha vs Upstox to know the brokerage charges of both stock brokers.
You can trade in stocks, F&O, currency and commodities. You can also invest in mutual funds and IPOs from your Upstox account.
Upstox’s flagship trading platform, Upstox Pro, offers a powerful combination of in-depth research, unlimited watchlists, and smart filters, letting you invest diligently in your favorite asset.
I really liked their YouTube channel where you can learn from top financial gurus like Pranjal Kamra and CA Rachna Ranade.
Main features –
| Account opening fee | Rs. 0 |
| Annual maintenance charges | Rs. 0 |
| Brokerage | Equity delivery – 2.5% to Rs. 20 per order (whichever is lower) Options trading – Flat Rs. 20 per order Other segments – 0.05% to Rs. 20 per order (whichever is lower) |
You can also check out our detailed guide on Upstox review for a detailed analysis of the Upstox demat account.
#2. Groww
Groww is an ideal choice for you if your prime focus is investing in Indian stocks as well as US stocks. Groww not only offers discounted brokerage on domestic stock trading but also offers you Zero commission while investing in US Stocks and ETFs.
Groww has collaborated with ViewTrade Securities for US stock investment. You can also explore the more apps to invest in US stocks from India.
You can also invest in mutual funds, IPOs and SGBs (Sovereign Gold Bonds), however, Groww doesn’t offer currency and commodities trading.
Initiated in 2016, Groww has exponentially grown to a 40 Mn client base in the last couple of years. That growth happened because of the fact that they kept on improving their trading platform, customer support and hassle-free US stock investing.
Groww also has two education platforms – Groww Digest (daily stock market news to keep you updated) and Groww Academy (a dedicated YouTube channel for self-paced learning).
Main features –
| Account opening fee | Rs. 0 |
| Annual maintenance charges | Rs. 0 |
| Brokerage | Equity brokerage – 0.05% to Rs. 20 per order (whichever is lower) F&O brokerage – Flat Rs. 20 per order |
#3. 5paisa (Youngvestor)
If your age is between 18 and 23 years, you can enjoy ZERO fees on account opening and AMC with a 5paisa Youngvestor Demat account.
Along with free account opening and AMC, you don’t have to pay any brokerage on equity delivery and intraday orders as well. You can also check the list of zero brokerage trading accounts in India.
Even DP charges which are usually in the range of Rs. 15 to Rs. 20 in a regular Demat account, are also discounted to Rs. 5 per scrip per day on the selling orders.
5paisa offers a plethora of services apart from stock trading such as mutual funds, loans, US stocks, ETFs and bonds.
5paisa is also the first discount broker to offer Portfolio Management Services (PMS) similar to any full-service brokerage (available with the regular Demat account at additional cost).
You can go through our comparison of the 5paisa vs Upstox to know the brokerage charges of both stock brokers.
Main features for Youngvestor Demat account –
| Account opening fee | Rs. 0 |
| Annual maintenance charges | Rs. 0 |
| Brokerage | Rs. 0 |
If you are older than 23 years, you need to pay maintenance charges & brokerage charges.
Best Free Demat Account With One Time Fee
#4. Wisdom Capital
Wisdom Capital is a brand of Ashlar Securities Pvt. Ltd. with 25,000 users utilizing their platforms for stock trading.
You can go with Wisdom Capital if you are looking for a free Demat account with the lowest brokerage fees on F&O and commodity.
Wisdom Capital charges 0.01% brokerage 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.
You can negotiate at Rs. 5 per order through telephonic conversion, making it a low-cost option among other discount brokers in the industry.
Wisdom Capital offers you two trading platforms – Wisdom Pro (an Android trading app) and XTS a desktop trading software with advanced features like a risk management system to minimize the losses on adverse trades.
Main features –
| Account opening fee | Rs. 0 |
| Annual maintenance charges | Rs. 0 |
| Demat maintenance fee | Rs. 999 (one-time fee) |
| Brokerage | Equity brokerage – 0.01% on equity delivery and intraday. F&O and Commodity brokerage – Flat Rs. 9 per order. You can negotiate at Rs. 5 per order through telephonic conversion. |
#5. ProStocks
You get a free Demat account with no annual charges with ProStocks by paying an Rs. 1000 refundable security fee.
The USP of the ProStocks Demat account is ZERO brokerage on equity delivery. But you have to pay a flat brokerage of Rs. 15 per trade for Intraday and F&O trades. If you want to do intraday trading, I would suggest starting investing with Rs 5000 as an initial investment.
If you are interested in long-term stock investing, then you can go with the ProStocks Flat fee plan and if you are a trader, then you can opt for the Unlimited monthly plan of Rs. 899 that allows you to trade at Zero brokerage across all segments.
Main features –
| Account opening fee | Rs. 0 |
| Annual maintenance charges | Rs. 0 |
| Security fee (refundable) | Rs. 1,000 |
| Brokerage | Equity brokerage – Rs. 0 on equity delivery Intraday and F&O brokerage – Flat Rs. 15 per order. |
You can read our detailed article on ProStocks review for detailed information about the ProStocks Demat account.
#6. iTrade Online
iTrade Online is another best stock broker in India that offering zero annual charges. However, you need to pay a one-time account maintenance fee of Rs. 1000.
iTradeOnline is a part of Trustline Securities Group having a client base of 1 million customers.
With iTradeOnline, you get discounted brokerage among all segments that include – Equity, F&O, Commodities and Currency. You have to pay in the range of 0.03% up to Rs. 20 per order (whichever is lower).
Main features –
| Account opening fee | Rs. 200 |
| Annual maintenance charges | Rs. 1,000 (One-time account maintenance fee) |
| Brokerage | 0.03% to Rs. 20 per order (whichever is lower) among all segments |
#7. Trading Bells
Trading Bell is an Indore-based brokerage company taken over by IIFL Securities. Trading Bell is popular for its low-cost brokerage services such as Zero brokerage on equity delivery.
TradingBell is offering Zero annual maintenance charges on its Demat trading account by paying just a one-time account opening fee of Rs. 750. You can also switch to their premium plans if you need stock research advisory services.
Recently, Trading Bells has also launched BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) feature for its customers where you can borrow money till a predefined limit for trading that you have to pay later but I couldn’t find interest charges details on their website.
You may like to read – our research report on top 20 stockbrokers in India
Main features –
| Account opening fee | Rs. 750 |
| Annual maintenance charges | Rs. 0 |
| Brokerage | Equity delivery – Rs. 0 Other segments – Flat Rs. 20 per order |
Verdict
Based on my thorough research, I found that Upstox not only outshines the competition when it comes to its solid trading platforms and low brokerage charges for intraday trading, making it simply the best free Demat account with zero AMC.
Young investors will find 5paisa’s Youngvestor plan that offers an almost free Demat account with zero account opening fee, annual charges, and brokerage as well.
Groww is also a good platform enough only if you plan to invest in Indian as well as US stocks in parallel.
If you don’t mind paying an annual fee of Rs 300 then I would suggest you go with Zerodha.
