Groww Vs Zerodha Charges Comparison

Groww and Zerodha both are the top stockbrokers in India. Where Zerodha is at no. 1 with the largest client base, Groww is the fastest growing broker which has secured 2nd position in a short span of time.

Let’s compare all types of charges levied by both brokers, helping you make an informed decision based on your specific trading needs. So, let’s dive in and explore Groww vs Zerodha Charges.

Zerodha Vs Groww Charges

#1. Account Opening Charges

Groww takes the lead here by offering ZERO charges for opening a Demat and trading account. 

In contrast, Zerodha charges Rs. 200 for an online Demat account and you need to pay an additional Rs. 100 for an MCX commodity account. 

Segment	Groww	Zerodha
Equity	Free	Rs 200
Commodity	Not Available	Rs 100

If you prefer offline account opening, Zerodha charges Rs. 400 for an equity trading and Demat account, and Rs. 600 for a demat, equity, and commodity trading account. Groww doesn’t offer an offline account opening facility. 

Winner – Groww

#2. Annual Maintenance Charges (AMC)

Groww continues to be budget-friendly as it does not impose any annual maintenance charges (AMC) for its Demat and trading accounts. 

On the other hand, Zerodha charges Rs. 75 per quarter, amounting to Rs. 300 per year, as AMC for its accounts.

Stock Broker	AMC Charges
Groww	Free
Zerodha	Rs. 75 per quarter (Total Rs. 300 per year)

Winner – Groww

You can also go through our detailed articles on Groww charges and Zerodha charges where we have explained all the fees levied by both brokers in individual articles.

#3. Groww Brokerage Charges Vs Zerodha

When it comes to brokerage charges, both Groww and Zerodha offer competitive rates. Groww’s brokerage charges are set at 0.05% or Rs. 20 per trade, whichever is lower. 

Meanwhile, Zerodha sets its brokerage at 0.03% or Rs. 20 per executed order, whichever is lower. It’s worth noting that Zerodha provides free equity delivery trading, making it an appealing choice for long-term investors. 

In contrast, Groww charges Rs 20 brokerage for equity delivery. Secondly, Currency and Commodity trading is not available on Groww.

Let’s summarize the brokerage charges in a table for better clarity.

Trading Segment	Groww Charges	Zerodha Charges
Equity Delivery	Rs. 20 or 0.05% per executed order (whichever is lower)	Free
Equity Intraday	Rs. 20 or 0.05% per executed order (whichever is lower)	Rs. 20 or 0.03% per executed order (whichever is lower)
Equity Futures	Flat Rs. 20 per executed order	Rs. 20 or 0.03% per executed order (whichever is lower)
Equity Options	Flat Rs. 20 per executed order	Flat Rs. 20 per executed order
Currency Futures	Not Available	Rs. 20 or 0.03% per executed order (whichever is lower)
Currency Options	Not Available	Rs. 20 per executed order
Commodity Futures	Not Available	Rs. 20 or 0.03% per executed order (whichever is lower)
Commodity Options	Not Available	Rs. 20 per executed order

Winner – Zerodha

#4. Call and Trade Charges

In the realm of call and trade services, Zerodha levies a fee of Rs. 50 per executed order, encompassing all aspects such as successful, executed, rejected, and canceled orders.

Groww, on the other hand, doesn’t provide this feature.

Winner – Zerodha

#5. Mutual Fund and IPO Investment Charges

Both Groww and Zerodha offer a lucrative advantage to investors by providing zero charges for mutual fund investments through their platforms. Additionally, both platforms do not charge any fees for IPO investments, making it easier for investors to participate in initial public offerings.

Winner – Tie

#6. Pledge and Unpledged Charges

If you want to use the margin against your demat holdings, you’ll find Groww to be more cost-effective in this regard. While Groww does not charge any fee for pledging, Zerodha charges Rs. 30 per scrip. 

Zerodha doesn’t charge for unpledging whereas, Groww charges Rs 20 per scrip on unpledging shares.

Winner – Groww

#7. Margin Shortfall Penalty

It’s crucial to maintain sufficient funds in your trading account to avoid margin shortfalls, which may lead to penalties. Zerodha’s margin shortfall penalty structure is slightly more complex than Groww’s. 

In Groww, if you have positions that you plan to carry forward to the next trading day (carry forward positions), you need to have at least 50% of the value of those positions in cash as a margin in your trading account. If you don’t meet this requirement and there is a shortage of cash margin, the broker will charge you a cash shortfall fee.

The cash shortfall fee is 0.045% of the amount in Groww.

On the other hand, in Zerodha, if the available balance in the trading account is lower than utilized funds, it will lead to a debit balance. 

In such cases, Zerodha charges 0.50% on shortfalls below Rs. 1 lakh or 10% of the applicable margin. For shortfalls above Rs. 1 lakh or 10% of the applicable margin, the penalty increases to 1%.

Furthermore, if the margin shortfall persists for more than 3 consecutive days, an additional 5% penalty applies to each subsequent instance. Additionally, for MCX, if the shortfall occurs for the 4th instance or more, and if the shortfall is reported 3 times or more in a month, a penalty of 0.035% per day or 12.5% per annum is imposed.

Comparison of Margin Shortfall Penalty

Stock Broker	Margin Shortfall amount	Penalty Rate	Additional Charges
Groww	If cash is < 50% of the margin required	0.045% on per day basis	–
Zerodha	(< Rs 1 lakh) And (< 10% of applicable margin)	0.05%	5% penalty if shortfall continues > 3 days for equities
	(>= Rs 1 lakh) Or (>= 10% of applicable margin)	1.00%	A penalty of 0.035% per day or 12.5% per annum if shortfall > 3 days in MCX.

Winner – Groww

#8. Auto-square Off Charges

Both Groww and Zerodha charge Rs. 50 per auto-squared off for all open intraday positions after the cut-off time.

Winner – Tie

Groww App Charges Vs Zerodha

Zerodha and Groww app charges are similar to what they charge on their web platform. They don’t charge extra for using their trading apps.

Apart from the trading app Kite, Zerodha has some other specific platforms and apps some are free to use while for a few you have to pay on a monthly basis.

#1. Streak

Zerodha Streak is a popular algo-trading app for creating, backtesting, and implementing your strategies without having any knowledge of coding. 

Streak has two plans – 

#2. Sensibull

Another Zerodha Options strategy building platform Sensibull was also paid but now Zerodha has made it available for free for Zerodha customers.

#3. Coin

Zerodha’s Coin app is specially designed for mutual funds, and bonds investment which is again free of use.

Winner – Zerodha

You can read more about the Groww app in our detailed Groww app review article

Groww Vs Zerodha Government Taxes and Regulatory Charges

Government taxes and regulatory charges are consistent across both Groww and Zerodha. They both charge Rs. 10 per crore traded as SEBI charges. Additionally, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 18% is applicable on all charges, including brokerage fees, SEBI charges, and transaction fees.

Stamp duty charges, which are levied by the state government on the transfer of securities are also same between the two platforms. For example, the stamp duty for equity delivery ranges from 0.015% to Rs. 1500 per crore, depending on the location and exchange, on Groww. On Zerodha, it is 0.015% or Rs. 1500 per crore, whichever is higher.

Winner – Tie

Zerodha Vs Groww NRI Charges

Regarding NRI accounts, both platforms charge Rs. 500 for account opening, and an AMC of Rs. 500 is applicable. 

For NRI equity trading, Groww charges a brokerage of 0.5% or Rs. 200 per executed order, while Zerodha offers a lower rate of 0.5% or Rs. 100 per executed order. 

For NRI futures and options, both platforms charge Rs. 100 per executed order.

Winner – Zerodha

Other Charges

#1. CMR Copy Charges

In Zerodha 1st CMR (Client Master Report) copy is free. After that, you have to pay Rs. 20 per CMR copy along with Rs. 100 (courier charge) for subsequent requests for the CMR physical copy.

For off-market share transfers, Zerodha levies Rs. 25 or 0.03% of the transfer value, whichever is higher.

Groww has not mentioned anything about CMR copy delivery and its charges.

#2. Funds Transfer Charges

Regarding funds add charges, Groww charges Rs. 9 for net banking deposits, while UPI and IMPS options are free. On the other hand, Zerodha does not charge any fees for funds withdrawal from the trading account to your bank account.

#3. Cancel Orders Charges

For canceled orders, both Groww and Zerodha do not impose any fees. Whether you manually cancel the order, it gets auto-canceled by the system, or it is rejected due to insufficient funds or any other reason, you won’t be charged for the cancellation.

#4. GTT order charges

GTT (Good Till Triggered) orders come without any fees on both platforms. However, when the GTT order is triggered, Both brokers apply their standard brokerage fee of up to Rs. 20.

#5. BTST trading charges

For BTST (Buy Today Sell Tomorrow) trades, both Groww and Zerodha do not charge any fees, as these orders fall under the delivery product category.

#6. Shortfall Brokerage Charges

If your account goes into debit balance, Zerodha changes the brokerage charge to Rs. 40 per executed order instead of Rs. 20, ensuring you’re aware of the altered cost. 

Groww doesn’t change brokerage fees but charges 0.045% on the shortage of cash margin.

Winner – Tie

Conclusion

The above comparison ends in a Tie where both brokers have an equal number of wins. I feel Groww stands out with its zero account opening fees and no maintenance fee is ideal for a beginner investor. 

On the other hand, Zerodha’s free equity delivery and lower brokerage charges, and its advanced trading tools appeal to active investors and traders.

I hope the above analysis of the Groww and Zerodha charges comparison has given you a clear understanding of the different charges levied by these two prominent stockbrokers.  If you still have any questions, do let me know in the comments.

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