ICICI Demat Account Charges vs Zerodha Comparison

ICICI Direct was my first demat account. Later on, I closed my ICICI Direct account and start using Zerodha as my primary Demat Account.

ICICI Direct is a full-service broker that offers a wide range of services, including research advice. To cover these services, they charge a higher brokerage fee. 

On the other hand, Zerodha is a discount broker that focuses mainly on providing a trading platform for stock trading and investing. Zerodha doesn’t offer stock tips, research, or Robo advisory services, which allows you to offer lower brokerage fees.

Let’s compare the ICICI Direct charges vs Zerodha in detail – 

Zerodha Vs ICICI Direct Charges

#1. ICICI Direct vs Zerodha Account Opening Charges

Currently, ICICI Direct offers a free Demat and trading account opening. However, you need to pay the monthly subscription fees of up to Rs. 4,999 for some ICICI Direct plans like the ICICI Direct Prime plan, Neo plan, or the Prepaid Plan.  

On the other hand, Zerodha charges Rs. 200 for an online demat account. However, you need to pay an additional Rs. 100 for an MCX commodity account. Opening commodity trading account is optional in Zerodha. 

Segment	ICICI Direct	Zerodha
Account Opening Charges	Zero (Free)	Rs. 200 for equity  & Rs 100 for commodity trading a/c (optional)

If you prefer offline account opening, Zerodha charges Rs. 400 for an equity trading and Demat account, and Rs. 200 for a commodity trading account. While ICICI Direct also offers offline account opening facility at zero cost. 

Winner – ICICI Direct 

#2. Annual Maintenance Charges (AMC)

Zerodha charges Rs. 75 per quarter, amounting to Rs. 300 per year for the account’s annual maintenance charges. 

On the other hand, ICICI Direct charges a Rs 700 AMC fee which is waived off for the first year. If you choose the ICICI Direct Neo brokerage plan then you have to pay the AMC charges of Rs. 300 from the first year onwards. 

Stock Broker	AMC Charges
ICICI Direct	Rs. 700 (waived for ICICIdirect customers for the first year) Rs. 300 for ICICIdirect Neo customers from the first year onwards
Zerodha	Rs. 75 per quarter (Rs. 300 annually)

Winner – Zerodha is the clear winner because Zerodha charges Rs 200 for account opening, which is a one-time cost. On the other side, you need to pay an additional annual cost of Rs. 400 to maintain your ICICI direct account as compared to Zerodha.

#3. ICICI Direct Brokerage Charges vs Zerodha

Zerodha has a simple plan that offers zero brokerage charges on equity delivery and 0.03% or Rs. 20 per executed order whichever is lower for intraday trading.

Whereas ICICI Direct has made a complex system with four plans with different brokerage rates.

• ICICI Direct i-Secure Plan
• ICICI Direct Neo Plan
• ICICI Direct Prime Plan
• Prepaid Brokerage Plan

#1. Brokerage Charges for the ICICI Direct i-Secure Plan vs Zerodha

ICICI i-Secure plan offers fixed percentage brokerage charges based on quarterly turnover.

Trading Segment	ICICI Direct Brokerage Charges(i-Secure Plan)	Zerodha Brokerage Charges
Equity Delivery	0.55%	Zero
Equity Intraday	0.275% (second leg is not charged)	0.03% or Rs. 20 per order(whichever is lower)
Equity Futures	0.050% plus a flat brokerage of Rs. 50 on the second leg	0.03% or Rs. 20 per order(whichever is lower)
Equity Options	Rs. 95 per lot plus a flat brokerage of Rs. 50 on the second leg	Flat Rs. 20 per order
Currency Futures	Rs. 20 per order	0.03% or Rs. 20 per order(whichever is lower)
Currency Options	Rs. 20 per order	Flat Rs. 20 per order
Commodity Futures	Rs. 20 per order	0.03% or Rs. 20 per order(whichever is lower)
Commodity Options	Rs. 20 per order	Flat Rs. 20 per order

The brokerage for Margin and Margin Plus under I – Secure Plan is 0.050%.

#2. Brokerage charges for ICICI Direct Neo Plan vs Zerodha 

Under the Neo plan, you need to pay the one time subscription fee of Rs. 299. 

Segment	ICICI Direct (Neo Plan)	Zerodha Brokerage Charges
Equity Delivery	0.55%	Zero
Equity Intraday	Rs 20 per order	0.03% or Rs. 20 per order(whichever is lower)
Equity Futures	Rs 0 (free)	0.03% or Rs. 20 per order(whichever is lower)
Equity Options	Rs 20 per order	Flat Rs. 20 per order
Currency Futures	Rs 20 per order	0.03% or Rs. 20 per order(whichever is lower)
Currency Options	Rs 20 per order	Flat Rs. 20 per order
Commodity Futures	Rs 20 per order	0.03% or Rs. 20 per order(whichever is lower)
Commodity Options	Rs 20 per order	Flat Rs. 20 per order

#3. Brokerage charges for ICICI Direct Prime plan

Prime Plan	Delivery Brokerage	Intraday/ Futures	Equity Options (per lot)	Currency F&O (Per Order)	Commodity F&O (Per Order)
Rs. 299	0.27%	0.027%	Rs. 40	Rs 20	Rs 20
Rs. 999	0.22%	0.022%	Rs. 35	Rs 20	Rs 20
Rs. 1,999	0.18%	0.018%	Rs. 25	Rs 20	Rs 20
Rs. 2,999	0.15%	0.015%	Rs. 20	Rs 20	Rs 20
Rs. 3,999	0.12%	0.012%	Rs. 15	Rs 20	Rs 20
Rs. 4,999	0.10%	0.010%	Rs. 10	Rs 20	Rs 20

#4. Brokerage charges under Prepaid Brokerage plan

Prepaid Value	Equity Delivery	Equity Intraday & Futures	Equity Options (in Rs. Per lot)	Currency F&O (per order)	Commodity F&O (per order)
Rs. 2,500	0.25%	0.25%	35/-	Rs 20	Rs 20
Rs. 5,000	0.22%	0.22%	30/-	Rs 20	Rs 20
Rs. 12,500	0.18%	0.18%	25/-	Rs 20	Rs 20
Rs. 25,000	0.15%	0.15%	20/-	Rs 20	Rs 20
Rs. 50,000	0.12%	0.12%	15/-	Rs 20	Rs 20
Rs. 1,00,000	0.07%	0.07%	7/-	Rs 20	Rs 20

Winner – Zerodha 

#4. Call and Trade Charges

ICICI Direct offers you free first 20 calls per month. After that, you have to pay Rs 25 per call as Call & Trade fee. Whereas Zerodha charges Rs. 50 per order. 

Zerodha	Rs. 50 per order
ICICI Direct	First 20 calls per month – Free After that, Rs. 25 per order

Winner – ICICI Direct

#5. Mutual Fund and IPO Investment Charges

Zerodha doesn’t charge anything when you invest in mutual funds using their platforms. But with ICICI Direct, if you’re investing less than Rs. 8 lakhs in mutual funds, you’ll need to pay Rs. 100 for each lump-sum purchase.

For SIP transactions, the charge is Rs.30 or 1.5% of the investment value (whichever is lower), along with a 10.30% service tax per transaction.

Additionally, both the platforms Zerodha and ICICI Direct do not charge any fees for IPO investments, making it easier for you to invest in the IPO.

Winner – Zerodha

#6. Pledge and Unpledged Charges

You can use the margin against Demat holdings for trading futures & options only. Zerodha charges Rs 30 per scrip on pledging. There is no fee charged for unpledging. 

On the other hand, SBI Securities charges you 0.02% of the loan amount as pledge charges and Rs. 25 per unpledge request. 

Stockbroker	Pledge	Unpledge
Zerodha	Rs 30 per scrip	Free
SBI Securities	0.02% of the loan amount	Rs. 25 per scrip

Winner – Zerodha 

#7. Margin Shortfall Penalty

ICICI Direct charges the two types of margin shortfall penalties – 

• End-of-Day (EOD) Margin Shortfall – If your positions at the end of trading day have a shortfall as against the required margins, then a penalty is applied.
• Peak margin shortfall – The exchange takes 4 snapshots of your positions at random times during market hours, and in case there is a shortfall during any then penalty is applicable.

The following penalty shall be levied by both stock brokers ICICI Direct and Zerodha for EOD or Peak margin.

Shortfall collection	Margin Shortfall Penalty
Margins is less than 1 lakh or less than 10% of the applicable margin	0.50%
Margins is greater than 1 lakh or greater than 10% of applicable margin	1%
Margins for a client take place for more than 5 days in a month.	5%
Margins for a client takes place for more than 5 days in a month.	5% each day
For MCX, from the 4th instance of the shortfall, if the margin shortfall is reported 3 times or more during a month.	5%

Winner – Tie

#8. Auto-square Off Charges

ICICI Direct charges a flat fee of Rs. 25 per executed trade for all Auto-square-off trades.

On the other hand, Zerodha charges Rs. 50 per auto-squared off for all open intraday positions after the cut-off time.

Winner – ICICI Direct

Other Charges

#1. CMR Copy Charges

Zerodha provides the first CMR (Client Master Report) copy for free, subsequent requests are charged Rs. 20 + Rs. 100 (courier charge).

On the other side, ICICI Direct charges Rs. 50 for sending a physical copy of your Contract Note, Trade Confirmation, and Account Statement.

#2. Off Market Share Transfer Charges 

For off-market share transfers, Zerodha levies Rs. 25 or 0.03% of the transfer value, whichever is higher. While ICICI Direct charges Rs. 25 per off-market transaction.

#3. Funds Transfer Charges 

Both ICICI Direct and Zerodha charge a fee of Rs. 9 per deposit through net banking. However, if you transfer funds through UPI or IMPS, there is no charge levy by both platforms.

You can also check the detailed guide on how to add and withdraw money from Zerodha.

#4. Fund Withdrawal Charges

ICICI Direct charges Rs. 25 per fund withdrawal. While Zerodha does not charge any fees for funds withdrawal from the trading account to your bank account.

#5. Cancel Orders Charges

For canceled orders, Zerodha does not charge any fees. Conversely, ICICI Direct charges Rs. 25 per canceled order.

Cancellation can be due to –

• Canceling orders manually
• Auto-canceled by the system
• The order rejected for the shortage of funds or any reason

#6. GTT Order Charges

GTT (Good Till Triggered) orders are orders that remain open until a specific trigger point is reached. ICICI Direct equity delivery charges for GTT orders as per the brokerage plan.

On the other hand, Zerodha does not charge any fees for setting up GTT orders. However, you need to pay the brokerage fee of Rs. 20 when the order is triggered.

#7. BTST Trading Charges

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

On the other hand, ICICI Direct charges a flat fee of Rs. 25 per executed trade for all BTST trades.

ICICI Direct Vs Zerodha Government Taxes and Regulatory Charges

#1. SEBI Charges

Every broker has to pay a fee to SEBI for every trade that they execute on behalf of their clients.

Both ICICI Direct and Zerodha charge a fee of Rs 10 per crore traded as SEBI charges.

#2. GST (Goods and Services Tax)

GST is levied by the government on the services provided by the broker. 18% GST needs to be paid on all the charges like brokerage fees, SEBI charges, and transaction fees.

#3. Transaction Charges

Both ICICI Direct and Zerodha charge transaction charges for every trade executed on the exchange. The charges are levied by the exchange and vary from one exchange to another. The charges are as follows:

Segment	Zerodha Charges	ICICI Direct Charges
NSE Equity (intraday/ delivery)	0.00325% per trade on buy & sell	0.0034%
BSE Equity (intraday/delivery)	As per the stock group	Rs 0.75 per trade basis for all scrips
NSE Equity Futures	0.0019%	0.0020%
NSE Equity Options	0.050% (on premium)	0.053% on premium
NSE Currency Futures	0.0009%	0.0009%
NSE Currency Options	0.035%	0.035% on Premium
BSE Currency Futures	0.00022%	Not Available
BSE Currency Options	0.001%	Not Available
Commodity Futures	0.0026%	0.05% on Premium
Commodity Options	0.05%	0.05% on Premium

#4. STT Charges

STT (Securities Transaction Tax) is levied by the government on securities and commodities on all trades executed on the exchange. The charges are as follows:

Trading Segment	Zerodha Charges	ICICI Direct Charges
Equity Delivery	0.1% on both buy & sell	0.1% on both buy & sell
Equity Intraday	0.025% only on sell	0.025% only on sell
Equity Futures	0.0125% only on sell	0.01% only on sell
Equity Options	0.0625% on sell side (on premium)	0.05% on sell side (on premium). 0.125% on settlement value
Currency F&O	No STT	No STT
Commodity Futures	0.01% on sell (Non-Agri)	0.01% on sell (Non-Agri)
Commodity Options	0.05% on sell	0.05% on sell

#5. Stamp Duty

Stamp duty charges, which are levied by the state government on the transfer of securities. Stamp duty is charged only on the buy side. 

Stamp Duty is also the same between the two platforms. 

Trading Segment	Charges
Equity Delivery	0.015% or Rs 1500 / crore
Equity Intraday	0.003% or Rs 300 / crore
Equity Futures	0.002% or Rs 200 / crore
Equity Options	0.003% or Rs 300 / crore
Currency Futures	0.0001% or Rs 10 per crore
Currency Options	0.0001% or Rs 10 per crore
Commodity Futures	0.002% or Rs 200 per crore
Commodity Options	0.003% or Rs 300 per crore

#6. DP Charges

For each Demat debit transaction (sell), Zerodha applies a DP charge of Rs. 13.5 per scrip, whereas ICICI Direct imposes a DP charge of Rs. 25 per scrip.

There are no charges for Demat credit transactions. This is charged only on selling shares from the demat account.

Conclusion

For retail investors, Zerodha is better than ICICIdirect based on common features like account charges, AMC, lower brokerage charges, mutual funds, IPO investments, and other charges.

However, if you prefer having more guidance for your stock investments and you’re okay with paying higher brokerage fees for that help, then ICICI Direct is a good fit for you.

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