Zerodha Vs ICICI Direct Comparison (2023)

I have used both Zerodha and ICICI Direct accounts. ICICI Direct was my Demat account until I realized they charge a high brokerage fee as compared to other stockbrokers. Then I opened an account with Zerodha to save on brokerage. Last year I closed my ICICI Direct account as well.

Honestly speaking, we can’t compare ICICI Direct & Zerodha on the same parameters. ICICI Direct is a full-service broker that provides research advisory services. ICICI Direct charges a higher brokerage fee to provide the services.

Whereas Zerodha is a discount broker that provides only the trading platform to trade or invest in stocks. Zerodha does not provide you with stock investment tips, research, or Robo advisory services, so charges discounted brokerage fee.

We can compare Zerodha vs ICICI Direct on some common features like AMC, brokerage fee, customer support, and trading platforms.

Table of Contents

Zerodha vs ICICI Direct Comparison Table

Particulars	Zerodha	ICICI Direct
Broker Type	Discount Broker	Full-Service Broker
Year of Incorporation	2010	2000
Exchange Membership	NSE, BSE, MCX, and NCDEX	BSE, NSE
Trade-in	Stocks/Equity, F&O, Commodities, Currency, Mutual Funds, IPOs, Bonds & Govt-Securities	Stocks/Equity, Currency F&O, Commodity, Mutual Funds, IPOs, ETF, Insurance, FD/Bonds, Loans, NPS, Tax
Account opening charges	Rs 200+ Rs 100 for Commodity (optional)	Free
Demat AMC Fees	Rs. 300	Rs. 700
Intraday Margin	Upto 5X on intraday	Upto 5X on intraday
Brokerage Charges	Zerodha Plan	ICICI Direct (i-Secure plan)
Equity Delivery	0 (Free)	0.55%
Equity Intraday	0.03% or Rs. 20 per executed order whichever is lower	0.275% (second leg is not charged)
Equity Futures	0.03% or Rs. 20 per executed order whichever is lower	0.050% plus a flat brokerage of Rs. 50 on the second leg
Equity Options	Rs. 20 per executed order	Rs. 95 per lot plus a flat brokerage of Rs. 50 on the second leg
Currency F&O	0.03% or Rs. 20 per executed order whichever is lower	Rs 20 per order
Commodity F&O	0.03% or Rs. 20 per executed order whichever is lower	Rs 20 per order
Call & Trade Charges	Rs. 50 per order	Rs. 50 per order

ICICI Direct Vs Zerodha Account Charges & AMC Comparison

#1. Account Opening Charges

ICICI Direct offers a free Demat & trading account whereas Zerodha charges Rs. 200 for account opening. If you want to open a commodity trading account with Zerodha, you need to pay Rs. 100 more. Commodity trading is optional in Zerodha.

	ICICI Direct	Zerodha
Account Opening Charges	Zero (Free)	Rs 200 (equity only) Rs 300 (with commodity account)

Winner – ICICI Direct

#2. Account Annual Maintenance Charges (AMC)

Zerodha charges Rs 300 for the account’s annual maintenance charges, on the other hand, ICICI Direct charges a Rs 700 AMC fee.

AMC Fee	Zerodha	ICICI Direct
Trading AMC Fee	Zero	Zero
Demat AMC Fee	Rs. 300	Rs. 700 (waived for ICICIdirect customers for the first year) Rs. 300 for ICICIdirect Neo customers from the first year onwards

Winner – Zerodha is the clear winner because Zerodha charges Rs 200 for account opening, but that’s a one-time cost.

On the other hand, you need to pay Rs. 400 extra every year to maintain your ICICI Direct account as compared to Zerodha.

You can also look through our extensive Zerodha Review article to understand the advantages and shortcomings of the Zerodha Demat account.

Zerodha vs ICICI Direct Brokerage Charges

Zerodha offers zero brokerage on equity delivery and for intraday is 0.03% or Rs. 20 per executed order whichever is lower.

Whereas ICICI Direct offers four plans with different brokerage rates.

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

#1. Brokerage Charges for the 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

#2. Brokerage Charges for ICICI Direct Neo Plan

Segment	Brokerage Charges
Equity Delivery	0.55%
Equity Intraday	Rs 20 per order
Equity Futures	Rs 0 (free)
Equity Options	Rs 20 per order
Currency F&O	Rs 20 per order
Commodity F&O	Rs 20 per order

#3. Brokerage Charges under the 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

#4. Brokerage Charges under i-Secure Plan

Particulars	Brokerage Charges
Equity Delivery	0.55%
Equity Intraday	0.275% (second leg is not charged)
Equity Futures	0.050% plus a flat brokerage of Rs. 50 on the second leg
Equity Options	Rs. 95 per lot plus a flat brokerage of Rs. 50 on the second leg
Currency F&O	Rs. 20 per order
Commodity F&O	Rs. 20 per order

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

Winner – Zerodha

Zerodha vs ICICI Direct Margin

As per SEBI regulations on peak margins from 1st September 2021, both Zerodha and ICICIdirect offer up to 20% of the trade value (5x leverage) for intraday trading.

Segment	Zerodha	ICICI Direct
Equity Delivery	100% of trade value (1x leverage)	100% of trade value (1x leverage)
Equity Intraday	20% of trade value (5X leverage)	20% of trade value (5X leverage)
F&O (Equity, Currency & Commodities)	100% of NRML margin (Span + Exposure) (1x leverage)	100% of NRML margin (Span + ELM) (1x leverage)

Winner – Both provides the same

Zerodha Vs ICICI Direct Trading Platforms

Zerodha offers various trading platforms to its customers.

Kite – Web-based trading platform for investing in stocks
Kite Mobile – A trading app for Android/iOS
Coin or Coin app – invest in mutual funds or bonds
Console – Back-office platform
Sentinel – Live market price alerts tool

Zerodha doesn’t provide IPO investment through mobile apps.

ICICI Direct provides three online trading platforms to its customers

ICICI Direct Mobile – Mobile trading app
Trade Racer Web – Web-based platform
ICICIdirect Trade Racer – Desktop trading software

Winner – Both Zerodha and ICICI direct are winners. Because both provide an easy-to-use interface and access to a wide range of technical indicators.

However, some users have complained that the Zerodha platform occasionally hangs before the market close due to high server loads.

ICICI Direct Vs Zerodha Customer Support

ICICI Direct is a full-service broker offering high-quality customer service, while Zerodha is a discount broker providing a better customer support system as compared to all other discount brokers in India.

	ICICI Direct Customer Care	Zerodha Customer Care
Account opening number	1860 123 1122 9833330151 (WhatsApp)	080 4719 2020 080 7117 5337
Account opening email	[email protected]
Trading issues	1860 123 1122 9833330151 (WhatsApp)	080 4718 1888 080 4718 1999
Ticket raise	Customer service	Zerodha ticket to raise

Winner – ICICI Direct

Zerodha vs ICICI Direct: Which is better?

For retail investors, Zerodha is better than ICICIdirect based on common features like account charges, AMC, brokerage charges, margin, trading platforms, and customer support.

If you need handholding in your stock investments and you don’t mind paying high brokerage in return, then ICICI Direct is a good option for you.

You can also go through our list of best demat and trading accounts in India to know other options as well.