I have both Upstox and Zerodha Demat accounts. Zerodha and Upstox are the leading brokers’ among discount brokers in India.
I opened a Zerodha account in 2014, and since then, I primarily use the Zerodha account for my investing and trading purposes. I opened the Upstox account in 2020 for my first-hand experience with their service. I felt Upstox needs to work on customer support.
Upstox can be a tempting option because of free account opening and zero annual maintenance charges. Zerodha is a better option in all other aspects as compared to Upstox.
You can trade in stocks, F&O, currency, and commodities and you can invest in mutual funds, IPOs, and bonds through a Zerodha account. You cannot invest in bonds in the Upstox account.
Let’s discuss both brokers side by side for each aspect.
Quick Comparison Between Zerodha vs Upstox
| Particulars | Upstox | Zerodha |
| Account Opening | Free | Rs 200+ Rs 100 for Commodity (optional) |
| AMC | Free | Rs 300 |
| Equity delivery | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 2.5% | 0 |
| Equity Intraday | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.05% | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% |
| Futures – Equity/Currency/Commodity | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.05% | Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03% |
| Options – Equity/Currency/Commodity | Rs. 20 per order | Rs. 20 per order |
| Call and Trade Charges | Rs. 50 per order | Rs. 50 per order |
| Intraday Margin | Upto 5X on intraday | Upto 5X on intraday |
| Tradable Assets | Stocks, commodities, currency, mutual funds, IPOs | Stocks, commodities, currency, mutual funds, IPOs & bonds |
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Zerodha vs Upstox Account Opening Charges
#1. Account Opening Charges
Upstox keeps changing its offers regarding account opening charges. Currently, Upstox offers a free Demat & trading account.
Zerodha charges Rs. 200 for an “Equity + Derivatives” account and an additional Rs. 100 for Commodity trading. Commodity trading is optional in Zerodha. If you want to trade in equity only then you can open only an “Equity + Derivatives” account for Rs. 200.
| Trading Type | Upstox | Zerodha |
| Equity+Derivatives | Zero | Rs. 200 & Rs 100 for commodity trading a/c (optional) |
Winner – Upstox
#2. Account Maintenance Charges
Currently, Upstox charges zero for account opening with no AMC fee. Zerodha charges Rs. 300 for the annual maintenance charge. Upstox may start charging AMC in the future, so you must keep this in mind if you are looking for a free Demat account.
| Upstox AMC charges | Zero |
| Zerodha AMC charges | Rs. 300 (Rs. 75 quarterly) |
Winner – Upstox
Upstox Vs Zerodha Brokerage Charges
Both Upstox and Zerodha charge a maximum brokerage of Rs 20 per trade, but there is a catch for small traders. Upstox charges a lower of 0.05% or Rs 20, whereas Zerodha charges a lower 0.03% or Rs 20.
For example, if you place a trade of Rs 20,000 with both brokers, then Upstox will charge Rs 10 (lower of 0.05% or Rs 20), and Zerodha will charge Rs 6 (lower of 0.03% or Rs 20).
Intraday trading charges are the same for big trades in both, and Zerodha is good for small trade volumes. If you want to do intraday trading, I would suggest starting investing with Rs 5000 as an initial investment.
Zerodha provides free stock delivery but Upstox charges a lower of 2.5% or Rs 20 which makes Zerodha a better option for long-term investments as well. You can also check the zero brokerage trading account in India.
| Segment | Upstox | Zerodha |
| Equity Delivery | 2.5% or Rs. 20 per order (whichever is lower) | Zero |
| Equity Intraday | 0.05% or Rs. 20 per order (whichever is lower) | 0.03% or Rs. 20 per order (whichever is lower) |
| Futures – Equity/Currency/Commodity | 0.05% or Rs. 20 per order (whichever is lower) | 0.03% or Rs. 20 per order (whichever is lower) |
| Options – Equity/Currency/Commodity | Flat Rs. 20 per order | Flat Rs. 20 per order |
| Call and Trade Charges | Rs. 50 per order | Rs. 50 per order |
| Auto Square Off Charges | Rs. 50 per order | Rs. 50 per order |
Winner – Zerodha
You can also read our in-depth Zerodha Review article to understand the merits and demerits of the Zerodha Demat account.
Upstox Vs Zerodha Leverage Comparison
After SEBI regulations on peak margins from 1st September 2021, both popular stock brokers Upstox and Zerodha provide the same leverage.
You can trade equity using Margin intraday square off (MIS) and Cover Order (CO) to get up to 5 times leverage for intraday. So, if you have Rs 50,000 lakhs, you can buy or short stocks for intraday up to Rs 2.5 lakhs with both Upstox & Zerodha.
There is no leverage offered by any stockbroker for equity F&O, currency, and commodities segments.
Winner – both are the same
Margin Trading Facility
Upstox offers a margin trading facility which is like a short-term loan. On activating MTF, 50% of the transaction value will be used from your deposited funds, and the remaining 50% will be borrowed from Upstox.
For example, if you place an order of Rs 1,00,000, then Rs.50,000 will be used from your Upstox wallet, and the remaining Rs 50,000 will be paid through Upstox borrowing. In simple words, you can buy shares of 2x the value of your Upstox wallet.
In Upstox, MTF is fixed at 50% of the transaction value. You can borrow up to Rs. 5 lakhs under MTF in Upstox and you can hold stocks for 150 days under MTF
Upstox MTF charges
You have to pay Rs.20 per day for every Rs. 50,000 borrowed which is separate from the brokerage.
Zerodha doesn’t provide a Margin trading facility. Zerodha only provides collateral margins on pledging stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds that you hold.
Winner – Upstox
You can also know deeper about the Upstox demat account by going through our updated Upstox Review article.
Zerodha vs Upstox Platform User Experience
I like both Zerodha and Upstox trading platforms. Both provide simple, clutter-free, and easy-to-use platforms and keep working on their trading platforms for enhancing the experience.
Upstox Pro, a web-based platform offers a powerful combination of in-depth research, unlimited watchlists, and smart filters, letting you invest diligently in your favorite asset. You get a range of advanced trading tools, such as in-depth charting, technical indicators, GTT orders, and basket orders.
Zerodha Kite, a web-based platform provides you with multiple tools like GTT orders, Baskets, stock SIPs, and alerts to enhance your stock trading experience. You can invest in stocks through the Zerodha Kite platform and you have to use Zerodha’s “Coin” platform or Coin app to invest in mutual funds or bonds.
Upstox pro mobile app is one place to invest in stocks, mutual funds, digital gold, and even IPOs. You can subscribe to the IPO from the same app. Zerodha doesn’t provide IPO investment through mobile apps. For mutual funds investment, you need to use Zerodha Coin, a different app from the Zerodha kite app.
Winner
Zerodha – Only investment in stocks or comfortable to use 2 different platforms for stocks and mutual funds.
Upstox – for all their investments under a single dashboard.
You can also check the list of best brokers for mutual funds investment to know about top brokers to cater to your mutual funds’ investment needs.
Customer Support Comparison
Poor customer support is a common feature among all discount brokers. Zerodha and Upstox struggle too with their customer support if compared with the full-service brokers.
But Zerodha provides better customer support as compared to all other discount brokers in India. Zerodha offers a 48 hours ticket window to resolve the customer issue to make sure that every complaint should be addressed within 48 hours.
Upstox is way behind Zerodha. Many customers complain that their issues remain unaddressed even after multiple attempts.
| Upstox Customer Care | Zerodha Customer Care | |
| Account opening number | 91-22-6130-9999 | 080 4719 2020 080 7117 5337 |
| Account opening email | [email protected] | |
| Trading issues | 022 4179 2999, 022 6904 2299, 022 7130 9999 | 080 4718 1888 080 4718 1999 |
| Ticket raise | Upstox ticket to raise | Zerodha ticket to raise |
Winner – Zerodha
You can check out – Dhan vs Zerodha comparison
Why Upstox is better than Zerodha
Upstox is better than Zerodha only in terms of account opening charges & annual maintenance charges. You get free account opening with Zero annual maintenance charges.
You also get a morning newsletter on the market recap which is not offered by Zerodha.
Why Zerodha is better than Upstox
Zerodha is better than Upstox on the following counts –
- Free stock delivery.
- Lower trading brokerage charges.
- Better trading platforms.
- Better customer support.
- You can invest in bonds including Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB). Not possible in Upstox.
