Top 10 Discount Brokers in India – Best Broker 2024

The Indian brokerage industry has recorded a growth of 34% in the first 5 months of the year 2020 because of increasing retail participation. So, here we thought to cover the growing list of best discount brokers in India. Let’s have a look at the Top 10 Discount Brokers offering a range of services and expanding their customer base dramatically.

You would be surprised to know that 24 lakh new demat accounts were opened between April’2020 to June’2020. And the larger chunk of this was grabbed by Discount Brokers due to their tech-driven business models.

Now, what exactly is a Discount Broker? And why are they widely accepted in India? Which is the best discount broker in India? Let’s try to hunt for answers to these interesting queries.

Who is a Discount Broker? Meaning

As the name itself suggests, Discount Broker is a broker who offers a discount to its clients on brokerage charges.

This trend was introduced by the pioneer in discount broking industry, Zerodha in 2010, and it attracted many traders, reason being flat fee irrespective of trade size. Traders and Investors started switching from popular full time service brokers like ICICI Direct and HDFC Securities. This was mainly because full time service brokers were charging on a percentage of trade size.

So, discount brokers had their focus on providing users ability to carry out trade with bare minimum infrastructure. And as the customer is the king, it forced many traditional brokers to shift on basic plans with flat fee structure.

Now when you understand what a discount broker is, let’s quickly move on to the list of top Discount Brokers without any delay.

Top 10 Discount Brokers in India – Best List

Here are the most popular brokerage firms in India, a massive collection of the Top 10 Discount Brokers in India:

1. Zerodha – Best Discount Broker in India

Founded by Kamath Brothers, Zerodha is pioneer in discount broking, and the largest stock broker in India having more than 30 lakh clients capturing 15% of retail volumes.

Trading platforms of Zerodha are equipped with advanced charts and tools. Also, you can integrate it with other tools like Smallcase, Streak, and Sensibull.

In 2020 itself, it was awarded with Startup of the Year by The Economic Times.

Zerodha Products

• Kite: It is the flagship trading platform of Zerodha to stream market data, advanced charts, etc. available for all: Web, Android, and iOS.
• Console: It is the dashboard which shows in-depth reports of your portfolio with visualisation.
• Coin: A platform where you can buy Direct Mutual Funds online without any commission. Once purchased, they are added to your demat account.
• Kite Connect API: Startups can use Kite Connect API for building new trading and investment platforms. 
• Varsity mobile: A good learning platform with a lot of stock market lessons with detailed explanations and examples.
• Sentinel: Great platform to create real-time market alerts which can be based on price, volume, trade quantity, or open interest.

Zerodha Pricing

Particulars	Pricing
Demat and Trading account Opening Charges	Rs. 200
Commodity Account Opening Charges	Rs. 100
Annual Maintenance Charges (Demat)	Rs. 300
Equity Delivery	Rs. 0
Intraday (equity, currency, and commodity), Futures and Options trades	Rs. 20 or 0.03% (whichever is lower)

For a detailed information, you may visit Zerodha Trading & Demat Account Review

Zerodha – Key Highlights

• You can enjoy free delivery of equity and direct mutual funds. 
• Flat Rs. 20 on Intraday and Futures & Options.
• A blend of great customer service and quick response time.
• Easy technical analysis with advanced charts and tools. 

2. Upstox

Upstox is among the fastest growing discount brokers offering low brokerage, easy to use trading platforms, and high leverage broker. Backed by Kalaari Capital, GVK Davix, and Ratan Tata, it is the biggest discount broker after Zerodha offering equity, currencies, and commodities.

Upstox Products

• Pro Web: It is user-friendly HTML-based customizable platform designed for professionals having best charting tools and 100+ indicators.
• Pro Mobile: The Pro Mobile is a lite version of Pro Web, but not all the features of it are embedded in it. It runs on both Android and iOS. Instant notifications and On the Go trade are key benefits.
• Developer: As the name suggests, it is built for developers who want to build their app on Upstox platform.
• Algo Lab: It is a bridge for AmiBroker where you can write strategies on AmiBroker AFL and place trade on Upstox.

Upstox Pricing

Particulars	Pricing
Demat and Trading account Opening Charges	Rs. 0
Maintenance Charges (Demat)	Rs. 25/month + GST
Equity Delivery	Rs. 0
Intraday (equity, currency, and commodity), Futures trades	Rs. 20 or 0.05% (whichever is lower)
Options Trade	Rs. 20

For a detailed information, you may visit Upstox Trading Account Review

Upstox – Key Highlights

• Fast and paperless account opening.
• Free delivery of equity.
• You can avail margin against shares.
• Priority brokerage @ Rs. 30 per trade or 0.10% (whichever is lower).

3. 5Paisa

Being the part of IIFL group, 5Paisa is among the top emerging discount brokers in India offering flat fee structure. Apart from offering equity, commodity, and currencies, it also offers insurances, mutual funds, and personal loans.

For your easy trading, 5Paisa offers mobile trading app, TradeStation for web, TradeStation for desktop, and Algo Trading.

5Paisa Products

• Swing Trader: A great tool for short-term trading with combined fundamental  and technical analysis.
• Smart Investor: Get access to fundamental research and reports drafted by a research team which helps you pick stocks for long-term.
• Smallcase: It helps you build a long-term, low cost, diversified portfolio suggested by the experts.
• SensiBull: It is best for trading options with a lot of screeners, data, and technical analysis. Free education, paper trading, protection from losses, and whatsapp alerts adds a great value.

5Paisa Pricing

Particulars	Pricing
Demat and Trading account Opening Charges	Rs. 300 + 18% GST(but you get Rs. 500 credit bonus)
Maintenance Charges (Demat)	Rs. 45/month + GST(only for months you trade)
Equity Delivery	Rs. 0
Intraday (equity, currency, and commodity), Futures trades	Rs. 20
Options Trade	Rs. 20

For a detailed information, you may visit 5paisa Review

5Paisa – Key Highlights

• Free delivery of equity.
• Flat fee of Rs. 20 per order for Intraday equity, F & O, or currency trade.
• Free Stock Advisory.
• Insurance and Mutual Funds through the same account.
• Investing in US stocks without commission.

4. Wisdom Capital

Founded in 2013, Wisdom Capital offers competitive and unique pricing which attracts a lot of customers. It offers stocks, F & O, currency on NSE/BSE and commodity on MCX/NCDEX. Although it offers 3 pricing plans, FREEDOM plan is the most popular due to zero brokerage.

Wisdom Capital – Services

Apart from equity trading, derivative trading, and commodity futures, Wisdom Capital also provides other services such as:

• Wisdom Data Feed: Data feeds and charting softwares from leading companies like Meta Trader, Ami Broker, Ninja Trader, etc.
• The Wisdom Trading School: Novice traders before getting your feet wet in the real market, it is always safer to opt for some good educational resources to gain knowledge about markets.
• Financial Planning Services: Reach your defined-goals with planning right strategies.
• Mutual Funds: Invest in various types of funds including Equity, Hybrid, Debt, and ELSS.
• Insurance: You can buy Life insurance car insurance, health insurance, term plans, and ULIP plans.

Wisdom Capital Pricing

You can avail 3 brokerage plans with Wisdom Capital: Freedom, Pro, and Ultimate.

Wisdom Capital Freedom Plan:

• It is the most popular plan as it offers ZERO brokerage in true sense across all segments.
• However, you have to compromise on margins as compared to the other two plans. Only Intraday trade in NSE Cash can avail 5x margin.
• This might not suit professional or active traders.

Wisdom Capital Pro Plan:

• Designed for active traders, Pro plan offers upto 32x margins (which is for NSE Cash).
• Brokerage in NSE equities is 0.01% Intraday and Delivery.
• For all other trades, it charges Rs. 9 per trade (NSE Futures, Options, MCX trading).

Wisdom Capital Ultimate Plan:

• Designed for high-frequency active traders, the Ultimate plan offers upto 60x margins (which is again for NSE Cash).
• Brokerage in NSE equities is 0.02% Intraday and Delivery.
• NSE Futures trades charges are 0.005%.
• Options trade charges a flat fee of Rs. 15 per lot.
• MCX trades will carry brokerage of 0.005% Intraday and Delivery. 

Wisdom Capital – Key Highlights

• There are no Account Opening charges for all three plan types.
• Demat account maintenance is only one time i.e. Rs. 999 + taxes.
• Zero brokerage for the FREEDOM plan.
• Higher margins with Pro and Ultimate Plans.

5. SAMCO Discount Broker

Established in 2015, SAMCO is also a discount broker focusing on low brokerage and high margins. You can use upto 4x margins in equity delivery (cash market segment), and 3x & 20x margins for buying and selling options.

SAMCO Products

• SAMCO Trader: It is a desktop trading application which you can install on Windows PC.
• StockNote: An application for operating on smartphones for both Android and iOS. 
• StockNote Web: You can also trade on web with StockNote Web by Giga Trading Engine (SAMCO’s proprietary engine)
• The StockNote APIs: With the FREE access to StockNote APIs, you can build and deploy your own algo-based strategies.
• StockBasket: Again a basket of stocks selected by experts is good to invest for beginners.
• RankMF: Platform to invest in Mutual Funds supported by analysis and ratings. 

SAMCO Pricing

Particulars	Pricing
Demat and Trading account Opening Charges	Rs. 0
Maintenance Charges (Demat)	Rs. 400
Equity Delivery	Rs. 20 or 0.20% (whichever is lower)
Intraday (equity, currency, and commodity), Futures trades	Rs. 20 or 0.02% (whichever is lower)
Options Trade	Rs. 20

For a detailed information, you may visit SAMCO Review

SAMCO Key Highlights

• Free account opening.
• Higher Margins and Flat fee structure @ Rs. 20 per trade.

6. SAS Online

Again targeting millennials and people who really want to cut on brokerage fees, SAS Online were able to compete with giants by offering brokerage as low as Rs. 9 per trade.

You can trade across equity, commodity, and currencies.

SAS Online Products

• Alpha Trader: Decent platform to trade with some scanning tools, plenty of technical indicators, and customizable chartings. 
• Alpha Web: Almost similar platform but the only difference is it is accessible through the web.
• SAS Alpha Mobile: Easy to go trading with notification alert facility, and all the required basic tools and utilities.

SAS Online Pricing

Particulars	Pricing
Demat and Trading account Opening Charges	Rs. 200
Commodity Account Opening Charges	Rs. 200
Annual Maintenance Charges (Demat)	Rs. 200
Equity Delivery	Rs. 9 per trade
Intraday (equity, currency, and commodity), Futures and Options trades	Rs. 9 per trade

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SAS Online – Key Highlights

• Flat Rs. 9 per trade across all segments.
• Up To 20x leverage in equity cash.
• Up To 5x leverage on NFO and MCX.
• Margin against shares available.
• Unlimited trade plans available for commodities, equity, and currency at Rs. 999, Rs. 999, and Rs. 499 per month respectively.

7. Tradejini

Started in 2012, Tradejini is a Bangalore based startup providing trading in equity, commodity, currencies, ETFs, and mutual funds. Single Integrated platform helps in easy managing. The brokerage fees are competitive in the industry.

Tradejini Products

• NEST Trader: User-friendly and intuitive desktop platform designed for professional traders supporting Multi Exchange, Multi Segment, with advanced order types and real-time scrip quotes.
• Web Based: NSE’s pioneering NEAT on Web gives you more efficiency with direct access to NSE servers.
• NEST Mobile: Application to trade on your mobile phone fully loaded with charts, quotes, and other utilities so that you can monitor the market on the go.

Tradejini Pricing

Particulars	Pricing
Demat account Opening Charges	Rs. 300
Trading account Opening Charges	Rs. 300
Maintenance Charges (Demat)	Rs. 300
Equity Delivery	Rs. 20 or 0.1% (whichever is lower)
Intraday (equity, currency, and commodity), Futures trades	Rs. 20 or 0.05% (whichever is lower)
Options Trade	Rs. 20 per order

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Tradejini – Key Highlights

• Lower brokerage charges.
• In-house CDSL DP.
• Upto 10x margin for equity intraday.

8. Trading Bells

Franchise of IIFL Securities Ltd., Trading Bells is another discount broker focusing on technology and customer service other than discounted brokerages. Other than equity, commodity, and currencies, it also offers Mutual funds, IPOs, and research services.

Trading Bells Pricing

Particulars	Pricing
Demat and Trading account Opening Charges	Rs. 750
Maintenance Charges (Demat)	Rs. 0
Equity Delivery	Rs. 0
Intraday (equity, currency, and commodity), Futures trades	Rs. 20 per order
Options Trade	Rs. 20 per order

For a detailed information, you may visit Trading Bells Review

Trading Bells – Key Highlights

• Free delivery of equity.
• Flat Rs. 20 per trade across rest all segments.
• Up To 22x margin on equity intraday cover orders.

9. TradeSmart Online

Unlike all the brokers listed above, TradeSmart Online is a venture of VNS Finance  having 20+ years of experience in Stock Markets. It offers equity, commodity, and currencies serving currently to 75,000+ customer base with 8500+ crores of turnover.

TradeSmart Online Products

• Sine: Application that helps you trade in Cash, F & O, Currencies, and Commodities on NSE, BSE, and MCX available for both Android and iOS.
• Swing: Simple and compact mobile app with charting, calculators, and analysis capabilities supporting all order types.
• Swing API: You can build your own trading application for your customised trading needs.
• Box: Access details of your account information, portfolio, reports easily from your mobile.
• TradeSmart MF: A user-friendly platform to manage all your mutual funds with summary and reports anytime.

Apart from these, TradeSmart also offers third party products such as Dartstock, Fox Trader, and Nest Trader.

TradeSmart Online Pricing

It offers two pricing for high and low volume traders: Power Trading Plan and Value Trading Plan.

Particulars	Pricing
Demat and Trading account Opening Charges	Rs. 400
Maintenance Charges (Demat)	Rs. 300
Equity Delivery	Rs. 15 per order (Power Trading Plan)0.007% (Value Trading Plan)
Intraday (equity, currency, and commodity), Futures trades	Rs. 15 per order (Power Trading Plan)0.007% (Value Trading Plan)
Options Trade	Rs. 15 per order (Power Trading Plan)Rs. 7 per lot (Value Trading Plan)

For a detailed information, you may visit

TradeSmart Online – Key Highlights

• Lower Brokerage cost.
• Higher margin upto 30x on equity cover orders intraday.
• Margin against shares.
• No minimum balance is required.

10. TradePlus Online

The brokerage arm of Navia Markets Ltd., TradePlus is a discount broker having trust among the people. This discount broker offers you equity, derivatives, IPOs, Mutual Funds, and Bonds to invest.

TradePlus Products

• Infini Trading Solutions (ITS): User-friendly and feature rich platform which is intuitive and compatible for all desktop, web, and mobile.
• Rocket Trading Solutions: Great charting tools, simple UI, and safe because it is hosted at BSE’s cloud solutions.
• TradeSenze: It is MetaTrader 4 analytical platform helps you in successful trades.
• Infini MF: You can invest in Direct Mutual Funds with Infini MF without any fees and transaction charges.

TradePlus Pricing

The TradePlus Online offers two pricing plans: FLEXI Brokerage Plan and FLAT Brokerage Plan.

Particulars	Pricing
Demat and Trading account Opening Charges	Rs. 200
Annual Maintenance Charges (Demat)	Rs. 200
Equity Delivery	Rs. 0
Equity Intraday	Rs. 9 per order or 0.01% (whichever is lower)
Equity Futures	Rs. 799 per month (FLAT Plan)Rs. 9 per order (FLEXI Plan)
Equity Options, Currency and Commodity  (FnO)	Rs. 99 per month (FLAT Plan)Rs. 9 per order (FLEXI Plan)

For a detailed information, you may visit Best Trading Platform in India

TradePlus – Key Highlights

• Differential Pricing for active and casual traders.
• Annual Maintenance Charges are low when paid for 5/10 years.
• No AMC charges for 1st year.

Discount Brokers in India – List to Add Upon

Apart from the above listed discount brokers, there are some other good brokers which did not make up to our top 10 list, but you can definitely look up to them as alternatives:

• ProStocks
• Finvasia
• Master Trust
• FYERS
• RK Global

Discount Brokers in India – What to consider?

You might be wondering about the safety issues involved with using a discount broker. Do keep in mind that the discount brokers are regulated as per SEBI. Hence, every broker has to comply with all the stringent norms of SEBI. Your part is to be due diligent in selecting the right broker so that you don’t fall in trap of any fraud broker.

To be diligent, look for factors like commission, customer support, trading platform features and even the compliance factors. You can also visit the website to check the products that are offered. Read the reviews and evaluate the offers. Doing all this will be sufficient to find the right discount broker.

Best Discount Brokers in India

So, who is the best discount broker then? The correct answer will be derived only once you find out your needs, priorities, and style of trading. Of Course, you will consider all the factors like brokerage charges, AMC fees, tools and utilities offered, customer service, and transparent pricing.

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With the rising traders and investors’ communities in a large market like India, still there is a lot of scope for growth in this industry. Therefore, choose the full-service or discount broker wisely and  also consider referral schemes, coupons, cashbacks which brokers are offering for new accounts.