Brokerage is one of the most crucial factor in one’s decision to choose a stock broker in India. This is because high brokerage charges means lesser profit or benefit to the investor. Though the introduction of discount brokers in India has enables investors to trade easily due to competitive brokerage levied by them, it is always a good idea to choose from the cheapest stock brokers in India with the lowest brokerage charges in the long run. Apart from it, one should also look at the account opening and AMC charges for better understanding.

What does cheapest brokerage or lowest brokerage mean?

The lowest brokerage refers to the least amount that a trader or investor must provide a stockbroker. The lowest brokerage costs often apply when the computed brokerage amount is less than the minimum brokerage amount since each stockbroker has a separate minimum brokerage amount determined.
According to SEBI, no stock broker is entitled to levy more than 2.5% of the entire order value as brokerage. One crucial thing to keep in mind is that SEBI has not set any minimum brokerage rules, leaving it up to each stockbroker to develop his own criteria for establishing a minimum brokerage amount.

There are two types of stockbrokers in India – Full-service Stockbrokers and Discount Brokers.
Full service stockbrokers usually charge more brokerage due to the wide range of services they offer. These services may include portfolio management, stock advisory, market research, investment strategy formulation along with the typical purchase and sale of stocks in the Indian stock exchanges like NSE and BSE.

On the other hand, discount brokers charge low brokerage as compared to full-service stock brokers due to the level of services they offer. For example, they enable typical buying and selling of securities. However, today most discount stockbrokers in India offers a wide range of extra services to woo their clients. So, you may find a majority of cheapest stock brokers in India are actually discount brokers.

Top Cheapest Stockbrokers in India in 2023

If you are looking to get the lowest brokerage against your stock market transactions, below is the list of top 10 cheapest stockbrokers in India that offer competitive brokerage charges to their clients.

m.Stock

One of the cheapest stock brokers in India, M Stock has two brokerage plans – 999 Brokerage Plan and 149 Brokerage Plan. Under the 999 Plan, the brokerage is zero across all trading segments. And, in the case of 149 Plan, the brokerage across all segments is stood at Rs. 20 per trade order except equity delivery which remains zero.
The account opening charges of m.Stock is Rs. 999 with an annual maintenance charge (AMC) of Rs. 999 (one-time).
The discount broker is managed by Mirae Asset, which is a leading financial services company in South Korea. The financial company has only lately entered the stock market sector and is moving slowly, but it has already established itself as a market leader in mutual fund services. Currently, 35 million consumers in India who manage over 100 AUMs invest in mutual funds.
The stock broker offers a wide range of products & services to investors like IPOs, equity, currency, futures & options, ETFs, and margin trading facility.

Brokerage Charges

Kotak Securities

Kotak Securities is a full-service stockbroker in India and is known to offer the lowest brokerage charges in India, including 0% commission for intraday trading and just Rs. 20 per order for trading in futures and options.

The account opening at Kotak Securities is totally free with zero charges for trading account maintenance. However, the AMC for Demat account is Rs. 600 annually.

There are four brokerage plans offered by Kotak Securities including the Trade Free Plan, Trade Free Max Plan, and No Brokerage Plan. In the first three plans, intraday brokerage is zero across all segments. The brokerage fee for equity delivery is 0.25%, or Rs. 20 (whichever remains higher).

Account Charges

Zerodha

Zerodha is the most popular among all and levies a brokerage charge of Rs. 20 per order (or 0.03%) from investors and traders for trading in stock intraday, equity derivatives, commodities, and currencies. For the equities delivery sector, there is no brokerage fee. It is considered among the top cheapest stock brokers in India.

The account opening charges (online) of Zerodha are Rs 200. In case of offline account opening, Rs 400 will be charged. The demat account AMC stands at Rs 300 per year.

Zerodha comes out on top when rating the finest discount brokers in India with the lowest brokerage costs. In actuality, Zerodha is one of the brokers that popularised the concept of discount broking by introducing the flat-fee Rs. 20 brokerage model in India. In addition to having the lowest brokerage costs in India, the stock broker is recognised for its speedy and user-friendly Kite trading platform, which can be used from both web browsers and mobile phones.

Account Charges

Angel One

Angel One charges zero brokerage for equity delivery trading. In the case of equity intraday, futures and options, foreign exchange, commodities, and currency, Angel One charges the optimum commission of Rs. 20 per order and a minimum charge of 0.25% of the transaction value. An investor is supposed to pay extra transactional, demat, and regulatory fees apart from the usual brokerage.

Angel One account opening charges are Rs 0 in case of a trading account and Rs. 0 (Free) for Demat account. There is an AMC of Rs. 240 AMC for Demat account.

Angel One (Previously Angel Broking) is considered among best full-service and cheapest stock brokers in India and provides a standard, flat fee brokerage plan to make stock trading simple and faster. The stock broker offers both online and offline trading and other financial services across Equity, F&O, Currency, Commodity, Bonds, IPO, and Mutual Funds. They also offer stock advisory services, loan against shares, and margin trading facility.

Edelweiss(Nuvama)

The usual brokerage charge for all categories under the Nuvama Lite Plan is Rs. 10 per executed transaction. This strategy is a fantastic option for investors who wish to trade independently without needing the broker’s complete help. This plan excludes relationship manager services, and value-added services are also billed individually based on usage.

Nuvama has free account opening for both trading and demat accounts. The Nuvama Demat Account Annual Maintenance Charges is Rs 500 per annually. The AMC for Demat account is free for the first year.

Nuvama Wealth & Investment Limited, formerly Edelweiss Broking Limited, was founded in 2008 and is a Mumbai-based full-service stockbroking business. The stockbroker enables investors and traders to trade and invest in all significant asset classes, including equity, debt, mutual funds, initial public offerings (IPOs), currency derivatives, commodities, and futures and options.

Account Charges

Upstox

Upstox charges Rs 20 (or 0.1% of each order) in brokerage fees for equities deliveries (whichever is lower). The fee for intraday equities trades is fixed at Rs. 20 per completed order, or 0.05% (whichever is lower).

The account opening charges of Upstox are Rs 0 for both a trading account and the Demat account. The AMC for Demat account is Rs. 150.

One of India’s cheapest stock brokers in India, Upstox was once known as RKSC Securities. The cheap broker has gone a long way since they started in 2009 by giving traders and investors the best of everything, including a cutting-edge trading platform, affordable brokerage, trustworthy customer service, and others. Upstox is a participant in the BSE, NSE, MCX, and MCX-SX exchanges. It is known for its low brokerage charges in the market.

Account Charges

5Paisa

An order-specific brokerage fee of Rs. 10 is levied through 5Paisa. A transaction cost Rs. 20 and an order cost Rs. 10 for each of the three brokerage programmes that were later implemented.
The account opening charges of Upstox are Rs 0 for both a trading account and the Demat account. The AMC for Demat account is Rs. 300.

Mumbai-based 5 Paisa is one of India’s cheapest brokers with the quickest rate of growth. Although it hasn’t been long since its founding, it soon became well-known in the stock brokerage industry after enlisting 1 million clients in just 4.5 years. The main objective of 5Paisa is to provide investors and traders with cutting-edge online trading platforms so they may conduct transactions easily across the BSE and NSE.

Account Charges

SBI Securities

SBI Securities charges a brokerage of 0.50% for delivery trade and 0.50% for Intraday Trade and Equity Future Trade and Equity Option Trade at ₹100 per lot.

The full-service stockbroker charts Rs. 850 as account opening charges for trading account and zero cost for Demat account opening. However, the maintenance charges for Demat account are Rs. 350 per year.
SBICAP Securities Limited (SSL) is a stock brokerage company that belongs to the State Bank Group. A 100% share in it is owned by SBI Capital Markets Ltd.

The full-service stock broker offers a wide range of trading and investment services at the lowest brokerage costs. These services include retail equity, institutional equities, broking, derivatives, depository services, and third-party distribution products.

Account Charges

Groww

Groww is one of the fast-emerging cheapest stock brokers in India and charges a maximum brokerage of Rs. 20 per order while the lowest brokerage stands at 0.05% of the overall order value.
There is no charge for opening a trading account and Demat account. Also, there is no annual maintenance charge levied by Groww.

Primarily started its journey as a mutual fund investment platform, Groww has come a long way by offering simple yet effective financial services to investors in India. Groww provide stock investment, trading account and Demat account services. Based out of Bangalore, Groww offers flat fee discount brokerage services for investment in IPO, equity, and Direct Mutual Funds. The stockbroker is supported by Nextbillion Technology Private Limited, a SEBI registered stockbroker and a member of NSE and BSE.

Brokerage Charges

Account Charges

Paytm Money

Being one of the cheapest stockbrokers in India, Paytm Money’s brokerage is based on an easy flat rate pricing model. The maximum brokerage charged by the broker is Rs 15 per order across all trading categories including intraday, delivery, and F&O. Apart from the brokerage, one is also supposed to pay several other charges.

The account opening charges of Upstox are Rs 200 for a trading account and Rs. 0 for a Demat account. The AMC for Demat account is Rs. 0.

Started operating in 2017, Paytm Money Limited (usually called Paytm Money) is a discount stock broker based out of Bengaluru. Paytm Money is a wholly-owned subsidiary of India’s largest and leading digital goods and mobile platform, One97 Communications Ltd that also owns the Paytm brand. Paytm is an RBI-approved Indian e-commerce payment system.

Brokerage

Account Charges

The Conclusion

Be it any broker – full-service or a discount broker, the brokerage plays a major role in determining the affordability of it. So, in order to save high on brokerage, it is recommended to choose from the cheapest stock brokers in India. However, it is best to associated with a stock broker in India that can justify the brokerage charged by providing best trading services.

The most preferred way to choose from the cheapest stock brokers in India is to carry out a thorough research on all the available options and pick the one that matches your trading needs and budget the best. Though this may ask for some of your time and efforts, this would help you a lot in the long run in the form of best-in-class trading services, more profit, and ultimate customer service.

FAQs on Cheapest Stock Broker in India