HDFC Securities
India's most expensive broker. HDFC Bank subsidiary. Avoid unless you need bundled banking.
About HDFC Securities
HDFC Securities is the brokerage arm of HDFC Bank, India's largest private bank. On a ₹50,000 delivery trade, it costs roughly 5.7× more than Zerodha or Dhan. The 0.5% delivery brokerage (minimum ₹25, capped at 2.5%) and ₹885 AMC make it prohibitively expensive for active traders. The only compelling reason to use it is if you bank with HDFC and want everything under one roof.
Who is HDFC Securities right for?
0.5% delivery brokerage is devastating on large trades. ₹250 brokerage alone on ₹50K, before regulatory charges.
0.05% min ₹25. For a ₹50K intraday trade, that's ₹50 in brokerage vs ₹15 at Zerodha.
Options: higher of 1% of premium or ₹100/lot. Much higher than flat ₹20 peers.
HDFC Bank integration. Research. Branch support. But the cost is hard to justify.
Every HDFC Securities charge, listed
All charges HDFC Securities can collect — grouped by type. Regulatory charges (STT, exchange fees, SEBI fee, stamp duty) are fixed by law and identical at every broker; they're listed separately below.
| Charge | Rate / Amount | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Trading charges | ||
| Delivery Brokerage | 0.5% or min ₹25 (ceiling 2.5%) | Per order, charged on both buy and sell legs. The most-advertised number. |
| Intraday Brokerage | 0.05% or min ₹25 | MIS orders — buy and sell same day. Per order. |
| F&O Futures Brokerage | NRML 0.05% or min ₹25 | Per futures order/lot. |
| F&O Options Brokerage | Higher of 1% premium or ₹100/lot | Per options order/lot. |
| MTF Brokerage | 0.32% or ₹25, higher | Brokerage on Margin Trading Facility orders. MTF lets you buy more than your balance and hold overnight. |
| Demat charges | ||
| DP Charge (per sell) | 0.04% or ₹20, whichever higher | Once per company (ISIN), per sell day. Not charged on intraday or F&O. |
| AMC (annual) | ₹750 + 18% GST = ₹885/year | Charged yearly to maintain your demat account, regardless of activity. |
| Other fees | ||
| MTF Interest Rate | 12.00% p.a. (~0.032%/day) | Daily interest on borrowed margin. Rate shown is p.a. — confirm before using. |
| Call & Trade | No additional charge | Extra fee per order placed by phone instead of app. |
| Auto Square-off | No additional charge | Charged if broker closes your open intraday position at market end. |
| Payment Gateway | N/A (bank transfer) | Per fund transfer. UPI is usually free — use it. |
| DDPI (one-time) | ₹500 | Demat Debit & Pledge Instruction — avoids TPIN entry on every sell. |
| Account Opening | Free | One-time cost to open demat + trading account. |
| Settlement & custody | ||
| Physical Settlement | 0.5% or min ₹25 (same as delivery) | Brokerage when an F&O contract results in physical delivery of shares instead of cash settlement. |
| Pledge / Unpledge | 0.04% of value or ₹20, whichever higher | Fee to pledge shares as margin collateral. Charged per ISIN per request. |
| Delayed Payment | 0.05%/day on outstanding amount | Daily interest on your debit balance when you owe money to the broker (e.g., after a loss or pending funds transfer). |
| Off-Market Transfer | 0.04% of value or ₹20, whichever higher | Fee to transfer shares to another demat account outside of exchange settlement. |
| Currency & Commodity | ||
| CDS Futures | 0.05% or min ₹25 | Brokerage on currency derivative futures (USDINR, EURINR, etc.). |
| CDS Options | Higher of 1% premium or ₹100/lot | Brokerage on currency derivative options. |
| Commodity Futures | 0.05% or min ₹25 | Brokerage on MCX commodity futures (Gold, Silver, Crude Oil, etc.). |
| Commodity Options | Higher of 1% premium or ₹100/lot | Brokerage on MCX commodity options. |
| Demat services | ||
| MF DP Charges | ₹20 + GST = ₹23.60/ISIN | DP charges on mutual fund redemptions from demat. |
| Corporate Action | Free | Processing fee for bonus, split, dividend, rights issue, etc. |
| Dematerialisation | ₹300 + GST/certificate | Fee to convert physical share certificates to electronic demat form. |
| Rematerialisation | ₹500 + GST/certificate | Fee to convert demat shares back to physical certificates. |
| Failed Demat | ₹50 + GST per failed instruction | Penalty when a demat transfer instruction fails. |
| Account & documents | ||
| API Access | Free (HDFC Securities API) | Monthly or annual fee for trading API access. |
| API Brokerage | Same as regular trades | Brokerage rate when trading via API. |
| Account Reactivation | ₹300 + GST = ₹354 | Fee to reactivate a dormant or frozen account. |
| Instant Withdrawal | N/A (bank transfer) | Fee for instant fund withdrawal to bank account. |
| DIS Slip | ₹100 + GST/booklet | Physical Delivery Instruction Slip booklet. |
| Physical CMR | ₹100 + GST | Physical copy of Client Master Report. |
| Physical Contract Note | ₹50 + GST per contract note | Physical copy of daily contract note. |
| Account modifications | ||
| Name Change | N/A | Fee and processing time to change your name on demat records. |
| Mobile & Email | N/A | Fee to update your registered mobile number or email address. |
| Address Change | N/A | Fee to update your registered address. |
| Nominee Change | N/A | Fee to add, remove, or modify nominee details. |
| DOB Correction | N/A | Fee to correct date of birth on demat records. |
| Bank Account Change | N/A | Fee to change your primary linked bank account. |
| KYC Update | N/A | Fee for re-KYC or KYC detail modification. |
| Cheque Bounce Penalty | N/A | Penalty when a cheque deposited with the broker bounces. |
What you'd actually pay
All-in cost per trade — brokerage + GST + DP charge + every regulatory charge.
Govt/exchange charges (₹111.51 on ₹50K) are identical at every broker — only the broker portion differs.
Regulatory charges — the ones no broker can change
These charges are fixed by law and collected by exchanges / the government. Every broker charges them identically. They add up to ₹111.51 on a ₹50,000 delivery trade.
| Charge | Rate | Amount on ₹50K trade | Who collects | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STT (Securities Transaction Tax) | 0.1% on turnover (delivery) | ₹100.00 | Government of India | STT explained → |
| Exchange Transaction Charge | 0.00297% of turnover (NSE) | ₹2.97 | NSE / BSE | Exchange fee → |
| GST on Exchange Charge | 18% on exchange charge | ₹0.53 | Government of India | GST explained → |
| SEBI Regulatory Fee | ₹10 per crore turnover | ₹0.51 | SEBI | SEBI fee → |
| Stamp Duty | 0.015% on buy value | ₹7.50 | State governments | Stamp duty → |
| Total regulatory charges | ₹111.51 | Cannot be reduced by choosing any broker | ||
How does HDFC Securities compare?
See how HDFC Securities stacks up against all 16 brokers on any trade value and type.