Cheatsheet

Every charge, every broker

7 brokers. 8 charge categories. 3 trader profiles. The only comparison you need before picking a broker.

00

Quick verdict

Which broker for which trader?

Long-term investor Near-tie
Dhan ₹7,045/yr
Zerodha ₹7,148/yr
5 delivery trades/mo, ₹50K avg
Active trader Near-tie
Dhan ₹14,514/yr
Zerodha ₹14,638/yr
3 delivery + 30 intraday/mo
F&O trader
Kotak Securities ₹1,00,417/yr
50 options + 10 futures/mo

These are total costs including brokerage, GST, DP charges, AMC, and all regulatory fees (STT, exchange, SEBI, stamp duty). The cheapest broker changes depending on your trading style — there's no single "best" broker.

01

Total annual cost

What each broker actually costs per year

Why this matters: Comparing individual charges is misleading — a broker with ₹0 delivery brokerage but high DP charges may cost you more overall. These profiles combine every charge into one annual number.

Long-term investor (5 delivery trades/mo, no intraday or F&O)

Broker Brokerage DP AMC Regulatory Total/year
Dhan Cheapest ₹0 ₹354 Free ₹6,691 ₹7,045
Zerodha Cheapest ₹0 ₹368 ₹89 ₹6,691 ₹7,148
Groww ₹2,832 ₹480 Free ₹6,691 ₹10,003
Angel One ₹2,832 ₹480 ₹283 ₹6,691 ₹10,286
Upstox ₹2,832 ₹480 ₹300 ₹6,691 ₹10,303
Kotak Securities ₹14,160 ₹480 ₹600 ₹6,691 ₹21,931
HDFC Securities ₹35,400 ₹480 ₹885 ₹6,691 ₹43,456
Gap between cheapest and costliest: ₹36,411/year

Active trader (3 delivery + 30 intraday trades/mo)

Broker Brokerage DP AMC Regulatory Total/year
Dhan Cheapest ₹6,372 ₹885 Free ₹7,257 ₹14,514
Zerodha Cheapest ₹6,372 ₹920 ₹89 ₹7,257 ₹14,638
Angel One ₹8,071 ₹1,200 ₹283 ₹7,257 ₹16,811
Kotak Securities ₹16,992 ₹1,200 ₹600 ₹7,257 ₹26,049
Groww ₹18,691 ₹1,200 Free ₹7,257 ₹27,148
Upstox ₹18,691 ₹1,200 ₹300 ₹7,257 ₹27,448
HDFC Securities ₹42,480 ₹1,200 ₹885 ₹7,257 ₹51,822
Gap between cheapest and costliest: ₹37,308/year

F&O trader (50 options + 10 futures trades/mo)

Broker Brokerage DP AMC Regulatory Total/year
Kotak Securities Cheapest ₹16,992 ₹0 ₹600 ₹82,825 ₹1,00,417
Groww ₹33,984 ₹0 Free ₹82,825 ₹1,16,809
Dhan ₹33,984 ₹0 Free ₹82,825 ₹1,16,809
Zerodha ₹33,984 ₹0 ₹89 ₹82,825 ₹1,16,898
Angel One ₹33,984 ₹0 ₹283 ₹82,825 ₹1,17,092
Upstox ₹33,984 ₹0 ₹300 ₹82,825 ₹1,17,109
HDFC Securities ₹1,77,000 ₹0 ₹885 ₹82,825 ₹2,60,710
Gap between cheapest and costliest: ₹1,60,293/year
02

Delivery brokerage

How much does a ₹50,000 delivery trade actually cost?

What is it? The fee your broker charges every time you buy or sell shares that you hold overnight. Some brokers charge zero, others charge a percentage or a flat fee per order. This is the single biggest variable cost for long-term investors.
Broker Rate Brokerage + GST Total trade cost
Zerodha Cheapest Zero brokerage ₹0.00 ₹126.85
Dhan Zero brokerage ₹0.00 ₹126.26
Groww ₹5–₹20 ₹47.20 ₹178.71
Angel One ₹2–₹20 ₹47.20 ₹178.71
Upstox ₹20 flat ₹47.20 ₹178.71
Kotak Securities 0.2% ₹236.00 ₹367.51
HDFC Securities 0.5% min ₹25 ₹590.00 ₹721.51

Zerodha charges zero delivery brokerage. At HDFC Securities, the same ₹50K trade costs ₹590.00 more. Over 50 trades/year: ₹29,500.00 extra.

03

Intraday brokerage

What does a ₹25,000 intraday round trip cost?

What is it? The fee on same-day buy-and-sell trades. Brokers charge a percentage (0.03%–0.1%) capped at ₹10–₹20 per order. The cap means large trades cost the same as medium ones.
Broker Rate Brokerage + GST 100 trades/mo × 12
Zerodha Cheapest 0.03% or ₹20 ₹17.70 ₹21,240.00
Dhan 0.03% or ₹20 ₹17.70 ₹21,240.00
Angel One 0.03% or ₹20 ₹17.70 ₹21,240.00
Kotak Securities 0.05% or ₹10 ₹23.60 ₹28,320.00
Groww ₹5–₹20 ₹47.20 ₹56,640.00
Upstox 0.1% or ₹20 ₹47.20 ₹56,640.00
HDFC Securities 0.05% min ₹25 ₹59.00 ₹70,800.00

For active traders doing 100 trades/month, annual brokerage difference: ₹49,560.00. On trades below ~₹67K, the percentage rate matters more than the cap.

04

F&O brokerage

Futures vs options — who charges what?

What is it? Futures brokerage works like intraday — a percentage capped at a flat fee. Options brokerage is almost always a flat fee per order regardless of lot size or premium.

Futures brokerage (₹5L lot value, round trip)

Broker Rate Brokerage + GST
Kotak Securities Cheapest ₹10 flat ₹23.60
Zerodha 0.03% or ₹20 ₹47.20
Groww ₹20 flat ₹47.20
Dhan 0.03% or ₹20 ₹47.20
Angel One ₹20 flat ₹47.20
Upstox 0.05% or ₹20 ₹47.20
HDFC Securities 0.05% min ₹25 ₹295.00

Options brokerage (flat per order, round trip)

Broker Rate Brokerage + GST 50 trades/mo × 12
Kotak Securities Cheapest ₹10 flat ₹23.60 ₹14,160.00
Zerodha ₹20 flat ₹47.20 ₹28,320.00
Groww ₹20 flat ₹47.20 ₹28,320.00
Dhan ₹20 flat ₹47.20 ₹28,320.00
Angel One ₹20 flat ₹47.20 ₹28,320.00
Upstox ₹20 flat ₹47.20 ₹28,320.00
HDFC Securities ₹100 min ₹236.00 ₹141,600.00
05

DP charge

The cost of selling your stocks

What is it? Charged every time you sell delivery shares — per scrip per day. Sell 4 different stocks in one day = 4× the DP charge. Each broker marks up the CDSL/NSDL fee differently.
Broker Per sell 10 sells/mo Annual (10/mo)
Dhan Cheapest ₹14.75 ₹147.50 ₹1,770
Zerodha ₹15.34 ₹153.40 ₹1,841
Groww ₹20.00 ₹200.00 ₹2,400
Angel One ₹20.00 ₹200.00 ₹2,400
Kotak Securities ₹20.00 ₹200.00 ₹2,400
HDFC Securities ₹20.00 ₹200.00 ₹2,400
Upstox ₹20.00 ₹200.00 ₹2,400

DP charge gap: ₹5.25/sell. For active delivery sellers (10 sells/mo), that's ₹630/year difference.

06

AMC

What your broker charges for doing nothing

What is it? Annual Maintenance Charge for your demat account — billed yearly regardless of trading. For low-frequency investors, this can be the single largest cost.
Broker Annual cost Monthly equiv.
Groww Free Free —
Dhan Free —
Zerodha ₹88.50 ₹7.38
Angel One ₹283.00 ₹23.58
Upstox ₹300.00 ₹25.00
Kotak Securities ₹600.00 ₹50.00
HDFC Securities ₹885.00 ₹73.75

2 of 7 brokers charge zero AMC. If you barely trade, AMC is the one charge that hits you no matter what.

07

MTF interest & brokerage

What does borrowing ₹1 lakh for 30 days cost?

What is it? Margin Trading Facility — buy stocks with borrowed money. Two costs: (1) interest on borrowed amount (12%–18%+ p.a., compounded daily), (2) MTF brokerage per order (often higher than regular brokerage).
Broker Rate (p.a.) 30-day interest MTF brokerage Total cost
Dhan Cheapest 12.5% ₹1,026.58 ₹47.20 ₹1,073.78
Zerodha 14.6% ₹1,200.00 ₹47.20 ₹1,247.20
Angel One 15.0% ₹1,232.05 ₹47.20 ₹1,279.25
Groww 15.8% ₹1,294.52 ₹236.00 ₹1,530.52
Upstox 18.3% ₹1,500.00 ₹47.20 ₹1,547.20
Kotak Securities 15.0% ₹1,230.41 ₹472.00 ₹1,702.41
HDFC Securities 12.0% ₹986.30 ₹755.20 ₹1,741.50

On a ₹5L position held 30 days, the interest spread means a difference of ₹-201.37. MTF is expensive — only use it if you're confident in the trade.

08

Regulatory charges

The costs you cannot avoid at any broker

Why does this matter? These charges are identical at every broker — STT, exchange fees, SEBI fee, stamp duty, and GST on exchange fees. No broker can waive them. They often make up 40–70% of your total trade cost. Understanding these helps you see what part of the cost is the broker's fee vs. government/regulatory.
Delivery (₹50K)
STT₹100.00
Exchange fee₹2.97
SEBI fee₹0.51
Stamp duty₹7.50
GST on exchange₹0.53
Total₹111.51
Intraday (₹25K)
STT₹6.25
Exchange fee₹1.49
SEBI fee₹0.26
Stamp duty₹0.75
GST on exchange₹0.27
Total₹9.01
Futures (₹5L)
STT₹100.00
Exchange fee₹2.00
SEBI fee₹5.10
Stamp duty₹10.00
GST on exchange₹0.36
Total₹117.46
Options (₹50K)
STT₹50.00
Exchange fee₹53.00
SEBI fee₹0.51
Stamp duty₹1.50
GST on exchange₹9.54
Total₹114.55

STT is the largest regulatory charge by far. On delivery, regulatory charges are ₹111.51 per ₹50K trade — more than most brokers' brokerage. This is why "zero brokerage" doesn't mean "free trading."

09

Other charges

The fees that show up when you least expect

Call & trade — extra fee for phone orders. Auto square-off — penalty when broker forcefully closes your position. Pledge/unpledge — fee to use stocks as margin collateral. These add up for traders who trigger them often.
Zerodha
Groww
Dhan
Angel One
Kotak Securities
HDFC Securities
Upstox
Call & trade
₹59
N/A
₹59
₹20
₹57.82
Free
₹88.50
Auto square-off
₹59
₹50
₹23.60
₹20
₹59
Free
₹88.50
Pledge / unpledge
₹35.40 pledge
₹23.60 each
₹17.70 each
₹23.60 each
₹20 each
0.04% min ₹20
₹23.60 each
Payment gateway
₹10.62
Free
Free
Free
₹8.26
N/A
₹8.26
Account opening
Free
Free
Free
Free
₹99
Free
Free

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