Updated on – 12 Jan 2022
Zerodha and Upstox both are leading discount brokers in India. Both Upstox and Zerodha charge flat brokerage fee of Rs 20 per trade irrespective of the trade volume.
Let’s compare Zerodha vs Upstox to find the best one in India
Upstox vs Zerodha Comparison
| Zerodha | Upstox |
| Charges – 0.03% or Rs. 20/order whichever is lower | Basic Plan – 0.05% or Rs. 20/order whichever is lower Priority plan – Rs. 30 or 0.10% whichever is lower (monthly charges Rs. 499 per month extra). |
| No streamlined process to get a 3-in-1 account facility. | A simple online process for the 3-in-1 account |
| Facility to invest in IPO with UPI | No facility to invest in IPO |
| Zerodha offers direct mutual funds investment. | Upstox offers regular mutual funds for investment. |
| Open Zerodha Account | Open Upstox Account |
Let’s have a detailed review of both to find the best discount brokers in India.
Upstox Demat Account Review
Upstox is one of the leading discount broker companies in India providing best technology to the customers. Upstox comes with different lucrative ideas like Flipkart gift vouchers to attract customers.
Upstox Brokerage charges
Upstox gives Free delivery of stocks but charges brokerage on trading. Upstox offers two types of brokerage plans – Basic and Priority.
Basic Plan
You get upto 20X margin on cash equities trading and you have to pay a discount brokerage of Rs. 20 per order or 0.05% (whichever is lower).
Basic plan is for the newcomers with low trading volume.
Priority Plan
Priority Plan is for professional traders. You pay Rs. 30 per trade or 0.10% (whichever is lower). If you are an active trader you will get a benefit of upto 25x leverage on the cash equities segment.
Two packs under the Priority Plan-
- Upstox charges Rs. 999/month for Equities, F&O, and CDS.
- Rs. 499/month plan for commodities.
| Category | Charges |
| Equity Delivery | Zero |
| Equity Intraday Trading | Basic Plan– Rs. 20 or 0.05% (whichever is lower) Priority Plan– Rs. 30 or 0.10% (whichever is lower) |
| Equity Options | Flat Rs. 20 per executed order |
| Equity Futures | Rs. 20 or 0.05% (whichever is lower) |
| Currency Options | Flat Rs. 20 per executed order |
| Commodity Options | Flat Rs. 20 per executed order |
| Commodity Futures | Rs. 20 or 0.05% (whichever is lower) |
Call n Trade Charges
You can also place your trades via phone for Rs. 20 + taxes. First 10 calls are free every month.
Upstox Margin Provided
You get 50% of your trade value up to Rs. 5 lakh. You get margin facility on Equities, F&O, Currency and Commodities Futures if you are an upstox customer.
Here are the details of Margin leverage provided by Upstox.
| Segment | Intraday orders | CO/OCO Orders | ||
| Basic | Priority | Basic | Priority | |
| NSE/BSE Cash | 15x | 20x | 20x | 27x |
| Index Futures | 3x | 6x | 20x | 28x |
| Stock Futures | 3x | 3x | 5x | 6x |
| Index Option Sell | 3x | 6x | 3x | 4x |
| Stock Option Sell | 3x | 3x | 3x | 3x |
| NSE Currency | 4x | 4x | 4x | 5x |
| MCX Future | 2.5x | 3x | 3x | 4x |
| NSE Option Buy | 1.33x | 2x |
Upstox Account opening charges
Upstox offers free account opening for equities, F&O, currency and commodities.
Annual Maintenance Charges for demat account are Rs. 300.
Upstox charges monthly. So you have to pay Rs. 25 every month from the date of account opening.
Other Charges
For Hindu United Family (HUF)
Trading Account Charges: Rs. 177 (Rs. 150 + taxes)
Demat Account Charges (AMC): Rs. 177 (Rs. 150 + taxes)
For LLP- Account Opening Fees LLP
Trading Account + Demat AMC: Rs. 500 + Rs. 1000 + taxes = Rs. 1770/-
Demat AMC 2nd year onwards: Rs.1000 + taxes = Rs.1180/-
Click here to FREE Upstox Account
Upstox Trading Platforms
#1. Pro Web
A powerful HTML based trading platform that smartly analyses market and provide you different charts with the latest market trends to make informed decisions.
Benefits of Upstox Pro Web are-
- You get more than 100+ indicators to customize your charts for better trading experience.
- You can ‘One-Click’ features to preset your preferences and quicklly buy/sell during high volatility period.
- You can use different widgets to give it a personal feel.
- You can also set up multiple workplaces and shuffle smoothly between your trading systems.
#2. Pro Mobile
You can use the power of the Pro web on your smartphone and trade in the market on the go. You can keep track of orders and trading activities. You can also customize charts and place orders right from your phone.
Major benefits of Pro mobile-
- You can also place Cover orders and Bracket orders using Pro mobile
- Get latest price alerts on your phone keep yourself updated about market trends
- You can also use this app on slow internet connections.
#3. Developer
If you know coding this platform is for you. Upstox Developer is an app development platform provided by upstox for developers to create personalized trading apps.
Upstox provides libraries that work with ios, android and web browsers. Upstox also provides documentation and guides for easy understanding while coding the app.
#4. AlgoLab
Algolab is a dedicated panel to place orders from Amibroker AFL. If you are using Amibroker for your research analysis, then you can use Upstox’s Algo lab and place orders directly from Amibroker without any delay.
Not only you can place orders but you can also view and modify orders.
You get a notification on your screen (Web or mobile) whenever your strategy on Amibroker
AFL triggers an order placement alert.
AlgoLab works as a bridge between Upstox and Amibroker AFL platforms.
#5. Mutual Funds
You can invest in mutual funds if you are not confident about stocks right now. Upstox’s Mutual funds platform allows you to create diversified portfolio for lesser risk and better returns from mutual funds. You can also start SIP for a regular monthly investment (best suitable for salaried people).
Best For
Upstox offers fastest trading platform which makes it best for traders.
Click here to open FREE upstox Account
Pros
- Different plans for regular investor and active trader
- High margin leverage for priority plan customers
- 3-in-1 account offer gives a hassle-free funds transfer facility from savings to trading account and vice versa.
- Multiple chart indicators for better analysis
- App development platform for developers
- Additional partner trading platforms available for professional traders.
- Amibroker users can place orders from their research platform in real-time.
Cons
- Slows down in peak hours
- No IPO investment facility
- No direct investment in mutual funds
Zerodha Demat Account
Zerodha has the largest customer database of more than 1.5 million active clients in India.
Zerodha is top discount broker and first choice of the traders.
Zerodha Brokerage Charges
Zerodha charge flat Rs. 20 per trade for trading and zero brokerage on delivery.
| Category | Charges |
| Equity Delivery | Zero |
| Equity Intraday Trading | Rs. 20 or 0.03% (whichever is lower) |
| Equity Options | Flat Rs. 20 per executed order |
| Equity Futures | Rs. 20 or 0.03% (whichever is lower) |
| Currency Options | Rs. 20 or 0.03% (whichever is lower) |
| Commodity F&O | Rs. 20 or 0.03% (whichever is lower) |
Zerodha Margin Provided
Zerodha offers margin on 3 different products; MIS, Bracket, and Cover Orders.
The margin provided on all products is 3-12.5% that is up to 8x depending on the script.
For Intraday orders in F&O –
- For Index, the margin required is 35%.
- For Stocks, the margin required is 45%.
- For Commodities & Currency, it is 50%.
As per SEBI’s new guidelines, no broker can give a high amount of leverage to their customers.
Zerodha Account Opening Charges
Account opening charges for Trading & Demat account is Rs. 200 and for commodity account is Rs. 100. Free for the first year.
Other charges
Zerodha’s Annual Maintenance Charge is Rs. 300 that you have to pay quarterly. Means, you have to pay Rs. 75 every three months.
Depository Participant (DP) charges on equity stock are Rs. 13.5 per scrip. You have to pay DP charges when you sell the shares from your Demat Account.
Zerodha Trading Platforms
#1. Kite
Kite is a fast & intuitively designed trading platform that allows you to trade equities, F&O, commodities, and currency. You receive updated information with live streaming of the latest market trends without any lag.
You can search across 90,000+ stocks across multiple exchanges instantly. You get multiple MarketWatch and live market depths up to level-3.
Kite’s level-3 data gives you deeper insights into market liquidity and allows you to set trading strategies accordingly.
You get 100+ indicators with an advanced charting interface.
#2. Kite Connect
Kite Connect is a tool to create powerful trading platforms using simple HTTP/JSON APIs.
You can build your own investment app using these APIs and showcase that to Zerodha’s client base. Coin, SmallCase, and Streak are examples of investment/trading apps built over Kite Connect.
#3. SmallCase
SmallCase allows you to build a diversified, low-cost portfolio for long-term investment purposes. A small case diversifies your portfolio with multiple stocks and protects you against market volatility of the market.
You have to pay fees only when you transact for mutual funds without paying any maintenance fee. You can invest in stocks and hold them in your account.
You can also invest in SIPs for regular & less risky investments if you are a newbie.
#4. Streak
Streak is the world’s first platform for traders to create, backtest, and deploy trading strategies without any coding skills.
You can track real-time market trends, get alerts, and manage positions.
Streak works in 3 steps:
1. Create – You can create trading strategies by selecting stocks and targeting profit percentage.
2. Backtest – Backtesting allows you to simulate a strategy virtually using previous years’ data to analyze risk and gains without investing in realtime.
3. Deploy – Once you have done backtesting, trader can deploy the strategies in th real market.
#5. Sensibull
Zerodha has collaborated with Sensibull to provide customers with the ‘Options Trading’ platform. You can trade Nifty Options, Bank Nifty Options, Stock Options, and many more.
You get expert advice in real-time on Whatsapp.
You can also learn trading with video lessons and practice virtually without investing real money.
Sensibull has three plans; Free, Lite, and Pro.
#6. GoldenPi
Golden Pi is India’s first online platform to invest in bonds and debentures. You can invest in bonds & debentures to get fixed returns on your investments.
3 steps to start investing using GoldenPi-
- Choose bonds that match your goals
- Complete KYC online
- Make the payment online and receive bonds in your Demat account.
Best For
Zerodha is best for professional traders.
Click here to open Zerodha Account
Pros
- Free equity delivery
- Flat brokerage is cost-effective for a regular trader
- Hassle-free investments in IPO using UPI payments
- In-depth reports and vast historical data for better analysis
- Enable user to invest directly in mutual funds
- Ease of creating multiple trading strategies & alerts
- Better customer support, they even quickly respond to Google play reviews.
Cons
- Server slows down during peak hours
- NRI account available with HDFC, Axis and Yes bank only.
Upstox vs Zerodha (Comparison Table)
Let’s have a detailed comparison of Upstox vs Zerodha in the table below.
| Zerodha | Upstox |
| Only one brokerage for all customers – Flat Rs. 20/order or 0.03% (whichever is lower.) | Basic Plan offers Rs. 20/order or 0.05% brokerage whichever is lower. The Priority Plan offers Rs. 30/trade 0.05% brokerage whichever is lower (with monthly charges extra). |
| No easy process to get a 3-in-1 account facility. However IDBI bank account holders can contact customer care and convert their account into 3-in-1. | A streamlined online process for the 3-in-1 account in partnership with IndusInd bank |
| Upto 8x leverage for intraday trading | 15x leverage for basic plan and 20x for priority plan users. |
| Zerodha’s Streak platform allows you to deploy trading strategies without any coding skills. | Developers can create trading apps but coding skills required |
| You can invest in Bonds and debentures. | No facility to invest in Bonds and debentures. |
| Facility to invest in IPO with UPI | No facility to invest in IPO |
| Zerodha offers direct mutual funds investment. | Upstox offers regular mutual funds for investment. |
