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Zerodha Review 2024

Written by
Adam N.
Fact checked by
Gyula L.
Updated
1w ago
Key data
Fees
Safety
Deposit and withdrawal
Account opening
Mobile app
Web trading platform
Product selection
Regulated and trusted. Tested via live trading.
1,282 people chose this broker
Not available in United States; see best alternatives

Why choose Zerodha

Zerodha is among the largest discount brokers in India with a wide range of products and free equity delivery. It is a good choice for beginner investors because of its easy-to-use trading platforms.

As a drawback, Zerodha is only available to Indian residents, it covers only the Indian market, and it takes quite a long time and some actual paperwork to open an account.

  • Low fees
  • Great trading platforms
  • Solid research
Overall score
3.9/5
Minimum deposit
$0
Stock fee
Low
Inactivity fee
no
Account opening
>3 days
Not sure if this is the right broker for you? See the best ones.

Fees

Score: 4.2/5
Fees at Zerodha are low. On the other hand, expect to be charged for the account opening and for account maintenance.
  • Low trading fees
  • Low non-trading fees
  • Low stock and ETF fees / Free stock trading

We compared Zerodha's fees with two similar brokers we selected, Sharekhan and Interactive Brokers. These competitors were selected based on objective factors like products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc. See a more detailed comparison of Zerodha alternatives.

For equity delivery, it doesn't charge any commission.There is exceptionally transparent information on fees on Zerodha's website, supplemented by an easy-to-use fee calculator. As other charges may apply, we have put together a table featuring catch-all costs.

Indian stock fees and FX fees

Given that Indian brokers usually offer only a few types of products, we compared the brokers by calculating all the fees of a typical trade for two assets.
We chose the following assets:

  • Reliance, a large-cap Indian stock
  • USDINR, a popular currency pair

We compared the fees for an equity delivery trading for Reliance and a currency futures trade for USDINR. In both cases, a typical trade means buying a position, holding it for one week, then selling it. For volume, we chose $2,000 for stocks and $20,000 for the currency trade.
The resulting catch-all benchmark includes spreads, commissions and financing costs for all brokers.
Now, let's see the verdict. Zerodha has super low stock and currency futures fees.

Zerodha benchmark fees for a $2,000 stock and $20,000 USDINR trade
ZerodhaSharekhanInteractive Brokers
Indian stock$0.0$4.00$0.20
USDINR benchmark fee$0.5$4.0-
Zerodha non-brokerage fees
Brokerage charge Securities/Commodities transaction tax Transaction/Clearing charges Stamp charges GST SEBI charges
Equity delivery None 0.1% on buy and sell NSE: 0.00325%/trade
BSE: 0.003%/trade
0.015% or ₹1500 / crore on buy side 18% of the brokerage and transaction charges INR 5 / crore
Equity intraday 0.03% or Rs. 20/executed order, whichever is lower 0.025% on sell NSE: 0.00325%/trade
BSE: 0.003%/trade
0.003% or ₹300 / crore on buy side
Equity futures 0.03% or Rs. 20/executed order, whichever is lower 0.01% on sell NSE: 0.0019%/trade 0.002% or ₹200 / crore on buy side
Equity options Flat Rs. 20 per executed order 0.05% on sell NSE: 0.05%/trade 0.003% or ₹300 / crore on buy side
Currency futures 0.03% or Rs. 20/executed order, whichever is lower No STT fee NSE: 0.0009%/trade
BSE: 0.00022%/trade
0.0001% or ₹10 / crore on buy side
Currency options 0.03% or Rs. 20/executed order, whichever is lower No STT fee NSE: 0.035%/trade
BSE: 0.001%/trade
0.0001% or ₹10 / crore on buy side
Commodity options 0.03% or Rs. 20/executed order, whichever is lower 0.01% on sell Ranges between 0.0005% to 0.001%/trade 0.002% or ₹200 / crore on buy side
Commodity futures 0.03% or Rs. 20/executed order, whichever is lower 0.05% on sell No fees 0.003% or ₹300 / crore on buy side

No inactivity fee, no withdrawal fee

While the broker charges no inactivity fee and withdrawal fee, there is an account fee.
The account fee is INR 300 + 18% tax per year for Demat accounts and INR 1,000 + 18% tax per year for corporate accounts. If you open a commodity account, you will be charged INR 100 + 18% tax per year.

Broker
Inactivity fee
Withdrawal fee
Zerodha
$0
Sharekhan
$0
Interactive Brokers
$0
Zerodha inactivity, withdrawal and other fees

Safety

Zerodha is a fast-growing discount broker regulated by the top-tier Securities and Exchange Board of India. On the negative side, it provides neither investor protection nor negative balance protection.
  • Majority of clients belong to a top-tier financial authority
Read more

Deposit and withdrawal

Score: 2.5/5
Zerodha's deposit and withdrawal processes are user-friendly and free. However, there is only one account base currency, and you can only use bank transfers for deposits and withdrawals.
  • Free withdrawal
  • No deposit fee
  • User-friendly
Read more

Account opening

Score: 1.3/5
The account opening at Zerodha is far from seamless. The process is slow and not fully digital. As a plus, there is no minimum deposit.
  • No minimum deposit
Read more

Mobile app

Score: 4.3/5
Zerodha's Kite mobile platform has the same user-friendly functionalities as the web trading platform.
  • User-friendly
  • Good variety of order types
  • Price alerts
Read more

Web trading platform

Score: 3.8/5
Zerodha's web trading platform has an eye-catching, simplistic design, and it's very user-friendly. However, it has limited customizability and there is no two-step login.
  • User-friendly
  • Clear fee report
  • Good search function
Read more

Product selection

Score: 1.9/5
Zerodha's product lineup comprises a lot of asset classes, ranging from stocks to futures. However, the portfolio covers only the Indian market.
Read more
“I recommend Zerodha to Indian users who would like to focus solely on the Indian market and don’t mind a slower account opening process. Zerodha is also suitable for beginners, since it doesn’t charge an inactivity fee, there is no minimum deposit, and the platform is easy to learn and to use.”

FAQ

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Author of this review

Adam Nasli

Financial Wizard | Trading • Safety • Market Analysis

I bring extensive financial expertise as one of BrokerChooser's earliest team members. Personally, I tested nearly all 100+ brokers on our site, opening real-money accounts, executing trades, assessing customer services, and providing firsthand assessment. My professional background includes roles in the banking sector and a degree from Central European University, where I teach finance. My passions lies in in-depth research of the financial industry, building trading algorithms, and managing long-term investments.

Everything you find on BrokerChooser is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology.

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