Zerodha with a unique name and meaning,Zero + rodha ( Barrier in English) is emerging as a single largest Discount Broker in India. The reason Zerodha becoming the most popular broker is "the best online trading platform in India", "low brokerage and high exposure", "free direct mutual fund investment platform" and "efficient customer support."
In just a short span of time (9 yrs) Zerodha top the list to become the number one share broker in India in terms of active clients. Zerodha offerings and support is growing day by day and the best in class. Zerodha offers trading in equity, equity F&O, commodity, and currency on NSE, BSE, MCX and MCX-SX and investment in Direct Mutual Funds through SIP, Government securities, and bonds. Zerodha offers free trading in equity delivery and charges a low brokerage of Rs 20 or .01% whichever is lower for trading in equity F&O, currency and commodity. Zerodha offers demat services by being a DP of CDSL. Zerodha also offers NRI trading facility at Rs 200 or .1% per order whichever are lower for equity delivery and Rs 100 per order for equity F&O.
Unlike other discount brokers, Zerodha has 22 branch offices, 94 partner offices, and 6 support + call & trade offices other than a head office in Bangalore. Zerodha is the first broker in India to provide Direct Mutual Fund investment facility to its customers for free. It is provided by their online platform called "COIN" (coin.zerodha.com") where you invest in direct mutual fund schemes that give you better returns compared to regular mutual fund schemes as there is no commission going to the brokerage house from your investment. Investment options for IPO, FPO and OFS (Offer for sale) is not available online with Zerodha which is pretty much standard with all the discount share brokers.
Zerodha offer customer support in all possible ways and efficiently. The support channels offered by Zerodha other than call and trade and email are as follow:
Console - It is a back office portal of Zerodha for viewing your portfolio, holdings, P&L and contract notes. It is a central reporting and trading dashboard of Zerodha to place withdrawal request and view account statements. It can be access directly from Kite. Available at “https://console.zerodha.com”.
Zerodha support portal - Users can create a direct ticket on Zerodha Support Portal. There is a FAQ bank on most of the topics and to further ask a question you need to select a relevant topic or faq. Available at “https://support.zerodha.com”.
Zerodha Varsity - Free, online, interactive education module on investing and trading by experts. Available at "https://zerodha.com/varsity/". Now Varsity is also available in mobile app with relevant exams.
z-connect - Blog for announcing all the updates by Zerodha. Available at "https://zerodha.com/z-connect/".
TradingQ&A - Active trading forum to discuss any and all topics related to trading, stock market, Zerodha products and platforms supported through participation by users of Zerodha. Available at http://tradingqna.com
Youtube channel - Video channel on you tube to view all the videos related to Zerodha. Available at "https://www.youtube.com/user/zerodhaonline.
Zerodha account opening process is instant, online and linked with Aadhar card. Zerodha now offers 3-in-1 account in tie-up with IDFC First bank in the form of Zerodha-IDFC FIRST Bank 3-in-1 account which is a single account inclusive of trading, DEMAT and bank account for seamless and hassle-free online banking and investing experience. Zerodha now becomes the trading and self-clearing member to give clients the benefit of no clearing charges. Zerodha offers cover order and bracket order (CO/BO) with trailing stop loss feature for equity and F&O.
Zerodha Reward programs like 60-day challenge, refer a friend and Get an Affiliate link gives you an opportunity to get some rewards. Zerodha offers most advanced and in-house trading platforms across desktop, web and mobile app. Kite 3.0 is their in-house, state-of-art web-based trading platform also available in mobile app. PI is the advance feature-rich software-based trading platform of Zerodha. They also offer third-party plug-in tools like Smallcase, Sensibull, Streak, StockReports+ for that extra support. These are the paid services though.
With high-class technology, unique trading tools, and three-way trading platform, Zerodha is giving its clients an edge in trading and decision making. Pioneer in introducing low brokerage scheme, Zerodha manages to satisfy both casual and active investors.
Free delivery Trading - Zero Brokerage, Direct Mutual Fund Investment on Zero Cost. Open Account online. 3-in-1 Account with IDFC Bank. Sign up now
Here we are comparing Zerodha with its 5 close competitors on investment options.
| Broker | Zerodha | Sharekhan | 5paisa | Upstox | SAMCO |
| Equity Trading Type | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Currency Trading | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Commodity Trading | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mutual Funds | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| MF SIP | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| ETF Investment | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Banking | No | No | No | No | No |
| Insurance | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
As Zerodha started the new concept of discount share broking in Indian share market, you can save 80 to 90% on brokerage with them. Their brokerage rates are super cheap as compared to full-service brokers and very competitive among its nearby discount share brokers. Zerodha entered in a new concept of brokers as a Free Broker by introducing Equity Delivery Trades @₹0 brokerage. For Equity Intraday, F&O, Currency, and Commodity trading ₹20 or 0.01% whichever is lower, so you pay max ₹20 per trade. Zerodha’s ₹20 Plan is equal to Upstox (₹20), Fyers (₹20), SAMCO (₹20) while slightly more expensive than 5paisa (₹10), TradeSmart (₹15) and SASOnline (₹9).
Lets discuss in details about the type of account offered by Zerodha.
Zerodha offers an online trading account to trade in stocks, derivatives, indices and currencies on NSE and BSE. Trading can be done through the software based platform, web based platform or a mobile application and Call & Trade option. All settlements on a Trading Account happens on T+1 day. There is no Annual Maintenance charges (AMC) for Trading Account. Account opening is ₹300.
You need a Demat Account only to trade in delivery based equity trading. The shares will show up in your Demat Account only on T+2 day. You don't need a Demat Account if you are trading in F & O whether you're an intraday trader or a positional (overnight) trader. Demat Account opening charges is ₹100 and AMC is ₹300.
You can only trade in Commodity Future on MCX exchange with Zerodha. There are no Annual Maintenance charges for your Commodity Account at Zerodha. Only futures trade on MCX and hence there is no need of a Demat Account for trading Commodities. Commodity Options have still not started in India. Account opening charges for commodity trading is ₹300.
For complete brokerage charges and trading plans detail please visit Zerodha Brokerage Charges.
Here we are comparing Zerodha with its 5 close competitors, who are currently market leader in brokerage industry.
| Broker | Zerodha | Sharekhan | 5paisa | Upstox | SAMCO |
| Service Type | Discount Broker | Full Service Broker | Discount Broker | Discount Broker | Discount Broker |
| Brokerage Range | Rs 20 | 0.1 to 0.5% | Rs 10 | Rs 20 | 20 Rs |
| Account Type | 2 in 1 | 2 in 1 | 2 in 1 | 2 in 1 | 2 in 1 |
| Equity Delivery | Free | 0.5% or 50 paisa | Flat Fee Rs 10 | Free | 0.2% or Rs 20 whichever is lower |
| Equity Intraday | 0.01% or Rs 20 whichever is lower | 0.1% or 10 paisa | Flat Fee Rs 10 | 0.01% or Rs 20 whichever is lower | 0.02% or Rs 20 whichever is lower |
| Equity Futures | 0.01% or Rs 20 whichever is lower | 0.1% or 10 paisa | Flat Fee Rs 10 | Flat Fee Rs 20 | 0.02% or Rs 20 whichever is lower |
| Equity Options | Flat Fee Rs 20 | 2.5% of Premium or Rs 250 per lot whichever is high | Flat Fee Rs 10 | Flat Fee Rs 20 | Flat Fee Rs 20 |
| Commodity | Flat Fee Rs 20 | 0.1% or 10 paisa | Flat Fee Rs 10 | Flat Fee Rs 20 | Flat Fee Rs 20 |
| Currency Futures | 0.01% or Rs 20 whichever is lower | 0.1% or 10 paisa | Flat Fee Rs 10 | Flat Fee Rs 20 | 0.02% or Rs 20 whichever is lower |
| Currency Options | Flat Fee Rs 20 | 2.5% of Premium or Rs 30 per lot whichever is high | Flat Fee Rs 10 | Flat Fee Rs 20 | Flat Fee Rs 20 |
| Rating |
Please refer unique and accurate Zerodha Brokerage Calculator
Zerodha offer leverage/margin through 3 different product types MIS, BO & CO.
NRML orders for equity F&O: Exchange stipulated margin
Note:
To open an trading/DP account with Zerodha,please provide your contact information.
Zerodha has the most advanced, sleek and intuitive trading platforms for all types of customers. They have desktop-based trading software, web-based trading terminal and Mobile app for Android and iOS smart phones.
This is the advanced desktop trading software by Zerodha to minimize all the barriers in smooth trading. This is a downloadable version of trading software and needs admin access to setup on your windows machine. Zerodha PI has all the features one need in a trading platform. It is available for free.
Further Reading: Detail Review of Zerodha PI
KITE 3.0 is a lightweight, low bandwidth, multi-language, Integrated, easy to use, Informational and committed web base and mobile app from Zerodha. Kite is an in-house developed product from Zerodha and has the most tech-focused mobile offering. We rated Kite as “the Best Trading App”.
Further Reading:Detail Review of Zerodha kite 3.0
Coin.zerodha.com is the web-based online mutual fund investment platform by Zerodha. It is a commission-free platform to invest in Direct Mutual Funds. Zerodha has launched a new Mobile App too for mutual fund investments called Coin Mobile. This app has full features to buy, sell funds of your choice. You can create SIP, update or hold your SIP on the go. It has direct mutual fund investment option from 31 AMC for 3000+ funds.
Limitation of Coin - You must have to transfer fund in your Mutual Fund account well in advance. So in case you have SIP plans, you must have to make sure fund is available in your Zerodha mutual fund account. You can do payment gateway transfer or set a recurring payment via your bank (NEFT/RTGS) to your Zerodha Mutual Fund account. Zerodha application doesn’t go directly to your bank account and withdraw the amount for your SIP. Where if you have ICICI Bank or HDFC Bank Mutual Fund SIP, they directly go to your bank account and withdraw the fund. This is a small limitation and can be handled by setting up a recurring payment option with your net banking.
Further Reading: Direct Mutual Fund Investment by Zerodha
It is a price alert tool from Zerodha to set alerts for 80,000+ stocks, bonds, commodities, F&O contracts, and currencies across exchanges on OHLC, bids, and offers, and more, in addition to the price. Advance alerts can also be created that combine multiple triggers using simple, easy-to-use operators. The alerts are sent on email and Kite web.
These are the products designed by third parties and has a tie-up with Zerodha to give access to their products and platforms to the users of Zerodha. These are paid services and can be integrated with Zerodha Kite platform.
Powered by Kite Connect APIs, smallcase is the thematic investment platform by Zerodha to let users invest in intelligently weighted baskets of stocks with a single click. A smallcase has a minimum of 2 and maximum of 50 securities. The securities are chosen based on ideas, themes or strategies in a specified weightage scheme. SIP facility is also available for smallcase thematic investment.
Streak is the web-based cloud server Algo-trading platform by Zerodha to create, backtest and deploy trading algorithms live in the market without coding. One can track the market real-time, get actionable alerts and manage positions on the go.
Sensibull is the options trading platform, to choose from the suggested strategies or create your own custom strategies to trade your view. It also shows the comparison between various strategies to choose the best fit for you, visualize your trade’s profit and loss under various scenarios and allows to place orders using Zerodha Kite platform.
It is a comprehensive research and analysis report by Thomson Reuters on stocks, market, and industry. It covers stock analysis and rating on 3000+ Indian stocks, Industry rankings and ratings, industry and sectoral analysis and in-depth insights of over 1500 Indian companies.
For detail review of mobile app and download please visit Zerodha Trading Platform Review.
Here we are comparing Zerodha with its 5 close competitors on Trading Platform.
| Broker | Zerodha | Sharekhan | 5paisa | Upstox | SAMCO |
| Desktop Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Mac | No | No | No | No | No |
| Web Trading | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Android Tablet App | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Android Mobile App | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone App (iOS Mobile App) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| iPad App | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Mobile Site | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Zerodha is a well-respected share broker with a great offering. Zerodha has 1 million [Mar 2019] satisfied customers leading it to India`s one of the best discount share broker house. Customer service is a top-notch and clients have access to well-known share brokerage platforms and tools. First time in India a brokerage house started Direct Mutual Funds investment. The strong management team gives you more confidence and support in trading. For those who want to take advantage of the latest technologies will find Zerodha to be a great fit.
22nd Mar 2019: Zerodha moving from 3rd party clearing member to self-clearing member under Zerodha Broking Ltd, with that no professional clearing Member(PCM) charges will be charged on futures and options premium. Exchange transaction charges for Futures will be Rs 190 per Cr and Option premium is Rs 5000 per Cr, which was Rs 210 per Cr and 5200 per Cr previously.
23rd Feb 2019: Second level authentication on Zerodha Kite is with 6 digit pin. Previously it was with a personal question based, now it will be more faster to log in on Kite.
Jan 2019: Zerodha started offering a 3-in-1 account with IDFC First Bank.
Jan 2019: Zerodha broke the barrier and become the number one share broker in India in terms of Active Clients. Zerodha started its operation in Aug 2010, and become the number one broker in India in just 8 years.
16th Oct 2018: Investment option open to investing in Government Securities (Bonds and T-bills) by retail Investors through Zerodha Coin.
19th Sep 2018: To open a Commodity account, you need to open a trading + commodity account. Now you can’t open only Commodity Account. This is to make all internal system work more effectively and give you a single view of your portfolio.
12th Sep 2018: Zerodha announces its collaboration with Thomson Reuters for advance research reports named StockReports+. Even though this service is paid service, but the price tie-up between Zerodha and Thomson Return is a really amazing deal for Indian Investor. Available in 3 easy plan Rs 150 PM, Rs 850 - 6 Months and Rs 1440 Yearly plan.
24th Aug 2018: Investment in Direct Mutual Fund with Zerodha is completely FREE. Previously Zerodha was charging Rs 50 PM for investment above Rs 25,000. Now they make this completely free for Zerodha clients.
28th July 2018: ELSS (Tax Saving Direct Mutual Funds) are free to invest. Zerodha was charging Rs 50 PM if your MF investment is more than 25,000 Rs. With new changes, you can invest in ELSS for free even though your investment goes above 25,000 Rs.
24th July 2018: 3rd Party Demat accounts linking with Zerodha Trading account are not accepted. This is because of the accountability point of view. With this, Zerodha will accept only Zerodha Demat account. If you have any Demat account with any other service provider, you need to move to Zerodha Demat service.
If you like what you have read and want to open an trading and demat account with Zerodha, leave your contact information with us and we will guide you.
Ratings:
Brokerage - Very Poor
Account Maintenance Fees - Very Poor
Website Usability - Very Poor
Customer Service - Very Poor
Overall Experience - Very Poor