Top 3 Discount Brokers in India 2021.
With the increasing popularity of Zerodha, the discount broker which was founded in 2010, the Indian brokerage industry saw a tremendous disruption. As these discount brokers were offering a cheaper brokerage plan, they were able to attract a lot of customers compared to the expensive mainstream brokers.
In this post, we are going to discuss the Top 3 best discount brokers in India. By the end of this blog, you’ll have a better understanding of the different discount brokers in India 2021 so that you can choose the one that suits you the best.
What are Discount Brokers?
Discount brokers offer low brokerage, high speed, and a fast-trading platform in stocks, commodities and currency derivatives. The brokerage charges of these discount brokers are lower compared to the traditional brokers.
Moreover, the business model of a discount broker is quite straight forward. They offer a flat brokerage rate for every trade that their client makes, and it does not depend on the size of the trades. This rate is usually between Rs. 20 per trade.
On the Contrary, full-service brokers charge on the basis of transaction volume. This commission can be as high as 0.3-0.5% of the transaction volume. Therefore, as the volume of the transaction increases, you have to pay more and more brokerage.
We hope you got an overview of who these Discount Brokers are. Now, let’s dig deep into the Top 3 leading the Industry in 2021.
Zerodha – The Free Trade Zone.

Zerodha, founded in 2010 by Nitin Kamath, is the biggest discount broker in India that offers free equity and flat brokerage on Intraday & all other trades. It has over 28 Lakhs clients and has the largest market share of retail investors.
Its mobile app ‘KITE’ has got over +1,000,000 downloads on the play store as per 2020 data. It offers a variety of tools that help in performing better trades by applying different types of strategies. The platform is very well known for its excellent customer and technical support.
To open an account in Zerodha, Click on the links given below.
1) Zerodha Online Account Opening Link https://zerodha.com/open-account?c=ZMPLQT
2) To check if the client’s mobile number is linked to Adhaar or not .https://resident.uidai.gov.in/verify
3) Zerodha Helpline Number: 080 4040 2020 or https://support.zerodha.com/category/account-opening/online-account-opening
Upstox – Trade Faster, Trade Smarter.

Upstox is a fast-growing discount broker, backed by a group of leading investors including Kalaari Capital, Ratan Tata, GVK Davix, etc. Upstox started as RKSV in 2012 and rebranded to Upstox in 2015.
It has a more than 15 Lakhs client base. Upstox is known for its app’s user-friendly and fast UI/UX.
5Paisa – Broker Hatao, Brokerage Bachao.

5Paisa is a prominent discount stock broker in India. 5paisa Capital Ltd is a publicly-traded and professionally managed company promoted by IIFL founders.
5Paisa claims to have more than 7 Lakhs client base. Apart from trading in equity, currency, commodity, 5Paisa also offers its services in mutual funds, Insurances, Personal loans.
Comparison: Zerodha vs Upstox vs 5Paisa
Discount Broker |
Zerodha | Upstox |
5Paisa |
Exchange supported | NSE, BSE, MCX, NCDEX | BSE, NSE, MCX | BSE, NSE, MCX |
Account type plan | Flat Brokerage plan | Upstox basic Plan | 5Paisa Optimum Plan |
Trading Account Opening charges | Online Rs.200(T+D) and Rs. 300(T+D+C) | Rs.150 | Rs.300 |
Trading AMC | Free | Free | Free |
Demat Account Opening charges | Free | Rs. 150 | Free |
Demat AMC | Rs.300 | Rs.150 PA | Rs.45 PM if trade, else Zero |
Various Brokerage charges | Equity delivery – Zero
Equity Intraday – 0.03% on order value, up to Rs.20 Equity Futures – 0.03% on order value, up to Rs.20 Equity Options – Rs. 20 per order Currency Futures -0.03% on order value, up to Rs.20 Currency Options – 0.03% on order value, up to Rs.20 Commodity Future – 0.03% on order value, up to Rs.20 Commodity Option – 0.03% on order value, up to Rs.20
|
Equity delivery – Zero
Equity Intraday – 0.05% on order value, up to Rs.20 Equity Futures – 0.05% on order value, up to Rs.20 Equity Options – Rs. 30 per order Currency Futures -0.05% on order value, up to Rs.20 Currency Options – Rs.30 per order Commodity Future – 0.05% on order value, up to Rs.20 Commodity Option – Rs.30 per order
|
Equity delivery – Rs 20 per order
Equity Intraday – Rs 20 per order Equity Futures – Rs 20 per order Equity Options – Rs 20 per order Currency Futures – Rs 20 per order Currency Options – Rs 20 per order Commodity Future – Rs 20 per order Commodity Option – Rs 20 per order
|
GST | 18% on (Brokerage + Transaction Charge + SEBI fees) | 18% on (Brokerage + Transaction Charge + SEBI fees) | 18% on (Brokerage + Transaction Charge + SEBI fees) |
Additional features | 3 in 1 account, SMS alerts, margin against share | 3 in 1 account, SMS alerts, margin funding, margin against share | 3 in 1 account, SMS alerts, margin against share |
Conclusion.
Zerodha, Upstox, and 5 Paisa offer almost similar products and services. They have near-identical brokerage plans and provide an excellent trading platform. Therefore, it depends on you which one to opt for as per your convenience and trading style.
Brokers are just the medium to efficiently trade. But they do not provide Profit Making Strategies to trade.
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