Comparison of Brokers in India

Last updated: Saturday, July 3, 2010

A comprehensive report on major brokers (BSE and NSE) comparing details such as demat account opening fees, brokerage charges, annual maintenance charges, supported browsers, features etc. Subscribing to a broker requires a PAN number. Details of how to acquire your PAN number are listed at the end of this report.

Support for browsers other than Internet Explorer 6.0 is gradually improving. Since the time this article was first written, a few brokerage houses have added support for other browsers, such as, Netscape, Firefox and Opera.

note Had a good/bad experience with a broker? Please share your views. Raise awareness with your ratings and comments. Move mouse over 'Your view' bars, choose your rating and click to vote.

note Try the brokerage calculator to quickly check fees charged by each broker.
When opening a new demat account with a broker negotiate and try to get some of the charges waived off.

Angel Broking

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Rs 490
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): 1^st year free. Rs 300 2^nd year on.
Brokerage: 50p (delivery‡), 10p (intra-day). Rate negotiable for bulk orders.
Browsers: IE 6.0+
Enquiry: No toll-free number
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

Bonanza

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Rs 600
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): Rs 275
Brokerage: 50p (delivery‡), 5p (intra-day‡).
Browsers: IE 6.0+
Enquiry: No toll-free number
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

Canmoney

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Rs 500
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): 1^st year free. Rs 200 2^nd year on.
Brokerage: 0.35% (delivery‡). Buy - Nil, Sell - 0.05% (intra-day) (Min Rs 20; Max Rs 500).
Browsers: IE 5.5+
Enquiry: 1-800-220-369
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

Geojit BNP Paribas

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Rs 725
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): 1^st year free. Rs 400 2^nd year on.
Brokerage: Online - 30p (delivery). 3p (intra-day), Offline - 50p (delivery). 15p (intra-day)
Browsers: IE 6.0+
Enquiry: 1-800-425-5501
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

HDFC Securities

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Rs 799
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): 1^st year free. Rs 500 2^nd year onwards.
Brokerage: Higher of Rs 25 or 0.5% of transaction value (delivery).
Higher of Rs 25 or 0.1% of transaction value (intra-day).
Browsers: IE 5.0+, NN 8.1+ and FF 1.5+
Enquiry: 1-800-209-9700
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

ICICI Direct

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Rs 975
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): 1^st year free; Second year on Rs 500 (paper statements), Rs 450 (email statements)
Brokerage: Higher of Rs 25 or 0.55% (delivery).
Higher of Rs 15 or 0.05% of transaction value (intra-day).
Browsers: IE 5.5+ , NN 4.7 and FF 2.0+
Enquiry: No toll-free number
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

IDBI Paisabuilder

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Rs 550 (basic plan), Rs 700+ (turnover based plan)
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): 1^st year free; Second year on Rs 350
Brokerage: 0.5% (delivery), 0.05% (intra-day).
Browsers: IE 6.0+
Enquiry: 1-800-223-366
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

Indiabulls

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Rs 900
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): Nil (lifetime free)
Brokerage: 0.1% (delivery). 0.01% (intra-day).
Browsers: IE 4.0+
Enquiry: No toll-free number
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

India Infoline

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Rs 750
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): Nil
Brokerage: 50p (delivery). 5p (intra-day).
Browsers: IE 4.0+
Enquiry: No toll-free number
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

Kotak Securities

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Rs 750 (Rs 250 credited in new account)
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): Rs 33.09 per month
Brokerage: 0.59% (delivery). 0.6% (intra-day).
Browsers: IE 6.0+
Enquiry: 1-800-209-9191, 1-800-222-299
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

Motilal Oswal

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Nil.
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): 1^st year free. Rs 100 2^nd year on.
Brokerage: 0.25% (delivery). Buy - Nil, Sell - 0.05% (intra-day).
Browsers: IE 5.5+
Enquiry: No toll-free number
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

Networth Direct

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Rs 250.
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): Rs 440.
Brokerage: 0.3% (delivery). 0.05% (intra-day).
Browsers: IE 6.0+
Enquiry: 1-800-220-223
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

Reliance Money

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Rs 750 (waived off for employees of MNCs†)
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): Rs 200
Brokerage: Offline - 30p (delivery). 3p (intra-day)
Browsers: IE 6.0+
Enquiry: No toll-free number
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

Religare

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Rs 500
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): Rs 250
Brokerage: 0.25% (delivery) 0.03% (intra-day) 0.06% (futures).
Browsers: IE 5.5+
Enquiry: 1-860-258-8888
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

SBI

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Rs 400
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): Rs 400
Brokerage: 0.5% (delivery). 0.15% (intra-day).
Browsers: IE 6.0+ and FF 1.5+
Enquiry: 1-800-223-345
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

Sharekhan

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Rs 750 Online, (Rs 500 Offline, plus Rs 160 franking charge)
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): Rs 400
Brokerage: Higher of 0.5% (delivery). 0.1% (intra-day).
Browsers: IE 6.0+ and Opera 7.0+
Enquiry: 1-800-227-500
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

SMC India

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Rs 499.
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): Nil (till March 2010).
Brokerage: 0.3% (delivery). 0.03% (intra-day).
Browsers: IE 6.0+
Enquiry: No toll-free number
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

Ventura

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Nil.•
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): 1^st year free; 2^nd year on Rs 400
Brokerage: 0.2% (delivery). 0.03%(intra-day).
Browsers: IE 6.0+
Enquiry: No toll-free number
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

Way2Wealth

Your view:

Account Opening Charge (AOC): Rs 350.
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC): Rs 332.
Brokerage: 0.5% (delivery). 0.05% (intra-day).
Browsers: IE 6.0+
Enquiry: 1-800-425-3690
Interface:

AOC
AMC
Brokerage
Browsers
Enquiry
Interface

online Online phone Phone branch Branch
‡ Per transaction (buy/sell).
• Software access charge.

Brokerage Calculator Broker Trade Type Transaction Type (Buy/Sell) Transaction Amount Brokerage (Rs)

Broker charges
Find out how much brokers charge for delivery and intra-day trades. The brokerage calculator allows you to assess cost of trade involved with each broker compared above. Remember, trades may incur additional charges such as 'securities transaction tax', 'educational cess' etc.

While making a decision some consideration must also be given to the payment gateways used by brokers. A payment gateway is (in most cases) a bank that allows its account holders to transfer funds to their brokers for investing/trading. So, before you make a decision check whether your bank is the authorised gateway for the broker.

Documents needed to open a brokerage account

To open a brokerage (demat) account you will need to furnish copies of the following documents.

1. PAN card - this is a mandatory requirement. (Here is NSDL's official site to apply for a PAN card.)
2. address proof - you may submit a copy of one of the following to fulfill this requirement
       passport
       voter id card
       ration card
       driving license
       telephone or electricity bill

Feedback, suggestions, comments....

Make your MS Excel (or OO Calc) based portfolio tracker.