Unlimited trading plans or fixed brokerage plans as the name suggests is the monthly or yearly fee that a broker charge to allow traders to perform unlimited trading of any volume in the chosen segment in a month/year. Once you opt for an unlimited plan, there is no restriction of no. of trades and volume of trades. Unlimited trading plans are especially beneficial for high-frequency traders, high volume traders and penny stock traders.
Let's see how unlimited monthly plans is a better option with real-life experience. When we go to the fair with kids, buying tickets for rides leaves us with 2 choices. Either pay per ride or buy a fixed-price ticket for unlimited rides. In the beginning, pay per ride is a better option as we are not sure how many rides kids are going to do. So we usually choose to pay per ride. As it goes, we pay per ride and kids though may not want to take all the rides but like to take their favorite rides again and again. We end up paying more as compared to the fixed price ticket. That is when we think that paying a one-time fee is a better option than paying as you go.
As per SEBI guidelines, the broker is allowed to charge brokerage only on trading. So brokers who are providing unlimited trading plans will not charges brokerage upfront. In the unlimited trading plan, the broker charges the maximum brokerages allowed by SEBI (2.5%) for the initial trades. Once it reaches to the monthly plan equivalent amount, then the broker stop charging brokerage or charge 1 paisa brokerage for remaining of your trades.
Updates on Unlimited Trading Plans
Few Indian stock brokers offer unlimited trading monthly and yearly plans not all. Here is the list of discount and full-service brokers offering fixed brokerage plans.
| Broker | Segment | Monthly Fee | Exchange | Request Call back |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prostocks Monthly Plan | Equity Cash and F&O Currency F&O |
₹899 ₹499 |
NSE or BSE NSE or BSE |
Open Account |
| SAS Online Monthly Plan | Equity Cash and F&O Currency F&O Commodity F&O |
₹999 ₹499 ₹499 |
NSE and BSE NSE and BSE MCX |
Open Account |
| Tradeplus Monthly Plan | Equity Futures Equity Options Currency F&O Commodity F&O |
₹799 ₹99 ₹99 ₹99 |
NSE and BSE NSE and BSE NSE and BSE MCX |
Open Account |
| IndiaBulls Shubh Unlimited Plan | Equity Delivery & Intraday Equity and Currency F&O |
₹1000 ₹1000 |
NSE and BSE NSE and BSE |
Open Account |
Same as monthly plans, few brokers also offer yearly plans to lock the brokerage for full year.
| Broker | Segment | Fee | Exchange | Request Call back |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prostocks Yearly Plan | Equity Cash and F&O Currency F&O |
₹8999 ₹4999 |
NSE or BSE NSE or BSE |
Open Account |
| Kotak Securities Yearly Plan | Equity and F&O Intraday | ₹999 | NSE and BSE | Open Account |
Under free unlimited trading plan, broker is offering zero brokerage for all segments.
| Broker | Segment | Yearly Fee | Exchange | Request Call back |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finvasia Free Unlimited Plan | Equity Cash and F&O Currency F&O Commodity |
FREE | NSE and BSE NSE and BSE MCX |
Open Account |
Fixed price models or unlimited trading plans allow customers to lock their monthly expense. The brokers who offer unlimited trading plans are a bit conservative in the margin policy. So if you are a day trader and looking for higher margin, you need to do the due diligence of each broker offering before deciding on the best-fit pricing model.
Last updated on 16th Feb 2020
Investors/traders may choose the Unlimited Trading Plans option for many reasons:
The fixed brokerage unlimited trading plans are good for active investors, where they do average 20+ trading per day. In this case you will recover your money in 2 trading sessions. After that you will enjoy "zero brokerage unlimited trading" completely free. By using fixed brokerage unlimited trading plans investor can do more trade in small movemement of market. Other charges like STT, stamp duty, transaction charges, GST and so on still need to paid by investor.
The pricing model that works for one type of investor may not work for another. It is also possible that a pricing model that suits one broker may not suit another. Selecting a perfect online discount broker depends on the type of trader you are. i.e. - active trader, high-volume trader or penny stock trader, short term investor or long term investor.
Active traders make many trades throughout the day. They attempt to profit from the daily price fluctuation of a particular stock. Usually Active Traders don't hold the securities for the long term.
As the frequency of trade is much higher, active trader always looks for low brokerage online trading account. Active trader prefer strong & reliable trading platform, lowest brokerage charges for online trading. Most brokers are providing online trading platform with cutting edge technologies. In such case only competition is in lowest brokerage. Discount brokers in India are providing low brokerage trading account in two ways -
For Active trader, "zero brokerage unlimited trading plan" is the best. Where they need to pay fixed monthly brokerage and get unlimited trading.
You can check the best brokers in India to provide monthly plans in this article-Top 5 brokers by monthly plans in India
Long Term Investor invests and hold equity over an extended period of time to create wealth in the long run. In long term holding you need not to pay lofty short-term capital gains taxes.
For Long Term Investor zero brokerage trading is best. Brokers like Zerodha, Upstox, Fyers offers Zero Delivery Brokerage. They can hold the script for long term or can BTST to get overnight price movement.
The Client needs to pay GST on brokerage. With an unlimited plan, you need to pay GST on the amount you get charged as brokerage. I.e. If you have Rs 899 per month plan, you need to pay GST on Rs 899.
As of July-2017, you need to pay 18% GST on your brokerage.
When you join an unlimited trading plan in any day of the month, you need to pay full fees of the plan. After that 1 paisa brokerage (which is negligible) amount. There is no prorated brokerage concept in unlimited trading plans.
No, the broker charge brokerage only when you do trading. So in case of any given calendar month, if you have not done any trading, you don’t have to pay monthly brokerage charges.
With growing competition, there is no contract with any plan and no termination fee. Users can switch the plan as per their convenience. But still, you have to check with the broker you choose.
No, Zerodha doesn't have unlimited trading plans. Zerodha support free delivery base trading. Please refer article on Zerodha's trading plans
Yes, but still you have to check with the broker you choose.
In fixed monthly plan, brokers receive a fixed payment. Fix price brokerage revenues are predictable and timely and thus are less risky.
Let's take a scenario of buffet restaurants, where you eat unlimited by paying a fixed price. You can eat as much food as you like at no extra charge. Restaurant owners may be able to do so by volume business model which reduce the cost. Thus, in a flat rate context, increasing consumption decreases the per unit price.
Same way discount brokers also performing. By increasing volume and cutting down costs. By offering online trading from centralize location is the key to offer low rates to end clients.
