Discount brokers are budget brokers, best known for their low-cost brokerage trading services as they charge a flat brokerage fee from customers. Zerodha is India's first discount broker and a pioneer of Rs. 20 fixed pricing model. Witnessing the immense growth of Zerodha, other brokers like Upstox, 5paisa, Groww, Paytm Money, Prostocks, etc., entered into the Indian brokerage space to capture the growing market demand. Are you struggling to find the cheapest discount brokers to open an account, we have prepared a list of the top 10 best discount brokers in India 2023 by the number of active clients.
The word, "Discount" in discount brokers demonstrates low-cost or cheap brokerage. A flat or fixed brokerage pricing model is the main reason behind the immense growth of discount brokers. Most online discount brokers offer free delivery trading and charges a flat brokerage of Rs 20 per executed order in other segments regardless of the trading volume, therefore, popular among frequent traders to significantly reduce the trading cost. They further allow commission-free or zero brokerage direct mutual fund investment.
They operate on a simple business model to offer an easy, fast, and secure online trading platform (web and mobile app) and charge a nominal brokerage fee. Unlike full-service brokers, discount brokers do not offer offline services like branch support, research & advisory, and do not have a dedicated relationship manager.
Zerodha is the number 1 discount broker, which alone has an 18% market share in India. Here, we have prepared a list of the top 10 best or the most popular discount brokerage firms in India by highest clientele base, competitive brokerage charges, and safe, secure & user-friendly mobile app and web-based online trading platforms.
Rank | Broker | Clients Number |
Brokerage (Maximum per order) |
Review | Request Callback |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Prostocks | * | Rs 15 | ![]() | Open Account ![]() |
1 | Zerodha | 6392902 | Rs 20 | ![]() | Open Account ![]() |
2 | Groww | 5373705 | Rs 20 | ![]() | Open Account |
3 | Angel One | 4281951 | Rs 20 | ![]() | Open Account ![]() |
4 | Upstox | 2880604 | Rs 20 | ![]() | Open Account ![]() |
5 | 5paisa | 652353 | Rs 20 | ![]() | Open Account ![]() |
Zerodha Free Demat Account | |||||
6 | Paytm Money | 646387 | Rs 15 | ![]() | Open Account ![]() |
7 | Nuvama | 218206 | Rs 10 | ![]() | Open Account ![]() |
8 | Fyers | 172712 | Rs 20 | ![]() | Open Account ![]() |
9 | SAMCO | 70369 | Rs 20 | ![]() | Open Account ![]() |
10 | TradeSmart | 37203 | Rs 15 | ![]() | Open Account |
Zerodha is a granddaddy of all the discount brokers and is ranked in the top position. Customers can open an instant Zerodha account online, start zero brokerage investment in shares, and start intraday, F&O, commodity, and currency trading at Max Rs. 20 per order. Its all-in-one Kite platform is one of the best platforms for online trading with superior charting, an easy-to-use interface, and safety. In addition, its coin platform is a free direct mutual fund investment platform available in web and app versions. Besides Zerodha, Groww ranked as the 2nd best online discount brokerage firm followed by Angel One, Upstox, and 5paisa. However, Prostocks is the cheapest discount broker for intraday traders that offers unlimited intraday trading at just Rs. 899 per month. The plan helps traders save a significant amount of brokerage on intraday (MIS) trading as they can place thousands of trades a month at just Rs. 899/month.
Zerodha is the best discount broker in India, not only on the ground of low-cost trading costs but also due to the superfast Kite trading platform, Kite mobile app, Coin MF platform, and excellent online customer support.
Upstox is one of the fastest-growing discount brokers in India after Zerodha. It is a part of RKSV Securities backed by top investors like Kalaari capital, and Ratan Tata. The online stock brokerage firm has an active client base of around 5 million, ranked as 2nd largest discount broker after Zerodha. The broker offers online trading in equity, F&O, MCX, and currency segments at Rs. 20 flat brokerage irrespective of the volume of trade.
The Pro platform by Upstox is one of the top-rated apps with a range of useful features like multiple watchlists, real-time market data, stock news, charts, technical indicators, easy fund transfer, and guest login. Customers can access the Pro platform on a browser-accessible HTML website or download the Pro mobile app on the play store and app store.
Paytm Money is the cheapest discount brokerage house in India that charges Rs. 0 brokerage on delivery trading, and flat Rs. 10 per order on intraday and derivatives trading. Its Rs. 10 fixed pricing model is the lowest or cheapest model in India than top brokerage firms like Zerodha, Upstox, and Groww. However, the broker only provides equity and F&O trading and doesn’t offer commodity and currency trading services.
While, if you only trade in intraday, then Prostocks is the best discount broker because its monthly unlimited trading plan charges zero brokerage on per intraday trade by paying a fixed monthly fee of Rs. 899 per month.
Discount brokers do not offer research and advisory services to clients. However, there are a few brokers who provide such facilities, 5Paisa and Angel one are the two that provide equity research and intraday trading, tips, & recommendations to users.
Discount brokers are safe for online trading and investment because all brokers, whether full-service brokers or discount brokers are highly regulated. All top discount brokerage houses such as Zerodha, Upstox, 5paisa, and Groww are registered trading members of BSE, NSE, SEBI, or a depository participant with either CDSL or NSDL or both. The exchange and the SEBI market regulator oversee all transactions conducted through any discount broker. Even if any broker shuts down or bankrupts, then your investment is completely safe because you can open a new trading account with another broker with the same DP and track your transaction online.