Comparison of Demat Account Charges

Traders are slowly but steadily beginning to acknowledge trading on the stock market as a feasible option to make money. When looking to open a Demat account, probably the first thing that a trader will factor in is that of comparison of Demat Account Charges among the top stockbrokers of your choice. 

Now, a Demat account is considered to be the prime requisite of trading on the stock market. But does demat account have charges too?

While there are many brokers that offer the facility of a free Demat account as well. But, they can charge you some amount in the form of annual maintenance charges.

So, let’s have a detailed information on these charges and comparison of the same among different brokers.

Demat Account Charges Comparison

SEBI has mandated that individuals can trade on the stock market through a demat account with a SEBI registered stockbroker. Likewise, traders need to look at various aspects while choosing a broker.

Before demat accounts were a thing, all the trading activities took place at the stock exchanges. The traders had to queue up to get to the counters and place their trades.

Further, there were issues with managing those paper/certificate shares as well.

However, the passing of The Depository Act of 1996 granted stockbrokers the opportunity to open demat accounts which simplified the entire trading process right from looking up stocks to trade, purchasing them, and then taking their delivery in electronic form.

This overall enhancement in simplifying the trading process has led many people to turn to the stock market. Subsequently, this has resulted in competition between stockbroking firms in acquiring new customers.

While some stockbrokers offer respite in account opening charges, while others show relaxation in terms of Demat account annual maintenance charges. 

Here, in this article, we take a look at the major stockbrokers in the industry and the comparison of Demat Account Charges that the traders would generally need to see before while they decide to open a demat account.

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Zerodha Demat Account Charges

In terms of customers, Zerodha is the largest stockbroker with over 27 Lakh active clients. The discount broker was established on the 15th of August 2010. The discount broker is a member of stock exchanges – NSE, BSE, and commodity exchange MCX. 

The fact that the broker has managed to attract such a large number of customers despite being in the business for only 10 years goes on to show the quality of their trading services.

With a Zerodha Demat account, a trader can trade in financial instruments such as stocks, Derivatives (Futures and Options), mutual funds, bonds, IPO, and Govt. Securities.

Despite being a discount broker, Zerodha offers traders the facility to set up a 3 in 1 account which includes a bank account in addition to a Demat and a trading account. As Zerodha has a tie-up with IDFC First bank.

As far as the Zerodha Account Opening charges are concerned, you have to pay the sum of ₹200 to trade in the equity segment and ₹300 to trade in both equity and commodity segments. 

Other than this there is AMC for Demat Account equal to ₹300. 

The charges for Demat account in Zerodha are as follows:

 

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Upstox Demat Account Charges

Upstox, formerly known as RKSV Securities Limited is a discount broker established in 2012. The broker currently has over 15 Lakh customers as per NSE reports. 

The stockbroker is a member of two of the major stock exchanges in the country – NSE and BSE, thus allowing traders the opportunities to trade in instruments such as equity, stocks, mutual funds, Futures and Options. 

Further, the broker is affiliated to commodity exchanges – MCX, and MSE allowing Upstox demat account holders the opportunity to trade in the commodity segment as well.

The broker has a tie-up with IndusInd Bank and thus offers traders the facility of a 3 in 1 account.

As for the Demat account charges, Upstox charges a minimal account opening fee equal ₹150. However, traders who opt to open a Upstox Demat account will have to pay annual maintenance charges of ₹150.

Here is the complete list of Demat account charges in Upstox :

 

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Angel Broking Demat Account Charges

Angel Broking is one of the most eminent full-service stockbrokers in the country, with an active client base of well over 11.23 Lakh. The broker is a depository participant of CDSL (Central Depository Services Limited).

The broker is a member of stock exchanges NSE, BSE as well as commodity exchanges NCDEX and MCX. Traders having an Angel Broking Demat account get to trade in financial products such as equity, commodity, IPOs, currency, ETFs, mutual funds among many others.

With a special offer running at the moment, traders can set up a free Demat account in Angel Broking. However, the trader will have to pay AMC charges of ₹450.

The complete details of Angel Broking can be found in the table below :

 

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Charges for Demat Account in ICICI

ICICI Direct, the sub-broking wing of the hugely popular ICICI Group, ranks among the finest stockbrokers in the industry. The bank-based full-service broker was established in 1995 currently has over 12.37 Lakh customers.

The trust factor of being backed by one of the biggest banks in India combined with the opportunity to invest in multiple financial products has helped the broker attract a huge number of customers.

ICICI Demat account allows a trader to trade in equity, derivatives, mutual funds, IPOs, bonds, FDs among others. Being a bank-based broker, ICICI Securities offers traders the facility of a 3 in 1 account, wherein they’ll have a bank account in addition to a demat and trading account.

To further sweeten the deal, there is the prospect of the ICICI Direct free demat account where the traders can set up a demat account without having to pay anything. 

However, the broker does charge annual maintenance charges of ₹700, which will be charged from the 2nd year onwards.

If you would like to do the comparison of Demat Account Charges, here are the ICICI direct details mentioned in the table below:

 

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Sharekhan Demat Account Charges

Having been established in 2000, Sharekhan has cemented its place among the most prominent names in the stockbroking industry in India. As per the latest reports, the full-service broker has over 6.18 Lakh, active clients, on NSE.

The stockbroker is a Depository Participant of both NSDL and CDSL. Further, the stockbroker is a member of stock exchanges – NSE, BSE, as well as commodity exchanges – MCX, NCDEX and MCX-SX. 

Sharekhan Demat account holders get the opportunity to trade in a variety of financial products such as equity, derivatives (futures and options), currency, mutual funds, IPO, commodity, etc.

The stockbroker known for its innovative trading platforms offers the facility of a 2-in-1 account as well as the facility of a Sharekhan free demat account. The broker however charges ₹450 as AMC charges.

While the broker doesn’t charge any fees for opening a Demat account, traders will have to pay for opening a Sharekhan trading account. 

Further, on the list of its offerings are the two types of trading accounts that vary in account opening charges – Classic Account and Trade Tiger account.

The comparison of Demat Account Charges can be done using Sharekhan details as given as follows:

 

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5Paisa Demat Account Charges

5Paisa is another discount broker on the list. The Thane-based broker despite being relatively new to many of its counterparts has made its mark in the industry. 

The discount broker established in 2015 was a part of IIFL Securities before becoming an independent stockbroking firm in 2017.

The broker enjoys a fair share of trust among the Indian traders because of their quality trading services.

The stockbroker has over 7.57 Lakh customers onboard as per NSE. The stockbroker is registered on all the major exchanges in the country – NSE, BSE, MCX, MCX – SX.

Among the many benefits of having a 5paisa Demat account is the opportunity to invest in a variety of financial instruments including equity, currency, commodity, mutual funds, derivatives, etc. 

Just like other discount brokers on the list, traders can open a 5paisa free demat account but there are AMC charges of ₹400. 

 

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Motilal Oswal Demat Account Charges 

Established in the year 1987, Motilal Oswal is one of the oldest stockbroking firms in the country. The full-service stockbroker is a depository participant of NSDL as well as CDSL.

With an experience of over 30 years and most recently being awarded for producing the best research reports in the industry, Motilal Oswal counts over 4.76 Lakh customers subscribed to their trading services.

Talking about the benefits of a Motilal Oswal demat account, the stockbroker is registered with exchanges – NSE, BSE, NCDEX, MCX. This means that traders can carry out trade in derivatives, IPOs, currency, commodity, mutual funds, etc.

Traders can open Motilal Oswal free demat account, but will have to pay ₹1000 for opening a trading account. 

Then there are the annual maintenance charges of ₹400. However, the AMC charges are waived off for the first year and will be levied from the 2nd year onwards.

The following table contains all the details of the comparison of Demat Account Charges levied by the stockbroker.

 

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IIFL Demat Account Charges

IIFL Securities, formerly known as India Infoline, is often considered to be one of the best stockbrokers in the industry. The broker has over 4000 physical outlets in over 600 cities of the country. 

Established way back in 1995, the full-service stockbroker with its experience of 25 years has earned trust from many Indian traders and investors. The broker as per the latest NSE reports has over 2.6 Lakh active clients. 

IIFL has always been known for bringing technological innovations in their trading platforms and likewise the NSE, BSE registered broker makes it possible for traders to trade in equity, mutual funds, commodity, currency, ETF, IPO, bonds, NCD, etc. 

Then, there is the facility of IIFL free demat account where the traders aren’t charged an account opening fee. However, traders do have to pay ₹750 for opening a trading account with IIFL.

Traders are exempted from paying the annual maintenance charges of ₹400 for the first year which makes it quite an attractive deal. 

The following table contains the details of all the Demat account charges that a trader having an IIFL demat account will have to pay:

 

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SBI Demat Account Charges

The bank-based full-service stockbroker SBI Securities alternatively known as SBICAP Securities is the stockbroking subsidiary of the SBI group. 

Traders truly cherish the prospect of being a part of such a prestigious name in the industry. This can be seen from the recent NSE reports which state that the stockbroker has over 2.93 Lakh active clients. 

To achieve those numbers despite being in the stockbroking industry for around 14 years is quite something and goes on to show the trust of investors and traders in the stockbroking giant. 

The NSE, BSE affiliated stockbroker offers traders to set up a 3 in 1 account. Further, traders opting to open an SBI demat account get the opportunity to invest in equity, derivative, currency, IPO, mutual funds. Bonds, NCDs, ETFs, etc.

If this wasn’t enough, then there is the facility of an SBI free demat account which makes the deal pretty hard to miss. 

However, the broker does charge for setting up a trading account. SBI charges differ from individual traders to nonindividuals. Then there are certain annual maintenance charges of ₹400 that the trader will have to pay.

But the traders are exempted from paying the AMC charges for the first year. Apart from this, here are the demat account charges in SBI:

 

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HDFC Demat Account Charges

We have another bank-based broker on the list in the form of HDFC Securities which is the stockbroking wing of the hugely popular HDFC group. 

Established in 2000, the full-service stockbroker has been in the business for almost two decades now and has subsequently seen the number of active clients grow to 8.62 Lakh customers over the years due to its brilliant trading facilities.

The broker is registered with two of the biggest stock exchanges of India – the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Traders who have an HDFC Demat account can trade in financial products such as equity, mutual funds, IPO, ETFs, bonds, etc. 

Being a bank-based broker, HDFC offers the facility of a 3 in 1 account. Then there is the prospect of HDFC free demat account which has helped the broker attract much attention from the traders and investors alike.

The broker charges ₹999 for opening a trading account which is a bit too expensive when compared with other brokers on the list. 

Also, there are the AMC charges of ₹750 which are waived off for the first year. The account holder will have to pay the AMC from the 2nd year onwards.

Here are the demat account charges in HDFC in full:

 

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Kotak Demat Account Charges

Kotak Securities is the stockbroking wing of the hugely popular banking and financial services conglomerate – Kotak Group. The bank-based stockbroker was established in the year 1994 and has gone from strength to strength over the past 25 years.

While the stockbroker has over 17 Lakh customers on their books, their offline presence is just as huge. With 1539 physical outlets in over 393 cities of the country, the stockbroker reportedly sees well over 8 Lakh trades per day.

Opening a Kotak Demat account has its own perks for the customers which include the facility to trade in stocks listed on NSE, BSE.

In addition to stocks, traders can participate in a variety of products such as – equity, derivatives, mutual funds, ETFs, currency etc. 

Further, the traders can open a 3 in 1 account with the stockbroker, which can be counted among the list of appeals for choosing Kotak over any other stockbroker. 

Indian traders can open a Kotak Securities free demat account, however, the stockbroker charges ₹750 as trading account opening charges. In addition to this, the broker charges ₹600 as annual maintenance charges. 

Kotak Securities also has the facility of opening NRI demat account. So, NRI traders who want to trade in the Indian Stock market can open a Demat account with the broker but will have to pay ₹3750 for setting up the account.

Apart from the account opening charges, the trader will have to pay ₹900 as AMC charges. The entire list of comparison of Demat Account Charges in Kotak Securities are mentioned in the table below:

 

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Conclusion

Having a demat account is considered to be the first step in beginning your trading journey on the stock market. However, since there are so many stockbrokers to choose from, making the right choice can seem tough.

With the digitization of the trading world, modern traders have the luxury of trading through their mobile devices, desktops from literally anywhere.

Whether a trader makes a profit or loss is dependant on the accuracy of trade, thus traders check the quality of stockbroking services 

This tells the importance of choosing the right stockbroker. Therefore, traders look at various aspects related to a stockbroker. Comparison of Demat Account Charges must definitely be done and seen as one of the key factors in the entire selection process.

Since all the stockbrokers offer a 2 in 1 account (demat and trading account), they sometimes tend to charge account opening fees for either the demat account or the trading account. 

On other occasions, the brokers in order to sweeten the deal come up with offers that exempt traders from paying annual maintenance charges.

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