Zerodha, established on August 15, 2010, by Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath, holds the distinction of being the pioneer in introducing the discount broking model in India. The company revolutionized the trading landscape by imposing a fixed brokerage fee of Rs 20 per trade for intraday transactions, while completely waiving off brokerage charges for equity delivery.
In the past, traditional banks and full-service brokers imposed substantial brokerage fees for both delivery and intraday trading. This resulted in significant costs for investors, ranging from approximately Rs 50 to Rs 100 for a Rs 1 lakh intraday trade and Rs 500 for delivering stocks worth Rs 1 lakh.
The advent of the discount broking model, pioneered by Zerodha, played a pivotal role in empowering retail investors to save substantially on brokerage fees. Notably, this trend has influenced other full-service brokers like Angel Broking and IIFL, prompting them to offer discount broking packages as well.
Zerodha has emerged as the largest stockbroker in India, boasting a customer base exceeding 1 Crore. Remarkably, more than 15% of daily retail trading volumes on Indian stock exchanges are facilitated through Zerodha’s platforms, underscoring its significant impact on the stock market landscape.
Zerodha Account Opening Charges
Opening a Demat and trading account for Equity, F&O, and Currency incurs a charge of Rs. 200. For accounts covering Equity, F&O, Currency, and Commodity, the opening charge is Rs. 300. Additionally, an annual maintenance charge of Rs. 300 is applicable. It’s important to note that if the trading account is solely for stock trading, the first option with a charge of Rs. 200 is recommended.
Zerodha Brokerage Charges
Zerodha stands out by offering 0% brokerage on stock delivery and a flat Rs. 20 per trade on intraday transactions. The detailed brokerage charges across different segments are as follows:
– Equity Delivery: Rs. 0
– Equity Intraday, Equity Futures, Currency Futures & Options, Commodity F&O: Lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03%
– Equity Options: Rs. 20 per executed order
Additional services, such as Call & Trade, are available for an extra charge of Rs. 50 per order.
Zerodha Brokerage Calculator
Zerodha employs a pricing structure of the lower of Rs. 20 per executed order or 0.03%. For instance:
– For a Rs. 50,000 trade, the brokerage charge is the lower of Rs. 20 or 0.03% of 50,000, resulting in Rs. 15.
– Similarly, for a Rs. 1,00,000 trade, the charge is the lower of Rs. 20 or 0.03% of 1,00,000, resulting in Rs. 20.
In summary, Zerodha’s brokerage calculator ensures transparent and cost-effective trading for investors.
Zerodha Margin/Leverage/Exposure
Zerodha provides varying margin facilities across different trading segments. The margin details are as follows
Equity Delivery: No Margin
Intraday Equity: Up to 5X
Index F&O: 1X
Stock F&O: 1X
Currency Futures: 1X
Commodity Futures: 1X
These margin offerings enable traders to effectively manage their positions and leverage their capital in accordance with the specified limits for each trading category on the Zerodha platform.
Zerodha Trading Platforms
1) Kite 3.0
Zerodha’s Kite 3.0 stands as a versatile web-based online trading and investment platform compatible with mobiles, tablets, desktops, and laptops. With a vast coverage of 90,000+ stocks and F&O contracts across BSE, NSE, and MCX, Kite 3.0 offers a sleek user interface, real-time widgets, and advanced charting features. It caters to all major stock exchanges and is provided free of charge to all Zerodha customers.
2) Kite Mobile
The Kite mobile trading app, available for both Android and iOS, ranks among India’s most advanced trading apps. It facilitates trading and live streaming data monitoring from BSE, NSE, and MCX. Notably, the app boasts a fast interface with minimal bandwidth consumption (less than 0.5 Kbps for a full MarketWatch). Offering comprehensive charting with 100 indicators and 6 chart types, the Kite app supports the placement of advanced order types like Brackets and Cover orders. Users enjoy seamless access to features from Kite 3.0 and easy login to other Zerodha apps, such as Zerodha Coin for mutual fund and bond investments.
3) Sentinel
Sentinel serves as a cloud-based market price alerts tool catering to stocks, futures, and options. This tool sends notifications when the underlying asset hits the preset price, whether it be on the same day, in the future, or months later. Users can set alerts for over 80,000+ stocks, bonds, commodities, F&O contracts, and currencies across exchanges, based on OHLC, bids and offers, and price parameters. Notifications are received on the Kite web platform and through email.
Zerodha Additional Products
1) Coin
Zerodha Coin offers the convenience of purchasing mutual funds directly from asset management companies, eliminating commissions entirely. This platform enables savings on both upfront and trail commissions for investments. Investors can opt to invest directly by visiting the fund house’s website or office, completing the required forms, and making their investments. Importantly, Zerodha Coin is provided to users completely free of charge.
2) Coin Mobile
Coin Mobile is a dedicated mobile application encompassing all the features of Zerodha Coin, facilitating mutual fund investments. Users can log in using their Kite account credentials and seamlessly utilize the app for managing mutual fund investments on the go.
3) Kite Connect API
Kite Connect API is a suite of straightforward HTTP APIs, built upon Zerodha’s exchange-approved web-based trading platform, Kite. This API allows users to construct a comprehensive trading platform with programmatic access to data, including profile and funds information, order history, positions, live quotes, order placement, and portfolio management. While startups can access Kite Connect API at no cost, retail users are subject to a monthly fee of Rs. 2000.
4) Console
Console serves as a comprehensive trade and reporting dashboard designed for Kite Connect users. It provides tools to track and manage investments with detailed reporting and analytics. Users can generate tax-ready reports and consolidate family portfolios within the Console platform. This feature enhances the overall user experience and facilitates efficient management of investments.
Final thoughts
Considering whether to open a Zerodha account? Unlike some other discount brokers in India that mainly rely on attractive signup bonuses for customer acquisition, Zerodha distinguishes itself by consistently enhancing its service offerings. This commitment is evident in their continuous improvement of trading platforms, swift resolution of customer complaints, and the proactive creation of customer support guides for addressing new issues. Zerodha has also forged partnerships with reputable brands such as Smallcase, Sensibull, Streak, and Golden PI, aiming to provide customers with an enhanced and comprehensive investment experience. These factors reflect Zerodha’s dedication to not just acquiring customers but also ensuring their ongoing satisfaction through continual improvement and strategic collaborations.
