Comparison of Brokers in India

Last updated: Monday, Jan 09, 2012

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.

Need inspiration? Take a look at our list of top investment pioneers. There is a lot to be learnt from their life and their investment philosophies.

note Had a good/bad experience with a broker? Please share your views and raise awareness amongst fellow investors 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:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 390rank 3
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. 300 (1st year free)rank 2
Brokerage:30p (delivery), 6p (intra-day)rank 2
Browsers: IE 6.0+rank 1
Enquiry:No toll-free numberrank 0
Access:onlinebranchrank 2

Bonanza
Your view:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 600rank 2
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. 275rank 3
Brokerage:50p (delivery), 5p (intra-day)rank 2
Browsers:IE 6.0+rank 1
Enquiry:No toll-free numberrank 0
Access:onlinephonebranchrank 3

Canmoney
Your view:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 750rank 3
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. 225rank 3
Brokerage: 0.35% (delivery), Buy - 0.1%, Sell - 0.1% (intra-day)rank 3
Browsers:IE 5.5+rank 2
Enquiry:1-800-220-369rank 5
Access:onlinebranchrank 2

Geojit BNP Paribas
Your view:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 800rank 2
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. 400 (1st year free)rank 2
Brokerage:Online - 30p (delivery). 3p (intra-day), Offline - 50p (delivery). 15p (intra-day)rank 3
Browsers:IE 6.0+rank 2
Enquiry:1-800-425-5501rank 5
Access:onlinebranchrank 2

HDFC Securities
Your view:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 799rank 2
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. 499rank 1
Brokerage:Higher of Rs. 25 or 0.5% of transaction value (delivery). Higher of Rs. 25 or 0.05% of transaction value (intra-day)rank 1
Browsers:IE 5.0+, NN 8.1+ and FF 1.5+rank 4
Enquiry:1-800-209-9700rank 5
Access:onlinephonebranchrank 3

ICICI Direct
Your view:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 975rank 1
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. 500/450 (paper/email statements)rank 1
Brokerage:0.55% (delivery). 0.05% (intra-day)rank 1
Browsers:IE 5.5+ , NN 4.7 and FF 2.0+rank 4
Enquiry:No toll-free numberrank 0
Access:onlinephonebranchrank 3

IDBI Paisabuilder
Your view:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 700rank 2
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. 386rank 2
Brokerage:0.65% (delivery), 0.10% (intra-day)rank 1
Browsers:IE 6.0+rank 2
Enquiry:1-800-223-366rank 5
Access:onlinephonebranchrank 3

Indiabulls
Your view:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 900rank 1
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. 0 (lifetime free)rank 5
Brokerage:0.25% (delivery). 0.03% (intra-day)rank 3
Browsers:IE 4.0+rank 2
Enquiry:No toll-free numberrank 0
Access:onlinebranchrank 2

India Infoline
Your view:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 750rank 2
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. 0 (lifetime free)rank 3
Brokerage:50p (delivery). 5p bothsides(intra-day)rank 2
Browsers:IE 4.0+rank 2
Enquiry:No toll-free numberrank 0
Access:onlinebranchrank 2

Kotak Securities
Your view:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 750rank 2
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. 360 (1st year free)rank 2
Brokerage:59p (delivery). 6p (intra-day)rank 2
Browsers:IE 6.0+rank 1
Enquiry:1-800-209-9191, 1-800-222-299rank 5
Access:onlinebranchrank 2

Motilal Oswal
Your view:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 550rank 3
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. 900 (unlimited trading) rank 4
Brokerage:0.5-0.9% (delivery). Buy - Nil, Sell - 0.25-0.40% (intra-day)rank 3
Browsers:IE 5.5+rank 1
Enquiry:No toll-free numberrank 0
Access:onlinebranchrank 2

Networth Direct
Your view:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 200rank 2
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. 440rank 2
Brokerage:0.3% (delivery). 0.03% (intra-day)rank 3
Browsers:IE 6.0+rank 1
Enquiry:1-800-220-223rank 5
Access:onlinephonebranchrank 3

Reliance Money
Your view:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 950rank 2
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. 190 (1st year free)rank 3
Brokerage:Offline - 30p (delivery). 3p (intra-day)rank 3
Browsers:IE 6.0+rank 1
Enquiry:No toll-free numberrank 0
Access:onlinephonebranchrank 3

Religare
Your view:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 499rank 1
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. 300/480 (email/paper statements) {1st year free}rank 2
Brokerage:30p (delivery) 3p (intra-day) 0.06% (futures)rank 3
Browsers:IE 5.5+rank 2
Enquiry:1-860-258-8888rank 5
Access:onlinebranchrank 2

SBI
Your view:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 500rank 3
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. 386rank 2
Brokerage:50p (delivery). 15p (intra-day)rank 2
Browsers:IE 6.0+ and FF 1.5+rank 2
Enquiry:1-800-223-345rank 5
Access:onlinebranchrank 2

Sharekhan
Your view:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 50 Rs. 160 franking chargerank 2
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. 441 (1st year free)rank 2
Brokerage:Higher of 0.5% or 10p (delivery). 0.1% or 5p (intra-day)rank 2
Browsers:IE 6.0+ and Opera 7.0+rank 2
Enquiry:1-800-227-500rank 5
Access:onlinebranchrank 2

SMC India
Your view:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 499rank 3
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. Nil (lifetime free)rank 5
Brokerage:30p (delivery). 3p (intra-day)rank 3
Browsers:IE 6.0+rank 1
Enquiry:No toll-free numberrank 0
Access:onlinerank 1

Ventura
Your view:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 1000rank 1
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. 400 (1st year free)rank 2
Brokerage:20p (delivery). 3p (intra-day)rank 2
Browsers:IE 6.0+rank 1
Enquiry:No toll-free numberrank 0
Access:onlinerank 1

Way2Wealth
Your view:
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Account Opening Charge (AOC):Rs. 350rank 3
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC):Rs. 332rank 2
Brokerage:0.5% (delivery). 0.05% (intra-day)rank 2
Browsers:IE 6.0+rank 1
Enquiry:1-800-425-3690rank 5
Access:onlinephonebranchrank 3

online Online   phone Phone   branch Branch  
‡ Per transaction (buy/sell).
• Refunded when brokerage worth the same amount is generated.

Brokerage Calculator

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

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