Best Discount Broker in India (2026) – Top 10 Discount Brokers Compared

Warm Regards Investors,

India’s stock market ecosystem has changed rapidly over the last few years. Earlier, investors mostly depended on traditional full-service brokers who charged a percentage-based brokerage fee on every trade. This made active trading expensive for retail investors.

For example, if an investor traded shares worth ₹1 lakh, the brokerage itself could go up to ₹300–₹500 or even more. Over time, this significantly reduced overall profits.

This is where Discount Brokers changed the game in India.

Today, discount brokers offer low-cost trading, advanced mobile apps, fast order execution, and powerful charting tools at very affordable pricing. Because of this, millions of retail investors and traders now prefer discount brokerage firms over traditional brokers.

Among all players, Zerodha pioneered the discount broking revolution in India, and after that companies like Groww, Upstox, Angel One, Dhan, and others rapidly expanded the market.

In this article, we will discuss:

  • What is a Discount Broker?
  • Difference Between Full-Service Broker & Discount Broker
  • Top 10 Best Discount Brokers in India
  • Brokerage Charges Comparison
  • Which broker is best for beginners, investors & traders
  • Difference Full-Service Broker Vs Discount Broker

What is a Discount Brokerage Firm?

A Discount Brokerage Firm is a stock broker that provides a trading platform to buy and sell financial securities at very low brokerage charges.

These brokers mainly focus on:

  • Fast trading platforms
  • Low brokerage
  • Technology-driven investing
  • Direct market access

Through discount brokers, investors can trade in:

  • Equity
  • Intraday
  • Futures & Options (F&O)
  • Commodities
  • Currency
  • IPOs
  • Mutual Funds
  • ETFs

on exchanges like:

Unlike full-service brokers, discount brokers usually do not provide dedicated relationship managers or personalized advisory services.

Difference Between Full-Service Broker Vs Discount Broker

Feature Full-Service Broker Discount Broker
Brokerage Charges High Low
Advisory Services Available Limited/No
Research Reports Yes Basic
Relationship Manager Yes No
Trading Platform Good Advanced & Fast
Suitable For Traditional Investors Active Traders & Young Investors

Let’s check out the best discount broker in India.

Top 10 Best Discount Brokers in India (2026)

Top Discount Brokers in India by Active Clients

Broker Company Name Number of Clients
Groww NEXT DIGITAL 1,24,80,505
Zerodha ZERODHA 68,62,233
ANGEL ONE ANGEL ONE 67,45,594
Upstox RKSV SECURITIES INDIA PVT LTD 20,36,413
Dhan Dhan 9,79,483
Paytm Money Paytm Money 8,60,278
INDMoney Alice Blue 8,38,493
5paisa 5paisa 3,43,187
Fyers Fyers 2,00,780
Finvasia Finvasia 1,02,071

Let’s discuss each.

Zerodha

Zerodha is India’s largest and most trusted discount broker. It introduced the discount brokerage model in India and completely transformed the investing industry.

Today, Zerodha is highly popular among:

  • Long-term investors
  • Swing traders
  • Options traders
  • Beginners

The company offers trading in:

  • Equity
  • Intraday
  • Futures & Options
  • Currency
  • Commodities
  • Mutual Funds
  • ETFs
  • IPOs

Supported exchanges include NSE, BSE, MCX, and NCDEX.

Zerodha Brokerage Charges

  • Equity Delivery: ₹0
  • Intraday & F&O: Flat ₹20 per executed order

Why Zerodha is Popular?

  • Kite trading platform
  • Clean & beginner-friendly UI
  • Powerful charting tools
  • Coin app for direct mutual funds
  • Varsity learning platform
  • Reliable execution speed

Upstox

Upstox is one of the fastest-growing discount brokers in India. It is backed by strong investors and offers low brokerage with modern trading features.

The platform is known for:

  • Fast execution
  • Smart charting
  • IPO investing
  • Options trading tools

Upstox Brokerage

  • Equity Delivery: ₹0
  • Intraday/F&O: Up to ₹20 per order

Key Features

  • Easy account opening
  • Good mobile app
  • Advanced trading charts
  • One-click order placement
  • Good for beginners & traders

Currently, Upstox offers zero brokerage on delivery trades.

Angel One

Angel One started as a traditional brokerage company but successfully transformed into a modern discount broker.

Today, Angel One offers:

  • AI-based recommendations
  • Fast trading platforms
  • Investment products
  • Smart API support

Angel One Charges

  • Equity Delivery: ₹0
  • Intraday/F&O: ₹20 per order

Best Features

  • SmartAPI
  • ARQ Prime recommendations
  • IPO investing
  • Mutual funds
  • Advanced charts

Angel One is a good combination of technology and research support.

Groww

Groww became famous due to its simple user interface and beginner-friendly investing experience.

Initially focused on mutual funds, Groww now provides:

  • Stocks
  • F&O
  • IPOs
  • ETFs
  • Mutual Funds

Why Beginners Prefer Groww?

  • Extremely easy app interface
  • Simple investing process
  • Fast account opening
  • Clean dashboard

Groww is ideal for first-time investors entering the stock market.

Dhan

Dhan has rapidly become one of the most preferred trading platforms among serious traders and investors in India.

It is especially popular among:

  • Options traders
  • Futures traders
  • Scalpers
  • Algo traders

Dhan Brokerage

  • Equity Delivery: ₹0
  • Intraday/F&O: ₹20 per order

Key Features of Dhan

  • TradingView charts integration
  • Advanced option chain
  • Basket orders
  • Margin calculator
  • API trading support
  • Fast mobile & web platforms

Dhan is highly suitable for active traders who want advanced features with low brokerage.

Related Articles

BlinkX by JM Financial Services

BlinkX is an advanced trading platform that offers 0-brokerage trading across Equity, NSE F&O, IPO and Currency segments. With powerful features and a secure platform, the app offers speed and precision for serious traders. Their 0-brokerage subscriptions starting from ₹249 for 2 months are priced specifically for traders, offering flexibility and cost-efficiency for active trading..

BlinkX is built for Options trading, with dedicated features like live Option Chain, 50+ Scanners, Technical Indicators, Flash Trade, Order Slicing, Options trading recommendations, Open Interest Analysis and low-cost Options contracts.

They also offer additional tools like Ready-Made Strategies, Research Corner, Basket Orders and real-time market updates. You can also unlock up to 4X leverage with Margin Trading Facility pre-paid plans, starting at just 9.99% interest.

You can download the app on iOS and Android.

5 Paisa

5paisa is known for its affordable brokerage structure and budget-friendly plans.

5paisa Brokerage

  • Flat low-cost brokerage
  • Discount plans for active traders

Key Features

  • Mutual fund investing
  • Robo advisory
  • Margin trading
  • IPO investment
  • Research tools

It is suitable for cost-conscious traders and investors.

Fyers

Fyers is highly popular among technical traders because of its advanced charting ecosystem.

Best Features of Fyers

  • TradingView integration
  • Advanced analytics
  • Fast execution
  • Custom indicators
  • Powerful web platform

Brokerage

  • Equity Delivery: ₹0
  • Intraday/F&O: Low-cost flat brokerage

Fyers is best suited for technical analysis traders.

Trade Smart Online

Trade Smart Online is backed by VNS Finance and offers low brokerage with strong backend support.

Features

  • Equity
  • Commodity
  • Currency trading
  • Research tools
  • Live charts

Brokerage

  • ₹15 per executed order

It also offers call & trade facilities for traders.

F&O, commodities, and currencies.

Trade Plus Online

Trade Plus is an Online Trading brand into which one can trade in equities, intraday, F&O derivatives, currencies, and commodities. It is a good distributor of mutual funds and IPOs. The trading platforms for trading these segments include NSE, BSE, MCX, and the NCDEX.

Trade Plus Online has been established in the year 2015, but the back-end supporter i.e. Navia, is in the market for a long time and has been serving as a financial provider.

Trade plus online has its own DP services registered by the CDSL.

The trading platforms in the form of mobile app, web and desktop applications include- TradePlus Mobile, INFINI POWER, and NOW. For NRIs, INFINI MF is there, which allows them to invest in Systematic Investment Plan and lump sum.

The transaction charges of Trade Plus Online is really very cheap as it charges 0.1% and 0.01% to trade in Equity Delivery and Intraday respectively.  Monthly plans for trading in other segments are also quite cheap especially Rs 99 per month for trading in option, currency, and commodity each.

Live Chat, e-mail, Phone calls are supported to handle the customer grievances.

Finvasia

Finvasia is becoming popular because of its zero brokerage model.

Why Finvasia?

  • Zero brokerage
  • Multi-market access
  • Trading & investing support
  • Good for active traders

It is one of the cheapest brokerage options available in India.

Trade Smart Online

Trade Smart Online a discount brokerage firm backed by one of the traditional brokerage houses in India from 1994 and that is VNS Finance & Capital Services Ltd.

It provides trading segments in equity, derivatives, currencies, and commodities. The stock exchanges supported by this brokerage house include NSE, BSE, MCX, and NCDEX.

The house provides many useful articles written by well-knowledgeable experts guiding you on how to use tools and analytics to generate reports and track the trade market.

There is a website also which will provide you a visit to many reports and be regarding your shares’ performances. You can check the market status via live Chart support. The website is www.tradesmartonline.in

How to Choose the Best Discount Broker?

Before opening a Demat account, always compare:

  • Brokerage charges
  • Trading platform speed
  • Customer support
  • Charting tools
  • AMC charges
  • Margin availability
  • IPO & Mutual Fund support
  • User reviews
  • Options trading tools

Which Discount Broker is Best in India?

Purpose Best Broker
Beginners Groww
Active Traders Dhan
Long-Term Investors Zerodha
Options Trading Dhan / Fyers
Low Brokerage Finvasia
Research + Technology Angel One

Conclusion

Discount brokers have completely transformed stock market investing in India. Today, investors can trade at very low brokerage costs while accessing professional-grade tools directly from their smartphones.

If you are a beginner, then platforms like Groww and Zerodha are excellent choices.

If you are an active trader or options trader, then Dhan, Fyers, and Upstox offer advanced tools and faster execution.

Before selecting any broker, compare features carefully according to your trading style and investment goals.

If you have any doubts or suggestions related to this article, feel free to share them in the comment section.

And if you already use any discount broker, do share your experience and ratings with other readers.

Thanks and happy investing!