Zerodha is one of the leading discount brokerages in India. Even though it is a low cost/flat fee brokerage, it does not compromise on features.
I have been using Zerodha
Account opening
Account opening with Zerodha is a breeze. The account can be opened online instantly using Aadhaar. Post that, there are some physical documents which have to be downloaded, signed and couriered to the Zerodha office. The entire process does not take more than a week.
Charges
Zerodha’s primary selling point is its low charges.
| Segment | Equity Delivery | Equity Intraday | Equity Futures | Equity Options |
| Brokerage | Zero Brokerage | 0.01% or Rs. 20/executed order, whichever is lower | 0.01% or Rs. 20/executed order, whichever is lower | Flar Rs. 20 per executed order |
These charges exclude GST, STT & other exchange fees.
Click Here for more details & to open an account.
The brokerage charges here, are amongst the lowest in the industry. As you can see, the most you end up paying is Rs. 20 per order. This is great for frequent traders, as well as for those who place high-value orders.
Interface
I’m a sucker for a great user interface. After having used numerous brokerage accounts, I decided to give Zerodha a try two years ago. At first glance, I was very impressed by the interface. It is extremely easy to use and has a nice clean design. When tracking multiple stocks, it helps to have a clutter free screen.
Products within Zerodha
* Kite: This is the basic trading platform to buy, sell and access charts. Available on Desktop and Mobile.
* Varsity: Forum for educational/informative articles.
* Coin: Mutual Fund investment platform. This is free and there are no commissions. It is possible to transfer your existing mutual funds with other distributors, to Coin. This will save you the annual commission that other distributors charge.
Apart from these basic services, Zerodha also offers a bunch of paid add-on services such as
Zerodha has recently launched a platform called Streak with which retail traders can create algorithms without knowing how to code. I am yet to check out this feature, but it does sound interesting.
Downside
In all the time I’ve used Zerodha, the only downside I have faced is downtime of the trading platform on a couple of occasions. While this downtime did not last more than a few hours, anyone who trades knows how frustrating it can be to even lose a few minutes. However, I believe Zerodha has fixed this issue and there have been no recent instances of platform downtime.
Another feature that users may miss out on is free stock recommendation reports. For those switching over from traditional brokerages such as HDFC securities/ICICI securities, the lack of regular stock reports would be a likely drawback.
Bottomline
Zerodha has some very unique and innovative tech products. Add to this the very low brokerage charges. This makes for a great option for frequent traders as well as investors.
