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Largest Stock Broker in India

Published on Monday, April 15, 2019 by Chittorgarh.com Team | Modified on Sunday, August 9, 2020

Zerodha (Flat Rs 20 Per Trade)

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There are hundreds of stock broking firms in India. But some brokerage houses stand out as biggest brokerage firms in India based on the number of clients they serve or their yearly trading turnover. This article discusses the largest stock brokers in India and provides you with a list of top brokerage firms in the country.

About Stock Broking in India

The stock broking market in India has witnessed unprecedented growth in recent times. As the participation of retail investors or traders grew, we saw new brokerage houses entering the market. The digitalization of trading also led to the emergence of discount brokerage firms who offered more choices to the traders. Today a trader has a lot more choice than say a decade back.

The competition is fierce in the market to grab the lion's share of the clients and revenue. And, there are some of India's largest stock broking companies like Zerodha, ICICI Securities, HDFC Securities, Sharekhan and Axis Securities etc., who are battling it out to be the biggest stock broker.

Largest stock brokers in India based on the number of active clients

Company	FY16	FY17	FY18	9MFY19
Zerodha	61,970	165,586	540,905	847,016
ICICI Securities	560,438	618,359	798,355	844,853
HDFC Securities	408,059	483,244	602,493	674,495
Sharekhan	335,843	366,468	535,003	548,873
Axis Securities	184,325	259,006	404,769	416,707

A careful look at the above table shows you that while ICICI Securities ruled the market like India's largest stock broking company for last 3 years, this year the available data for 9 months shows, it is being replaced by Zerodha.

5 Biggest Stock Broking Firms in India

Zerodha

Incorporated in 2010, Zerodha is a pioneer in discount stock broking in India. Based in Bengaluru, the discount broking firms has caught the attention of the trading community with its fixed and flat brokerage and technologically advanced trading tools. Zerodha contributes to around 8% of daily trading volumes of NSE, BSE and MCX.

Trading Platforms	Kite Web, Zerodha Pi, Coin, Zerodha Trader and Kite Mobile App
Brokerage	Equity Delivery - Free Equity F&O, Currency F&O and Commodity F&O: 0.01% or Rs 20 whichever is lower
Zerodha Advantages	Zero Brokerage Fee for trading in Equity Delivery Low Brokerage Fee for F&O trading in Eq, Curr and Commodities. Excellent Trading platforms and tools Direct Mutual Fund at zero brokerage commission Good Margin exposure facility
Zerodha Disadvantages	No 3-in-1 accounts Doesn't offer IPO investments Call-n-Trade is at additional Rs 20 per trade.

ICICI Securities

Incorporated in 1995, one of India's largest stock brokers in India, ICICI Securities offers its trading services through ICICIdirect. As a part of the reputed ICICI Group, the stock broker offers a range of trading and investment services to its clients. It serves close to 8.5 lakh clients across India through online and with branch offices in 70+ cities across India.

Trading Platforms	Icicidirect.com, Trade Racer and ICICI direct Mobile app
Brokerage	0.25% to 0.75% depending on brokerage plans
ICICI Securities Advantages	3-in-1 account Good Trading platforms and tools Good Margin exposure facility Offers IPO investments Dedicated RM services
ICICI Securities Disadvantages	Brokerage is higher Call-n-trade is chargeable after 20 calls

HDFC Securities

Founded in 2000, HDFC Securities is a subsidiary of HDFC Bank. Headquartered in Mumbai, the full-service stock broking company serves over 6.5 lakh active clients across India. In addition to trading services, it offers a range of financial products like Insurance, Loans, NPS and Fixed Income products.

Trading Platforms	ProTerminal, Blink, smallcase, Voice Enabled Investing, Mobile Trading App and Digify
Brokerage	0.025% to 0.50% depending on the segment
HDFC Securities Advantages	3-in-1 account Good Trading platforms and tools Offers multiple financial products Dedicated RM services
HDFC Securities Disadvantages	Brokerage is high

Sharekhan

Incorporated in 2000, Sharekhan is a popular full-service broking company in India. It serves around 5.5 lakh active clients through its 1800 offices in 550 cities across India and globally. In addition to stock broking, Sharekhan offers investment services in mutual funds and IPOs.

Trading Platforms	TradeTiger, Sharekhan App, SharekhanMini, Dial-N-Trade and Pattern Finder
Brokerage	0.10% to 0.50% depending on the segment
Sharekhan Advantages	Good Trading platforms and tools Offers multiple financial products Dedicated RM services Offers Margin exposure facility
Sharekhan Disadvantages	No 3-in-1 account services Brokerage is high

Axis Securities

Completing the list of top 5 largest stock broking companies in India is Axis Securities. It is a part of Axis Group and a subsidiary of Axis Bank. The company offers a range of services including stock broking, Mutual Funds, IPOs, ETFs, NCDs and Bonds etc. Axis Securities serves over 4 lakh active clients through online and its various branches across India.

Trading Platforms	Axisdirect Mobile App, Axisdirect Web, Swift Trade 3.0, Directtrade
Brokerage	0.05% to 0.50% depending on the segment, Also offers Rs 20/order brokerage plan for customer maintaining a quarterly balance of RS 75,000 in the bank account
Axis Securities Advantages	3-in-1 account services Offers multiple financial products Dedicated RM services Offers Margin facility
Axis Securities Disadvantages	Flat brokerage is only available for customers who maintain a quarterly balance of RS 75,000 in the bank account The dial-n-trade facility is chargeable after 20 calls

With online discount broking companies winning a lot of customers from full-service brokers, the race for top 5 biggest stock broking companies in India is surely going to hot up. We are keeping an eye on India's largest stock broking firms and will keep you updated!