Zerodha vs Groww vs Angel One: Unmasking the Hidden Charges in 2025

When discount brokers like Zerodha disrupted the Indian stock market a decade ago, they brought a revolution: "Zero Brokerage on Equity Delivery". Groww followed, and legacy players like Angel One adapted.

Today, marketing campaigns make them all seem identical. But look under the hood (at the statutory charges, AMC, DP charges, and API costs), and massive differences emerge. If you trade F&O, do intraday equity, or just buy and hold long term, your choice of broker can drastically impact your bottom line.

Zerodha: The Market Standard

Zerodha is the largest and most profitable discount broker in India. They don't spend money on marketing; they spend it on their infrastructure (Kite).

• Account Opening: ₹200 (One of the few remaining brokers who still charge this).
• AMC (Annual Maintenance Charge): ₹300 per year (charged quarterly as ₹75). Note: If your holding is below ₹50,000, AMC is zero (as per BSDA circular).
• Equity Delivery: ₹0
• Intraday & F&O: Flat ₹20 or 0.03% (whichever is lower) per executed order.
• DP Charges: ₹13.5 + 18% GST (deducted when you sell shares from your Demat holding).

Best For: Serious traders and investors who want a clean, reliable, and advanced UI (Kite) without unnecessary stock recommendations or gamification.

Groww: The New Retail King

Groww aggressively captured the new-age retail market by offering an extremely simple UI and aggressively removing onboarding friction.

• Account Opening: ₹0
• AMC (Annual Maintenance Charge): ₹0 (Yes, zero forever).
• Equity Delivery: ₹20 or 0.05% (whichever is lower). Wait, what? Groww charges for delivery. Unlike Zerodha, buying equity for the long term on Groww is not free.
• Intraday & F&O: Flat ₹20 or 0.05% per executed order.
• DP Charges: ₹13.5 + 18% GST.

Best For: Absolute beginners and pure mutual fund investors. However, if you regularly buy delivery stocks, Groww is actually more expensive than Zerodha because they charge a delivery brokerage.

Angel One: The Hybrid Legacy Player

Angel One successfully pivoted from a traditional full-service broker into a discount broker to survive the Zerodha wave.

• Account Opening: ₹0
• AMC (Annual Maintenance Charge): First year is free, then ₹240 per year (charged as ₹20 per month).
• Equity Delivery: ₹0
• Intraday & F&O: Flat ₹20 or 0.03% (whichever is lower) per executed order.
• DP Charges: ₹20 + 18% GST. (Notice this is significantly higher than Zerodha and Groww).

Best For: Traders who want the lowest possible API costs (Angel's SmartAPI is free, whereas Zerodha charges ₹2000/month) and those who desire margin funding facilities (MTF).

The Hidden Costs: STT, Stamp Duty & Exchange Charges

New traders often focus purely on the "₹20 brokerage" and get shocked when their contract note shows massive deductions. The truth is, on a large trade, brokerage is the smallest component of your cost.

Securities Transaction Tax (STT) and Exchange Transaction Charges make up the bulk of your fees. STT is a direct government tax, and every broker charges the exact same amount. For example, in the 2024 budget, STT on Options was hiked to 0.1%. If you trade large lot sizes, your STT will run into thousands of rupees, regardless of whether you use Zerodha or Groww.

Calculate the Real Numbers

Don't guess your costs. Before executing a massive positional trade, use our detailed brokerage comparison tool to see an exact breakdown of Brokerage, STT, Exchange charges, GST, and Stamp Duty.