5 Best Demat Accounts in India 2024

Best Demat Account in India: The textbook definition of a Demat account is the ability to buy and sell securities, but today’s traders and investors want to be able to do more than that.

The race to gain market power over India’s brokerage industry has led to a surge in fintech startups offering different types of investment and trading services, from portfolio backtesting, strategy building, and portfolio management to investment advisory services.

What is Demat Account? – Meaning and Importance

Demat accounts are digitalized secure vaults that allow account holders to buy, sell, trade and store securities in the form of digital assets. All participants wishing to trade and/or invest must have a Demat account.

Demat accounts allow you to trade and hold securities in digital format, eliminating the risk of theft and loss and increasing transparency between exchanges, companies and shareholders.

Importance of Demat Account:

• Stay secure from risks associated with physical certificates.

• Easy tracking of your assets

• Eliminates the risk of physical damage, theft, and loss.

• Rights, bonuses, dividends, adding beneficiaries, etc. are automated and seamless.

5 Best Demat Accounts in India

Here are the top 5 best Demat accounts in India.

Best Demat Account in India #1 – Zerodha

Currently, Zerodha is India’s leading account and brokerage firm, with the largest trading volume of any single broker in India. The brokerage firm has an account opening fee of ₹200 and an annual maintenance fee of ₹300.

We offer a 3-in-1 account option. This means that investors can use it as a securities storage, trading and money savings account. Zerodha also allows users to trade, invest, and collateralize securities for margin. This includes stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, IPOs, etc.

characteristic

• It provides advanced charts and helps with trading and market research.
• We have our own learning app called Zerodha Varsity that can help you learn trading.
• Mutual funds can be traded directly through the Coin by Zerodha app.

The brokerage fees charged by Zerodha are as follows:

Best Demat Account in India #2 – Upstox

Among the emerging players in the brokerage space is Upstox. Similar to Zerodha, it offers a 3-in-1 account with storage, savings, and trading features. The main difference is that there are no account opening fees and no annual maintenance fees.

Like most top brokers, Upstox offers options for trading stocks, derivatives, commodities, and currencies. Apart from that, it also offers investment options in stocks, mutual funds, gold, and IPOs.

characteristic

• You only need one account to manage and track your stocks and mutual funds.
• This allows you to buy and sell digital gold.
• You can trade from anywhere in the world.

The brokerage fees charged by Upstox are as follows:

Best Demat Account in India #3 – Angel One

Angel One, formerly known as Angel Broking Ltd, is a listed broker and has been operating since 1996, making it one of the oldest brokers in the Indian market. The company is listed on both exchanges: NSE and BSE. Like most of the demat accounts on our list, Angel One offers a 3-in-1 account to suit all your investment and trading needs. The company charges ₹20 per order for intraday, futures and options, currencies and commodities and there is no brokerage fee for stock delivery. Account maintenance is free, but only for the first year.

characteristic

• You can invest in global markets.
• you can freeze demat account for a certain period of time
• You can get a loan using stocks as collateral.

The brokerage fees charged by Angel One are as follows.

Best Demat Account in India #4 – ICICI Direct

While private companies slowly grew in the securities industry, banks did not stand still. ICICI Direct, the investment services arm of ICICI Bank, competes with leading brokers in India with attractive propositions compared to broker-only partners in the sector.

For example, the 3-in-1 account is not just a savings account but an actual bank account with ICICI Bank. Apart from stocks, F&O, IPOs and mutual funds, investors can also invest in life insurance.

ICICI Direct is a full service broker. That said, it also provides investment advisory services to its clients, including domestic citizens and NRIs. The broker offers a free trading account and an offer of ₹7 per trade order with various brokerage plans.

characteristic

• Invest in fractional stocks in global markets.
• Provides market insights and market research.
• There is no minimum balance requirement.

1) Security plan:

A fixed percentage brokerage fee is paid regardless of quarterly sales (total transaction amount).

2) Saver Plan:

Brokerage fees vary depending on quarterly sales. The higher the turnover, the lower the intermediate slabs.

3) Prepaid Brokerage Plan

Reduced brokerage slabs require payment of an upfront brokerage fee. Each product has an expiration date, and if it is not used within that period, the amount paid will be forfeited.

3) Prepaid Brokerage Plan

For every trade you pay an upfront brokerage fee which is reduced depending on the slab. This prepaid amount has an expiration date, and if it is not used within that period, the amount will expire.

Best Demat Account in India #5 – HDFC Securities

HDFC Securities is the investment services arm of HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector bank. Like the 5 Best Demat Accounts in India, HDFC Securities offers a 3-in-1 account and similar to ICICI Direct, it offers traders different types of plans to save on brokerage costs while trading.

In addition to most trading and investing features, it also provides support for trading features, advanced charts, and US stock purchase options. Like ICICI Direct, it offers margin trading and lending for purchasing securities and same-day payouts of up to ₹5 lac.

HDFC Securities offers users free account opening with varying brokerage fees.

characteristic

• Customer service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• Global investment options are available.
• Orders can be placed by phone.

Brokerage fees charged by HDFC Securities (Equity Division) are as follows:

The brokerage fees charged by HDFC Securities (Derivatives Division) are as follows:

Finishing

As we examine the top five Demat accounts in India, we explore both the unique and common features of today’s most popular investment and trading platforms.

Choosing one of them and which you consider the best is a matter of personal preference and the conditions will vary depending on the type of account you need (investment account, trading account, passive investment for foreign stocks, mutual funds). The options are endless.

But whatever your requirements, there are plenty of options for you to check out before making your decision. We hope this article is right for you and helped you choose the best Demat account.

Written by Aaron Barth

by utilizing stock screener, stock heatmap, Backtesting Portfolioand stock comparison The tools on the Trade Brains portal give investors access to comprehensive tools to identify the best stocks and also receive updates. stock market newsMake investment decisions based on sufficient information.