Upstox vs. ICICI Direct – Comparison
A comparative study of Upstox vs ICICI Direct in terms of overview and parameter-wise, in various aspects business strategies to customer experience, are discussed below for a better understanding of an investor, which in turn will help them to choose the right service provider, Upstox or ICICI Direct according to their actual needs and benefits.
A Brief:
ICICI Direct was formed to do business in the retail trading and investment service industry and they offer free demat and trading account.
It was established from ICICI Securities, which is considered to be India’s biggest stockbroking firm in the retail sector.
Being a part of the ICICI group, it gained its fame within a very short period providing a wide range of services and solutions from Equity Trading to Mutual Funds as well as home loans, all under a single login portal.
Upstox, on the other hand, is also a stock broking company that also provides different services in the financial sector at a very low cost and nominal charges.
Upstox Vs ICICI Direct Overview:
Started in the year 2009, Upstox emerged as a stockbroker with a concept of an easy and cheaper way of trading along with the concept of paperless account opening, free equity investment, unlimited plans to trade on fixed price, etc.
These features made Upstox gain its popularity soon within a short period with a turnover of 4000 Cr. by early February 2016.
Another factor of their speedy success was due to their strong backend support from notable and renowned stock traders like Ratan Tata, GVK Davis, and Capital Kalaari.
ICICI Direct came into its presence quite long back in the year 1994 which was founded by M K Sharma and is headquartered in Mumbai.
They also provide various kinds of certifications for skill development and enhancement programs for traders on Stock Investing and Chartered Wealth Managements for students and professionals, for which they partnered with various organizations in India and Abroad.
Overview | ICICI Direct | Upstox |
Establishment Type | Public | Private |
Broker Category | Full-Service Broker | Discount Broker |
Head office | Mumbai, India | Mumbai, India |
Founded By | M K Sharma | Raghu Kumar, Ravi Kumar & Shrinivas Vishvanath |
Commenced Year | 1994 | 2009 |
Upstox Vs ICICI Direct Customer Ratings:
Customer ratings play a key role to judge an organization’s quality of service and overall customer experience.
The below table shows parameter wise ratings of both Upstox and ICICI Direct.
ICICI Direct is well ahead of Upstox in all the parameters except Brokerage Charges & Fees. A remarkable and outstanding point to be noticed here is that ICICI Direct has an overall starting of 5 out of maximum achievable of 5.
Customer Ratings | ICICI Direct | Upstox |
On Experience | 7.5 out of 10 | 5.3 out of 10 |
On Products & Services | 8.9 out of 10 | 6.5 out of 10 |
On Brokerage Charges & Fees | 6.0 out of 10 | 9.5 out of 10 |
On Stock Research & Advisory | 8.5 out of 10 | 3.0 out of 10 |
On Trading Platforms | 8.5 out of 10 | 6.5 out of 10 |
On Overall Ratings | 7.9 out of 10 | 6.2 out of 10 |
On Star Ratings | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ |
Upstox Vs ICICI Direct AMC & AOC:
If we compare AMC & AOC between Upstox and ICICI Direct, the below table gives a fair idea that Upsox provides more services free of cost to their customers.
DEMAT Services | ICICI Direct | Upstox |
Depository Source | NSDL & CDSL | CDSL |
Account Opening Charges | Zero | Rs.150 |
DEMAT AMC Charges | Rs.500 per Annum | Rs.150 per Annum |
Trading AMC Charges | Rs.975 | Free |
Margin Money | Minimum Rs.20,000 | Zero |
Offline to Online | No | No |
CUpstox Vs ICICI Direct Brokerage Charge:
As mentioned earlier that Upstox is an organization that provides services at a very low cost, the table below clearly reflects the fact. Upstox charges brokerage at a fixed nominal charge whereas ICICI Direct charges based on percentage, except in one or two cases, which are also very much higher compared to Upstox.
Brokerage Charge & Fees | ICICI Direct Brokerage | Upstox Brokerage |
Equity Delivery Trading | 0.55% | Zero |
Equity Intraday Trading | 0.03% – 0.05% | Rs.20 |
Commodity Options Trading | NA | Rs.20 |
Equity Futures Trading | 0.03% – 0.05% | Rs.20 |
Equity Options Trading | Rs.35 – Rs.95 per Lot | Rs.20 per lot |
Currency Futures Trading | 0.03% – 0.05% | Rs.20 |
Currency Options Trading | Rs.10 – Rs.35 per Lot | Rs.20 per lot |
Minimum Brokerage | Rs.35 per Trade | Rs.20 |
DEMAT AMC Charges | Rs.500 per Annum | Rs.150 per annum |
Trading AMC Charges | Rs.975 per Annum | Free |
Margin Money | Minimum Rs.20,000 | Zero |
Upstox Vs ICICI Direct Charges:
In terms of other charges, a slightly higher Transaction Charge is noticed by ICICI Direct than Upstox, but that may result in a big amount if the total turnover is high.
Other Charges | ICICI Direct | Upstox |
Transaction Charges | 0.00280% of Total Turnover | 0.00275% of Total Turnover |
STT | 0.0126% of Total Turnover | 0.0126% of Total Turnover |
SEBI Turnover Charges | 0.0002% of Total Turnover | 0.0002% of Total Turnover |
Stamp Duty | Depends on State (very minimal) | Depends on State (very minimal) |
GST | 18% of (Brokerage + Transaction Charges) | 18% of (Brokerage + Transaction Charges) |
Comparison of Offers & Discount:
For Offers & Discounts, Upstox provides lesser as compared to ICICI Direct, to their clients.
Offers | ICICI Direct | Upstox |
Free DEMAT Account | ✖ | ✖ |
Free Trading Account | ✖ | ✔ |
Discount on Brokerage | ✖ | ✔ |
Trading Happy Hours | ✔ | ✖ |
Flexible Brokerage Plans | ✔ | ✖ |
1 Month Brokerage Free | ✖ | ✖ |
Holiday Offers | ✖ | ✖ |
Referral Offers | ✔ | ✖ |
Zero Brokerage for Loss Making Trades | ✔ | ✖ |
Comparison on Services Offered:
Considering Services Offered, Upstox has very limited services, whereas ICICI Direct has much more to offer to its customers.
Services | ICICI Direct | Upstox |
Demat Services | ✔ | ✔ |
Trading Services | ✔ | ✔ |
3 in 1 Account | ✔ | ✖ |
Intraday Services | ✔ | ✔ |
IPO Services | ✔ | ✔ |
Stock Recommendations | ✔ | ✖ |
Robo Advisory | ✔ | ✔ |
PMS | ✔ | ✖ |
Trading Institution | ✔ | ✖ |
Trading Exposure | Maximum 16x | Maximum 20x |
Upstox Vs ICICI Direct Research & Advisory:
It is surprising to notice from the below table that Upstox doesn’t engage themselves in any kind of Research & Advisory process for their customers wherein, ICICI Direct does lots of such activities and provides helpful advice to their clients.
Research & Advisory | ICICI Direct | Upstox |
Fundamental Reports | ✔ | ✖ |
Research Reports | ✔ | ✖ |
Company Reports | ✔ | ✖ |
Annual Reports | ✔ | ✖ |
Company Stock Review | ✔ | ✖ |
Free Stock Tips | ✖ | ✖ |
IPO Reports | ✔ | ✖ |
Top Picks | ✖ | ✖ |
Daily Market Review | ✔ | ✖ |
Monthly Reports | ✔ | ✖ |
Weekly Reports | ✔ | ✖ |
Offline Advisory | ✔ | ✖ |
Relationship Manager | ✔ | ✖ |
Upstox Vs ICICI Direct Margin / Exposure/ Leverage
Leverages provided by both Upstox and ICICI Direct are just a mix and match which is noticeable from the below table.
Exposure / Leverage | ICICI Direct Margin | Upstox Margin |
Equity Delivery | Maximum 8x | Maximum 5x |
Equity Intraday | Maximum 16x | Maximum 20x |
Equity Futures | Maximum 8x | Maximum 7x |
Equity Options | Maximum 5x | Maximum 8x |
Currency Futures | Maximum 8x | Maximum 5x |
Currency Options | Maximum 8x | Maximum 6x |
Commodities | Maximum 12x | Maximum 7x |
Comparison on Product offered:
Alike services, in the case of Products, Offered, Upstox deals with very limited range, whereas ICICI Direct has to offer a wide range of products to choose from, except they do not deal with Commodity Trading.
Products | ICICI Direct | Upstox |
Equity Trading | ✔ | ✔ |
Commodity Trading | ✖ | No |
Currency Trading | ✔ | ✔ |
Options | ✔ | ✔ |
Futures | ✔ | ✔ |
Mutual Funds | ✔ | ✖ |
Forex | ✔ | ✖ |
Banking | ✔ | ✖ |
SIP | ✔ | ✖ |
Insurance | ✔ | ✖ |
Upstox Vs ICICI Direct Trading Platform:
Using technology as the Trading Platform, both Upstox and ICICI Direct are equally upgraded except none provides Windows and Other Mobile App platforms.
Trading Platforms | ICICI Direct | Upstox |
Desktop Platform – Windows | ✔ | ✔ |
Desktop Platform – Mac | ✔ | ✔ |
Desktop Browser Platform | ✔ | ✔ |
Mobile Site Platform | ✔ | ✔ |
Android App Platform | ✔ | ✔ |
iOS App Platform | ✔ | ✔ |
Windows App Platform | ✖ | ✖ |
Other Mobile OS Platform | ✖ | ✖ |
Real-time Updates | ✔ | ✔ |
Portfolio Details | ✔ | ✔ |
Online MF Buy | ✔ | ✔ |
News Flash | ✔ | ✔ |
Research Reports | ✔ | ✔ |
Easy Installation | ✔ | ✔ |
Global Indices | ✔ | ✔ |
Stock Tips | ✔ | ✔ |
Personalized Advisory | ✔ | ✔ |
Interactive Charts | ✔ | ✔ |
Live Markets | ✔ | ✔ |
SMS Alerts | ✔ | ✔ |
Email Alerts | ✔ | ✔ |
Multi-Account Management | ✔ | ✔ |
Upstox Vs ICICI Direct Customer Support:
Both Upstox and ICICI Direct quite decent support for their customers. Besides, ICICI Direct also provides Customer Support through its branches spread across the nation.
Customer Support | ICICI Direct | Upstox |
Dedicated Dealer | ✔ | ✖ |
Offline Trading | ✖ | ✖ |
Online Trading | ✔ | ✔ |
24*7 Support | ✖ | ✖ |
Support Number | 022-33551122 | 022 – 6130 9999 |
Email Support | ✔ | ✔ |
Chat Support | ✖ | ✖ |
Toll-Free Number | No | ✖ |
Branches | 226 | Zero |
Comparison on Complaint Handled:
One cannot expect an organization to be complaint-free. However, the resolution rate matters. The below table clears that resolution percentage in both BSE and NSE is higher for ICICI Direct than that of Upstox.
Complaints (Current Year) | ICICI Direct | Upstox |
Lodged in BSE | 225 | 185 |
Resolved in BSE | 215 | 126 |
Lodged in NSE | 196 | 175 |
Resolved in NSE | 182 | 139 |
Conclusion:
After going through the above facts and figures it can be concluded that both Ustox and ICICI have their own happy and satisfied customers. It is only depending on the nature of investment and type and actual need, an investor has to decide and choose whether they want to go for Upstox or ICICI Direct.