Upstox Vs ICICI Direct – Online Comparison | Which Broker Is Better For Traders & Investor

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
Upstox Vs ICICI Direct

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.

OverviewICICI DirectUpstox
Establishment TypePublicPrivate
Broker CategoryFull-Service BrokerDiscount Broker
Head officeMumbai, IndiaMumbai, India
Founded ByM K SharmaRaghu Kumar,
Ravi Kumar &
Shrinivas Vishvanath
Commenced Year19942009

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 RatingsICICI DirectUpstox
On Experience7.5 out of 105.3 out of 10
On Products & Services8.9 out of 106.5 out of 10
On Brokerage Charges & Fees6.0 out of 109.5 out of 10
On Stock Research & Advisory8.5 out of 103.0 out of 10
On Trading Platforms8.5 out of 106.5 out of 10
On Overall Ratings7.9 out of 106.2 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 ServicesICICI DirectUpstox
Depository SourceNSDL & CDSLCDSL
Account Opening ChargesZeroRs.150
DEMAT AMC ChargesRs.500 per AnnumRs.150 per Annum
Trading AMC ChargesRs.975Free
Margin MoneyMinimum Rs.20,000Zero
Offline to OnlineNoNo

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 & FeesICICI Direct BrokerageUpstox Brokerage
Equity Delivery Trading0.55%Zero
Equity Intraday Trading0.03% – 0.05%Rs.20
Commodity Options TradingNARs.20
Equity Futures Trading0.03% – 0.05%Rs.20
Equity Options TradingRs.35 – Rs.95 per LotRs.20 per lot
Currency Futures Trading0.03% – 0.05%Rs.20
Currency Options TradingRs.10 – Rs.35 per LotRs.20 per lot
Minimum BrokerageRs.35 per TradeRs.20
DEMAT AMC ChargesRs.500 per AnnumRs.150 per annum
Trading AMC ChargesRs.975 per AnnumFree
Margin MoneyMinimum Rs.20,000Zero

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 ChargesICICI DirectUpstox
Transaction Charges0.00280% of Total Turnover0.00275% of Total Turnover
STT0.0126% of Total Turnover0.0126% of Total Turnover
SEBI Turnover Charges0.0002% of Total Turnover0.0002% of Total Turnover
Stamp DutyDepends on State (very minimal)Depends on State (very minimal)
GST18% 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.

OffersICICI DirectUpstox
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.

ServicesICICI DirectUpstox
Demat Services
Trading Services
3 in 1 Account
Intraday Services
IPO Services
Stock Recommendations
Robo Advisory
PMS
Trading Institution
Trading ExposureMaximum 16xMaximum 20x
Upstox demat account

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 & AdvisoryICICI DirectUpstox
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 / LeverageICICI Direct MarginUpstox Margin
Equity DeliveryMaximum 8xMaximum 5x
Equity IntradayMaximum 16xMaximum 20x
Equity FuturesMaximum 8xMaximum 7x
Equity OptionsMaximum 5xMaximum 8x
Currency FuturesMaximum 8xMaximum 5x
Currency OptionsMaximum 8xMaximum 6x
CommoditiesMaximum 12xMaximum 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.

ProductsICICI DirectUpstox
Equity Trading
Commodity TradingNo
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 PlatformsICICI DirectUpstox
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 SupportICICI DirectUpstox
Dedicated Dealer
Offline Trading
Online Trading
24*7 Support
Support Number022-33551122022 – 6130 9999
Email Support
Chat Support
Toll-Free NumberNo
Branches226Zero

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 DirectUpstox
Lodged in BSE225185
Resolved in BSE215126
Lodged in NSE196175
Resolved in NSE182139

Upstox Call Back Request

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.

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Stockquantum was founded by Dharmendra Mukati in 2018. I am a Trader and Investor in the last 10 years. I am writing here about stock broker review, broker comparison, IPO investment, Crypto currencies, technical analysis, fundamental analysis, sub brokership, mutual fund, personal finance, and our experiences.