Zerodha Review – Brokerage Charges, Trading Platforms, Margin/Exposure, and Features

Zerodha is a discount brokerage firm. It offers an online platform that allows the user to trade stocks, commodities, and currency derivatives. In this Zerodha review, we carefully analyze its features.

The most prominent USP for Zerodha is that it charges a flat brokerage of Rs. 20 or 0.01%, whichever is LOWER, on every trade.

Equity delivery is FREE. So, in effect, the user will never pay more than Rs.20 for a particular trade.

The concept of discount brokerage has picked up in recent times. Zerodha happens to be the first discount broker in India.

Zerodha has grown tremendously since its incorporation in 2010 and it accounts for a massive 10% of daily trading volumes on the BSE, NSE, and MCX.

Kite is Zerodha trading application. All software applications including website, mobile trading, and trading terminal are available free of charge. Furthermore, the mobile app supports Android and iOS.

Whether one trades a few times every month or hundreds of times in a day, Zerodha offers a technologically advanced and economically cheap option.

Zerodha Review (Summery)

Type of Accounts on Zerodha

It offers trading account and Demat account. Switching between the two is also quite seamless. With a Demat account, a user can purchase mutual fund units (Direct Plan option) and make SIP investments.

On the other hand, a Trading account allows the user to purchase stocks, forex, futures and options, and commodities.

NRIs can also trade on Zerodha by opening an NRI account (and linking NRE/NRO account to Zerodha Demat account).

NRIs can engage in delivery based trading. However, intraday trading is not allowed as per Indian government rules. NRIs can trade stocks and equity F&O via the NRI account.

Fees for NRIs are much higher than domestic users. NRIs pay Rs.200 per trade or 0.1%, whichever is lower.

Zerodha does not offer the option for investing in an IPO, OFS, or FPO. However, this is in line with the offerings of other discount brokerages.

Zerodha Coin account offers the opportunity for investing in Government Debt Securities like Bonds and T-Bills.

In order to trade in commodities, users have to open a Zerodha Commodity account along with a Trading account.

Zerodha Account Opening Charges

Zerodha update all charges 2022-2023

Zerodha Trading Platforms

There are multiple trading platforms offered by Zerodha.

1. Pi Trading Platform

Pi is Zerodha’s technologically advanced trading platform. It has advanced charting features. There is also the option of creating algorithms, formulating trading strategies, and backtesting.

Moreover, expert advisors provide strategy alerts on this platform as well.

2. Zerodha Kite

Kite is Zerodha’s HTML web-based fast trading platform. You can operate it on a web browser of a computer or from mobile phones and tablet devices as well. Both Android and iOS systems are compatible with Kite.

Kite offers complete market watch capability, advanced charting (6 types of charts) for a massive 100 indicators, advanced order types like Bracket and Cover, millisecond order placements, and more.

Furthermore, Kite is free of cost for Zerodha users.

Kite’s mobile app has live data from BSE, NSE, and MCX. A user can trade and monitor the Indian stock and commodity markets.

Consequently, the user can get real-time quotes of over 30,000 scrips on the Kite mobile app.

3. Zerodha Console

The Console is Zerodha’s back-office platform. It is a platform that allows users to monitor all their investments in one place. Stocks, derivatives, and mutual funds can all be organized on Console.

Secondly, this platform also allows users to make withdrawal requests, access reports, get account statements, and download contract notes.

The Console also has useful tools like heatmap and trade book. The Console is an extensive reporting dashboard.

4. Coin (Mutual fund )

A Coin is a relatively new platform that Zerodha has launched recently. It allows users to invest in direct plans of mutual funds. Also, investing in direct plans can save the user a hefty of 1-2% in annual returns.

That is a significant saving every single year. 

5. Sentinel

If the user likes setting up price alerts, then Sentinel is the cloud-based solution that Zerodha offers.

It is a platform that allows users to set price alerts on futures, options, and stocks. Sentinel price alerts will trigger even when the computer is off.

This is a complete departure from other price alert tools, which only trigger if the computer is on.

The cloud-based technology allows Sentinel to keep itself updated in real-time regardless of whether the user’s device is on or off.

Notifications are received on Kite or via email. In addition, Sentinel allows the user to set alerts across 80,000 stocks, derivatives, and bonds trading on various exchanges.

6. Call and Trade

For those users who are either not online or do not wish to transact online, Zerodha has Call and Trade. This is a paid service that users can use to call and make their trades over the phone.

It is similar to how many conventional brokerages operated a few years ago. However, the Call and Trade service is not free. It costs Rs.20 per trade.

7. Partner platforms

Zerodha gives its users access to platforms and tools that are developed by other companies that also happen to use Zerodha’s platforms. These tools integrate easily with Kite. Their partner platforms are as follows:

8. Small Case

Users that like to invest in a theme or a strategy will find Small case to be quite handy. This platform creates portfolios around a specific idea or trend. Hence, users can invest in such ready-made portfolios of stocks.

For instance, themes could be electric vehicles, large-cap stocks, or industry-driven ideas. All the user has to do is select the theme and click a button.

9. Zerodha Streak

Want to engage in some algorithm trading but don’t know how to code? Fear not, because Streak is just the right solution.

It is a cloud-based platform that allows individual retail traders to create their very own algorithms without becoming a coder.

Streak even allows users to backtest their algorithms against historical market data. That way, you execute the most refined and accurate version.

Streak also has other useful features like price alerts, a real-time flow of information, and options to manage multiple positions.

10. Sensibull

Users who want to trade options can use the Sensibull platform to get suggestions on their trading strategies. These suggestions are based on the user’s own market view.

Users can also use Sensibull to compare various strategies and project outcomes for each one of the strategies.

Consequently, it will allow users to better understand the risks behind each strategy. Multiple custom trading strategies can be created using Sensibull.

11. StockReports+

Last, but not the least, StockReports+ is a Thomson Reuters tool that has over 3000 analyses and research reports.

These reports cover individual stocks, industries, and market situations. More importantly, over 1500 Indian companies are covered by these reports.

You also get Ratings on businesses and stocks. The big difference between a discount broker and a regular full-service broker is the service level and the research content.

Evidently, Zerodha somewhat plugs the research gap with StockReports+. 

12. Zerodha Market Educational

Zerodha has a couple of educational features on its platform which can help new and experienced users with specific topics related to trading and investing.

Firstly, we have the Zerodha Varsity feature. Much like a real varsity, the Zerodha Varsity offers courses on technical and fundamental analysis.

Futures and Options trading and strategy are also covered under its courses. Evidently, it is a great way for users to educate themselves on specific topics related to investing and trading.

The second educational feature is the trading Q&A. It is a community-driven free forum where anyone can ask questions about specific topics related to investments or the actual Zerodha platform.

Community members answer these questions and, at times, the company representatives also participate in the discussions.

User Support & Customer Care

Zerodha has a support document library of over 600 documents that provide answers to the most commonly asked questions on the platform.

If that is not enough, or if an investor wants to ask questions specific to a trade that he/she made, then there is a help ticket system.

Hence, this kind of system makes the entire process more credible and time-bound. Simply sending emails to [email protected] is not necessary.

Zerodha Margin Exposure

Zerodha Pros and Cons

In a nutshell, Zerodha has plenty of advantages and disadvantages. Let us look at the pros first.

Pros

• Zerodha offers free equity delivery. Hence, when you buy stocks using your own money (without margin) you do not pay any brokerage fees.
• Zerodha has extremely low fees on other trades like commodities, derivates, etc. It only charges 0.01% or Rs.20. Evidently that is the best in the industry. Only 5paisa has a lower fee.
• Zerodha has recently become a self-clearing broker. This means that they do not charge any clearing fees to their customers which may arise if a third-party clearing agent is involved.
• Moreover, there are no extra charges for using software, trading terminal or other such platforms. It does charge the user for using platforms like Call and Trade or StockReports+.
• However, those fees are also pretty low as Zerodha has tie-ups with partner platforms and it leverages that relationship to offer discounted rates.

• There is no minimum balance required to open an account at Zerodha. Hence, anyone can open an account with the smallest amounts.
• Zerodha happens to be the first broker to offer retail investors with Bracket Orders with an option of Trailing Stop Loss. This feature is offered on Equity and F&O trades.
• Zerodha also offers its users Collateral Margin (money against shares) for trading. There are over 1000 approved stocks (and ETFs) that can be used as such collateral.
• Zerodha has offline physical branches too. It has over 200 of them all over India.
• Zerodha has useful customer support features like Trading Q&A and educational features like Varsity.

Now, let us look at some of the disadvantages or weak points of Zerodha.

Cons

• There are no monthly plans or prepaid plans.
• The Call & Trade option is not free. Unlike many of Zerodha’s other tools and features, the Call & Trade service costs Rs. 20 per trade which can be a significant amount for someone executing multiple trades a day without an internet connection.
• There is no IPO facility. Therefore, users cannot participate in OFS and FPO either.
• Lifetime free AMC Demat accounts are not offered by Zerodha.
• MAC and Linux operating systems are not compatible with any of Zerodha’s software packages and trading platforms.
• Zerodha Back Office (Console) is not integrated with the trading platform. It is a separate website. The data on the back office platform gets updated overnight and isn’t real-time.
• Margin against shares option is not available in the equity cash segment.
• Good Till Cancelled (GTC) and Good Till Date/Time (GTD) orders are not available in the equity segment. They are only available for commodity trading.
• CO/BO options (trailing stop loss) are not available for Bank Nifty (weekly settlement). 
• Some hidden charges include Rs.1 fee for SMS alerts, Rs.9 instant payment gateway charges, and DP charges of Rs.8 per transaction for delivery based equity selling.
• An additional fee of Rs.20 per order is levied for MIS/CO/BO positions which are not squared off by the user.

Conclusion

Overall, Zerodha offers a pretty robust solution for investing and trading. It has the lowest fee structure in the industry. It also offers plenty of convenience through the use of web and cloud-based technologies to offer user-friendly platforms and tools.

Useful features like partner platforms, research content, and educational initiatives make Zerodha more than just a barebones discount brokerage.

Its customer service tends to get some negative reviews, but there are useful customer support features like a Q&A feature and a help ticket system, both of which contribute positively towards customer service.

Overall, Zerodha is one of the best options for an investor looking to trade at a low cost. Zerodha is not a full-service brokerage and hence it will not have the personal touch or the depth in customer service that big brokerage houses provide.

It is more of a value for money option and a good bet for someone who knows what they are doing. It does not offer any individual attention or handholding.

Zerodha General FAQs

Is Zerodha safe?

Zerodha is entirely safe if you want to invest, then don’t worry. Zerodha is a trusted stockbroker of India. It is the lowest risk, broker. There is some following reasons:

• Zerodha is a debt-free stockbroker company.
• They only provide broking services. They cannot be affected by losses incurred in other businesses.
• Not a single major violation occurred in the last nine years.
• Mutual Funds and Shares are transferred to the demat account, which is held by CDSL.
• CDSL takes care of the security of your demat account.

From the customer’s safety point of view, there are three areas to look for:

• Shares and Mutual Funds in Demat Account
• Money in Trading Account
• Unauthorized transactions by broker

Is Zerodha good for beginners?

It is excellent for beginners as far as I have experienced because there are so many tools that will help you learn a lot. I have been in business for almost a year now, and like you, I started with Zerodha with a lot more hesitation. Mainly on the back-office platform Q. where you can review all your trades on the chart, which in my view, is the best possible way for anyone to learn from mistakes or other blows besides trading software PI. They provide back-test and minute data for up to 120 days for free and provide EOD data for many years.

What is brokerage charges of Zerodha?

Whenever customers buy or sell stock through Zerodha, they have to pay a commission (brokerage). Brokerage charges of commodities, equity, and currency derivatives trading for Zerodha are given below.

Flat Brokerage Plan for Zerodha

What are the benefits of Zerodha?

By the way, there are stockbrokers in many markets, but the benefit that you can get by working with Zerodha, I am telling you one by one.

1. No upfront fee or turnover commitments.
2. Same pricing for Equity, F&O, Currency, and Commodity on NSE, BSE, MCX-SX and MCX.
3. 0 (free) for equity delivery trades and Rs. 20 or .01% whichever is less as per the order executed.
4. No brokerage or sales targets, No Relationship Managers, no forced trades.
5. Over 5lakh + customers, averaging a daily turnover of over Rs 8000 crore.
6. 250+ dedicated support team to ensure the fastest turnaround time for your queries via email or phone.

Is Zerodha account free?

Each broker or bank has an account opening fee. Some of them are now offering free account opening, but with some cost, it is better to open an account and get more profit by paying less brokerage. If you open an account for free, but you have to pay high brokerage fees as long as you invest, this is not a good option. Zerodha provides Trading, Demat, and Commodity account. It will cost Rs 300 to open a trading and Demat account Rs 200 if you print the form and Rs 200 for the commodity. Rs 100 if you write and courier.

Is money safe in Zerodha?

If you are thinking of investing in Zerodha, then spend without worry because it is a reliable stockbroker. A lot of people invest in it and have been working for many years.

Apart from this, if you check its rating, it is five stars. If I talk about myself, I have been working with Zerodha for many years, and I have received a positive response so far.

If any customer has a problem regarding it, then Zerodha can contact the team. So overall, Zerodha is a safe and excellent platform to invest in it.

Is Zerodha Kite free?

India’s well-known stockbroker is a platform launched by Zerodha, which is called Zerodha Kite. Kite is a web-based trading platform for traders. It is a very user-friendly and lightweight platform that can be used on the browser on your laptop / PC / smartphone. You can login to it by putting your ‘client id’ and ‘password.’ It is also equipped with all the charting tools required for traders in the form of a kite. All this service is free if you use or are planning to do it with Zerodha, then you do not have to pay any fee or any charge.

Does Zerodha charges for Cancelled orders?

Customers who work with Zerodha often get into the mind that there is a charge for brokerage or canceled orders. I want to state one thing very clear here.

Zerodha does not charge any other charges for brokerage or canceled orders. As you know, it is one of the largest stockbrokers in India, and its service is also fantastic. If for any reason, you cancel your order or are thinking of canceling, then you do not have to pay any fee or any charge for it. It is free of cost. People can also benefit from this to a great extent.