Zero Brokerage Isn’t Really "FREE": What Your Demat Account Really Costs in 2026?

The cheapest demat account is rarely the one carrying the biggest “₹0” banner.

One broker may offer zero annual maintenance charges but collect brokerage on every delivery order. Another may provide free equity delivery but charge an AMC and a fee every time shares leave the demat account. A third may look expensive until the investor qualifies for a Basic Services Demat Account, or BSDA.

That is why comparing only the account-opening fee or the advertised brokerage can be misleading.

India’s retail investing market is now enormous. CDSL alone reported more than 18.59 crore investor accounts, excluding closed accounts, as of June 30, 2026. Meanwhile, SEBI’s register listed 4,971 equity stockbrokers, 748 CDSL depository participants and 347 NSDL depository participants in July 2026.

It would therefore be impossible to place every registered intermediary in a useful consumer table. This News4Bharat comparison covers 12 major retail broking platforms commonly considered by Indian investors.

How News4Bharat calculated the real annual cost

To make the brokers comparable, we created one representative long-term-investor scenario:

• 12 equity-delivery purchases of ₹25,000 each
• 12 equity-delivery sales of ₹25,000 each
• Total annual turnover of ₹6 lakh
• One company or ISIN sold on each sell date, resulting in 12 DP debits
• Resident individual account
• Second year of the account, so temporary first-year AMC waivers are excluded
• Regular non-BSDA account
• Online, self-executed NSE orders
• No margin trading, pledging, call-and-trade service or forced square-off
• GST included wherever applicable

Under this model, the government and exchange-related equity-delivery charges common across brokers are approximately ₹667.44 for the year. This comprises approximately ₹600 of STT, ₹45 of stamp duty, ₹18.42 of NSE transaction charges, ₹0.60 of SEBI turnover fees and GST on applicable exchange and regulatory charges. Actual contract-note totals may differ slightly because of rounding, the exchange used, the stock’s BSE group and changes in statutory rates.

*The 5paisa estimate uses ₹45 for each of 12 traded months because that is described as the “current” rate on its official charges page. However, the same page also contains a historical note referring to a different monthly structure. Customers should check the tariff displayed inside their account before relying on the estimate.

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Important: The annual figures are not forecasts of what every customer will pay. They are the results of the standardised trading pattern described above. A person who only buys shares, never sells during the year and qualifies for BSDA could pay far less. A frequent trader, MTF user or investor selling several stocks on the same day could pay considerably more.

Demat Account Charges 2026: The real cost comparison

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Broker-Wise Demat and Brokerage Charges

1. Dhan Demat Account and Brokerage Charges

Dhan produces the lowest estimated annual bill at approximately ₹844, largely because it combines zero AMC, zero equity-delivery brokerage and one of the lowest DP charges in the comparison.

The investor still pays government and exchange levies. The account is therefore not literally free. But under this specific buy-and-sell pattern, only around ₹177 of the annual amount represents Dhan’s DP charge and its GST; the remaining amount is largely statutory.

Dhan’s advantage becomes smaller for active intraday or derivatives traders because its standard ₹20-or-percentage brokerage structure then begins to apply.

2. Zerodha Demat Account Charges

Both produce an estimated annual cost of about ₹1,206, but their pricing structures are not alike.

Zerodha charges zero delivery brokerage but collects ₹300 plus GST as non-BSDA AMC from the second year and ₹15.34 per scrip when delivery shares are sold. m.Stock has zero AMC but charges ₹10 on every order and ₹18 plus GST on delivery-share debits.

This is a useful reminder that two brokers can produce almost identical annual bills even though one advertises free delivery and the other promotes lifetime zero AMC.

3. Groww Demat Account Charges

Groww, Paytm Money, FYERS, Dhan and m.Stock advertise zero AMC under their current retail structures. Their total annual costs nevertheless differ because brokerage and DP sell charges vary.

Under the News4Bharat model, Groww and Paytm Money reach approximately ₹1,517, while Dhan remains close to ₹844. The difference is created primarily by delivery brokerage and DP charges rather than account maintenance.

4. DP charges are the fee most investors overlook

Brokerage is shown on the order screen. DP charges are easier to miss because they normally appear later in the ledger when delivery shares are debited from the demat account.

They are generally imposed per scrip or ISIN and, depending on the broker, per day or per sell transaction. Selling 10 different companies can therefore create 10 DP charges even when all sales are placed on the same day.

At the rates covered in this comparison, 50 taxable sell debits could cost approximately:

• ₹737.50 at a base DP rate of ₹12.50 plus GST
• ₹1,180 at ₹20 plus GST
• ₹767 at Zerodha’s current GST-inclusive rate of ₹15.34

That cost exists even where equity-delivery brokerage is zero.

5. A BSDA can change the result for small investors

A Basic Services Demat Account can reduce or remove AMC for eligible individual investors.

Under the current structure displayed by major brokers, eligible BSDA holdings of up to ₹4 lakh can carry zero AMC, while holdings above ₹4 lakh and up to ₹10 lakh can attract a maximum annual charge of ₹100 plus applicable taxes. Eligibility normally requires the investor to have only one qualifying BSDA across depositories.

For example, an eligible Zerodha customer with holdings below ₹4 lakh could remove ₹354 of AMC, including GST, from the illustrative annual figure. The model cost would then fall from approximately ₹1,206 to around ₹852.

Investors should not assume that an account has automatically been classified correctly. The demat statement and broker profile should be checked for BSDA status.

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Hidden Demat Account Charges Investors Often Miss

Call-and-trade charges

Placing an order by calling the broker can cost ₹20, ₹50, ₹75 or more per executed order, depending on the platform. A customer who regularly depends on telephone assistance may therefore pay substantially more than a self-directed app user.

Zerodha and FYERS list ₹50 per dealer-assisted order, while Upstox’s detailed schedule shows higher charges for certain assisted services.

Auto square-off and RMS charges

If an intraday position is not closed within the broker’s designated time, the risk-management system may close it automatically and levy an additional fee.

Groww lists ₹50 per position, m.Stock lists ₹100 plus GST, and Upstox’s detailed charges show up to ₹75 plus GST for auto square-off. These charges are separate from normal brokerage and taxes.

Margin Trading Facility interest

MTF is not merely another order type. It is borrowing.

The investor pays brokerage, interest on the funded amount and, in many cases, pledge, unpledge and DP charges. Depending on the broker and plan, advertised annual MTF rates in this comparison range from single digits on selected plans to above 16%.

Even a modest funded amount can create a larger annual expense than AMC. Borrowing ₹1 lakh at 15% for 90 days costs approximately ₹3,699 in interest before brokerage, DP charges and taxes.

Debit-balance interest

A negative ledger balance can attract daily interest of approximately 0.04% to 0.05% at several brokers. A charge of 0.05% a day is equivalent to roughly 18.25% on a simple annualised basis.

Because it is calculated daily, even a short-lived debit can make an otherwise inexpensive account costly.

Pledge and unpledge fees

Using shares as collateral usually generates a charge for each ISIN and instruction. The cost can apply when the pledge is created, released or invoked.

A diversified portfolio containing 20 securities can consequently generate several hundred rupees of pledge-related fees, particularly if collateral is frequently added and removed.

Payment-gateway charges

UPI fund transfers are commonly free, but some brokers charge for net-banking gateways. Zerodha lists ₹9 plus GST for applicable payment-gateway transfers, m.Stock lists approximately ₹7–₹11 plus GST depending on the bank, and Upstox’s detailed schedule lists a separate net-banking charge.

Which Is the Cheapest Demat Account in India in 2026?

For a buy-and-hold investor

An investor who buys shares and rarely sells should focus on:

• AMC
• Equity-delivery brokerage
• BSDA eligibility
• Platform stability and reporting

DP charges matter less when there are few sell transactions. Under this behaviour, Dhan, Zerodha and other zero-delivery structures can remain cost-efficient, while a zero-AMC broker can also work well when the order count is low.

For an investor who frequently rebalances

A frequent seller should examine the DP fee before anything else.

A difference of ₹7.50 between two brokers’ base DP rates becomes ₹885, including GST, over 100 sell debits. The number of securities sold—not merely the rupee value of the sale—can materially change the bill.

For a small investor with one demat account

BSDA eligibility may save more money than switching brokers.

Someone with eligible holdings below ₹4 lakh can potentially avoid AMC altogether. In such cases, delivery brokerage and DP charges become the main broker-controlled costs.

For an intraday or F&O trader

The delivery-investor table should not be treated as an active-trader ranking.

Intraday and derivatives users need to compare:

• Brokerage per executed order
• Minimum brokerage on small orders
• Options transaction charges
• API or platform subscriptions
• Auto-square-off fees
• Pledge costs
• Margin-shortfall penalties
• Physical-settlement brokerage
• MTF or ledger interest

From April 1, 2026, STT on equity futures and options increased, while equity-delivery STT remained at 0.1% on both buy and sell sides. This makes the contract-note cost particularly important for derivatives users.

For investors seeking research and assisted service

Full-service and bank-linked brokers can cost more under a pure execution comparison. However, their pricing may include research, integrated banking, relationship support, branch access or portfolio services.

The additional expense is worthwhile only when those services are actually used. Paying a percentage of every delivery trade for research that is never read is not a saving.

How to Calculate Your Own Demat Account Cost

Use the following formula before opening or switching an account:

Annual cost = AMC + total brokerage + total DP charges + GST + statutory charges + service fees + financing costs

A more practical version is:

Annual cost = AMC + (annual orders × brokerage per order) + (annual sell debits × DP charge) + government levies + conditional charges

For percentage-based delivery brokerage, multiply the annual buy-and-sell turnover by the applicable brokerage rate instead of using the number of orders.

Investors should run at least three calculations:

• Their normal trading year
• A high-activity year
• A year in which MTF, pledging or assisted orders are used

That exercise reveals whether an attractive introductory offer will remain inexpensive after the promotional period ends.

News4Bharat POV

There is no universally cheapest demat account in India. The answer changes with investor behaviour.

For the representative long-term investor used in this study, Dhan records the lowest estimated all-in annual cost at approximately ₹844. Zerodha and m.Stock follow at roughly ₹1,206, although their fee structures are very different.

Groww and Paytm Money offer zero AMC but reach approximately ₹1,517 because delivery brokerage and DP charges apply. Angel One and HDFC SKY are close to ₹1,800, while Upstox reaches approximately ₹1,871 under the selected assumptions.

Editorial and investment disclaimer

Broker tariffs, promotions and regulatory charges can change. The figures in this article were compiled from official broker, CDSL and SEBI information available up to August 4, 2026. Readers should verify the latest tariff sheet, applicable plan and contract-note calculation before opening an account or placing a trade. This article is intended solely for informational and educational purposes. It is not investment advice, a broker recommendation or an invitation to trade in securities. Investments in the securities market are subject to market risks; investors should read all related documents carefully.Hidden Demat Account Charges Investors Often Miss