Money · May 6, 2026

Zerodha vs Groww vs Upstox 2026: head-to-head demat and broker comparison

Three biggest Indian discount brokers compared in detail — charges, app speed, charting, MTF, mutual funds, and the practical pick by user type.

By ByteLedger Team

The three biggest discount brokers in India serve about 40 million customers between them, and on paper their charges are nearly identical. Where they differ is in the practical experience — speed of execution, depth of features, mutual fund flow, and what happens when the market dislocates and order books get heavy.

This is a side-by-side written for people who actually need to pick one (or two) in 2026.

What changed in 2026

All three now charge ₹0 on equity delivery and ₹20 flat or 0.03% (whichever lower) on intraday and F&O. Pricing parity is real.
MTF interest is standardised to 11–12% p.a. — earlier Upstox and Angel were 13–14%, that gap closed.
DP charges still differ — Zerodha ₹13.5 + GST, Upstox ₹18.5 + GST, Groww ₹18 + GST per scrip on sell. Adds up if you trade many small positions.

Charges — the apples-to-apples view

Charge	Zerodha	Groww	Upstox
Account opening	₹200	₹0	₹0
Annual maintenance (AMC)	₹300	₹0 first yr, ₹35/mo after	₹150
Equity delivery	₹0	₹0	₹0
Equity intraday	₹20 or 0.03%	₹20 or 0.05%	₹20 or 0.05%
F&O	₹20 flat	₹20 flat	₹20 flat
DP charges (sell)	₹13.5 + GST	₹18 + GST	₹18.5 + GST
Call & trade	₹50	₹50	₹50

For occasional traders, the ₹4–5 difference per DP charge is noise. For someone selling 50 different scrips a month, it's ₹2,500/year — not nothing.

Platform — Kite, Groww, Upstox Pro

Kite (Zerodha) is the most refined trading interface in India. Charts are responsive, the order ticket has every type retail needs (market, limit, SL, SL-M, AMO, GTT, basket), depth view, fast keyboard shortcuts on web. Coin (the MF arm) is decent but slower than Groww.

Groww's app is what Zerodha's would look like if it were rebuilt for first-time users. Cleanest UX, simplest SIP setup. Charting and depth are basic — fine for delivery and SIPs, weak for active trading.

Upstox Pro sits between the two. Faster than Kite on older Android phones, TradingView integration is real (not just embedded), options chain is clean. Stability has occasionally wobbled on F&O expiry days.

Mutual funds — the underrated dimension

Most retail money flows into MFs through SIPs, not stocks.

Groww: fastest onboarding, cleanest fund discovery, instant redemption available on liquid funds
Zerodha Coin: complete catalog (direct plans only), MFU integration, slower UI
Upstox: catalog is smaller, fewer AMCs supported

For a pure MF investor, Groww is the easiest path. For someone who'll also hold direct equity, Zerodha integrates the holdings nicely under one Console.

Reliability under stress

The honest test of a broker is what happens on Budget day, big IPO listing, or F&O expiry crashes.

Zerodha: very rare visible outages; biggest issue is order book backlog during peak surges
Upstox: two notable expiry-day incidents in last 18 months
Groww: slows visibly under load — fine for SIPs, less so if you're trying to sell at a specific price

Which one to pick

Active stock + F&O trader → Zerodha (or Upstox if you prefer phone-first)
Pure SIP and mutual fund investor → Groww
Full-service feel with low charges → not on this list — look at Angel One
Options strategy trader → Dhan or Upstox

FAQ

Can I have accounts with two brokers at once? Yes. Many investors keep one for long-term holdings and another for active trading. KYC is portable.

Is my money safer with Zerodha than Groww? All three are SEBI-registered with funds segregated and shares held in CDSL/NSDL. Investor protection is identical at the depository level.

Why does Groww show better returns sometimes? XIRR calculations differ across platforms (handling of dividends, switches, NFO units). Use external tracking like ValueResearch or your CAS for the canonical view.