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RBI Retail Direct vs Zerodha
Both let you buy government securities at the RBI auction for free — but they are different animals. RBI Retail Direct is the government's own no-frills portal with a dedicated gilt account; Zerodha routes the same auction through the Kite app you already use for shares, and adds listed corporate bonds on top. Here is the honest side-by-side.
Platform facts verified July 2026
| RBI Retail Direct | Zerodha | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The RBI's own portal — a Retail Direct Gilt (RDG) account held directly with the Reserve Bank, outside the demat system. | India's largest discount broker; bonds are a feature of the Kite/Coin app, and the securities sit in your normal demat account. |
| Government securities (G-sec/T-bill/SDL) | Yes — the core purpose. Bought at the RBI's non-competitive auction; also a secondary window (NDS-OM). | Yes — same weekly non-competitive auction, accessed from Kite Bids; held in demat. |
| Corporate bonds / NCDs | No — government securities only (plus RBI Floating Rate Savings Bonds and secondary SGBs). | Yes — listed corporate bonds, NCDs and tax-free bonds bought on the Kite secondary market like shares. |
| Cost | Zero — no account-opening, bid or maintenance fee. Only pass-through payment-gateway charges when you fund a bid. | Zero percentage brokerage on G-secs since Mar 2024 (1-paisa minimum per contract note); small statutory charges. Listed bonds trade at ₹0 delivery brokerage plus statutory charges. |
| Account & holding | A dedicated RDG account with the RBI; securities are NOT in your demat, so they sit apart from your shares. | Your existing Zerodha demat — bonds sit alongside your equity holdings in one place. |
| RBI Floating Rate Savings Bond (8.05%) | Yes — subscribable via a Bond Ledger Account (added Oct 2023). | No — the FRSB is sold by banks, not through Zerodha. |
| Liquidity / exit | NDS-OM secondary market exists but retail liquidity is thin; realistically hold-to-maturity. | Sell G-secs or listed bonds on the exchange through Kite — still thin for many bonds, but a familiar order flow. |
| Experience | Bare-bones government utility; no research, no app polish, but nothing sitting between you and the RBI. | Polished app you already know; bonds are a secondary feature, not a curated store (the old Coin corporate-bond shelf was withdrawn). |
Which should you pick?
If you only want government securities and the lowest possible cost, RBI Retail Direct is the purist's choice — you deal directly with the RBI, pay nothing, and it is the one place besides banks to get the 8.05% Floating Rate Savings Bond. If you want your bonds in the same demat account as your shares, a familiar app, and the option to also buy listed corporate bonds and NCDs, Zerodha is more convenient — and for plain G-secs it is effectively free too. Many investors use RBI Retail Direct for FRSB and long-hold G-secs, and Zerodha for listed bonds they might trade. Neither adds a markup on government paper, so on cost there is little to separate them for G-secs; the real choice is dedicated-gilt-account simplicity versus everything-in-one-demat convenience.
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