Demat account charges in India
A demat account looks free at first glance — most discount brokers advertise ₹0 opening. The real cost shows up across five line items, some of which only apply on certain trades. Here is every charge that can hit a retail Indian demat account, with the typical range across the market.
Account opening charge
Most discount brokers (Zerodha, Groww, Upstox, Dhan, Angel One) charge ₹0 to open a demat account. Some full-service brokers (ICICI Direct, HDFC Securities, Kotak Securities) charge ₹100–₹500. The opening charge is a one-time fee; it does not recur.
Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC)
The AMC is the largest recurring charge on a dormant or low-activity demat account. Typical range:
- Free tier — Groww, Dhan and most newer discount brokers on the basic plan.
- ₹300 / year — Zerodha, Upstox and the standard cohort.
- ₹500–₹999 / year — most full-service brokers.
- Some brokers waive the AMC for the first year as a promotional offer.
DP charges (depository participant charges)
On every sell trade in equity delivery, you pay a flat DP charge — typically ₹10–₹20 per scrip per day, regardless of trade size. The broker collects this and passes part of it to CDSL or NSDL. It is the same charge whether you sell 1 share or 1,000 shares of that scrip on that day.
DP charges only apply on sell-side. Buy trades do not incur DP charges. This often surprises new investors who see a ₹15.50 deduction on a trade and cannot find it on the contract note.
Statutory charges per trade
These are levied by the government and exchanges, identical across all brokers. The five statutory charges:
- STT (Securities Transaction Tax) — 0.1 % on delivery (both sides), 0.025 % on intraday (sell side), various rates on F&O.
- Exchange transaction charges — ~0.00345 % on equity delivery (NSE), similar on BSE.
- SEBI turnover fee — ₹10 per crore of turnover. Tiny.
- Stamp duty — 0.015 % on delivery buy, 0.003 % on intraday buy. State-level charge.
- GST — 18 % on the sum of (brokerage + exchange charges + SEBI fee).
Brokerage
The broker's own fee per executed order. Wide variation:
- Equity delivery — ₹0 (Zerodha, Dhan) to flat ₹20 (Groww, Angel One) to percentage-based (full-service).
- Equity intraday — typically flat ₹20 or 0.03–0.1 %, whichever is lower.
- F&O — flat ₹20 per executed order or per-lot, varies by broker.
- AMC and DP charges are separate from brokerage; do not assume "₹0 brokerage" means free.
Frequently asked
What people ask about demat account charges in india.
For most retail investors, Groww and Dhan are currently the cheapest on AMC (₹0 on the basic tier). Zerodha is ₹300 / year AMC but has free equity delivery brokerage, which can net out cheaper if you trade frequently. Compute the all-in cost for your trading pattern on the brokerage calculator.
That is the DP charge — a flat fee per scrip per day on every sell-side equity delivery trade. CDSL / NSDL collect part of it and the broker collects the rest. It is the same regardless of trade size.
You cannot avoid statutory charges or DP charges — they are mandated. You can avoid the AMC by picking a free-AMC broker (Groww, Dhan basic tier) and you can minimise brokerage by picking a discount broker. The full landed cost still includes the statutory and DP layers, which are identical across brokers.
No. Demat account charges (AMC, DP charges) relate to holding and transferring shares. Brokerage is the broker's fee for placing the order. Both, plus statutory charges, contribute to the total cost of trading.