Largest stock brokers in India
The top 10 — and the rest of the retail roster — ranked by NSE active clients for August 2026. 40 are live on Know Your Brokerage with full charge calculators today; the rest are on the roadmap.
Active client count = NSE active UCCs (clients who traded at least once on NSE in the last 12 months). Data for August 2026, from the active-clients column of NSE’s monthly Report 1C, cross-checked with Dhan’s Top-50 list. Rank is within the brokers listed here; NSE’s full list also includes brokers we don’t cover. “—” means the broker isn’t in NSE’s report this year.
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Frequently asked
What people ask about choosing a stock broker in India.
SEBI lists around 1,000 registered stock-broking firms, but only a small fraction actively onboards retail investors at scale. This page covers the 41 brokers that account for nearly all retail trading activity in India today, ranked by NSE active client count.
By NSE active clients (August 2026), Groww is the largest stock broker in India with 1.33 crore active clients, followed by Zerodha (67.97 lakh) and Angel One (67.19 lakh). Together the top three hold about 58% of the 4.60 crore active clients across all NSE brokers.
Discount brokers (Zerodha, Groww, Upstox, Dhan, Angel One, etc.) charge a low flat fee per executed order — typically ₹20 or 0.03% — but do not offer research, advisory, or branch support. Full-service brokers (ICICI Direct, HDFC Securities, Kotak Securities, Sharekhan, Motilal Oswal) charge percentage-based brokerage that is significantly higher but include research reports, relationship managers, and physical branch support.
Yes. Every legal stock broker operating in India must be registered with SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) and hold membership of at least one stock exchange (NSE, BSE). SEBI maintains a public registry. Always verify a broker’s SEBI registration number on the SEBI website before opening an account.
Pick based on what you actually trade. Equity-only investors should compare delivery + intraday brokerage and DP charges — differences here add up. F&O traders should focus on per-lot pricing on options, exchange transaction charges, and margin facilities. New investors valuing research and advisory should look at full-service brokers despite higher cost. Use the brokerage calculator on each broker’s page to see the exact landed cost on a typical trade for you.
Active client count refers to NSE active UCCs (Unique Client Codes) — the number of clients who have traded at least once on NSE in the last 12 months. It is the standard industry metric for retail broker size in India and is published by NSE on a monthly basis.