Contrary to standard practices in the stock broking industry, we have introduced a ‘Compare Brokers’ section to help you compare us against several well-known stock brokerages in India. In total, we have used 60+ parameters spread over 12 sections to help you compare brokers in the most detailed way possible. This initiative can benefit you as it provides the necessary data points which are required to choose the right stockbroker for your needs.
To make things clear, we have compiled data points, details of platforms and services of different brokers and have presented them in the most unbiased and transparent manner.The idea is to put the ball in your court so that you can decide which brokerage is aligned with your requirements and you can take the right decision. For this reason, we have shown the comparisons in the most objective way possible without adding our own analysis or biased feedback. The compare brokers section also helps us benchmark ourselves against our peers at all times. We can use the data to know where we stand against others and considering our competitive industry, it helps consistently improve ourselves over a period of time.
Parameters used for Broker Comparisons
1. Basic Details - This includes all the basic details of the stock broker such as the active exchange memberships, status of demat services, total clientele, physical presence across India etc. The year of incorporation gives you a basic idea of the number of years the broker has been in existence.
2. Account Opening Charges - This section gives you a break-up of the total account opening charges levied by each stockbroker. The account opening fee is generally levied separately for a Trading + Demat account and a Commodity Account. Besides that, most stocks brokers charge an Annual Maintenance Charge per annum which is either collected upfront or at the end of the year. This depends on the brokers policies. It is important to note that the AMC is levied even if there are no transactions done by the client during the year.
3. Trading Platforms - It includes all the trading platforms directly offered by the brokers including downloadable exe softwares, web trading & mobile apps. The platforms offered by brokers are listed by the names. Many of them use the same core products. This may or may not be the same for all brokers. This section is just to identify the products by name and does not compare features. Vendor applications for which the customers have to pay have not been listed as they tend to be the same across brokers.
4. Charts and Data - Retail traders have always found it challenging to get accurate charts and data for trading. The exchanges send a plethora of information every second which can be difficult. This section is dedicated to the broker comparisons with regards to live data streaming, details of historical data provided on the platforms and charting features. This is most useful to intraday traders and short to medium-term traders to whom data, symbol comparisons, speed and information is very critical to succeed.
5. Pricing - This section provides a segment-wise break up of brokerage charges levied by stock brokers. You can compare brokers’ costs and learn how much you could save. Please note that traditional brokers have a percentage-based brokerage model whereas, discount brokers charge flat fees per transaction. For brokers who do not have a transparent pricing policy, we have shown the standard rates which are applicable to new clients. This section also includes each brokers’ mutual fund offerings. The percentage-based commissions kickbacks are mentioned based on the market standards. The detailed breakup will help you understand the brokerage structures across the industry.
6. Leverage - This section compares the segment-wise break up of the leverage offered by each broker. These figures are based on brokers’ risk management policies and are subject to change from time to time without any prior notice. Although, it may not be 100% accurate, it will help you understand broadly the leverage provided by each broker. Brokers who provide leverage in the equity delivery segment do so by way of margin funding. There is a rate of interest which will be levied to the client and it is chargeable on a per day basis as per industry standards. The leverage policies can also change based on regulatory requirements as applicable from time to time. More facts can be added later based on feedback.
7. Orders - This section is dedicated to compare the order related features offered by brokers. It shows the order placement features, order types etc. Order related features has been compared using the best trading platform of each broker. This section does not show the leverage but merely the order related capabilities of each broker.
8. Research and Advice / Trading Tips - Most brokers provide sell-side research in the form of trading tips to encourage clients to trade more often. However, the quality of the research has not been accurately ascertained by us. Hence, we have only provided the availability of research/tips with each broker. If there is anything different from the norm, we have mentioned it accordingly.
9. Detailed Education Initiatives - Education initiatives take up a lot of time and resources over time. This section lists which brokers have taken up education initiatives to help young and new traders/investors to understand the concepts in capital markets and help them enhance their knowledge to trade and make informed decisions. Although, we cannot objectively rank these efforts, we have listed them for your reference. We encourage you to go through it and see which brokers’ content is more suitable to your needs to learn and get your questions answered.
10. Unique Features & Offers - Are standout features of each broker which deserve a mention. It can be anything from marketing, to platform features, offers etc. This is our effort to highlight how brokers are differentiating themselves from others and to make you aware of them. Please note that these are subject to change from time to time without any prior notice. Also, unique features mentioned can also be there with other brokers. Hence, you must consider what’s mentioned as the highlighting factors of the respective brokers.
11. Referral Program - We have mentioned the primary details of the referral programs of different brokerages. You can compare brokers’ referral programs here. For more details, you may have to get in touch with them directly. This is subject to change from time to time as per the brokers’ policies.
12. Franchisee / Authorized Person Related - You can learn about the availability of franchise with each of the companies in the compare brokers page. You can also get some basic information about the investment required to become a registered franchisee / Authorized person with each broker. We have given a range of rates for some brokers because the final fee depends on certain criteria such as segments, one-time fee, negotiations, products enabled and services rendered etc.
We will continually enhance the compare brokers page. If you want to give us any feedback or information about the broker comparisons or data that we can add to make the compare brokers page more resourceful, you can write to us by clicking on ‘Feedback’. We hope this simplifies your decision making process and helps you choose the right stockbroker wisely.