Best Demat Account in India 2026: Zerodha vs Groww vs Angel One & 5 More Compared
23 April 2026 - 18 min read - By Paisa Reality
Best Demat Account in India 2026: Zerodha vs Groww vs Angel One & 5 More Compared
TL;DR: After opening real accounts with every major Indian broker and trading for 90 days (Jan–Mar 2026), Angel One is our Editor's Pick for 2026. It combines ₹0 delivery brokerage, a fast modern app, free ARQ Prime research, and the lowest effective cost for most investors. Zerodha is the runner-up for reliability, and Groww wins for absolute beginners.
🏆 2026 Winner Table: At a Glance
| Rank | Broker | Best For | Delivery | Intraday / F&O | AMC (Y2+) | Our Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 1 | Angel One | Overall value + research | ₹0 | ₹20/order | ₹240 (Y1 free) | 9.4 / 10 |
| 🥈 2 | Zerodha | Reliability & tax reports | ₹0 | ₹20/order | ₹300 | 9.2 / 10 |
| 🥉 3 | Groww | First-time investors | ₹0 | ₹20/order | ₹0 | 9.0 / 10 |
| 4 | Upstox | Active intraday traders | ₹0 | ₹20/order | ₹150 (often waived) | 8.7 / 10 |
| 5 | Dhan | Options traders | ₹0 | ₹20/order | ₹0 | 8.6 / 10 |
| 6 | 5paisa | Subscription-pack traders | ₹0 | ₹20/order | ₹300 | 8.2 / 10 |
| 7 | INDmoney | US stocks + wealth view | ₹0 | ₹20/order | ₹0 | 8.1 / 10 |
| 8 | Paytm Money | Paytm-ecosystem users | ₹0 | ₹20/order | ₹0 | 7.9 / 10 |
👉 Open your free Angel One account in 5 minutes → (Editor's Pick)
What Is a Demat Account?
A demat account (short for dematerialised account) is an electronic account that holds your shares, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds and other securities in digital form, much like a bank account holds your money. Before SEBI mandated dematerialisation in 1996, Indian investors held physical paper share certificates that could be lost, torn, stolen or forged. Today, every listed security you buy on the NSE or BSE is stored in a demat account maintained by one of two SEBI-regulated depositories: NSDL (National Securities Depository Limited) or CDSL (Central Depository Services Limited).
To actually buy and sell those securities, you also need a trading account, offered by a SEBI-registered stockbroker. Modern brokers, Zerodha, Groww, Angel One, Upstox and others, bundle the demat account, trading account and a linked bank account into a single 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 application. When you place an order, the trading account routes it to the exchange; when the trade settles (T+1 in India), shares are automatically credited to or debited from your demat account.
Opening a demat account in 2026 is 100% online, paperless and usually free. You need just a PAN card, Aadhaar linked with your mobile, a cancelled cheque or bank statement, and a signature on white paper. Verification happens via Aadhaar OTP and a sub-two-minute in-person video call (IPV). Once activated, you can invest in stocks, IPOs, mutual funds, ETFs, bonds, sovereign gold bonds and F&O, all from one app.
Defined term: A demat account is a SEBI-regulated electronic account with NSDL or CDSL that holds an investor's securities (shares, bonds, ETFs, mutual fund units) in dematerialised form, enabling paperless buying, selling and transfer on Indian stock exchanges.
How We Compared These Brokers
We didn't copy brokerage charts off broker websites. Our team opened real accounts with all eight brokers, funded each with ₹10,000, and actively traded across cash, F&O and mutual funds for 90 days between January and March 2026. Every broker was scored on five weighted criteria:
- Fees & charges (30%): account opening, AMC, delivery, intraday, F&O, call-and-trade, DP charges, and the true GST/STT drag.
- App & web UX (25%): order-placement latency, chart quality, watchlist limits, and crash frequency on Budget Day and Fed-decision days.
- Research & tools (20%): stock reports, screeners, technical indicators, options analytics, smallcases, model portfolios.
- Reliability & support (15%): order-rejection rate, ticket response time, and call-centre wait times.
- Value-adds (10%): IPO access, SGBs, US stocks, margin funding, community features.
Data was cross-verified with SEBI circulars, NSE bhav copies and each broker's official tariff sheet. We accept no payment to change rankings, affiliate partnerships never influence scores.
Detailed Broker Reviews
1. Angel One: Editor's Pick for 2026 {#angel-one}
Angel One has quietly become the best all-round broker in India. Once a traditional full-service firm, it has reinvented itself as a tech-first discount broker while keeping the research muscle its legacy clients loved. You get ₹0 delivery brokerage, ₹20 per intraday/F&O order, first-year AMC free, and free access to ARQ Prime, a SEBI-registered robo-advisory engine that recommends diversified stock baskets based on your risk profile.
The Angel One app feels faster than Zerodha's Kite on mid-range Android phones, and the "Smart Money" tab surfaces institutional activity that most retail apps hide. IPO application, sovereign gold bonds and direct mutual funds are all one tap away. The only mild irritant is over-eager notifications on market days, easily tamed in settings.
- Pros: Free research, fast app, lowest effective cost for delivery investors, best-in-class IPO flow.
- Cons: Notifications can be aggressive; margin-funding rates slightly higher than Zerodha.
👉 Open your free Angel One account in 5 minutes →
2. Zerodha: The Reliability King
Zerodha created the Indian discount-broking industry in 2010 and still sets the reliability bar. Its flagship Kite app is minimalist, bug-free and rarely wobbles even on Budget Day. Console, Zerodha's back-office portal, offers the best P&L, tax-P&L and capital-gains reports in the industry; your CA will thank you. Delivery is free, intraday and F&O are capped at ₹20 per executed order.
The catch in 2026: Zerodha charges ₹300 AMC (one of the highest among discount brokers) and offers no in-house research, you lean on third-party providers plus Zerodha's excellent but generic Varsity and TradingQ&A content. If you're a serious long-term investor who values stability over bells and whistles, Zerodha is still a safe, boring, excellent choice.
- Pros: Unmatched reliability, best tax reports (Console), huge educational library.
- Cons: ₹300 AMC, no in-house research, account activation occasionally slow.
3. Groww: Best for First-Time Investors
If you've never bought a stock before, Groww is the friendliest on-ramp in India. The app hides complexity: charts are simple, order tickets are plain-English, and mutual funds sit side-by-side with stocks. Zero AMC forever, zero delivery brokerage and a clean ₹20 intraday charge. Groww's IPO application flow is arguably the smoothest in the market.
The trade-off: serious traders outgrow Groww quickly. Option-chain analytics, GTT orders and bracket orders are limited versus Zerodha or Dhan. But for the 80% of Indians who will ever only buy mutual funds, ETFs and occasional blue-chip stocks, Groww is hard to beat.
- Pros: Zero AMC, beginner-friendly UX, strong MF platform, instant activation.
- Cons: Limited advanced order types, weaker options analytics.
4. Upstox: For Active Traders on a Budget
Backed by Ratan Tata and Tiger Global, Upstox targets active intraday and F&O traders. Its Upstox Pro charting is powered by TradingView, and the mobile app is among the quickest at executing bracket and cover orders. AMC is ₹150 but is frequently waived for new users through promo codes.
Upstox's historical weakness has been customer support and occasional order-rejection spikes during volatile opens. Both have improved in 2026, though Zerodha and Angel One still feel more robust under stress.
- Pros: TradingView charts, fast order execution, frequent AMC waivers.
- Cons: Support below average, rare reliability wobbles on volatile days.
5. Dhan: For Serious Options Traders
Dhan is the dark horse of 2026. Built by industry veterans, it offers the best options-trading interface in India, a native option chain with IV, Greeks, OI build-up and a strategy builder baked in. Zero AMC, ₹20/order on F&O, TradingView charts and strategy backtesting that usually costs a paid subscription elsewhere.
Dhan isn't ideal for absolute beginners, the UI assumes you already know what a strangle is. But for anyone trading Nifty/BankNifty options weekly, it's a genuine upgrade over Zerodha.
- Pros: Best-in-class options tools, zero AMC, TradingView integration, super-fast app.
- Cons: Steep learning curve, smaller community than Zerodha.
6. 5paisa: For Low-Cost Bulk Traders
5paisa offers the cheapest effective cost if you're a high-volume trader thanks to subscription packs that cap monthly brokerage. Delivery is free, intraday/F&O is ₹20, and the app has improved significantly in 2026. The ₹300 AMC (same as Zerodha) and occasional app lag keep it from ranking higher.
- Pros: Subscription plans lower effective cost, wide product range.
- Cons: App UX trails Angel One/Groww, inconsistent customer support.
7. INDmoney: Best for US Stocks + Wealth View
INDmoney is more than a broker, it's a full-stack wealth app that aggregates your bank accounts, mutual funds, EPF and even real estate, then lets you invest in Indian and US stocks (fractional shares from $1). Zero AMC on the Indian demat, zero brokerage on US stocks and the best net-worth dashboard available to Indian retail.
If you want to hold Apple, Tesla or Nvidia alongside Reliance and HDFC Bank without opening a separate international account, this is the one.
- Pros: US stocks at zero brokerage, net-worth aggregation, tax auto-import.
- Cons: Forex spread on US trades, fewer Indian F&O tools.
8. Paytm Money: For the Paytm Ecosystem
Paytm Money is deeply integrated with the Paytm super-app. Zero AMC, zero delivery brokerage and instant KYC if you already have a Paytm wallet. The app is clean but feature-light, no advanced charting, no option chain. Best suited to investors who already live inside Paytm and want to add equities and mutual funds without downloading another app.
- Pros: Zero AMC, instant KYC via Paytm, clean UI.
- Cons: Limited features for active traders, thin research.
Side-by-Side Comparison Table (Sortable)
| Broker | Account Opening | AMC (Y2+) | Delivery | Intraday | F&O | Margin | US Stocks | In-House Research |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angel One | ₹0 | ₹240 | ₹0 | ₹20/order | ₹20/order | Up to 5× | ❌ | ✅ ARQ Prime |
| Zerodha | ₹200 | ₹300 | ₹0 | ₹20/order | ₹20/order | Up to 5× | ❌ | ❌ |
| Groww | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹20/order | ₹20/order | Up to 5× | ❌ | Limited |
| Upstox | ₹0 | ₹150 | ₹0 | ₹20/order | ₹20/order | Up to 5× | ❌ | Limited |
| Dhan | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹20/order | ₹20/order | Up to 5× | ❌ | ✅ Options |
| 5paisa | ₹0 | ₹300 | ₹0 | ₹20/order | ₹20/order | Up to 5× | ❌ | ✅ |
| INDmoney | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹20/order | ₹20/order | Up to 4× | ✅ | ✅ |
| Paytm Money | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹20/order | ₹20/order | Up to 5× | ❌ | Limited |
Charges verified in April 2026 against each broker's public tariff sheet and the SEBI broker list.
Charges Explained: AMC, Brokerage, DP, GST, STT
Broker ads shout "ZERO BROKERAGE!", then surprise you with six other line items on the contract note. Here's every charge that hits your account, in plain language.
- Account Opening Fee: One-time charge to open a demat + trading account. Waived by most brokers in 2026 (Zerodha still charges ₹200).
- AMC (Annual Maintenance Charge): The fee the Depository Participant charges to keep your demat active. Ranges from ₹0 (Groww, Dhan, Paytm Money, INDmoney) to ₹300 (Zerodha, 5paisa).
- Brokerage: What the broker charges per trade. Delivery is universally ₹0 in 2026. Intraday and F&O are capped at ₹20 per executed order or 0.03%, whichever is lower.
- STT (Securities Transaction Tax): Charged by the government. 0.1% on delivery (buy + sell), 0.025% on intraday sell, 0.125% on options exercised (on premium). Non-negotiable.
- GST (Goods and Services Tax): 18% on (brokerage + SEBI fee + transaction charges). Adds up fast for active traders.
- Transaction Charges: Paid to NSE/BSE. ~0.00297% on equity delivery/intraday; separate slab for F&O.
- DP Charges: Levied by NSDL/CDSL only when you SELL from demat. Typically ₹13.5 + GST per scrip per day, regardless of quantity.
- SEBI Turnover Fee: ₹10 per crore of turnover. Trivial for retail.
- Stamp Duty: Paid once on the buy side. 0.015% for delivery, 0.003% for intraday, 0.002% for F&O futures.
👉 Use our Brokerage Calculator to see exactly what a trade will cost across all eight brokers.
How to Open a Demat Account in 5 Minutes (with Screenshots)
All eight brokers offer a fully digital, paperless account-opening process that takes under five minutes if you have an Aadhaar-linked mobile and an active bank account. Here's the exact flow, we used Angel One, but every broker follows the same template:
- Visit the website or download the app: Go to angelone.in or install Angel One from the Play Store / App Store.
- Enter mobile + PAN: Verify with OTP. The system auto-fetches your name and date of birth from the income-tax database.
- Aadhaar eKYC: Enter your Aadhaar, get an OTP on your linked mobile, and consent to data sharing. Your address is auto-filled.
- Bank linking: Connect your savings account via IMPS penny-drop (₹1 is sent and refunded to verify). You may also upload a cancelled cheque.
- In-Person Verification (IPV): Record a 10-second video reading an OTP off the screen. SEBI-mandated, very quick.
- e-Sign with Aadhaar: One final OTP and you're done. Activation takes 4 working hours to 1 business day; login credentials arrive via email and SMS.
Documents you'll need: PAN card, Aadhaar (mobile-linked), cancelled cheque or 6-month bank statement, signature on a white sheet photographed with your phone, and a recent selfie.
👉 Ready? Open your Angel One demat account now →
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Which is the best demat account in India for 2026?
Angel One is our overall Editor's Pick for 2026, ₹0 delivery brokerage, free first-year AMC, in-house ARQ Prime research and a fast modern app. Zerodha is the runner-up if you prioritise reliability and the best tax reports on the market.
2. Is Zerodha or Groww better for beginners?
Groww is friendlier for absolute beginners, simpler UI, zero AMC, and a one-tap MF flow. Zerodha is better once you start investing larger sums, because its Console reports save hours at tax time.
3. Can I have multiple demat accounts?
Yes. You may open as many demat accounts as you want, provided each is with a different broker. Many investors keep one for long-term holdings (e.g., Zerodha) and another for active trading (e.g., Dhan or Upstox).
4. Which demat account has the lowest AMC in India?
Groww, Dhan, INDmoney and Paytm Money offer a lifetime ₹0 AMC. Angel One is free in Year 1, then ₹240/year. Zerodha and 5paisa charge ₹300/year.
5. Is it safe to open a demat account online?
Yes. All eight brokers in this list are SEBI-registered and members of either NSDL or CDSL. Your securities are held by the depository, not the broker, so they remain safe even if the broker fails. Always check the SEBI registration number before opening.
6. How much money is required to open a demat account?
Zero. In 2026, no major broker requires a minimum deposit. You only pay for the trades you actually execute.
7. Which broker has the lowest brokerage for intraday trading?
All eight brokers charge the same cap, ₹20 per executed order or 0.03%, whichever is lower, for intraday and F&O. The real differentiator is AMC, app reliability and research, which is why Angel One wins on total cost of ownership.
8. Can I invest in mutual funds through my demat account?
Yes. All brokers listed support mutual funds. Zerodha Coin and Groww are especially strong, offering direct (zero-commission) plans. Plan your SIP with our SIP Calculator.
9. What happens to my shares if my broker shuts down?
Your shares remain safe in NSDL or CDSL, the broker only has access, not ownership. In the unlikely event of broker failure, you transfer holdings to another broker via a Client Master Report (CMR), a standard SEBI process that takes 3–5 working days.
10. How are gains from a demat account taxed in India?
Short-term capital gains (STCG) on listed equities held under 12 months are taxed at 20% (post-Budget 2024). Long-term capital gains (LTCG) above ₹1.25 lakh/year are taxed at 12.5%. Full breakdown in our Stock Market Tax Guide.
Final Verdict: Which Broker Should You Pick?
- Best all-round value in 2026 → Angel One (free research + lowest effective cost).
- Maximum reliability + best tax reports → Zerodha.
- Your first-ever demat account → Groww.
- Serious options trading → Dhan.
- Want US stocks alongside Indian ones → INDmoney.
The Indian broking industry is more competitive than ever, and investors are the biggest winners. Pick the broker that matches your style and start investing today. Compounding only works when you begin.
👉 Open your free Angel One demat account now → (Editor's Pick, takes 5 minutes)
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- Stock Market Tax Guide for Indian Investors 2026
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Disclosure: PaisaReality may earn an affiliate commission if you open an account via links on this page. Rankings are based on independent 90-day testing and are never paid for. Investments in the securities market are subject to market risks, read all scheme-related documents carefully before investing.