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Largest Stock Broker In India

Last Updated: Jan - 14- 2020

The number of traders has significantly increased in the past few years, and so is the number of stock brokers. The digitalization of trading has led to the emergence of discount brokers in the market. Although there are numerous stock brokers across India, some of them hold a position in the list of largest stock brokers in the country. They make on the list considering the number of clients they serve or their yearly turnover.

In this blog, we will look at some of the largest stock brokers of the country.

With the presence of both discount brokers and full-service or traditional brokers in the market, frequent traders and investors have great flexibility and large number of options to choose from. This may create confusion and hence it is highly recommended that the investor must study the market, understand the pros and cons of the brokers, and take a wise decision of choosing a broker who is the most suitable. The investor must also realize his or her trading requirements and then opt for an appropriate stock broker accordingly.

Today, the competition to gain the largest number of clients amidst all stock brokers is fierce. Here’s a list of the largest stock brokers in India based on the number of active clients.

Company	9M FY 19	FY 18	FY 17	FY 16
Zerodha	847,016	540,905	165,586	61,970
ICICI Securities	844,853	798,355	618,359	560,438
HDFC Securities	764,495	602,493	483,244	408,059
Sharekhan	548,873	535,003	366,468	335,843
Axis Securities	416,707	404,769	259,006	184,325

Let us look at the top 5 largest stock brokers in detail.

ZERODHA

Started in the year 2010, Zerodha is considered to be the best discount broker in the country. Based in Bengaluru, this stock broker swiped the market with its pioneering concept of fixed and flat brokerage of 0.01% or Rs. 20 whichever is lower, and technologically advanced trading tools. Amazingly Zerodha alone contributes to 10% of daily trading volumes of NSE, BSE and MCX. Read full review

Advantages

Zero brokerage fee for trading in equity delivery
Low brokerage fee for trading in currency, commodities, and F&O
Advanced trading platforms and tools
Zero brokerage commission on Mutual Funds
Good margin exposure

Disadvantages

No provision of 3-in-1 accounts
Do not offer IPO investments
Call and trade facility are available at an extra cost of Rs 20 per trade.

Zerodha offers a wide range of trading platforms such as Kite Web, Zerodha Pi, Coin, Zerodha Trader and Kite Mobile App

ICICI Securities

Started in the year 1995, ICICI securities is truly one of the largest stock brokers in India with the largest number of active client base of close to 8.5 lacs. ICICIdirect.com, trade racer, and ICICI direct mobile app are the trading platforms that the clients can use. Clients trade through online platforms or visit the branch offices that are present in more than 70 cities across the country. Read full review

Advantages

Offers 3-in-1 account
Offers good trading platforms
Offers good margin exposure facility
Offers IPO investments
Offers dedicated relationship manager to its clients

Disadvantages

Has higher brokerage rates
Call and trade is chargeable after 20 calls

HDFC Securities

In the year 2000, HDFC securities was started as a subsidiary of the HDFC bank. It is headquartered in Mumbai and serves as a full-service stock broker to over 6.5 lac active clients across India. Apart from broking, it also offers a wide range of financial products such as insurance, loans, NPS, and fixed income products. The brokerage rate varies from 0.025% to 0.50% based on the segment. Read full review

Advantages

Offers 3-in-1 account
Offers good trading platforms and tools
Offers a diverse range of financial products
Offers dedicated relationship manager to its clients

Disadvantage

Has high brokerage rates

They offer multiple trading platforms that the clients can leverage for smooth trading experience, such as, ProTerminal, Blink, smallcase, Voice Enabled Investing, Mobile Trading App, and Digify

Sharekhan

Sharekhan was started in 2000, and eventually has become the most popular full-service broker in India. Currently, it is serving around 5.5 lakh active clients through their 1800 offices located in 550 cities within and outside the country. They also provide a wide range of trading platforms for clients to opt from, like, TradeTiger, Shakekhan App, Sharekhan Mini, Dial-N-Trade, and Pattern Finder. Their brokerage rates vary from 0.10% to 0.50% depending on the trade segment. Read full review

Advantages

Offers good trading platform and tools
Offers various financial products for clients to choose from
Offers dedicated relationship manager services to clients
Offers margin exposure facility

Disadvantages

No provision of 3-in-1 accounts
Brokerage charges are high

In addition, Sharekhan also offers investment services in mutual funds and IPOs. Considering that they are full-service brokers, they charge high brokerage rates but are good for investors who need trading advices, tips and recommendations.

Axis Securities

Axis Securities is one of the top 5 names in the list of largest stock brokers in India. It is a part of the Axis group and a subsidiary of Axis bank. The company offers a range of trading platforms to its clients – Axisdirect Mobile App, Axisdirect Web, Swift Trade 3.0, Directtrade. They serve over 4 lac active clients both through online and offline modes. They have a PAN India presence which makes them a preferred choice for trading. Read full review

Advantages

They offer 3-in-1 account services
They offer multiple financial products to the clients apart from the trading facilities
They offer dedicated relationship manager services to their clients
They offer margin facility

Disadvantages

Flat brokerage is available; but only for those clients who maintain a quarterly balance of Rs. 75000 in their bank account
The call and trade facility is chargeable after 20 calls

Apart from the above-mentioned features, Axis securities offer a wide range of financial services to its clients including stock broking, mutual funds, IPOs, ETFs, NCDs and Bonds, etc.

If we consider the competition between discount brokers and full-service brokers, then listing down the largest stock brokers in India would become more challenging. This list shall be regularly updated based on the revenue of the companies and the total number of active clients served. Both these factors tend to alter on a daily basis which can alter the position of stock brokers on the list.

Largest Stock Broker In India