Best Brokers for Long-Term Investing
For buy-and-hold investors, delivery brokerage, AMC and DP charges matter far more than intraday rates. Compare them here.
Fees checked on against each broker's official pricing page.
Our lists are editorially independent. Some links may be sponsored — how we make money.
Our shortlist
Zerodha
Discount broker · ₹0 delivery
₹0 delivery; DP ₹15.34 per sell; ₹300 + GST AMC.
- Delivery
- ₹0
- Intraday
- 0.03% or ₹20
- F&O
- ₹20/order
- AMC
- Free yr 1; ₹300/yr + GST
Groww
Discount broker · ₹0 AMC
₹0 AMC; delivery 0.1% or ₹20.
- Delivery
- 0.1% or ₹20
- Intraday
- 0.1% or ₹20
- F&O
- ₹20/order
- AMC
- ₹0
Kotak Securities
Bank-group broker (Kotak Neo) · Under 30
₹0 delivery on Trade Free Youth.
- Delivery
- 0.20% (₹0 Youth)
- Intraday
- 0.05% or ₹10
- F&O
- ₹10/order
- AMC
- ₹50/month + GST (non-BSDA)
Angel One
Discount broker with research · Research
Research reports; free AMC in year one.
- Delivery
- 0.1% or ₹20
- Intraday
- 0.1% or ₹20
- F&O
- ₹20/order
- AMC
- Free yr 1; ₹60/qtr + GST
The buy-and-hold cost stack
A long-term investor typically buys a few times a year and sells rarely. The costs that matter are:
- Delivery brokerage on each buy and sell.
- AMC every year, whether you trade or not.
- DP charge each time you sell a scrip.
- STT of 0.1% on both buy and sell (same at every broker).
| Broker | Account opening | AMC | Delivery | Intraday | Options | DP charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zerodha | ₹0 | Free yr 1; ₹300/yr + GST | ₹0 | 0.03% or ₹20 | ₹20/order | ₹15.34/scrip/day |
| Groww | ₹0 | ₹0 | 0.1% or ₹20 | 0.1% or ₹20 | ₹20/order | ₹23.60/sell order |
| Kotak Securities | ₹0 (₹99 Youth) | ₹50/month + GST (non-BSDA) | 0.20% (₹0 Youth) | 0.05% or ₹10 | ₹10/order | 0.04% (min ₹20) + GST/day |
| Angel One | ₹0 | Free yr 1; ₹60/qtr + GST | 0.1% or ₹20 | 0.1% or ₹20 | ₹20/order | ₹23.60/sell txn |
| Upstox | ₹0* | Free yr 1; ₹300/yr + GST | ₹20/order | 0.1% or ₹20 | ₹20/order | ₹23.60/scrip/day |
Also consider direct mutual funds for diversified long-term investing.
How we judged brokers for long-term investing
This list was not paid for. Long-term investors trade rarely, so the annual AMC and the DP charge matter more than brokerage; we weighted those, plus the platform's suitability for holding and tracking a portfolio.
- Recurring cost — the annual AMC and the DP charge on occasional sales.
- Delivery brokerage — often zero, and where it is not.
- Portfolio tools — tracking, reports and tax statements.
- Fee clarity — published charges for the buy-and-hold investor.
For a long-term investor the yearly AMC usually outweighs brokerage. See the demat AMC comparison.
Worked example: ten years of investing
A long-term investor buys ₹10,000 of shares every month for 10 years (120 purchases), makes five ₹1 lakh sales over the period and keeps a regular (non-BSDA) demat account:
| Broker | Brokerage on 120 buys | Brokerage + DP on 5 sales | AMC over 10 years | Ten-year total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zerodha | ₹0 | ₹77 | ₹3,186 | ₹3,263 |
| Groww | ₹1,200 | ₹218 | ₹0 | ₹1,418 |
| Angel One | ₹1,200 | ₹218 | ₹2,549 | ₹3,967 |
| Upstox | ₹2,400 | ₹218 | ₹3,186 | ₹5,804 |
| HDFC SKY by HDFC Securities | ₹2,400 | ₹218 | ₹2,160 | ₹4,778 |
| ICICI Direct | ₹3,480 | ₹1,568 | ₹7,000 | ₹12,048 |
For buy-and-hold investors, ₹0 delivery brokerage and a low AMC matter far more than intraday or F&O pricing. AMC assumptions are the same as on our demat account comparison; AMC can be nil on a BSDA if you qualify.