Best Brokers for Options Trading
Options are usually charged per order at discount brokers and per lot at full-service brokers. Compare the published F&O rates.
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
Kotak Securities
Bank-group broker (Kotak Neo) · ₹10 F&O
₹10 per executed order on futures and options.
- Delivery
- 0.20% (₹0 Youth)
- Intraday
- 0.05% or ₹10
- F&O
- ₹10/order
- AMC
- ₹50/month + GST (non-BSDA)
Zerodha
Discount broker · ₹20 options
₹20 flat on options; 0.03% or ₹20 on futures.
- Delivery
- ₹0
- Intraday
- 0.03% or ₹20
- F&O
- ₹20/order
- AMC
- Free yr 1; ₹300/yr + GST
Angel One
Discount broker with research · ₹20 F&O
₹20 flat on futures and options.
- Delivery
- 0.1% or ₹20
- Intraday
- 0.1% or ₹20
- F&O
- ₹20/order
- AMC
- Free yr 1; ₹60/qtr + GST
Upstox
Discount broker · ₹20 + API
₹20 options; 0.05% or ₹20 futures; free API.
- Delivery
- ₹20/order
- Intraday
- 0.1% or ₹20
- F&O
- ₹20/order
- AMC
- Free yr 1; ₹300/yr + GST
Per order vs per lot
Discount brokers typically charge a flat fee per executed order, regardless of how many lots you trade. Full-service brokers often charge per lot, which becomes expensive quickly:
| Broker | Options brokerage |
|---|---|
| Kotak Neo | ₹10 per order |
| Zerodha | ₹20 per order |
| Angel One | ₹20 per order |
| Upstox | ₹20 per order |
| Groww | ₹20 per order |
| Motilal Oswal (current online plan) | ₹20 per lot |
| Sharekhan | ₹39 per lot |
| ICICI Direct (default plan) | ₹49 per lot |
Per-lot pricing multiplies with position size: a five-lot order costs ₹100 at Motilal Oswal and ₹195 at Sharekhan, but still ₹20 at the per-order brokers.
Statutory charges on options
STT on options is 0.15% of the premium on the sell side, and the exchange transaction charge is much higher than for equity (about 0.0355% of premium on NSE). These apply at every broker. See statutory charges on share trading.
| Broker | Account opening | AMC | Delivery | Intraday | Options | DP charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Zerodha | ₹0 | Free yr 1; ₹300/yr + GST | ₹0 | 0.03% or ₹20 | ₹20/order | ₹15.34/scrip/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 |
| Groww | ₹0 | ₹0 | 0.1% or ₹20 | 0.1% or ₹20 | ₹20/order | ₹23.60/sell order |
How we compared brokers for F&O and options
This list was not sponsored. Options traders pay a flat fee on every leg, so we compared per-order charges across F&O, the charges on expiry-day and square-off trades, and the option-chain tools on each platform.
- Per-leg cost — the fee on each options or futures order.
- Expiry and square-off charges — the extra fees that hit on busy days.
- Risk tools — option chains, payoff charts, margin calculators and alerts.
- Published tariffs — clear F&O charges rather than estimates.
Because every leg is billed, small differences compound fast in F&O. Read our F&O risk note and run your strategy through the brokerage calculator.
Worked example: per-order vs per-lot brokerage
Discount brokers charge per executed order, while several full-service brokers charge per lot. The difference grows quickly as position size increases (lot size 75 used for illustration):
| Broker | 1 lot per order | 5 lots per order | 40 orders a month, 5 lots each |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kotak Securities | ₹10 | ₹10 | ₹400 |
| Zerodha | ₹20 | ₹20 | ₹800 |
| Angel One | ₹20 | ₹20 | ₹800 |
| Upstox | ₹20 | ₹20 | ₹800 |
| ICICI Direct | ₹49 | ₹245 | ₹9,800 |
| Sharekhan | ₹39 | ₹195 | ₹7,800 |
On top of brokerage, the options seller pays STT of 0.15% of premium and exchange charges of about 0.0355% of premium turnover on NSE — identical at every broker. SEBI's study cited on this page found most individual F&O traders lose money; low brokerage does not change that.