Best Demat Accounts in India
Compare demat account opening fees, annual maintenance charges (AMC) and DP charges — the costs that matter most to long-term investors.
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
Groww
Discount broker · ₹0 AMC
₹0 account opening and ₹0 AMC.
- Delivery
- 0.1% or ₹20
- Intraday
- 0.1% or ₹20
- F&O
- ₹20/order
- AMC
- ₹0
Zerodha
Discount broker · ₹0 delivery
₹0 delivery; ₹300 + GST AMC (BSDA lower); DP ₹15.34.
- Delivery
- ₹0
- Intraday
- 0.03% or ₹20
- F&O
- ₹20/order
- AMC
- Free yr 1; ₹300/yr + GST
Angel One
Discount broker with research · Free AMC yr 1
AMC free in year one; ₹60 + GST per quarter after.
- Delivery
- 0.1% or ₹20
- Intraday
- 0.1% or ₹20
- F&O
- ₹20/order
- AMC
- Free yr 1; ₹60/qtr + GST
Upstox
Discount broker · Free AMC yr 1
Zero AMC in year one for new customers.
- Delivery
- ₹20/order
- Intraday
- 0.1% or ₹20
- F&O
- ₹20/order
- AMC
- Free yr 1; ₹300/yr + GST
Kotak Securities
Bank-group broker (Kotak Neo) · BSDA ₹0
₹0 AMC for BSDA up to ₹4 lakh.
- Delivery
- 0.20% (₹0 Youth)
- Intraday
- 0.05% or ₹10
- F&O
- ₹10/order
- AMC
- ₹50/month + GST (non-BSDA)
The three demat costs
- Account opening — now ₹0 at most brokers.
- Annual maintenance charge (AMC) — a yearly fee for keeping the demat account. Ranges from ₹0 to ₹700 or more.
- DP charge — charged when shares are debited from your demat because you sold them. It is usually ₹15–₹24 including GST, but brokers count it differently: Zerodha, Upstox and Kotak charge once per stock per day, while Groww and Angel One charge for every sell order, so selling one stock in two orders on one day costs two DP charges. See our DP charges guide for each broker's rule.
Demat charges compared
| Broker | Account opening | AMC | Delivery | Intraday | Options | DP charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groww | ₹0 | ₹0 | 0.1% or ₹20 | 0.1% or ₹20 | ₹20/order | ₹23.60/sell order |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| ICICI Direct | Not verified | ₹700/yr (₹300 Prime) | 0.29% (Prime lower) | 0.029% | ₹49/lot | ₹20 + GST/scrip/day |
| Sharekhan | ₹0 | ₹400/yr (yr 2+) | 0.30% | 0.02% | ₹39/lot | Nil via Sharekhan |
A demat account is held with a depository participant (DP) — usually your broker — and the securities sit with CDSL or NSDL. Learn more in what is a demat account.
How we compared demat accounts
No depository participant paid for a place. We compared the charges that live in a demat account — the annual maintenance charge, the DP charge on every sale and the account-opening fee — and how each broker counts a debit.
- Annual maintenance — the yearly charge, and whether the first year is free.
- DP charge — how the broker counts a debit (per ISIN, per sell order or per transaction).
- Opening and closing — what it costs to start and to leave.
- Clarity — whether the demat tariff is published in full.
Two brokers can quote the same DP rate and bill you very differently depending on how they count a debit — see our DP charges guide.
Worked example: five-year demat cost
Brokerage gets the attention, but a demat account's running costs are AMC every year and a DP charge every time you sell a stock. Estimated five-year cost for a non-BSDA account that sells a ₹50,000 holding six times a year (first-year AMC waivers applied where the broker publishes one):
| Broker | AMC over 5 years | DP charges (30 sales) | Five-year total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Groww | ₹0 | ₹708 | ₹708 |
| Zerodha | ₹1,416 | ₹460 | ₹1,876 |
| Angel One | ₹1,133 | ₹708 | ₹1,841 |
| Upstox | ₹1,416 | ₹708 | ₹2,124 |
| HDFC SKY by HDFC Securities | ₹960 | ₹708 | ₹1,668 |
| ICICI Direct | ₹3,500 | ₹708 | ₹4,208 |
| Sharekhan | ₹1,600 | ₹0 | ₹1,600 |
| 5paisa | ₹1,416 | ₹708 | ₹2,124 |
| Kotak Securities | ₹3,540 | ₹708 | ₹4,248 |
| Motilal Oswal | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified |
AMC figures include 18% GST where the broker quotes a pre-GST amount (Zerodha, Upstox, Angel One, Kotak, 5paisa); ICICI Direct, HDFC SKY and Sharekhan are shown as published. Each sale is assumed to be one sell order. Groww, Angel One, 5paisa and HDFC SKY charge DP per sell order or debit, so splitting a sale raises their figure; Zerodha, Upstox and Kotak charge once per stock per day. Kotak's DP is 0.04% (minimum ₹20) + GST, so it rises with sale value. Motilal Oswal's total shows "Not verified" because its DP tariff and year-two AMC are not on any accessible official page. If you qualify for a Basic Services Demat Account (one demat, holdings up to ₹10 lakh), AMC is nil up to ₹4 lakh at every broker listed.