Zerodha Review
Alyaziah Hayat | May 9, 2022
Table of Contents
Zerodha is an intuitive investment platform for online trading in India. They can provide you with a range of trading tools, educational materials and market insights. However, I see that they do not offer MT4 and have limited account/funding options compared to other online brokers such as FXTM.
Broker Pros / Cons
- Regulated
- Competitive fees
- Intuitive trading platforms
- Educational materials
- Market news
- Clients based in India only
- No MetaTrader platform
- Restricted leverage
- Limited funding options
Summary
Zerodha is the largest online stock broker in India (in terms of active clients) with over 1 million clients that contribute to more than 15% of the total retail volume traded in India on a daily basis. They provide you with an online platform for investing in futures, options, commodities, forex, stocks, IPOs, mutual funds & bonds.
Zerodha Online Brokerage
Zerodha is founded in 2010 and targeted towards the Indian market. I like that it is a discount brokerage with transparent pricing including flat fees and no hidden charges. In addition to online broker services, I like how they also provide you with a selection of trading tools, educational materials and a trader’s community.
Regulation
Zerodha is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The SEBI is in place to regulate the securities market and protect the interests of investors. Zerodha Broking Ltd is a member of NSE (National Stock Exchange) & BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange). I would’ve liked to see them being regulated by at least one tier-one body however, since they only operate in India, a regulation with the SEBI is enough.
Zerodha is an online brokerage for Indian investors located in India. If you don’t reside in India, I recommend checking out our broker comparison tool to find alternative brokers that provide services in your country.
Platforms
Zerodha provides you with sleek, modern, and intuitive trading platforms. These aren’t your ordinary MT4 or MT5 platforms. Zerodha’s platforms are country-specific and function only in India. If you prefer to use the MetaTrader platforms, you can check out our best trading platforms for top brokers that offer them.
Kite Platform
Zerodha Kite Platform
Kite is their flagship proprietary trading platform that can provide you with fast and reliable streaming market data, and advanced charts for conducting complex analysis. I like that this is a user-friendly interface that offers many other features for a comfortable trading experience. Kite is compatible with your Android and iOS devices.
Console
Zerodha Console
Console is the central dashboard for those of you with a Zerodha account. I like this platform as it gives you the ability to gain useful up-to-date insights into your existing positions and investments from within the console. My favourite part is that they also provide in-depth reports and visualizations.
Coin
Zerodha Coin
With Coin, you can buy unlimited direct mutual funds without any commission charged. They are delivered directly to your Demat account. Coin is also available on Android and iOS compatible devices.
Education
Kite Connect API
Zerodha Kite Connect API
This API lets you build investment apps to share with other Zerodha clients. You can create trading platforms and experiences using the provided HTTP/JSON APIs.
Varsity Mobile
Zerodha Varsity Mobile
Varsity Mobile provides an overview and detailed collection of stock market lessons that can help you increase your knowledge in this industry. I like how each lesson is broken down into easy-to-understand snippets along with illustrations. This can be a great way to learn more about the markets whilst on the go.
Sentinel
Zerodha Sentinel
Sentinel lets you create free cloud-based customised market alerts for stocks, futures, options, etc. I don’t see many brokers offering this tool and so, I find it pretty unique and useful.
Expert Advisors
Zerodha does support automated trading through expert advisors (EAs). You can code your technical analysis strategies in TradeScript or choose from other strategies already provided. I like how they also allow you to back-test your strategy on Pi to study its historical performance and take it live on Pi Expert Advisors to generate real-time trading signals with one-click execution.
Pulse News
Zerodha Pulse
Pulse provided by Zerodha supplies you with the latest business, finance, and market news from the last 24 hours from all major Indian news sources aggregated in one place. The Pulse app is available for download on both Android and iOS from the relevant app stores.
Trading Q&A
Zerodha has an online community forum where traders can ask and answer questions related to trading and the stock market. I really like this service as it makes you feel like you’re part of a community of people with the same goals.
Brokerage Calculators
Zerodha Brokerage Calculator
There is a useful set of trading calculators on the Zerodha website to help you calculate trading costs and potential profit/loss.
Markets
Through Zerodha, you can have access to multiple asset classes including futures, options, commodities, forex, stocks, IPOs, mutual funds & bonds.
Accounts
Zerodha offers free equity investments (NSE, BSE) and a flat ₹20 (Indian Rupee / INR) or 0.01% (whichever is lower) per executed order on intraday and F&O trades across equity, currency, and commodity trades. In addition to this, I like they also provide all direct mutual fund investments for free. For a detailed overview of all charges, I recommend you check out the “charges” section of the Zerodha website.
Equity & Derivatives Trading Account
An Equity & Derivatives Trading account is what you open with a Trading Member (Stock Broker) of a recognised Stock Exchange (presently NSE,BSE and MCX-SX in India). This account is for you if you intend to trade only Futures & Options and/or Currencies, be it Intraday or Positional.
Equity Demat Account
Dematerialized Account popularly known as Demat Account, is the account where you keep stocks in electronic format. This account is for you if you intend to take delivery of Stocks (buy and hold stocks overnight) along with trading in Futures & Options and/or Currencies. I haven’t seen this feature being provided by other brokers and so I find it intriguing.
Commodity Trading Account
A Commodity Trading account is what you open with a Trading Member (Commodity Broker) of a recognised Commodity Exchange (MCX, NCDEX, etc. in India). You will find this account useful only if you only intend to trade Commodities.
Support
Zerodha is based in Bengaluru with over 120+ branches and partner offices throughout India. Support is provided via telephone and email. Only existing clients can call support numbers by entering their Telephone codes. All lines close at 2:00 PM on Saturdays for the weekend. I would have liked to see them offer online chat and weekend support for extra convenience. I recommend checking out Bold Prime for these features.
Funding
You can deposit and withdraw from your Zerodha account using bank transfer. Bank transfers may take a few business days to clear. All funds deposited into your trading account must be under the same name as your Zerodha trading account.
Signup
You can open a real or demo trading and Demat account online or via the mobile application to start investing with Zerodha. I found that it only takes a few minutes to complete the signup form and gain access to the trading platform and tools.
Zerodha Account Opening Form
Compare
| Broker Features | AvaTrade | IG | IC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 | 1974 | 2007 | |
| Regulated | ASIC, BVI, CBI, FFAJ, JFSA, FSCA, IIROC, ADGM FRSA | FCA, CFTC, NFA, BaFin, FINMA, ASIC, FMA, MAS, FSA, FSCA, DFSA, JFSA, METI, MAFF | ASIC, CySEC, FSA, SCB | |
| Country | Australia, Ireland, South Africa, Japan, British Virgin Islands | Australia, UK, USA, Switzerland, UAE, Singapore, Japan | Australia, Seychelles, Bahamas, Cyprus | |
| Min. Deposit | Min $250 Deposit | Min $100 Deposit | Min $200 Deposit | |
| Commission | From $0 | From $0 | From $0 | |
| Spreads | Fixed | Variable | Variable | |
| Leverage | 1:400 | 1:200 | 1:500 | |
| Instruments | Forex, Commodities, Cryptocurrency, Stocks, Shares, Indices, Metals, Energies, Options, Bonds, CFDs, ETFs | Forex, Commodities, Stocks, Shares, Indices, Cryptocurrencies, Metals, Energies, Options, Bonds, ETFs, CFDs | Forex, Commodities, Cryptocurrency, Stocks, Shares, Indices, Metals, Energies, Bonds, CFDs | |
| Platforms | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, AvaTradeGO, AvaOptions, AvaSocial, DupliTrade, ZuluTrade, Web, Mobile | MetaTrader 4, IG Platform, IG Progressive Web App, ProRealTime (PRT), L2 Dealer, FIX API, Web, Mobile | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, Web, Mobile | |
| Type | Market Maker, STP | STP, ECN, DMA | ECN | |
| Funding | Wire Transfer, Credit/Debit Card, Paypal, WebMoney, Neteller, Skrill | Wire Transfer, Credit/Debit Cards, PayPal | Wire Transfer, Credit Card, Debit Card, WebMoney, Neteller, PayPal, Skrill, FasaPay, UnionPay, Qiwi, Bpay, Poli | |
| Visit Broker | Visit Broker | Visit Broker | Visit Broker |
Conclusion
Zerodha is an easy-to-use investment platform for traders located in India. However, I find that they have a limited product range compared to other online brokers like PU Prime. They also do not offer the popular MetaTrader platform like most other top brokers such as Pepperstone. I must admit that despite this, Zerodha provides a good range of trading tools, educational materials and market insights.
Min $1 Deposit
Zerodha is an intuitive investment platform for online trading in India. They supply a range of trading tools, educational materials & market insights. However, they do not offer MT4 & have limited account/funding options.
About the Author
Alyaziah Hayat
I had previously been forex trading for about 2 years and I now mainly focus on writing forex-related content. I also deal with cryptocurrencies and other financial assets in this industry. I've dealt with several brokers, assets, EA robots, and everything that this industry has to offer.
Review Methodology
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