How to compare brokerage charges
Comparing headline rates tells you almost nothing. Comparing a trade you actually place tells you everything.
The problem with headline comparisons
Broker marketing compares one number: brokerage. But a large, often dominant share of what you pay is statutory — STT, GST, stamp duty, exchange charges, SEBI fees — and is identical everywhere.
So a table showing one broker at a lower brokerage than another can be entirely accurate and still misrepresent the difference in what you will actually pay.
A method that works
1. Write down your real trading pattern
Not what you aspire to. What your last three months look like: how many trades, in which segments, at what average value, how many different scrips you sell in a typical month.
2. Price one representative trade fully at each broker
Include every line: brokerage, STT, GST, stamp duty, exchange charges, SEBI fees, and DP charges where applicable. Use each broker's own published schedule, on the same day.
3. Add the annual costs
AMC, and any account opening charge amortised over the period you expect to hold the account. For a low-frequency investor this can exceed all trading charges combined.
4. Multiply by your actual volume
Now you have an annual cost per broker for how you actually trade — which is the only number that means anything.
Traps to watch for
- Per order versus per executed lot. A flat fee charged per lot behaves very differently from one charged per order when large orders fill in parts.
- Caps and minimums. A percentage brokerage with a minimum per order can be expensive on small trades.
- Promotional windows. Check what the rate reverts to, and when.
- Segment coverage. A nil-brokerage offer may cover delivery only, while your volume is in options.
- DP charges. Not identical across brokers, and disproportionately important for investors who sell small quantities of several stocks.
- Auto square-off charges. Easy to overlook until you leave an intraday position open.
Verify the sources yourself
Broker charges change, sometimes with little notice. Any comparison you read — including ours — is a snapshot. Before deciding, open each broker's own charges page and confirm the figures on the day you are comparing.
Apply this to us
Everything above is a test you can run on Trade Grow. We would rather you did.