Best DEMAT Account in India to open Trading account

Do you know there are more than 800 stockbrokers registered in India? So choosing the best Stock Broker to open your first Demat account is not an easy task. In this post, I will help you to choose the best Demat account in India to open Trading Account.

Due to an impressive return on investment in the stock market and decreasing interest rate on deposits, share market investment has increased manifold post COVID.

The first step to begin your investment journey is by opening your Demat account with a broker registered with SEBI, i.e. Securities and Exchanges Board of India. 

But, a beginner faces difficulty in choosing the right stock broker to open a Demat account. Multiple options create more confusion. If you are one of those who are confused between multiple stockbrokers, I would help you to choose the best Demat account providers.

How to choose the best Demat Account in India to open your Trading Account ?

There are multiple criteria to determine the most suitable Demat account for you. For Example- the quality of service provided by a broker to its current customers, rates & brokerage charges, etc.

There is no hard and fast rule to choose the best stockbrokers as it depends on what you need most. For a beginner with small capital, a brokerage is more important. however, for an expert with high capital, service is more important.

Key factors to look for before opening Demat Accounts in India:

Excellent Customer Support.
Focus on prompt resolution of issues.
Low Brokerage charges with no hidden cost.
Good and mobile-friendly trading terminal with no lag.
Having a good basket of services like- stocks, mutual funds, ETF, IPOs, etc.
Transparent financial reporting of your trade.

So, selecting the best brokers depends upon the requirement of a particular user. Some prefer to call and place their trade, while others prefer to do everything by themselves. 

Some prefer to do their own research and invest, while others like to get their research done by their broker. Based on all these requirements, the best broker for you will vary accordingly. 

However, I will share my own top 11 stock brokers to open a Demat Account in India.

Top 11 Best Demat Account in India to open Trading Account:

1. Zerodha
2. Upstox
3. Groww
4. 5Paisa
5. ICICI Direct
6. Angleone
7. Kotak Securities
8. HDFC Securities
9. Sharekhan
10. IIFL Securities
11. Choice

However, before we jump to the best brokers, firstly, let us understand the types of broker service in India.

There are mainly two types of Demat Accounts in India:

1. Discount brokers
2. Full-service brokers

Discount brokers charge a very nominal fee for buying and selling stocks. But they do not provide recommendations for buying and selling stocks. Most of the best Demat Accounts in India come under this category.

On the other hand, full-service brokers charge way more than discount brokers, but they provide advisory services too. Full-service brokers will present you with detailed research on why or when you should buy a stock. 

The kind of broker that you want entirely depends upon you. If you do your research and analysis before investing in a stock, you should go for discount brokers. But, if you want detailed reports, analyses, and recommendations, then go for full-service brokers.

Here, I have listed down the top 11 stockbrokers to open your Demat account in India.

List of top 11 Best Demat Accounts in India 

1. Zerodha: Best Demat Account in India.

Zerodha is undoubtedly the best stock broker in India. I am personally using Zerodha. Established in 2010, Zerodha has quickly scaled up to be a reliable and trusted stockbroker for most retail investors. 

It is one of the most profitable startups in India. It has emerged as the largest stockbroker in the country, with more than 60 lakh clients.

Zerodha introduced the concept of discount broking in India and completely changed the investment landscape. It charges a very nominal fee for all its services.

For intraday trading, Zerodha charges a flat fee of Rs. 20 or 0.03% of the order amount, whichever is very low. All delivery trades are entirely free of cost. 

Zerodha also provides the facility to invest in mutual funds. It charges no commission and DP (Depository Participant) charges for direct mutual fund investments. 

The Kite platform of Zerodha is one of the most advanced trading and investing platforms in India. It is swift, has advanced chart features, and has an elegant and easy-to-use UI. 

Zerodha also has an excellent and informative learning platform known as Zerodha Varsity. Zerodha Varsity teaches the user about different strategies and terms related to the stock market. It is beneficial for people new to the market. 

For the equities and F&O segment, Zerodha has the Kite platform available both on the web as well as an app for your phone.

For mutual fund investment, Zerodha has the Coin platform. It also provides a call and trade facility for an additional cost of Rs. 50 per trade.

Zerodha Demat Account Brokerage Charges

Catagory	Charges/fees
Account Opening Charges	Rs. 200
AMC Charges	Rs. 300 per Year
Equity Delivery	Zero Brokerages
Equity Intraday	0.03% or Rs.20/order whichever is lower
Equity Futures	0.03% or Rs.20/order whichever is lower
Equity Options	Flat Rs.20 per executed order
Currency F&O	0.03% or Rs.20/executed order whichever is lower
Call and Trade	Rs.50 per order

Key Advantages of Zerodha Demat Account:

• Ultra-fast modern and advanced trading platform-Kite.
• Lowest brokerage charges in Industry.
• Console to get in-depth Reports in one place.
• Zerodha Coin to invest in Direct Mutual Fund.
• Sentinel for creating a market alert on the cloud for stock, MFs, F&O, etc. Lastly
• Zerodha has gives opprtunity to earn through its referral program. You will get 10% of the brokerage charge paid by your referer for the lifetime.

Disadvantages of Zerodha Demat Account:

• It has a vast client base, and hence sometimes, the server is overwhelmed by a large number of orders.
• It does not provide any advisory services.

2. Upstox: Second best Demat Account in India.

Upstox is the fastest-growing discount broker in India. It is also a discount broker, and brokerage charges are almost similar to Zerodha. Apart from Zerodha, I am also using Upstox Demat Account.

Upstox is backed by the most coveted investor Ratan Tata. It charges zero brokerage on Mutual Funds. Current charges for delivery trades are Rs. 20 or 1% of the traded value(whichever is lower). 

It charges flat Rs. 20 or 0.05% of the total trade value(whichever is lower) for intraday and F&O. It provides a margin of up to 5 times for equity intraday. The Upstox Pro is available on the web as well as on your smartphone. 

Upstox provides a range of features which include advanced charting patterns, indicators, and frequent updates. 

Upstox is the first stockbroker in India to implement an electronic delivery instruction slip(e-DIS). This allows the account holder to sign the Power of Attorney(PoA) documents physically. 

This is an OTP-based authentication process that helps Upstox to get permission to debit the shares from your debit account every time you want to.

Upstox Demat Account brokerage Charges:

Catagory	Charges/fees
Account Opening Charges	₹0
AMC Charges	₹0
Equity Delivery	₹20 or 2.5% whichever is lower.
Equity Intraday	0.05% or ₹20/executed order (whichever is lower)
Equity Futures	0.05% or ₹20/executed order (whichever is lower)
Equity Options	Flat ₹20 per executed order.
Currency Futures	0.05% or Rs.20/executed order whichever is lower
Currency Futures	Flat ₹20 per executed order
Call and Trade	Rs.50 + GST per order

Key Advantages:

• Zero AMC Charges for Demat Account.
• Easy, fast and simple interface.
• Apply and track the IPO through a single app.
• Feature of Options Chain with Strategy Mode to test your trading system.
• It is backed by notable investors like Ratan Tata.
• It has recently started providing market updates and news directly to users.

Disadvantages:

• Technical glitches sometimes occur due to a large number of people using the same app.
• While most other brokers charge no brokerage for equity delivery, it charges Rs. 20 per order

Opening a Upstox account is very easy. You can open your Demat Account at the comfort of your home. This is the reason, in a matter of a few years, more than 50 lakh investors are using Upstox. 

3. Groww: 

With the advent and popularity of discount brokers like Zerodha and Upstox rising to its popularity, Groww started expanding its footprint in the stockbroking business too. 

Initially, Groww provided opportunities for investment only in mutual funds. However, due to the strong demand from many customers, they have entered into the trading business. 

It is one of the fastest-growing startups with a valuation of more than 1 billion dollars with a straightforward pricing model. It charges a flat fee of Rs. 20 or 0.05% of the total trade, whichever is lower. 

Currently, it has zero account opening fee and no Demat AMC charges. Groww has also recently started to provide a facility to its users to buy stocks in the US market directly. 

Groww has both a mobile application and a web-based trading platform. With its attractive interface, Groww has grown immensely popular among new investors, especially youngsters. 

It is a discount broker, and hence it does not provide tips and recommendations to its customers. However, they have a very active youtube channel that frequently teaches about investment strategies and detailed analysis of a few companies.

Groww Demat Account Brokerages & Charges

Catagory	Charges/fees
Account Opening Charges	₹0
AMC Charges	₹0
Equity Delivery/Intraday	0.05% or ₹20/executed order (whichever is lower)
Equity F&O	Flat ₹20 per executed order.

Groww Demat Account’s Key Advantages:

• Groww Demat account has zero Account opening, and AMC charges for a lifetime.
• Provides facility to invest in the US Stock Market.
• You can also invest in Digital Gold.
• It frequently publishes many blogs, videos and articles regarding different financial terminologies and analyses about stocks.
•  Facilitates investment in US stocks too.

Groww Demat Account’s Key Disadvantages:

• It is a relatively new entrant in the stockbroking industry, and hence it does not have many of the advanced order and chart features available with other brokers.
• It does not provide call and trade options.
• It doesn’t offer a margin trading facility.
• No call and Trade facility like other discount brokers.
• You can’t invest in the currency market.

4. 5paisa: 

5Paisa is a prominent name in the stockbroking industry. It is a leading discount broker that charges some of the lowest brokerages in the whole Industry. 

5paisa has three subscription plans: Basic Pack, Power Investor Pack and Ultra Trader Pack. Although 5paisa is a discount broker, it still provides advisory, buying or selling calls, and other investment ideas. 

The account opening fee of 5paisa is entirely free. In the Basic plan, users are charged a flat Rs.20 per order, and for the other two plans, they are charged a flat Rs. 10 per order. 

While most of the brokers provide free mutual fund investment, 5paisa charges Rs. 20 per trade for mutual fund investments. Research and advisory are also not available for the Basic plan. 

The trading account opening charge of 5paisa is Rs. 300. The Demat account maintenance charge is Rs. 540 yearly. A separate Mutual Fund account can also be created if a person only wants to invest in mutual funds. 

5paisa mobile app also offers Robo Advisory services apart from offering trades at BSE and NSE.

5Paisa Demat Account Charges & Brokerages

Catagory	Charges/fees
Account Opening Charges	₹0
AMC Charges	₹0 /month (Holdings upto 50,000 on last day of month) ₹8 /month (Holdings upto 2 lakh on last day of month) ₹25 /month (Holdings more than 2 lakh on last day of month)
Equity Delivery/Intraday/ F&O	Flat ₹20 per executed order.

5Paisa Demat Account’s Key Advantages:

• It also provides trading and Robo advisory services to its customers.
• It provides research and advisory for equity and derivatives according to the plan you choose.
• 5Paisa’s Portfolio Analytics provides Real-time reports on gains/ losses, comparisons and suggestions to improve the performance of your portfolio.
• Invest in Direct Mutual Fund with 5Paisa.

5Paisa Demat Account’s Disadvantages:

• It charges a very high fee of Rs. 25 for withdrawing money from your Demat account.
• It doesn’t offer trading and investment options for NRIs.
• It doesn’t have a 3-in-1 Demat Account facility.

5. ICICI Direct: 

Like Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank also has its subsidiary for its stockbroking and investment services. It is also a full-service Demat and Trading Account provider.

ICICI Direct is one of the best Demat and Trading Account Providers among full-service brokers in India

It provides both 3-in-1 and 2-in-1 accounts. In a 3-in-1 account, the bank account in ICICI is directly linked to the Demat and trading account. Hence, the debit and credit of shares become very convenient. 

ICICIDirect also provides a 2-in-1 account, i.e. a trading and a Demat account. You have the flexibility to link your Demat account to any non-ICICI bank account in this type of account. 

Currently, the account opening charge for ICICI Direct is free. However, there is a Demat AMC of Rs 300 yearly. There are many brokerage plans of ICICI Direct. 

In the ICICI Neo plan, the brokerage is 0.55% of the total order for equity delivery, and for equity intraday, it is Rs 20 per executed trade. 

The I-secure plan offers a flat brokerage of 0.55% and 0.275% for intraday transactions. ICICIDirect has a mobile app for placing orders. You can also use their website to place your orders.

ICICIDirect Demat Accounts’ Key Advantages:

•  It offers both 3-in-1 and 2-in-1 accounts.
• The Demat and Trading account can be linked to any non-ICICI bank account too.
• Being a full-service broker, it provides recommendations on stocks to buy and invest in, which is very useful for new investors.
• You can open ICICI Direct Global Account through which you can directly invest in International Markets.
• High-quality research on stocks and recommendations.

ICICIDirect Demat Accounts’s Disadvantages:

• Brokerage is very high.
• Trading terminal is as easy as in the case of discount brokers.

6. AngelOne: Best Demat Account in India among Full-sevice Brokers.

If you want the services of a full-service broker at the price of a discount broker, AngelOne is the place to go. It has a solid presence in the country with more than 100 branches. 

It has experience of more than 20+ years in the Industry. It is the first large-size full-service broker that gives discount brokerage rates to its customers. Angel Broking provides a single trading plan, i.e. ‘Angel iTrade’. 

It charges Rs. 0 for equity delivery and R. 20 or 0.25%(whichever is lower) for intraday trades. They provide free advisory and research to all its customers.

It offers free trading software on both mobile and website. Angelone Broking also has a flagship investment advisory tool known as Angel ARQ.

It uses advanced concepts like machine learning and other algorithms to suggest stocks to buy and sell. It doesn’t have any fees and is entirely up to the customer to use it or not.

AngelOne Demat Account Charges & Brokerages

Catagory	Charges/fees
Account Opening Charges	₹0
AMC Charges	FREE for 1st Year Rs.20 +Tax per month from 2nd year onwards
Equity Delivery Trades	Free for Life Time
Intraday, F&O, Currency	Flat Rs. 20 or 0.25% (whichever is lower)
Call & Trade	Rs.20 per order

AngelOne Demat Account’s Key Advantages:

• No Brokerage on any segment for the first 30 days after opening Demat Account.
• Lifetime free equity delivery trades.
• It provides the service of a full-service broker at the price of a discount broker.
• It has a tie-up with Vested through which you can invest in the US market.
• It has more than 20+ years of experience in the stockbroking industry.

AngelOne Demat Account’s Disadvantages:

• It does not provide a 3-in-1 Demat account.
• Call trades require an extra Rs. 20 per executed order.

7. Kotak Securities: 

Kotak Securities is the subsidiary of Kotak Mahindra Bank, which provides investment and trading-related services. It is backed by one of the largest banks in India, i.e. Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Hence you can be assured that your stocks and money is safe with Kotak securities. It is a full-service broker, and therefore the brokerage charged by them is way higher than what the discount brokers charge. 

One important advantage of opening a Demat account with Kotak Securities is that it provides a 3-in-1 account. This allows you to open Demat trading and savings accounts together with Kotak Mahindra Bank. 

So, you don’t need to bear the burden of transferring money to your broker and then buying a share. You can directly purchase shares from the funds in your savings account. 

It charges a one-time trading account opening fee of Rs. 750 and then a yearly Demat account maintenance charge of Rs. 600. Kotak Securities have many brokerage plans. 

The Fixed Brokerage plan is mainly designed for people new to the stock market and who do not trade frequently. Here, 0.49% of the traded value is charged for equity delivery and intraday, and it charges 0.049% of the traded value. 

The Dynamic Brokerage plan is specifically made for people who have experience in the market and trade very frequently. For equity cash delivery, it charges 0.59% to 0.30% of the traded value depending on the value of the transaction. 

For equity intraday, it charges 0.06% to 0.05% depending on the value of the trade. One of the main advantages of Kotak Securities is that it has more than 1400+ branches where you can physically go for help on investment and other resolution of issues.

Key Advantages:

• It offers a 3-in-1 account, i.e. your Kotak Mahindra Bank savings account can be directly linked to the Demat and trading account.
• Both online and in-person assistance is provided in case of any issue or difficulty.

Disadvantages:

• It is a full-service broker, and hence the brokerage is very high compared to other brokers.
• It does not provide some advanced charting features.

8. HDFC securities: 

It is the stockbroking and investment subsidiary of India’s largest private lender HDFC Bank. Just like ICICI Direct, HDFC securities also provide the benefit of a 3-in-1 account. 

If you have a savings account with HDFC, you can link that account to your Demat and trading account. This will give a seamless experience of buying and selling for the customer. 

The amount of the trade will be directly debited from the customer’s savings account, and also it will be deposited back whenever you sell a trade. It’s very convenient to use. 

However, the brokerage of HDFC Securities is very high compared to other brokers. It charges 0.50% or a minimum of Rs. 25 up to 2.5% of the traded value. It has both a mobile app and a web-based trading platform.

HDFC Securities Demat Account’s Key Advantages:

• Benefits of 3-in-1 account. 
• Invest in the US market directly from HDFC Securities.
• Since it is a full-service broker, it has solid research recommendations on stocks.
• Conducts free sessions for its users, teaching them about different financial concepts and strategies for trading in the market.
• It also has a Portfolio Management Service.
• The trading and Demat account can be directly linked to your HDFC savings bank account.

HDFC Securities Demat Account’s key Disadvantages:

• High brokerage fees.
• HDFC doesn’t offer commodity Options for traders.
• HDFC Bank has faced some technical issues lately; hence the access to HDFC securities may also get affected.

9. Sharekhan: 

Sharekhan was incorporated in the year 2000. It has more than 1800 offices across the country. It also has an international presence in countries like- Oman and UAE.

Sharekhan offers its products and services to all kinds of customers, i.e. individual investors, institutional investors, and NRIs. Sharekhan is among the best Demat Account provider in India under full-service brokers.

Its website provides a detailed view and research on stocks. It also provides market news, fundamental analysis of stocks, mutual funds and IPOs. 

Sharekhan has a well-known team of researchers to analyze stocks and provide calls and recommendations. It also provides quarterly company result analysis and news alerts to its customers. 

Sharekhan also conducts frequent online and classroom seminars /workshops for its customers. Every customer gets an in-person correspondent from Sharekhan. 

Currently, Sharekhan account opening charges are Rs. 0 and there is a Demat AMC of Rs. 400. 

For brokerage, 0.10% of the traded values are charged for intraday trades. For delivery trades, 0.50% or Rs. 16 per scrip(whichever is higher) is charged. 

Sharekhan has both a mobile app and a website for trading. TradeTiger is an application for PC that provides some excellent charts and is one of India’s most advanced charting and trading platforms. 

Unlike many other brokers, Sharekhan charges brokerage in terms of the percentage of the value of the order traded. You get all the guidance, research, recommendations, news in one place.

Sharekhan Demat Account Advantages:

• It has SHAREKHANMINI for mobile-friendliness.
• It has a solid Research team to help investors.
• Its’ Pattern Finder tool helps investors to find profitable opportunities in the stock market.
• It has many branches across the country where you can directly go to resolve your issues or get advice on your investment.
•  It has almost 20 years of experience in the stockbroking industry.

Sharekhan Demat Account Disadvantages:

• As it is a full-service broker, it charges a very high brokerage.
•  It does not offer a 3-in-1 account.
• It doesn’t provide an opportunity to invest in the international market.

10. IIFL securities: 

IIFL was incorporated in 1995 and is also a full-service broker. IIFL is very well recognized for its advisory services and its cutting-edge technology. It has a very simple flat brokerage charge. 

It charges Rs. 20 for any trade-in platform except equity delivery. For equity delivery, it is free. One of the key advantages of IIFL is its NRI services. It has a presence in New York, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and many other places. 

Hence, it becomes very convenient for NRIs to open their accounts with IIFL because of its presence in such places.

Currently, the account opening is free in IIFL, but there is an Account Maintenance Charge(AMC) of Rs. 250 annually, which will be charged only from the second year.

IIFL has the IIFL Markets mobile app and the Trader Terminal website for trading and investing. It has a separate app called IIFL Mutual Funds App which can be used to buy, sell and start a SIP in a mutual fund.

IIFL also has a Relationship Manager(RM) for in-person assistance.

IIFL Key Advantages:

• It provides the facility of Equity SIP, whereby you can place buy orders for a prespecified amount in regular intervals, just like Mutual Funds.
• It also provides free equity and Mutual Fund research and recommendation to its users.
• Zero delivery brokerages charge for a lifetime.
• IIFL also offers portfolio management services.
• Provides Research recommendation call for stock buying and selling.

IIFL Disadvantages:

• You can’t invest in Direct Mutual funds; hence the final profit in mutual funds will be less.
•  It does not offer a 3-in-1 account.
• IIFL has average customer service.

11. Choice

One of the top full-service stock brokers in India, Choice, began operations in 2010. With more than 5 lakh clients, Choice is the fastest growing stock broker in the full service category.

The list of the top 16 stock brokers according to active clients was just released by SEBI. Choice operates a full-service stock broking firm and provides a range of investing services at nominal costs.

Choice costs a minimum of 0.02% for intraday trading, which is 33% less than discount brokers, and delivery fees at a rate of 0.2% with the lowest DP fees of Rs. 10.

Along with stock investing, Choice also allows customers to invest in mutual funds, NPS, corporate FDs, Government Securities, Bonds, and PPF, as well as buying insurance.

The advanced trading platform Choice FinX (formerly Jiffy) offers a number of features, including advanced charting, a comprehensive scrip page, built-in research, multiple watchlists, simple buy and sell, and more.

Choice provides its clients help for learning and investments through a diverse range of channels, including email, notifications, in-app research, YouTube, and Facebook.

Choice FinX provides trading and investment services throughout all four market segments, including currency, commodities, F&O, and equity.

Choice Demat Account & Brokerage Charges

Category	Charges/Fee
Account Opening Charges	Free
AMC Charges	Free for first year & after Rs. 200 per year
Equity Delivery Charges	0.2%
Equity Intraday Charges	0.02%
Equity Futures Charges	0.02%
Equity Options Charges	Rs. 25 per lot
Currency Futures Charges	0.02%
Currency Options Charges	Rs. 20 per lot
Call & Trade Charges	Free
DP Charges	Rs. 10 on delivery trades
Square Off Charges	Free

Key Advantages of Choice Demat Account

• One account for all investments
• Free Account Opening
• Lowest DP Charges (Rs. 10 only)
• Free Research and Advisory Services
• Free AMC Charges for a year
• Free Call for Trade Facility
• Local Branch Support
• No Square Off Charges
• Invest in International Markets
• Invest in Government Securities, Bonds and Corporate FDs
  

Key Disadvantages of Choice Demat Account

• Given that it offers a broad range of services, the brokerage fee is high.

Final Conclusion

Finally, I would say that the kind of broker you would choose entirely depends on what you want. The list of best Demat Accounts in India is not exclusive as it may vary as per your requirements.

If you want modern new technology with advanced charting patterns but a very low brokerage, you can go with the discount brokers like Zerodha and Upstox. 

But if you want a full-service broker that also gives investment advisories and buys and sell recommendations, you can go for ICICIDirect and Sharekhan. 

Always be careful to check for hidden charges while choosing your brokers. The brokerage charged by the brokers changes from time to time. Hence, always check for the latest brokerage charges from the broker’s official website to confirm the details.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

What is a Demat Account?

A Demat Account is an account used to keep all your shares/securities in electronic form or dematerialized form. Initially, the shares were kept in physical forms which tends to be a very tedious and costly task. But now, all the shares are kept in electronic form. 

In India, there are two Depository organizations (i.e. CDSL and NSDL) that act as a depository for securities and to keep the shares in electronic form. Transactions are done automatically after any debit or credit of shares. It acts as an intermediary between Investor and Depository participants.

What are Depository Participants?

Depository Participants are the financial institutions acting as an agent of Depositories and providing service to Investors. Each Depository Participant is registered with SEBI (Security and Exchange Board of India) and provided with a unique DP ID.

For example, Zerodha, Upstox, 5Paisa, etc are some of the depository participants in India registered with India. There are more than 500 depository participants registered in India.

What is a Trading Account?

A Trading account is used to trade shares and securities. Any purchase and buying of shares are done through Trading Accounts. You can open trading accounts with any depository participants like- Zerodha, Upstox, ICICIDirect, etc. 

If an investor has to buy shares, he has to place the order through his trading account. An investor has to maintain the required fund in the trading account or link it with a bank account to purchase shares in the stock market.

What is the difference between a demat account and a trading account?

Trading accounts are used to purchase or sell shares from the stock market. After a successful purchase of shares, it was kept in dematerialized or electronic form in the Demat Account. So Demat account is like storage for shares of investors.

Which is India’s No.1 Demat Account?

Now, this is also a very subjective question. Because it depends what kind of service you need most. Like if you are a beginner, Zerodha and Upstox are best for you. If you need stock recommendations and advisory services, ICICIDirect and Angelone are the best options. 

Which is best demat account for beginners?

Best Demat account is a very subjective term as every investor/trader has their own need. But for a beginner, user interface, brokerage charges and customer support play a very important role.

Keeping those criteria in mind, I personally find Zerodha and Upstox as the best brokers for beginners.

What is a 3-in-1 Demat Account?

Successful purchase and sale of shares in the stock market involve three types of accounts. First, a Trading account for the purchase and sale of shares. 

Second, a Demat account to keep those shares in electronic form. And third, a savings bank account to keep your fund balance and link it to a trading account. 

So, the Demat account which has all these services under one account is called a 3-in-1 Demat account. So, depositories that also do banking business provide these kinds of Demat accounts. For example, ICICIDirect, HDFCSecurities, Kotak Securities, etc provides a 3-in-1 Demat Account.

Which is the best 3-in-1 Demat Account?

Most of the banks involved in providing Demat accounts have the facility to open 3-in-1 Demat Account. Each provider has its own pros and cons. But I personally use ICICIDirect and finds one of the best 3-in-1 Demat account providers in India.

What is the best demat account in India?

Personally, I use two Demat accounts for trading i.e. Upstox and Zerodha. It has a very user-friendly interface and features like charting and analysis. For stock recommendations, I use an ICICIDirect Demat Account.

Which is the best free Demat Account in India?

If you are looking for the lowest brokerage charge Demat account then you can choose any discount brokers like -Zerodha, Groww, Upstox, 5paisa, etc. The charges are almost similar with little difference. 

For example, Groww Demat account has no account opening and AMC charges. But, if you are looking for overall service then Zerodha and Upstox are the best Demat account in India.

Is Zerodha Demat Account Free?

Zerodha Demat Account has very low brokerage charges. In some of the segments like for delivery of equity shares, it has zero brokerages. But in the other segment, it has brokerage of flat Rs.20 or 0.03% (whichever is lower) per executed order.

Further, Zerodha also charges Rs.300 as AMC charges. So, the Zerodha Demat Account is not completely free.

Is Zerodha better than ICICI Direct?

It is very difficult to compare both accounts. If you need a discount broker service with very low brokerage charges then Zerodha is the best. However, if you need a full-service broker with stock recommendations then ICICIDirect is best.

Can I have two Demat Accounts?

You can open as many Demat accounts as you want with different depository participants. But you can’t open more than one Demat account with a single depository participant. However, in some cases, you can open more than one Demat account with the same DP with different combinations of users.

Which Bank Demat Account is best?

While most of the banks have their own Demat account services. I personally use the ICICI bank Demat account service (ICICIDirect). It is a full-service broker with a very solid and well-researched stock recommendations service.

How do you open a Demat Account?

With the introduction of Aadhar based e-KYC, it has become very convenient to open a Demat account in India. You just have to decide the depository where you have to open your Demat account.

Once you decide on the depository, just go to their website or mobile app and start the process of account opening. It involves the following process:

• Decide the Depository participants. Some of the DPs are – Zerodha, Upstox, ICICIDirect, etc.
• Go to their website or mobile app.
• Fill in the personal details like- Name, DOB, PAN, Adhar, Bank Account Details, Email ID, Mobile Number, etc.
• Pay the Account opening charges
• Upload the KYC documents – Address proof, ID proof, Bank Account proof and Income documents.
• Upload your photographs and signature.
• Do the e-KYC through video call
• That’s it, You will get your account user ID within 24 hours in your email.

What are the documents required to open a Demat Account?

You need the following documents for opening a Demat account online as detailed below:

• PAN CARD
• Aadhar Card
• Proof of Identity ( e.g. Voter ID, Driving License, etc.)
• Proof of Address ( e.g. Passport, Voter ID, electric bill, etc)
• Proof of Bank Account (e.g. Cancelled cheque)
• Proof of Income (e.g. bank statement, 
• Scanned passport size Photographs & Signature

While the above list may look a lot, if you have all the documents in soft copy, you can complete the account opening process within 15 min.

What is the latest brokerage charges for a demat account?

The brokerage charges for a Demat account keeps on changing. So it is advisable to check the website of the stockbrokers for the latest brokerage and account charges.

Best of luck with an incredible investing journey.

Kunal Singh

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Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to provide accurate information, we don’t guarantee the accuracy of the data. Please visit the concerned brokers’ official website for the latest information. This is not a recommendation so please do your due diligence. Read the Disclaimer here