Zerodha vs Upstox comparison – which is the best Demat account?

Most of the retail investors are confused between Zerodha and Upstox. In this post, I have given my honest review and comparison on Upstox vs. Zerodha. The article will help you to choose the best broker for you.

While Zerodha has completed more than ten years in the Indian market, Upstox is a new entrant.

Zerodha was the first broker who introduced the discount brokerage concept in the Indian stock market. This is why it is now the leading stockbroker to open a Demat account based on the number of customers.

The brokerage charge was very high before Zerodha. So, Zerodha revolutionized the stock market with its cheapest brokerage plan.

Upstox has been one of the fastest-growing stockbrokers in recent years. It is backed by veteran industrialist Ratan Tata and Tiger Global. It also offers similar brokerage plans to investors apart from other incentives.

If you had asked the question three years ago, I would easily have chosen Zerodha as the best broker. But now, Zerodha and Upstox are in very close competition.

That is why many people become confused about which broker to choose. Zerodha or Upstox.

So, Today I will compare the two brokers extensively and give my verdict. After reading this post, I am sure you would have no doubts between Zerodha and Upstox.

There are many things to consider when choosing the best Demat.

Zerodha Vs. Upstox Comparision Criteria: Which is the best stock broker?

There are many criteria for deciding the best stock brokers to open your Demat account. However, in this article, I have compared the Demat accounts based on the four most important criteria.

1. Demat Account features of a Broker.
2. Demat Account Charges.
3. User Experience.
4. Customer Support.

So, let’s discuss all four criteria in detail.

Demat Account Features

Features play a very crucial role while deciding the best Demat account. Due to the rapid growth of technology, the Demat account features also have advanced. 

Now, every broker competes to provide their customers with the best features to grab market share. A lag of even 10 seconds can make a massive difference in the live market situation.

Zerodha Account Features vs. Upstox Account Features: Comparison

Zerodha Demat Account Features

Zerodha Kite: Zerodha Kite is its investment and trading platform. Its user-friendly interface makes buying, selling, or analyzing any stock very easy.

Advanced Charting, In-depth data, GTT order, etc., are some of the advanced features of Kite. Kite is also available as a mobile app integrated with the Zerodha platform.

Zerodha Coin: While investing in mutual funds, you pay a certain percentage as commission to brokers for buying mutual fund units. The commissions play a crucial role in the long-term investment horizon.

Zerodha Coin is the platform to buy direct mutual funds with 0% commission. The coin has emerged as the most prominent platform to buy a direct mutual fund with zero commission.

Zerodha Varsity: Varsity is one of Zerodha’s largest stock market education platforms. Here, you can learn about the financial market in detail for free. It has various modules for learning, such as Stock market, Fundamental Analysis, Technical Analysis, Options Analysis, Commodities, Personal Finance, etc.

Sentinel: Sentinel or Alert is the most powerful feature of Zerodha. You can track the market movement through Sentinel even when sleeping or doing other works.

You can create stock market alerts for stocks, futures, and options on the cloud, and many other things absolutely free. Sentinel is the best feature for those who have other businesses or work and can’t sit all day during market hours.

Gift Stock: This is a newly introduced unique feature of Zerodha. Earlier you could transfer stocks between two Demat accounts through offline mode only. However, with this feature, you can transfer your shares from one Demat to another Demat account electronically. 

Zerodha GTT: Zeordha’s Create GTT feature is the most advanced feature in Indian Stock Market. With Create GTT, you can place advance order with Trigeer price, quantity and purchase price for one year. Whenever the price reaches the trigger price your order was placed automatically at target price.

With Create GTT, you can place two types of orders – Buy order GTT or Sell Order GTT. Buy orders are for creating trigger for delivery of stocks. Sell order was for exiting the stocks at your target price or at stop loss.

Sell GTT – OCO (One Cancels Other) – This is another type of GTT order by Zerodha. Here you can set Stop loss trigger price, Stop loss limit price, Target trigger price & Target limit price at the same time. So, triggering of one order automatically cancels another order.

Zerodha Baskets: This is also a unique feature of Zerodha. Earlier, we only had options to start SIPs in Mutual Funds or smallcases. You had no choice but to set SIPs for the direct purchase of individual stocks. But with Zerodha baskets, you can create a theme-based basket and set SIPs as per your requirement. 

Apart from the above in-house features, Zerodha has partnered with other platforms to provide the best service to its customers. Some of the platforms and their characteristics are: 

Smallcase: Smallcases are modern investment products that help build a diversified, low-cost, and long-term portfolio. Here, you can make your own case of stocks and invest in SIP mode. You can also choose a smallcase specially curated by experts for customers for a nominal fee. 

Streak: Steak has made strategizing advanced trading concepts very easy. You can plan and manage your trades without any coding language. Through Zerodha’s Streak, you can create, back-test, and deploy your trading strategy.

You can access all your trading strategies anytime, anywhere with Streak’s cloud-based technology. You can track the market in real-time, get actionable alerts, manage positions on the go.

Sensibull: Sensibull is India’s biggest options trading platform. You can learn and practice trading without risking losing real money. Here you can back-test your strategy and deploy it in the natural market environment. Sensibull is a blessing for all the option market traders in India.

GoldenPi: Whenever we need a single platform to find, track, or research bonds for low-risk investment, there are very few options available in India. GoldenPi has emerged as India’s No.1 platform for bond investment. Here, you can research various types of bonds’ performance in one place and invest in bonds.

Zerodha’s Margin Calculator: Zerodha’s margin calculator helps trader decide the amount of margin required for future options. It ultimately helps traders to build strategies to break even. 

Zerodha’s Brokerage Calculator: With Zerodha’s brokerage calculator, you can calculate brokerages that you have to pay while executing different kinds of tradings like- option trading, delivery, Currency derivates, etc.

Zerodha Pulse: With Zerodha’s Pulse, you get all the essential news relating to market, finance, business during the last 24 hours in one place. Pulse helps investors and traders keep themselves updated on the latest stock market news.

Upstox Demat (RKSV Securities India Pvt. Ltd) Account Features

Upstox Pro Mobile: If you do trading and investing through your smartphone, Upstox Pro Mobile is one of the advanced apps for trading and investing through mobile. You can place a cover order and bracket order right from the mobile.

You can also use advanced charts and set price alerts with the app. You can get all details like- News relating to stocks, option chain, order details, etc. Apart from that, with Upstox’s discover feature, you can invest in IPOs, Mutual Fund, Smallcase, track the technical of the market, etc.

Upstox Pro Web 3.0: This is one of the most advanced web platforms from upstox. Upstox has revamped its platform, and the result was excellent.

Here you have the option to choose the chart library from ChartIQ or TradingView. You can place all kinds of orders like- bracket order, cover order, etc. With Pro web 3.0, you can change stop loss and target simultaneously with the position tab.

You can also place orders for option contracts by entering into the options chain with strategy mode. You also have the feature to pin up to two stocks above your watchlist to keep track of the stock.

Apart from that, you can also use the feedback button to help the system further improve. You can personalize with widget features.

Option chain with strategy mode: This is a Future & options strategy builder in Upstox. With this feature, you can build different strategies for options before executing them in live markets.

The feature gives traders a graphical representation of payoff graphs. It boosts your confidence while trading in the future & options. 

Upstox GTT: Upstox GTT is the new feature introduced by the Upstox. GTT or Good-Till-Triggered is the order that you can place and forget. With GTT you can set buying or selling price, define your target and stop loss at the same time.

With Upstox GTT, you can place Intraday GTT, Equity Delivery GTT and F&O GTT. While Intraday GTT is valid for one day, Equity Delivery and F&O GTT will be valid for 365 days.

Upstox Mutual Fund: You can do extensive research on various parameters like- past performance, equity fund, debts funds, etc., for a direct mutual fund in Upstox.

You can also invest in direct mutual funds through Upstox with zero commission. All these features are loaded in one single account.

Upstox IPO: You can directly track the past and upcoming IPOs from the Upstox dashboard. You can even pre-apply even before the launch of the IPO. This is one of the unique features of Upstox.

You can apply for IPO through UPI and track your application status on a single platform. Upstox has also introduced the feature “Apply on Whatsapp.”

Upstox’s Calculator: 

Mutual Fund Return Calculator: The mutual fund return calculator by upstox is a unique tool. With the help of Upstox’s mutual fund return calculator, you can calculate the projected return of a mutual fund.

Here, you can calculate return on investment as SIP and lumpsum modes. This feature helps you to plan your investment as per your future goal.

Brokerage Calculator: Upstox brokerage calculator is a handy tool while buying or selling a stock. With this calculator, you can determine the amount of brokerage that you would have to bear to break even. The calculator helps traders decide the targets before entering into a trade or investment.

Margin Calculator: The upstox margin calculator has a substantial role in trading in equity/currency derivatives. With this calculator, you can calculate precisely how much upfront margin you require before initiating a trade in derivatives.

It also gives a break-up of the different margins like- Value at Risk, Upfront Margin, Exposure margin, Net premium, etc.

Algo Lab: With the advancement of technology, Algo Trading has been established itself in the market. Amibroker is a tool to design your algo trading strategy and back-test it.

Upstox Algo Lab provides an innovative feature to its customer to build a system in Amibroker and directly place an order in Upstox through Amibroker. So, this is an advanced-level integration for professional traders.

Upstox Resources 

Like Zerodha varsity, upstox’s resource section has an exquisite collection of articles to help beginner and intermediate level investors. It has been divided into three sections:

Trading Glossary: Upstox’s trading glossary has the collection of hundreds of trading terminologies used in the stock market or investing world for traders and investors.

Knowledge Base: Upstox’s knowledge base has a repository of information about the most advanced topic in a straightforward language.

For example, what is a long call strategy, a bear put spread strategy, a collar strategy, Technical indicators, etc.? This is the best place to learn your basics before investing at absolutely zero cost.

Market Talk: At Upstox’s Market Talk, you get a daily market recap, Information about Initial Public Offers (IPOs), Morning stock market news updates, etc.

Verdict: Upstox features vs. Zerodha features

Zerodha and Upstox have similar features. However, Zerodha has some advanced features, Such as stock gifting, Zerodha Basket, Sensibull, Streak, GoldenPi, etc., which are not available in Upstox. These features make Zerodha more attractive for investors.

Further, Zerodha is the most established company compared to Upstox. So, my verdict will be Zerodha. But Upstox is aggressively fighting Zerodha’s monopoly.

Zerodha vs. Upstox: Demat Account Charges.

Whether you are an investor or a trader in the stock market, Demat account charges play a crucial role in deciding the best broker. And if you are an intraday trader, high brokerage charges can make or break your portfolio.

So, here I have presented a complete list of charges associated with Demat Account and Stock market trading.

Zerodha Demat Account Charges

Zerodha is 1st discount broker in India, which revolutionized the whole narrative towards high brokerage charges. Before Zerodha, Stock market trading used to have very expensive. Zerodha’s competitive pricing made the stock market trading possible for retail investors and traders.

Upstox Demat Account Charges

While Zerodha is the pioneer of discount broking and low brokerage charges, Upstox is not far behind. It has established itself as the most competitive broker within a short period. Most of the brokerage charges offered by upstox are similar to Zerodha.

Upstox brokerage charges vs Zerodha Brokerage Charges Comparison

Demat Account Charges: Upstox vs Zerodha

TYPES OF CHARGES	ZERODHA	UPSTOX
Account Opening Charges (Online)	₹ 200 (Trading and demat account) +₹ 100 ( Commodity Account)	₹ 0
Account Opening Charges (Offline)	₹ 400 (Trading and demat account) +₹ 200 (Commodity Account)	NA
AMC	₹ 300/year +GST	₹ 0
Pledging Charges	₹30 +GST	₹50 per scrip
Off-market transfer charges	₹25 or 0.03% of the transfer value (whichever is higher).	₹18.5 per scrip
Payment gateway charges	₹9 + GST (Not levied on transfers done via UPI)	₹7 (For Net banking)
DP (Depository participant) charges	₹13.5 + GST per scrip	₹18.5 per scrip
Auto square-off charges	₹50 + GST	₹50 + GST
Call and Trade Charges	₹50 + GST	₹50 + GST per order
Buyback/ OFS Charges	₹20 + GST	flat ₹ 50/-

Brokerage Charges : Upstox vs Zerodha

Segment	ZERODHA	UPSTOX
Equity Delivery	Zero Brokerage	₹20 or 2.5% whichever is lower
Equity intraday	0.03% or ₹20/executed order whichever is lower	₹20 per executed order or 0.05% (whichever is lower)
Equity futures	0.03% or ₹20/executed order whichever is lower	₹20 per executed order or 0.05% (whichever is lower)
Equity options	Flat ₹20 per executed order	Flat ₹20 per executed order.
Currency futures	0.03% or ₹20/executed order whichever is lower	₹20 per executed order or 0.05% (whichever is lower).
Currency futures	0.03% or ₹20/executed order whichever is lower	Flat ₹20 per executed order
Commodity futures	0.03% or ₹ 20/executed order whichever is lower	₹20 per executed order or 0.05% (whichever is lower).
Commodity Options	0.03% or ₹ 20/executed order whichever is lower	Flat ₹20 per executed order.
Mutual Fund	Zero Commission	₹ 0
Intraday/CO/OCO Margin (Equity)	5X	5X

Verdict: Upstox brokerage charges vs. Zerodha Brokerage Charges

The brokerage, as well as account charges for both Zerodha and Upstox, are almost similar. While upstox has zero AMC and opening charges, Zerodha has zero charges for equity delivery trades. So, it depends on your requirements.

If you want a broker with lesser brokerage charges, then choose Zerodha. However, if you don’t want to pay account opening charges or AMC charges, then go for Upstox. 

User Experience – Upstox vs. Zerodha

User experience plays a very significant role while choosing a stockbroker. Bad user experience can lead to bad customer experience and may also cause losses in the market.

Zerodha user experience

Zerodha has one of the best user experiences among the discount brokers in India. Whether it is a Zerodha kite or Zerodha Coin, it has been effortless to use and beginner-friendly. You can use Zerodha Kite for desktop and mobile without any hiccups. Some of the user-friendly features are:

You can create a personalized watch list for stocks ( up to 350 stocks) 
Track open order, executed order, and GTT Order in one place.
View your long-term holding and intra-day orders in one place.
You can create Baskets of Stock and set SIPs from your dashboard. This is a unique feature of Zerodha.
You can fix an alert for a specific stock from the dashboard.
In the Zerodha Console- you can get detailed insights into your holdings like- sector allocation, stock allocations, etc. You can also download reports like- P&L Statements, Trade book, contract notes, etc.
You can research the stocks at ticker-tape. Here you can analyze the fundamental of any stock.
Apply for IPO from the Dashboard.
Gift Stock to other DMAT Account holders, etc.

So if you are new to the stock market, Zerodha is the most user-friendly, to begin with. Apart from that, its integration with other third-party applications like- Sensibull, GoldenPi, Smallcase, etc., was also very smooth. 

Upstox User experience

Upstox has been the new entrant in the market compared to Zerodha. But, within a short period, it has established itself as a major player because of its good user experience.

Upstox has Pro Mobile for mobile users and pro web for desktop users. The user experience of the applications is very simple yet powerful. Some of upstox’s user-friendly features are-

You can create a watch list of your favorite stock.
You can track your intraday positions and holdings from the dashboard.
Invest in IPO from the dashboard
Invest in Mutual Fund from the dashboard
Research and Invest in smallcase.
With upstox’s Discover feature, you can research stocks from the dashboard. You can get stocks data about 52 weeks high/low, weekly high/low, the performance of stocks by sector, Top ROCE stocks, High EV/EBITDA, etc.
Purchase Mutual funds from the dashboard.
You can access essential reports under the account section like- Ledger Report, P & L Report, Holdings Report, etc.

Through its dashboard, you can access holdings, positions, orders, watch lists, etc., in one place. You can also personalize the experience with Upstox’s widget features. You can also download profit and loss, portfolio, analytics, tax P&L, etc.

Verdict: Zerodha user experience vs. Upstox User experience 

I have been using Zerodha for the last seven years and Upstox for the previous two years. Both the stockbrokers have their own strengths and weaknesses. If you are a beginner and starting stock market investing, go for Zerodha. But, if you are looking for an alternative to Zerodha, go for Upstox. 

Customer Support of Upstox vs. Zerodha

Customer support is the most neglected aspect by the investors or traders before choosing a Stock Market. But whenever you face any complication, good customer support is the most sought-after service.

Zerodha Customer Support

Zerodha has outstanding customer support service. Whether it’s the account opening process, trading process, fund transfer problem, or anything, you can contact Zerodha’s support portal. With Zerodha’s online support ticket, all the customer issues were resolved within 24-48 hours.

You can contact Zerodha customer service through direct calls or by raising a support ticket. Zerodha also has its support portal where most of the common questions with answers have been listed out to help its customers.

Upstox Customer Support

Upstox also has a sound customer support system to resolve the issue of its customer. If you don’t have a Upstox account, you can either chat with live representatives or email your queries.

If you already have your account with Upstox, you can either contact through call or speak with their representative or raise a ticket for your problems. Further, it also has an FAQ section to help its customers.

Verdict: Zerodha Customer Support vs. Upstox Customer Support 

I have been using both Zerodha and Upstox and contacted their customer support many times. But, I had never faced any problems with customer support. Every time, my complaints were resolved within 48 hours.

So, as per my experience, both Zerodha and Upstox have an excellent customer support system to resolve the customer’s issues. So both will get equal marks on this.

Upstox vs. Zerodha: Final Conclusion

It is challenging to choose one winner in the battle of Upstox vs. Zerodha as both to have their strengths and weaknesses. It all depends on your personal preference. I have rated both the brokers based on my personal experience.

Overall Rating: Zerodha vs Upstox

	Upstox	Zerodha
Account Features	8/10	10/10
Brokerage Charges	9/10	10/10
User Experience	8/10	9/10
Customer Support	8/10	8/10

If you are looking for tried and tested brokers, you should go for Zerodha. If you are a beginner starting in the stock market, you should also choose Zerodha. However, if you are searching for your second Demat account, I think Upstox would be the best option.

I hope you get an honest, detailed review of two of the most popular Demat Accounts, i.e., Zerodha vs. Upstox. 

Best of Luck

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