Who Are The Zerodha Competitors ? A Simplified Competitive Analysis

Zerodha is one among few bootstrapped startups in India based in Bengaluru, which offers products like Online Brokerage, Currency & Commodity Trading, F&O, Mutual Funds, and Bonds—founded by two brothers Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath, in 2010. I knew you’re curious about the Zerodha Competitors, but before that, Let’s see a quick overview of the company before moving on to Competitors of Zerodha.

Overview Of Zerodha

Zerodha achieved unicorn startup status in June 2020 with a bootstrapped valuation of over $2 billion. This valuation is based on ESOP buyback at more than four times the book value of Rs 700 per share.

Also, Zerodha is India’s largest stock Brokerage firm with over 6 million clients, which contributes over 15% of all retail order volumes in India daily by Trading and Investing in various segments like IPO’s, Stocks, F&O, Commodities, Currency, Mutual funds, and Bonds, etc.

Zerodha is the first stock Broker to offer Discount brokerage in India. With pricing ranges from Rs 0 for equity delivery & direct mutual funds and Rs 20 for intraday and F&O.

Zerodha’s business model is very well famous for its uniqueness, and their business model helped them earn money and became India’s largest stockbroker and earned them Competitors. Yes, you heard that right. As their revenue model became more famous, it was adopted and followed by many stocks broker. Now let us See Who are The Zerodha Competitors. 

Also, Read How Zerodha is Reinventing Indian Stock Broking Ecosystem Using Its Business Model.

Top Zerodha Competitors By Active Clients

1. Upstox – Discount Stock Broker

Company Name	Upstox
Founded Year	2009
Headquarters	Mumbai, India
Total Clients	30,27,803
Parent Company	RKSV Securities India Private Limited

Upstox is a technology-driven, low-cost brokerage firm in India that offers trading opportunities at unbeatable prices. The company offers to trade in various segments such as equities, commodities, currencies, futures, and options available on Upstox Pro web and Upstox Pro Mobile trading platforms.

Upstox is backed by investors, including Kalaari Capital, Ratan Tata, and GVK Davis.

Upstox trading platform offers trading, analysis, charting, and many other comprehensive trading features. This platform makes it easy to place orders via mobile phones and web browsers. Upstox trading platform is based on Omnisys NEST OMS (Order Management System) and Omnisys NEST RMS (Risk Management System).

Upstox offers free trading accounts and free trading in the Equity Delivery segment. Trading in Stocks F&O, Equity Indra -day, Commodities and Currency Derivatives is available through Upstox Pro. UpStox Pro is UpStox’s paid service for traders.

2. Angel Broking – Full-Services Broker

Company Name	Angel Broking
Founded Year	1996
Headquarters	Mumbai, India
Total Clients	19,79,094

Angel Broking (now under the name “Angel One” to be a platform for all financial needs) is an Indian stockbroker established in 1987. It is a member of Bombay Stock Exchange, National Stock Exchange of India, National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited, and Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited. It is a depository participant in Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL). The company has more than 8500 sub-brokers and franchisees in more than 900 cities across India.

The company’s services include online stock trading, custody services, commodity trading, and investment advisory. This company also offers personal loans and insurance. In 2006, Angel Broking also started portfolio management, IPO business, and mutual fund distribution.

3. ICICI Direct – Full-Services Broker 

Company Name	ICICI Direct
Founded Year	2003
Headquarters	Vadodara, India
Total Clients	18,47,989
Parent Company	ICICI Bank Ltd.

ICICI Direct is a trading and investment service for retail clients of ICICI Securities. The company offers its services both online and through a network of branches across India.

ICICIDirect.com, the company’s flagship website, offers Online Equity Trading, Derivatives Trading, Mutual Fund, IPO, Fixed Deposit, Bonds, NCD, Wealth Products, Insurance, Loans, etc. An ICICI Direct customer can avail of all these services through a single account.

ICICI Direct offers a 3-in-1 account, a combination of a savings bank account, a share trading account, and a Demat account. The ICICI 3-in-1 account facilitates smooth trading through the real-time transfer of funds from the bank to the trading account and automatic debit/credit of securities from the Demat account.

4. Groww – Discount Stock Broker

Company Name	Groww
Founded Year	2016
Headquarters	Bengaluru, India
Total Clients	13,51,472
Parent Company	Nextbillion Technology

Groww is an online investment platform that allows investors to invest in mutual funds and stocks. Headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka, the company has raised more than $140 million by April 2021, at a valuation of $1 billion.

5. 5Paisa – Discount Stock Broker

Company Name	5paisa
Founded Year	2016
Headquarters	Thane, India
Total Clients	10,02,020
Parent Company	IIFL Holdings Ltd

5paisa.com is a leading online stock broker offering discount brokerage services to retail investors in India. 5paisa Capital Ltd is a listed and professionally managed company promoted by IIFL founders. As of March 2021, the company had over 1.2 million customers.

6. HDFC Securities – Full-Services Broker 

Company Name	HDFC Securities
Founded Year	2000
Headquarters	Mumbai, India
Total Clients	9,70,651
Parent Company	HDFC Bank

HDFC Securities Limited is a financial services intermediary and a subsidiary of HDFC Bank, a private bank in India. HDFC Securities was established in 2000 and is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in all major cities in India.

As Per The Latest Report, HDFC Securities is Going To Start Discount Brokerage, Which Zerodha Should Be Very Cautioned.

7. Kotak Securities – Full-Services Broker 

Company Name	Kotak Securities
Founded Year	1994
Headquarters	Mumbai, India
Total Clients	7,87,723
Parent Company	Kotak Mahindra Bank

Kotak Securities Ltd, a subsidiary of Kotak Mahindra Bank, was established in 1994. It provides stockbroking services and distributes financial products in India. The company has 1209 branches, franchisees, and satellite offices with over 11.95 lakh customers. They are corporate members of the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange. They are also a depository participant with National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) and Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL).

8. ShareKhan – Full-Services Broker 

Company Name	Share Khan
Founded Year	2000
Headquarters	Mumbai, India
Total Clients	7,24,674
Parent Company	BNP Paribas

Sharekhan was founded in February 2000 and is the third-largest stockbroker in India (after ICICI Direct and HDFC Securities) in Full-Time Brokerage service. Sharekhan provides brokerage services through its online trading website Sharekhan.com and 1800 offices, including branches and franchises in over 550 cities across India. Sharekhan has seen incredible growth over the last 10+ years through its highly successful online trading platform and chain of franchised branches in almost all parts of India. Sharekhan also has an international presence in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

Sharekhan offers its services to clients, including individual investors and traders, corporates, institutional clients, and NRIs. As of December 2018, Sharekhan had over 17 lakh clients. Sharekhan offers trade execution facilities for equity and derivative segments on BSE and NSE and commodity trading facilities on MCX and NCDEX. Sharekhan also offers custody services (Demat account) and facilities to invest in mutual funds and IPOs.

Sharekhan.com is the best investment portal for the Indian stock market. The well-designed website offers a wide range of investment opportunities, stock market news, research reports, stock prices, fundamental and statistical information on stocks, mutual funds, IPOs, and much more.

9. Motilal Oswal – Full-Services Broker 

Company Name	Motilal Oswal
Founded Year	1987
Headquarters	Mumbai, India
Total Clients	6,50,404
Parent Company	Passionate Investment Management Private Limited

Established in 1987, Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd. (MOSL) is a diversified financial services company based in Mumbai, India. The company offers trading services in equities, commodities, currencies, and derivatives. It also offers other products such as Mutual Funds, IPOs, Gold, Insurance, and Fixed Income. MOSL is widely known for its discretionary MOAMC Portfolio Management Service (PMS). The PMS has a strong track record and has consistently outperformed the benchmark across all market cycles since its inception in 2003.

Motilal Oswal has a diversified client base that includes private clients (including high net worth individuals), mutual funds, foreign institutional investors, financial institutions, and corporate clients.

As of March 2018, Motilal Oswal had a network that spans more than 500 cities and towns and includes more than 2,200 Business Locations operated by the company and its Business Partners. The company has over 10,00,000 registered customers with a deposit value of over Rs. 69,500 crore.

Solid research is considered the foundation of Motilal Oswal Securities. Almost 10% of its revenue is invested in equity research. The company has in-house teams for large-cap, mid-cap and technical research. It has published more than 30,000 research reports on over 260 companies across 21 sectors. The research reports of Motilal Oswal, covering fundamental analysis, technical analysis, and derivatives, have received significant media attention. It has been awarded India’s Best Market Analyst Award for the IT & FMCG sector by Zee Business.

10. Axis Direct – Full-Services Broker 

Company Name	Axis Direct
Founded Year	2011
Headquarters	Mumbai, India
Total Clients	4,60,945
Parent Company	Axis Bank

Axis Direct is the flagship brand of Axis Securities Limited, a subsidiary of Axis Bank in India. The company is headquartered in Mumbai. The company employs over 2,100 people.

11. SBI Securities – Full-Services Broker 

Company Name	SBICAP Securities
Founded Year	1986
Headquarters	Mumbai, India
Total Clients	3,45,410
Parent Company	SBI

SBICAP Securities Ltd (SSL) is the stockbroker of State Bank Group and a wholly-owned subsidiary of SBI Capital Markets Ltd. SSL is a full-service stockbroker. The company was founded in 2006 and offers services including Institution Equity, Retail Equity, derivatives, broking, custody services, and third-party distribution products. They also provide online trading services to investors and traders.

12. IIFL Securities – Full-Services Broker 

Company Name	IIFL Securities
Founded Year	1995
Headquarters	Mumbai, India
Total Clients	3,24,853
Parent Company	India Infoline

IIFL Holdings Limited (formerly India Infoline Limited) IIFL and India Infoline is an Indian financial services company headquartered in Mumbai. Nirmal Jain founded the company. IIFL and its group companies are backed by Canadian investor Prem Watsa, private equity firm General Atlantic and CDC Group, the private equity arm of the UK government. IIFL is among India’s seven largest financial conglomerates and is India’s largest independent financial services company by market capitalization. Nirmal Jain is the group’s chairman, while R Venkataraman is the group’s managing director and co-promoter.