Zerodha Review 2024

Is Zerodha regulated?

Yes, it is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

Is Zerodha safe?

To be certain that a brokerage is safe, we highly advise that you check two facts:

• how you are protected if something goes wrong
• the background of the broker.

How you are protected

Zerodha does not provide negative balance protection. If the balance on your account goes into negative, you will not be protected.

Our brokerage experts put together a comprehensive guide on the safety profile of Zerodha.

Background

Zerodha was established in 2010 with the aim of creating an affordable and high-tech trading platform for Indian investors. Thanks to its in-house technology and pricing model, Zerodha has attracted the biggest active retail clientele in the country.
Zerodha is funded by Rainmatter, a reputable Indian fintech fund and incubator.
Being regulated by a top-tier financial authority and having transparent management and ownership are all testament to Zerodha's safety.

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Account base currencies

At Zerodha, the only available base currency is INR.

If you have a personal bank account in a currency other than INR, then you will be charged a conversion fee.

A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank. These usually offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates, as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. Opening an account only takes a few minutes on your phone.

Deposit fees and options

Zerodha charges no deposit fees.

You can deposit via bank transfers and the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), an instant payment system. Unfortunately, credit/debit cards are not supported.

Here's all you need to know about minimum deposit requirements and depositing money at Zerodha.

A bank transfer can take several business days. You can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name.

There are a lot of deposit options at Zerodha, including electronic wallets such as UPI.

Zerodha withdrawal fees and options

Zerodha charges no withdrawal fees, however, you can only withdraw money through bank transfers.

Read our guide containing all key info on available withdrawal methods and related fees at Zerodha.

You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.

How long does it take to withdraw money from Zerodha? Our bank transfer took 2 business days.

How do you withdraw money from Zerodha?

• Login to your account through the Kite platform
• Click "Funds" on the top
• Choose "Withdraw"
• Enter the amount, account number and payment method

Can you open an account?

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At Zerodha, only Indian residents and non-resident Indians (NRI) can open an account.

Read our separate article on how to get your account started with Zerodha.

What is the minimum deposit at Zerodha?

The required Zerodha minimum deposit is $0.

However, there is an INR 200 fee for opening a Trading & Demat account, and an INR 100 fee opening for a Commodity account.

Account types

There are two account types available:

1. Demat & Trading account - for equity and currency trading
2. Commodity account - for commodity trading

How to open your account

The account opening process is not fully digital and it took a long time for our account to be approved. On average, expect the account opening to take about 5 business days. For us, it took more than 1 month as we had to send multiple documents for approval.
The 7 steps of the account opening:

1. Register an account by giving your email address
2. Enter your PAN number (Permanent Account Number)
3. Pay the account opening fee
4. Link your identification details with the Online Government website (Digi Locker Facility) following which the website automatically pulls the required online documents
5. Upload your bank statements
6. Sign your documents digitally and provide a Webcam IPV (In-Person verification)
7. Finally, mail required documents to Zerodha

The following documents are needed for the account opening:

• Photograph
• Aadhar Card (which can be taken from the Digilocker online website)
• Pan card
• Bank Statements (issued within the last 6 months)
• e-Sign

Zerodha offers two mobile trading platforms: Kite and Coin. On Kite, you can trade with all available assets except mutual funds. If you would like to trade with mutual funds, you have to use Coin. We tested the Kite mobile trading platform.
Kite and Coin are both available for Android and iOS.

Look and feel

The Zerodha mobile trading platform is user-friendly and neat. Its design is similar to that of the web trading platform.

Login and security

Zerodha provides only a one-step login for its mobile platform. A two-step authentication would be more secure and adding this feature should be high on any company's list of security changes.

When you log into the mobile, you have to provide your user name, your password, and the 6-digit pin code.

You can log in using biometric authentication, which is a convenient feature.

Search functions

The search functions are OK.

The results are relevant, but you cannot filter for asset types, and you can't see the asset class of a product in list view unless you click on it.

Placing orders

You can use the following order types on the mobile trading platform:

• Market
• Limit
• Stop-loss
• Bracket
• Cover
• After Market

There are also order time limits you can use:

• Day
• Immediate or Cancel (IOC)

Alerts and notifications

You can set alerts and notifications on the Zerodha mobile platform.

On the other hand, you can do so through the Sentinel app. Order notifications are available directly in the app.

Our analysts personally tested Zerodha's mobile trading platform; read the Zerodha mobile app review for a detailed verdict on its performance and features.

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We tested Kite, Zerodha's own trading platform that supports all available asset types except mutual funds. For fund trading, you need to use Coin, which is a separate Zerodha trading platform. APIs are also available at Zerodha through Kite Connect API.
Overall, Kite is beautifully designed and very easy to use. However, multiple functionalities, such as portfolio reports and notifications, are not integrated into the platform and can only be accessed through the other platforms provided by Zerodha.

Look and feel

Zerodha's Kite is has a nice touch to it. On the other hand, the elements can't be customized on the platform.

Login and security

Zerodha provides only a one-step login. A two-step authentication would be more secure and adding this feature should be high on any company’s list of security changes.

When you log in, you need to provide your username, your password, and the 6-digit numerical code you set up at the time of account opening.

Search functions

The search functions are OK.

When you start typing the name of a product, a relevant list of recommendations will be displayed.However, you can't see the asset type unless you click on a result. You also can't filter for asset types.

Placing orders

You can use the following order types:

• Market
• Limit
• Stop-loss
• Bracket
• Cover
• After Market

If you are unfamiliar with some of these terms or want to learn more, read our overview of order types.

There are also order time limits you can use:

• Day
• Immediate or Cancel (IOC)

Alerts and notifications

You can set price alerts and notifications on the Zerodha web trading platform.

You can set these alerts and order notifications through Zerodha's Sentinel app.There are various types of alerts, including prices, intraday changes, top sell quantity, etc.

Portfolio and fee reports

Zerodha has clear fee reports.

The reports are available on its app, Console.

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At Zerodha, you can trade with a wide range of assets, however the broker offers fewer products in each asset class than many other brokers.

This selection is average compared to competing brokers.

Stocks and ETFs

Zerodha gives access to two Indian stock exchanges, the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The number of markets is the same as Sharekhan's offer but lags behind Interactive Brokers, which provides access to a lot of stock exchanges globally (including minor ones).

Forex

At Zerodha, you can trade currencies in the form of futures. The lineup of available currency pairs is slim: EURINR, USDINR, JPYINR, GBPINR.
Interactive Brokers has a much wider forex offer, however, it doesn't provide currency pairs with INR.

This selection falls behind competing brokers. Both Sharekhan and Interactive Brokers offer more currency pairs to trade.

Funds

This selection falls behind competing brokers. Both Sharekhan and Interactive Brokers make more fund providers available.

Bonds

This selection falls behind competing brokers. Both Sharekhan and Interactive Brokers list more bonds.

Options

You can trade options on the NSE and the MCX stock exchanges.

This selection is average compared to competing brokers.

Futures

You can trade futures on the NSE and the MCX stock exchanges.

This selection is average compared to competing brokers.

We recommend Zerodha for traders and investors (including beginners) focusing on the indian market and looking for low fees.

Below you can find links to all aspects of Zerodha in this comprehensive collection.

Lower fees, lower costs?

We detailed this in our Zerodha fees article.

What about the minimum deposit?

Our ultimate guide to the Zerodha minimum deposit is updated regularly.

How to start your Zerodha account?

Look no further than our evaluation of the Zerodha account opening.

How's their trading app?

Here's our expert view after checking the Zerodha trading app.

Is the quality of customer service satisfactory?

All you need to know about the Zerodha customer service.

Legit or scam?

Is Zerodha legit features all the key aspects you need to look at to see if a broker is safe and legit.

Free or premium? Or both?

A glance at actual costs and whether Zerodha is really free.

Is this broker good for beginners?

We checked it in Is Zerodha good for beginners.

Should you buy your silver bullets on Zerodha?

Research for silver bugs in the Silver buy on Zerodha guide

I want to trade options, are they available at Zerodha?

We explored the topic in Can you trade options on Zerodha?

What is the minimum account balance at Zerodha?

Check out the current account balance requirements at Zerodha in our What is the minimum account balance at Zerodha article.

Looking for commission and fees data for Zerodha?

We collected them in Zerodha commission and fees.

How do you withdraw money from Zerodha?

We tested it and collected the options and costs in How to withdraw money on Zerodha.