The stock market is one of the best ways to make money in the short term or the long term. There are several ways you can make money on the stock market like investing and trading. When most people think of the stock market in India, they usually see it in a negative light. But the truth is something entirely else. With the stock market, you can make money, save money, invest money, trade stocks and do much more. Today, investing in the stock market has become one of the best ways for the common people to invest their money. And with the advancement of the internet and digital media, investing in the stock market has become much easier. To invest in the stock market, you need a few things – a broker, a Demat account, money, and stocks to invest into. Read on to find the best Demat account for you.
Today, investing in the stock market has become so much easier than it used to be. Now, you can invest within the comfort of your home with just your smartphone. Now, it has become easier for a common man to trade in the stock market with the help of tech. To invest in the stock market from your smartphone, you need an online broker or a discount broker and a Demat account. There are several online brokers available today on the internet, each with its advantages. So, if you are planning to invest in the stock market then the first thing you should do is open a Demat account. There are some of the best Demat account options available on the internet today. Here, we have picked out the top 10 best Demat accounts in India in 2021.
What is a Demat Account?
To open up a Demat account, you must first learn what it is. A Demat account is a place where you can hold your shares and securities electronically. In other words, using a Demat account, you can buy and hold shares and stocks of a company. Once you buy the stock, it is stored with your name in your Demat account until you choose to sell it. If you want to share the stocks you are holding, then they will be taken out from your Demat account. Then they are sold back to the open stock market at BSE or NSE. A Demat account works just like a bank’s savings account which manages your money but whereas a Demat account manages your stocks, shareholding, securities, ETFs, and mutual funds etc. in electronic form.
Before trading in the stock market, you must first understand that you can’t trade in the stock market without a broker. The broker will have your Demat account and can trade the stocks as per your request. After you choose a broker, you can open your Demat account. Then you can start your investment journey in the stock market.
Requirements of Opening a Demat Account
To open up a Demat account you need few documents. Your broker will ask for these documents. You will need the following documents:
- A proof of identity – Passport, Aadhaar card, driving license, Voter ID, etc.
- Address Proof – Passport, Aadhaar card, gas bill, electricity bill, telephone bill, etc.
- Recent Passport-size photograph
- Bank Account Proof – Cancelled cheque, bank statement of last 6 months
- PAN card
Once you have submitted your documents to your broker, online or offline, it will take a few days for the verification of your documents. Keep in mind that the depository participant NSDL or CDCL usually processes your application. Then once it’s done, your Demat account will be active and you can start trading in the stock market. After your account’s approval, you will receive a notification and a unique Beneficial Owner Identification Number (BO ID). You can get to your Demat account using this BO ID. You can also log in on your broker’s app or website and start trading in the stock market.
Keep in mind that various brokers will have their charges, terms and conditions and offerings when you open a Demat account with them. Some factors to consider are brokerage fee, delivery fee, platform fee, areas of investment options and more. You must consider these things before choosing your broker. What might be best for a senior and the experienced investor might not be good for a beginner? Now that you know the process of how to open up your Demat account, let’s look at some of the best Demat accounts in India. Here are the top 10 best Demat accounts in India in 2021:
The Best Demat Accounts in India 2021
1. Zerodha Demat Account
Zerodha is one of the largest online Demat account providers. It is one of the best Demat accounts in India for beginners and new stock market investors. With Zerodha’s Demat account, you can invest in all major investments options like the stock market, mutual funds, commodities, etc. Zerodha is popular among new investors because it offers zero charges for equity delivery orders. On Intraday and F&O orders, it charges Rs.20 or 0.03% (lowest of the two).
When you open a trading Demat account with Zerodha, you will have to pay a one-time fee of Rs 200. With this account, you can trade in Equity, F&O, and Currencies). Other than that, the Demat account charge is Rs 100 while the Demat account annual maintenance charge AMC is Rs 300 yearly. The good thing about Zerodha is that there is no trading annual maintenance charge. Zerodha also has an app known as Kite that you can download on your smartphone or you can use on your PC.
Using Kite, you can trade, buy and sell stocks of any company listed on the BSE an NSE easily. The app lets you use your Zerodha account to log in and use. The platform charges a flat Rs 20 per executed order. But with other discount brokers such as Wisdom Capital, with their zero brokerage for online trading, Zerodha has become a little too costly for first-time traders. The charge of Zerodha is 0.01% of the turnover of Rs 20 per trade, whichever is lower. This charge is applicable n Equity Intraday, Equity F&O, Currency F&O and Commodity. In the terms of margin on Zerodha, you can have an equities margin of 4 to 10 times for Intraday.
2. Sharekhan
Sharekhan is one of the oldest and the most used trading brokers in the country. It is also one of the best Demat accounts for 2021 in India. You can open a Sharekhan Demat account without any additional charges. Also, you can use your Demat account after opening it without paying any annual maintenance charge for the first year. The annual maintenance charge is only applicable to you from the second year onwards. From the second year, you will have to pay a maintenance charge between Rs.100 to Rs.750. But this charge will only be applicable if you have are holding stocks of more than Rs.50000 in your Demat account. In case of transactions of more than Rs.2 lakh from your Demat account, you will have to pay a charge from Rs.2000 to Rs.2500.
When it comes to trading and Demat accounts, then Sharekhan is one of the top 3 Demat accounts in India. But with it, you also get a 3-in-1 service when you open a Demat account. With Sharekhan, you can open a Demat, trading, as well as a savings account. Sharekhan charges you 10 paise per share for delivery and 5 paise per share for intraday trading. it is also one of the few full-service brokers in India. The platform also offers financial advisory, seminars, online training and much more to its investors. Currently, there are more than 500 branches of Sharekhan across India. And as a traditional broker, it also offers a free Call & Trade facility to its users.
3. Upstox Demat Account
Upstox is one of the newest and best online Demat accounts in India. It competes with Zerodha and many other discounts and online brokers. It provides an extremely low brokerage charge to its users. To aid its users and customers, it provides advanced charts to aid their decisions on investment. Opening a Upstox Demat account is easy. Once you have an account, you can use it to invest in stocks, F&O, mutual funds, IPOs, and digital gold. When opening an account, you have to pay a one-time fee of Rs.199. Upstox charges Rs.20 per intraday trade or future and options order. And you have to pay Rs 0 for delivery orders. In other words, the facilities, charges and services Upstox provides make it one of the best Demat accounts in India for beginners.
Thanks to its ever-growing popularity, Upstox has become one of the best stock brokers in India. And it also appears on the top 10 stock brokers list regularly. Talking about the charges, Upstox charges Rs.25+ GST every month as maintenance charges. And it also charges Rs 150 every year for Demat AMC. Upstox’s brokerage charges are Rs 20 for Equity intraday, F&O, Currency F&O, and Commodity trading brokerage.
4. Motilal Oswal
Similar to Sharekhan, Motilal Oswal is one of the oldest and widely trusted stock brokers in India. They are also one of the oldest stockbrokers on this list. The trust, facilities and services they provide make them one of the best Demat accounts in India in 2021. Motilal Oswal doesn’t charge any amount for the annual maintenance from its users for the first year. But from the second year, it charges an annual maintenance fee of Rs.400 from its users from the second year onwards. The brokerage fee of Motilal Oswal is 0.50% for equity delivery and 0.05% for intraday trading. But unlike other stockbrokers on this list, Motilal Oswal has different subscription plans for its users. And the charges above can be reduced by purchasing a different subscription plan. It can also be done by paying a fixed monthly fee.
Although Motilal Oswal is one of the best stock brokers in India it is not recommended for beginners. Due to the high price and charges put by the company, many new stock market investors ignore this broking firm. So, Motilal Oswal, as a stockbroker is recommended for the old and experienced stock investors and trade market veterans. Also, they don’t provide the services and facilities that some of the others stockbrokers on this list offers.
5. Angel Broking Demat Account
In the name of online stock brokers, Angel Broking is one of the new ones. Although it is a new stockbroking firm it is also one of the rising stockbrokers in India in 2021. Angel Broking gives you an option to open a Demat account for fewer charges. But like some of the other stock brokering firms here, it offers you a 3-in-1 account and facilities. Also, their customer service is top-notch. You can open a Demat account with Angel Broking easily online. To open an account, you just need to complete the application process and wait for it to verify and validate. Once it’s done, you can start investing and trading in the stock market.
In Angel Broking, the users who trade under Rs.50000 don’t need to pay for their annual Demat maintenance charges. These charges will only apply to you if you are investing and trading over Rs 50000. Angel Broking also gives you an option to use their platform for a year without paying any annual maintenance charges. Similar to some of the other online broking firms, Angel Broking offers zero brokerage charge on delivery. And they charge Rs.20 or 0.25% (whichever is lower) for intraday trading, F&O trading, commodity trading, and currency trading. It also has a smartphone app with which people can trade using their phones easily. It has many additional services and facilities that make it one of the best Demat accounts in India with the lowest brokerage.
6. HDFC Securities Demat Account
The HDFC Bank is one of the best private banks in India and HDFC Securities is one of the best trading and Demat accounts in 2021. It is also one of the best banks to open a Demat account in India. It holds the trust and security of HDFC bank. Other than that, HDFC Securities also allows you to open a free Demat account. HDFC Securities charges an annual maintenance fee of Rs.750 for its Demat account. But it only applies to you from the second year onwards. For the first year, you won’t have to pay the annual maintenance charges. In terms of charges, HDFC Securities charges a brokerage fee of 0.50% for equity delivery and 0.05% for intraday trading.
Since HDFC Securities is a part of the HDFC Bank so it enjoys the security and trust of the bank. The HDFC Securities trading account has a 3-in-1 feature. It gives you a trading account, a savings account and a Demat account. HDFC Securities holds its name as the best Demat account in the India catalogue.
7. ICICI Direct Demat Account
ICICI Direct is another Demat and stockbroker with a bank backing them up. It offers a cheap Demat account in India in 2021. Similar to some others on this list, ICICI Direct offers a 3-in-1 account for free. These 3 features are a savings account, a Demat account and a trading account. The annual maintenance fee for ICICI Direct’s Demat is Rs.300. Also, its users have the option to avail of different plans to choose from which further reduces the brokerage charges.
Once you open your Demat account with ICICI Direct, you can view the live prices of the stocks. You can also buy or sell stocks on NSE and BSE. It also gives you the option of trading in F&O, currencies, MFs, IPOs, and life insurance with just one account.
8. 5Paisa Demat Account
When it comes to cheap and beginner-friendly trading account then 5Paisa provides one of the best services in 2021. The reason why it is beginner-friendly is that opening a Demat account in 5Paisa Demat is free. The platform charges an account maintenance fee of Rs.25+ taxes. 5Paisa doesn’t charge the annual maintenance charge to the users investing less than Rs.50000. The charge is only applicable if the investing charge is above Rs 50000.
5Paisa charges Rs.20 for delivery of intraday trading or other executed order of any trading options. 5Paisa too has a subscription plan for its users to choose from. The users have the option of choosing a different subscription plan that will further reduce the cost and charges. The reason 5Paisa is one of the best Demat accounts is that it has a low brokerage rate.
9. Kotak Securities
Like HDFC Securities, Kotak Securities is also a bank’s subsidiary trading account. It is a part of the Kotak Mahindra Bank. It is also one of the best places to open a trading account because of its zero brokerage charges on intraday trading. Other than that, it also charges Rs 0 when opening a trading account. Kotak Securities charges Rs 600 as its annual maintenance charge for its Demat account. It has a minimum brokerage fee of 4paisa per stock or share. The charge of equity delivery is Rs.21 per equity delivery order. You can avail yourself of different plans and options to reduce the brokerage fees.
10. IIFL Demat Account
The IIFL Demat account is our last one on the list. To open a Demat account with IIFL the users will have to pay a charge of Rs 295. Although the first year maintenance is free the users have to pay an annual maintenance charge of Rs.250 from the second year onwards. It has a Rs 0 brokerage charge for equity delivery while intraday orders cost Rs.20 per order.
Next Read : Top 50 Highest and Strongest Currencies in the World in 2021.
