If you are looking to trade and invest in stock market then you should checkout the list of best demat account in India at present and know why they are best. Having said that, many times beginners in stock market often gets confused, is the trading and demat account same?
So before we check the list of best demat account in India, let us first understand in brief about the basic difference between trading and demat account.
In brief trading account is where your buy and sell orders get executed, it is a mode to do the transaction or transfer funds from bank to your stock or trading account.
Whereas demat account is where your shares are held (stored) you can sell the shares whenever you want and the money get credited to your trading account from where you can add to it your bank account.
Due to online the process is so seamless that you won’t even realize how fast it happens.
Trading and demat account is a must for investing in the stock market. This is because to trade in the stock markets, you need to be registered with the stock exchange.
Stock brokers are registered members of the exchanges. They conduct trades on your behalf.
Using trading account, you can place buy or sell orders either online through trading platforms or phone (by calling to your broker), which will automatically be directed to the exchange through the stock broker.
So, in a nutshell this is how the complete process happens in the back-end
To be honest there is nothing called as best demat account it is because demat account is just like a bank, where the shares that you bought as an investment will get stored. One thing you need to keep in mind, role of demat account comes only when you bought the shares in delivery not intraday trading.
In intraday trades you have to complete the transaction same day (buy and sell same day, you cannot carry forward).
However, in delivery trades where you are buying shares as to keep them for some time you require demat account. Now, those shares that you have bought will require a place to get stored, this is where the role of Demat account comes in picture.
These shares gets stored electronically to your demat account, so that in future when you want to sell them, like after 1 month or even after 2 days or 10 years etc., you can easily do so by going to your demat account.
Once you sell these shares from demat account the money gets credited to your trading account (wallet).
Your stock broker will open the demat account for you, however you should be aware which depository your broker is registered with.
In India there are two depositories who offers you DEMAT account & there is no difference in terms of operation or quality of service.
This is your choice to decide which one you want to go and sometime it depends upon your broker too (as they also select which depository they want to associate with).
- National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL)
- Central Depository Services (India) Limited (CDSL)
In other words, a Depository is a financial mediator who offers the service of Demat account.
Note: You do not need to go to them directly for opening Demat account. Just contact your stockbroker where your trading account is opened or you are about to open it.
That’s all you need to know about them, until you are doing any study or courses related to finance.
The only reason one can call a demat account best as in case there are no charges for opening a demat account with the stockbroker.
What is more important than demat account is the lowest brokerage charges, best trading platform for mobile and desktop, Lowest account opening and AMC (Annual Mainenetance Charges), great customer experience, investing options (different financial instruments, such as investment in IPO, NFO, SGB, ETF’s, Mutual funds and lot of other factors involved which makes them rank to Best stock brokers in India.
As per the latest data, CDSL (Central Depository Services Limited) & NSDL (National Securities Depositories Ltd) together added 1.65 cr new demat accounts in FY21, which is close to the total accounts added in earlier 4 yrs.
CDSL saw a new account growth of 58.6% vs. NSDL’s 12.3%. Total Demat accounts in India is 5.71 cr (FY21).
Earlier trading and investing was limited to very few people, but now anyone, anywhere with a smart phone can do this. Having said that, one should always be cautious while choosing the demat accounts in other words stock brokers.
So keeping above all in mind below are the list of best demat and trading account in India.
7 Best Demat Account In India:
Moneycontain list of 7 Best Demat Account In India in 2022 include:
- Upstox Demat Account
- Zerodha Demat Account
- 5Paisa Demat Account
- ICICIdirect Demat Account
- Fyers Demat Account
- Espresso Demat Account
- Groww Demat Account
You can also read the complete review and comparison of these best individual stockbrokers here, or by clicking on any of the link mentioned above in the list.
Now, that you know the list of best demat account in India, there are 3 things one should always look prior to open an account with any stock broker, these are trading platform (mobile apps), Brokerage charges, Account opening and Demat (AMC) charges.
Let us first check the account opening and demat account charges from the above best demat account lists.
Stock Broker |
Account Opening Charges |
Demat Charges (AMC) |
Open Account Now |
Upstox |
Rs.249 |
Free for Limited Time |
|
Zerodha |
Rs.300 |
Rs.300 yearly |
|
5Paisa |
Free for Limited Time |
Rs.25 per month |
|
ICICIDirect |
Free for Limited Time |
Rs.700 (Free AMC FOR First Year) |
|
Fyers |
Free for Limited Time |
Free for Limited Time |
|
Espresso |
Free for Limited Time |
Rs. 400 Yearly |
|
Groww |
Free for Limited Time |
Free for Limited Time |
So, overall if you are looking to open a trading/demat/mutual fund you can choose any one of them, the charges are very low for all of them for AMC, demat, trading, brokerage, moreover all of the above have a fantastic user interface for the trading platform and a great customer service team to deliver best support.
Having said that Upstox is any day my favorite stock broker while comparing with others.
Below is the overall rating for the desktop or web based trading platform, brokerage charges and mobile apps rating on google playstore for these stockbrokers.
Stock Broker |
Desktop Platform Rating(10) |
Brokerage Charges |
App Rating On Playstore(5) |
Open Account Now |
Upstox |
9.6 |
Rs.20 or 0.05% |
4.5 |
|
Zerodha |
9.4 |
Rs.20 or 0.03% |
4.3 |
|
5Paisa |
9.2 |
Rs.20 |
4.2 |
|
ICICIDirect |
9 |
Rs.20 |
4 |
|
Fyers |
8.9 |
Rs.20 or 0.03% |
4.1 |
|
Espresso |
8.9 |
Rs.20 or 0.03% |
4.1 |
|
Groww |
8.5 |
Rs.20 or 0.05% |
4.3 |
Let me explain a little bit about brokerage, as an example
At upstox you pay ₹20/trade* or 0.05% (whichever is lower) for Intraday trading in Stocks, Future & Option, Currencies & Commodities. Whereas no brokerage at all for delivery based trades.
What they mean is, suppose you bought stock xyz priced at Rs.100, quantity 100 on intraday basis,
so the total turnover would be bought 100, sold 100(100*200)= 20,000 on this amount they will charge either whichever amount is lower as 0.05% of 20000, is Rs.10 so they will charge that instead of flat Rs.20.
Moreover for investing in mutual funds there are no brokerage or commission is charged at upstox at all.
Earlier, for opening a demat or trading account with any broker might have caused you couple of bucks, but with ever rising competitiveness across broking industry the charges for opening the account have been slashed drastically by many best stock brokers in India.
Not only that, some brokers are even offering various deals while opening the account with them for a limited time period.
While opening account online keep your Pancard, Aadhaar Card and your signature on white piece of paper handy with you.
Also, you will need to take a selfie for the process of KYC process. Your account gets activated within 24-48 hours after submitting the required details and you can start placing trades once you receive the credentials in your email.
Let us in brief know about various other tools and resources offered by these stockbrokers.
Some of the other Key Features of these best stock broker include:
- Universal search tool to find simple and complex stocks.
- Access to NSE/BSE cash, Futures and Options, commodities and Currencies scrips
- Cutting-edge charting tools that are above industry standards
- Japanese Candlestick Charts of multiple intervals, types and drawing styles
- Apply 100+ technical indicators on real-time charts
- Trade directly from charts with the Trade From Charts (TFC) feature
- Checkout Fundamentals of company such as Balance Sheet, Profit/loss statement, P/E, P/B ratio, Results etc.
- Set unlimited number of price alerts for instant updates
- Option chain, Option Greek Calculator, Option Moneyness, Option Scholes Calculator etc.
- Create unlimited number of customized watchlists
- Receive real-time market feeds to stay on top of your scrips
- Access predefined watch-list of Nifty 50, FINNifty and other indices
- Invest in ETF’s, IPO, NFO, SGB, Gold, SIP’s in Mutual Funds, and lot more options such as third party integration smallcase, sensibull, tickertape, streak etc..
My Opinion On Best Demat Account In India:
As mentioned above in the beginning that you do not need to worry a lot about the demat account except the annual charges if any, as there is no difference in terms of operation or quality of service.
What most important is other factors which we have already covered from above list of best demat accounts.
Now if you are in dilemma as which stockbrokers to choose to start your trading and investing journey as a beginner among the list of 7 Best demat account In India from above.
Then, Just like in cooking without all ingredients in balance can’t make a dish best, similarly if you are choosing a stock broker you have to look for all the features.
Never opt any stockbroker based on just one particular USP, see what all it has apart from that.
In my opinion, Upstox have these, it is the best stock broker for any one who is thinking to start trading and investing in stock market online hassle free as they are offering top notch trading and investing experience to its users with their innovation and research.
At last if you are thinking why I did not spoke about margin or leverage with any above stockbrokers, it is because of SEBI Rules on Intraday margin every stockbroker is giving same margin 5X in every segment throughout India, hence this does not matter anymore.
To open an account of your choice, click on the link below and do simple online and hassle-free paperless process within minutes.
If you are a beginner in trading and investing, please read this amazing guide on how share market works in India?
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Note: Please do your own research and make investment. Moneycontain will not be responsible for any of your losses at all. The point made is for educational purpose only and intended to give information. All investments are subject to risks, which should be considered prior to making any investments.