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Cost leaderboard

Cheapest Broker for Beginners with Small Orders (2026)

We ran the same trading year through every broker's published rate card. A new investor buying and selling ₹5,000 of shares once a month. Here's who charges the least, and by how much.

By the Indian Broker Test editorial desk · Published 8 July 2026 · Data last reviewed 14 November 2026 · Independent

The leaderboard: yearly cost, cheapest first

Beginners (small orders): total yearly cost (brokerage + statutory charges)

  1. =1 Dhan ₹320.64/yr Brokerage ₹0 · Statutory ₹320.64
  2. =1 Arrow ₹320.64/yr Brokerage ₹0 · Statutory ₹320.64
  3. =1 Pocketful ₹320.64/yr Brokerage ₹0 · Statutory ₹320.64
Rank Broker Yearly cost
=1 Arrow ₹320.64/yr Brokerage ₹0 · Statutory ₹320.64
=1 Dhan ₹320.64/yr Brokerage ₹0 · Statutory ₹320.64
=1 Pocketful ₹320.64/yr Brokerage ₹0 · Statutory ₹320.64
=1 Shoonya (Finvasia) ₹320.64/yr Brokerage ₹0 · Statutory ₹320.64
=1 Zerodha ₹320.64/yr Brokerage ₹0 · Statutory ₹320.64
6 Sahi ₹393.24/yr Brokerage ₹61.56 · Statutory ₹331.68
=7 Angel One ₹465.72/yr Brokerage ₹123 · Statutory ₹342.72
=7 Groww ₹465.72/yr Brokerage ₹123 · Statutory ₹342.72
9 Kotak Neo (Kotak Securities) ₹610.92/yr Brokerage ₹246 · Statutory ₹364.92
10 IIFL Securities ₹683.52/yr Brokerage ₹307.56 · Statutory ₹375.96
11 ICICI Direct ₹741.6/yr Brokerage ₹356.76 · Statutory ₹384.84
12 Fyers ₹756/yr Brokerage ₹369 · Statutory ₹387
=13 5paisa ₹887.04/yr Brokerage ₹480 · Statutory ₹407.04
=13 Alice Blue ₹887.04/yr Brokerage ₹480 · Statutory ₹407.04
=13 Paytm Money ₹887.04/yr Brokerage ₹480 · Statutory ₹407.04
=13 Upstox ₹887.04/yr Brokerage ₹480 · Statutory ₹407.04

Equal costs share a rank. Plan-based brokers use their default published plan. Bars: longer = cheaper.

Verdict: for this profile, Arrow, Dhan, Pocketful, Shoonya (Finvasia), Zerodha are cheapest on published pricing. Want your own numbers? Run the compare-all brokerage calculator

How we built this leaderboard

We modelled a full trading year with the same engine our brokerage calculators use: each broker's published brokerage rule plus STT, exchange transaction charges, SEBI fees, GST and stamp duty at current rates (NSE). The assumed trades:

SegmentBuySellQuantityRound trips / year
Delivery equity ₹100 ₹105 50 12

Why statutory charges matter: they're the same at every broker, so they set a floor on your cost. Brokerage is the only part you can shop around on, and that's where the ₹566.4 gap comes from.

Quantities are illustrative and not exchange lot sizes. DP charges on delivery sells use a typical figure and are the same for every broker here.

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  • LeaderboardLong-term investors

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  • LeaderboardHigh-volume traders

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  • LeaderboardFastest execution

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Frequently asked questions

Which is the cheapest broker for beginners (small orders) in India?

For the profile on this page (A new investor buying and selling ₹5,000 of shares once a month.), Arrow, Dhan, Pocketful, Shoonya (Finvasia), Zerodha are cheapest at about ₹320.64 a year including statutory charges, based on published rate cards at our last review.

How much can I save by switching brokers?

For this profile, the gap between the cheapest (Arrow) and the most expensive ranked brokers is about ₹566.4 a year. Your own saving depends on your order size and frequency, so try our compare-all brokerage calculator with your real numbers.

Why do several brokers cost exactly the same?

Many discount brokers publish the same flat ₹20-per-order cap, and statutory charges are identical everywhere. When the computed yearly cost is equal, brokers share a rank (shown as =2, =3 and so on).

Why are some brokers listed as Not Disclosed?

A broker could not be ranked because the published rate card does not give a rate we can model for every segment in this profile. We never guess a figure to fill the gap.

Does the cheapest broker mean the best broker?

Not always. Platform stability, execution speed, margin rules, tools and support matter too. Use this leaderboard alongside our broker profiles, the fastest-execution ranking and head-to-head comparisons.

Sources

  1. Zerodha - official pricing - https://zerodha.com/charges/
  2. Upstox - official pricing - https://upstox.com/brokerage-charges/
  3. Groww - official pricing - https://groww.in/pricing
  4. Angel One - official pricing - https://www.angelone.in/pricing
  5. Dhan - official pricing - https://dhan.co/pricing/
  6. Fyers - official pricing - https://fyers.in/pricing/
  7. ICICI Direct - official pricing - https://www.icicidirect.com/brokerage
  8. Kotak Neo (Kotak Securities) - official pricing - https://www.kotakneo.com/pricing/
  9. 5paisa - official pricing - https://www.5paisa.com/pricing
  10. Alice Blue - official pricing - https://aliceblueonline.com/pricing/
  11. Paytm Money - official pricing - https://www.paytmmoney.com/stocks/pricing
  12. Shoonya (Finvasia) - official pricing - https://shoonya.com/pricing
  13. Pocketful - official pricing - https://www.pocketful.in/pricing
  14. Arrow - official pricing - https://arrow.trade/pricing
  15. IIFL Securities - official pricing - https://www.iiflcapital.com/brokerage-charges
  16. Sahi - official pricing - https://www.sahi.com/pricing