Direct mutual fund portals comparison: Coin vs Groww vs Kuvera vs MFU

Direct mutual fund plans, mandated by SEBI since 1 January 2013, allow investors to invest in mutual fund schemes without routing through a distributor, thereby avoiding the trail commission embedded in regular plan expense ratios. Several platforms have been built to facilitate direct plan investing: Zerodha Coin, Groww, Kuvera, MF Utility (MFU), and others.

This article compares the four prominent direct plan investment platforms on key dimensions: unit-holding model, registration type, SIP mechanism, account fees, scheme universe, features, and regulatory status.

Platform overview

Zerodha Coin

Zerodha Coin is operated by Zerodha Broking Limited under its AMFI Registration Number (ARN). Coin holds mutual fund units in the investor’s demat account maintained with CDSL (DP ID 12081600). Coin is accessible at coin.zerodha.com and integrates with the Kite trading platform and Zerodha Console.

Coin requires the investor to have an existing Zerodha account (KYC via Zerodha’s CDSL-backed demat account). Coin supports direct plan investments only.

Groww

Groww is operated by Nextbillion Technology Private Limited, registered with AMFI as a mutual fund distributor. Groww holds mutual fund units in Statement of Account (SOA) format by default, with units registered against the investor’s PAN-linked folio at the respective AMC’s registrar (CAMS or KFintech). Groww also supports demat-format holding for investors who link a demat account.

Groww invests in direct plans of mutual fund schemes and does not charge transaction fees or subscription fees for mutual fund investments.

Kuvera

Kuvera (operated by Arevuk Advisory Services Private Limited) is a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser (IA) and AMFI-registered mutual fund platform. Kuvera holds mutual fund units in SOA format. The platform offers free direct plan investing and charges for optional premium subscription features (goal-based portfolio, family account, tax-loss harvesting).

Kuvera positions itself as a goals-based platform with portfolio analytics, asset allocation tools, and portfolio health dashboards built on top of the transaction execution layer.

MF Utility (MFU)

MF Utility (www.mfuindia.com) is an industry utility platform owned by the mutual fund industry (AMCs) and operating as a shared infrastructure for direct plan transactions. MFU is not a distributor; it connects investors directly to AMCs through a standardised interface. MFU uses a Common Account Number (CAN) structure that links all folios across AMCs under one account. Units are held in SOA format at individual AMC registrars.

MFU does not charge investors any transaction fees. It is primarily used by investors who prefer a no-frills industry-backed platform or by RIAs who manage client portfolios through MFU’s RIA module.

Key comparison dimensions

Unit holding model

Demat model (Coin): Units are credited to the investor’s CDSL demat account. The investor can view mutual fund units alongside equity and other demat holdings in a single portfolio view. Redemption requires eDIS (electronic Debit Instruction Slip) authorisation via CDSL TPIN, adding a step relative to SOA.

SOA model (Groww, Kuvera, MFU): Units are registered against the investor’s folio at the AMC’s registrar. The investor holds a folio with each AMC where they have invested. Redemption is initiated through the platform without a separate eDIS step. The Consolidated Account Statement (CAS) from CDSL/NSDL consolidates SOA folios from CAMS and KFintech.

Registration and regulatory status

Kuvera’s SEBI IA registration means it is regulated as an investment adviser and must provide fee disclosure and obtain client consent for advice. As an IA, Kuvera cannot receive distribution commissions, and its direct plan model is consistent with this restriction.

SIP mechanism

All platforms support NACH and UPI AutoPay-based SIP mandates. The SIP mandate is forwarded to the AMC’s registrar (CAMS or KFintech) via the platform’s AMFI-regulated infrastructure.

Scheme universe

All four platforms provide access to direct plans of all AMFI-registered AMC schemes, subject to AMC-specific availability. The scheme universe is functionally equivalent across platforms since all platforms route orders to the same AMC registrars.

Differences in scheme availability arise when:

• An AMC has not onboarded its schemes with a specific platform (rare for major AMCs)
• A scheme has temporarily paused accepting subscriptions (affects all platforms equally)
• An NFO (new fund offer) is open: platforms may or may not list it

Account fees

Portfolio analytics and tools

KYC and onboarding

All platforms require investor KYC via the SEBI-mandated KYC Registration Agency (KRA) infrastructure. For Coin, KYC is via Zerodha’s existing account infrastructure (CDSL-linked). For Groww and Kuvera, KYC is performed via DigiLocker (Aadhaar-based eKYC) or in-person verification. For MFU, KYC via registered KRA is required before CAN generation.

New investor (non-KYC) onboarding is fully digital on all platforms via Aadhaar-based eKYC for eligible investors.

Mobile app and usability

Coin is available via the Coin mobile app and the Zerodha Coin website. Groww and Kuvera have standalone apps with mutual fund-only interfaces (in addition to broader financial product apps). MFU’s mobile interface is more utilitarian and targets sophisticated investors and RIAs.

Paytm Money

Paytm Money is another prominent direct plan platform (operated by Paytm Money Limited, AMFI ARN holder), holding units in SOA format. Paytm Money offers both mutual fund and stock investing under the same login. It is broadly comparable to Groww in features and fee structure.

Switching between platforms

Switching mutual fund units between platforms is not directly possible in the way ETF shares can be transferred. For SOA-format folios, the folio resides at the AMC registrar and is not tied to the investment platform. An investor can transact on a different platform by quoting their existing folio number; future transactions will appear in the same folio regardless of which platform was used. Transaction history on the new platform will only show transactions made through it.

For Coin’s demat-format units, switching to an SOA-format platform requires converting the demat units back to SOA form via a re-materialisation request, which involves a fee and processing time.

Summary comparison table

See also

• Zerodha Coin
• Groww
• Kuvera
• Paytm Money
• Regular plan vs direct plan mutual fund
• Mutual fund
• How to buy your first mutual fund on Coin
• How to switch from regular to direct plan (Coin)
• AMFI
• SEBI

References

1. SEBI circular CIR/IMD/DF/21/2012, Direct plan mandate.
2. AMFI, ARN holder registry, amfiindia.com.
3. SEBI (Investment Advisers) Regulations, 2013, Kuvera’s IA regulatory framework.
4. MF Utility, CAN structure and platform documentation, mfuindia.com.
5. CAMS and KFintech, SOA-format folio infrastructure.
6. CDSL, eDIS mechanism for mutual fund demat unit redemption.
7. NPCI, UPI AutoPay recurring mandate framework.