Direct plan portals comparison: Coin vs Groww vs Kuvera vs MFU
The Indian direct-plan portal landscape comprises three principal categories of platforms for direct mutual fund investing:
- Broker-affiliated: Zerodha Coin , Groww Mutual Funds , Angel One Mutual Funds platform , Upstox , Paytm Money , 5paisa .
- Pure-play direct distributors: Kuvera , ET Money , INDmoney , Scripbox , Cube Wealth , Wealthy.in , INDwealth .
- Industry-coordinated: MF Central , MFU (Mutual Fund Utility) .
All three categories offer direct-plan-only distribution (no regular-plan commission flow), but they differ on cost monetisation, UX, integration with other financial services, and feature depth.
For Indian retail investors, the choice of portal matters less for cost (all are direct-only) and more for the overall experience and what other services are integrated.
Quick comparison
| Platform | Type | Parent / Sponsor | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zerodha Coin | Broker-affiliated | Zerodha | Existing Zerodha trading clients |
| Groww Mutual Funds | Broker-affiliated | Groww | Mobile-first first-time investors |
| Angel One | Broker-affiliated | Angel One | Multi-product Angel One users |
| Paytm Money | Broker-affiliated | Paytm | Paytm ecosystem users |
| Kuvera | Pure-play | Independent | Goal-based planners |
| ET Money | Pure-play | Times Internet | Multi-product (MF + insurance + loans) |
| INDmoney | Pure-play | Independent | International + domestic single view |
| Scripbox | Pure-play | Independent | Curated robo-advisory |
| MF Central | Industry | CAMS + KFin | Cross-AMC unified view |
| MFU | Industry | AMFI | Sophisticated multi-AMC transactor |
Broker-affiliated platforms
Zerodha Coin
- Pioneer of direct-plan-only model in 2017.
- Integration with Zerodha Kite (equity trading).
- Unified portfolio view.
- ~1 million MF users.
- Strength: integration with the broking ecosystem.
Groww Mutual Funds
- Largest user base by MF investor count (~10 million).
- Mobile-first UX.
- Single login for MFs + stocks + IPOs + derivatives.
- Strength: simple, accessible UX for first-time investors.
Angel One
- ~25 million trading clients with MF cross-sell.
- Multi-product integration.
- Strength: existing Angel One trading clients.
Paytm Money
- Integration with Paytm payments ecosystem.
- Strength: Paytm-payments users.
Pure-play direct distributors
Kuvera
- Goal-based planning emphasis.
- Free direct plans.
- Strength: long-term goal-based planning users.
ET Money
- Multi-product convergence (MF, insurance, loans, gold).
- Single financial-life view.
- Strength: holistic financial planning.
INDmoney
- International investing integrated (US stocks via partnerships).
- Single domestic + international view.
- Strength: investors with international ambition.
Scripbox
- Curated robo-advisory.
- Recommends specific schemes based on profile.
- Strength: less-experienced investors who want guided selection.
Cube Wealth, Wealthy.in, INDwealth
- HNI / family-office focus.
- Premium service tiers.
- Strength: high-net-worth investors with personal service expectations.
Industry-coordinated platforms
MF Central
- AMFI-coordinated industry platform.
- Consolidated view across all AMCs (CAMS + KFin).
- PAN-based authentication.
- Strength: unclaimed-folio retrieval via MITRA ; CAS-style consolidated view.
MFU (Mutual Fund Utility)
- AMFI-promoted shared transaction platform.
- Single eCAN-based access to all AMCs.
- Single transaction interface.
- Strength: sophisticated multi-AMC transactor.
Feature differentiation
Goal-based planning
Strong: Kuvera, Scripbox, ET Money, INDwealth. Moderate: Zerodha Coin, Groww. Weak: MF Central, MFU.
Mobile UX
Strong: Groww, Zerodha (Kite Connect), Angel One, ET Money, Paytm Money. Moderate: Kuvera. Weak: MF Central, MFU (more desktop-oriented).
Cross-product integration
Strong: Zerodha (broking), Angel One (broking), ET Money (insurance/loans), INDmoney (international). Moderate: Paytm Money, Groww. Weak: Pure-MF platforms.
Tax / capital-gains reports
Strong: Most platforms (Kuvera, Groww, Zerodha Coin generate good CG reports). Strong: MF Central (consolidated CG across AMCs).
Curated recommendations
Strong: Scripbox (robo-advisory). Moderate: Kuvera (goal-based). Weak: Most others (DIY selection).
NRI access
Strong: Most platforms support NRI investors per the AMC’s NRI policy. Weak: Some platforms have NRI onboarding limitations.
Decision framework
Existing Zerodha trading client
→ Zerodha Coin (integration value).
Existing Groww / Angel One / Upstox trading client
→ Their MF platform (single-app convenience).
Multi-AMC investor wanting unified view
→ MFU or MF Central (industry-coordinated; cleaner cross-AMC).
Goal-based / robo-advisory wanted
→ Kuvera or Scripbox.
Multi-product (insurance + loans + MF) consolidated
→ ET Money.
International + domestic single view
→ INDmoney.
HNI / family-office service tier
→ Wealthy.in, INDwealth, Cube Wealth.
Cost considerations
All listed platforms are free for MF investing (direct-plan-only, no commission). Monetisation:
- Broker-affiliated: broking revenue from related equity / derivatives products.
- Pure-play: affiliate referrals, premium service tiers, B2B services.
- Industry: not commercial; funded by AMC contributions.
See also
- Mutual funds in India
- MF aggregator portal landscape
- Zerodha Coin
- Groww Mutual Funds
- Angel One Mutual Funds platform
- Paytm Money
- Upstox Mutual Funds
- Kuvera
- ET Money
- INDmoney
- Scripbox
- Cube Wealth
- INDwealth
- Wealthy.in
- MF Central
- Mutual Fund Utility (MFU)
- Direct plan vs regular plan
- Regular vs Direct
- Discount brokers vs distributors
- RIA vs distributor
External references
References
- AMFI Best Practice Guidelines on direct-plan distribution.
- SEBI master circular on Execution-Only Platforms.
- Platform-specific corporate disclosures.