MCX transaction charges and how they compare across brokers

What this is about

Anyone comparing commodity-trading costs across brokers needs one distinction first: the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) sets the transaction charge, and every broker passes it through identically. The transaction charge is not a place where brokers compete. Brokerage is. A client weighing Zerodha against a percentage-brokerage broker should compare the brokerage and the all-in cost, because the MCX transaction charge, the CTT , the SEBI turnover fee , and stamp duty are the same regardless of which member they route through.

The MCX transaction charge is the fee the exchange levies for using its matching, clearing, and settlement infrastructure. It is charged to the broker as an exchange member, and the broker collects it from the client and remits it to MCX without markup. The same pass-through applies on the NSE and BSE for equity and currency. Because the charge originates at the exchange, no broker can be cheaper or dearer on this line; the rate is whatever MCX has set.

This article sets out the MCX transaction charge structure, the CTT and other statutory levies that ride alongside it, and the one component that genuinely differs across brokers: brokerage. It frames the comparison between Zerodha’s flat-fee model and the percentage-brokerage model without inventing competitor rates that cannot be sourced. For Zerodha’s specific commodity brokerage, see Zerodha commodity brokerage .

The MCX transaction charge

The MCX transaction charge is levied on turnover, per side. As published on Zerodha’s charges page on 19 June 2026, the rates are:

Source: zerodha.com/charges, 19 June 2026.

Options carry a higher percentage rate than futures because the charge base is different. A futures charge is computed on the full notional contract value; an options charge is computed on the premium, which is a fraction of the notional. The higher percentage on the smaller base keeps the absolute rupee charge on an options trade modest. This is the same pattern seen on the exchange transaction charges for equity derivatives.

The charge is set by MCX and revised by exchange circular when the exchange changes its fee schedule. Because it is an exchange levy, the figure a Zerodha client sees is the figure every other broker’s client sees. The broker adds nothing to it. This is the reason the transaction charge cannot be a point of competition: it is not the broker’s to set.

A note on commodity-by-commodity variation. The broker-facing rate Zerodha publishes is a single futures rate and a single options rate, applied across the commodity board. MCX’s own internal charge schedule has at various times differentiated between agricultural and non-agricultural groups for certain levies, and CTT applies only to non-agri commodities, but the transaction charge a client actually pays on a Zerodha commodity trade does not split by individual commodity such as gold, silver, crude oil, or natural gas. A reader who wants the authoritative current figure for any given commodity should check the live charges page, because exchange rates change by circular.

CTT and the other statutory levies

On top of the transaction charge, a commodity trade carries statutory levies that, like the transaction charge, are identical across brokers because they are set by law or by the exchange, not by the member.

Commodity Transaction Tax (CTT). Introduced by Chapter VII of the Finance Act 2013 with effect from 1 July 2013, CTT is the commodity analogue of the Securities Transaction Tax . It applies to non-agricultural commodity derivatives at 0.01 per cent on the sell side of futures and 0.05 per cent on the sell side of options premium. Agricultural commodities are exempt. CTT is collected by the broker and remitted to the government; its rates and mechanics are covered in Commodity Transaction Tax and, in the Zerodha context, in STT and CTT at Zerodha . CTT is also the condition for the non-speculative classification of commodity-derivative income under Section 43(5)(e) of the Income Tax Act.

SEBI turnover fee. SEBI levies Rs 10 per crore of turnover on non-agri commodity derivatives (Rs 1 per crore on agri), plus GST. This is the regulator’s fee for market supervision, covered in SEBI turnover fee .

Stamp duty. A state levy on the buy side. On Zerodha commodity futures it is 0.002 per cent or Rs 200 per crore, and on commodity options 0.003 per cent or Rs 300 per crore, on the buy side (zerodha.com/charges, 19 June 2026). The broader mechanism is in stamp duty on Zerodha .

GST. Charged at 18 per cent on the sum of brokerage, the transaction charges, and the SEBI fee, covered in GST on broking charges .

None of these is a broker variable. A client who trades the same lot of crude oil through any two brokers pays the same CTT, the same SEBI fee, the same stamp duty, the same GST base on the statutory components, and the same MCX transaction charge. The only line that can differ is brokerage.

What actually differs: brokerage

Brokerage is the broker’s own fee for executing the trade, and it is the only cost line a broker controls. This is where the flat-fee model and the percentage-brokerage model part ways.

Zerodha’s commodity brokerage, as published on 19 June 2026, is:

Source: zerodha.com/charges, 19 June 2026. The detail is in Zerodha commodity brokerage and Zerodha F&O charges .

The “whichever is lower” cap on futures is the heart of the flat-fee model. On a small futures order, 0.03 per cent of turnover may come to less than Rs 20, and the client pays the lower percentage figure. On a large order, 0.03 per cent would exceed Rs 20, so the Rs 20 cap binds and the client pays a flat Rs 20 no matter how large the order. The brokerage stops scaling at Rs 20 per order. On options, the Rs 20 is flat from the first contract.

The contrast is the percentage-brokerage model, where brokerage is a straight percentage of turnover with no flat cap. Under that model a large order’s brokerage keeps rising with turnover. The two models cross over at the order size where the percentage charge equals the flat cap; above it the flat-fee broker is cheaper on brokerage, below it the difference narrows. The exact crossover depends on the percentage rate the other broker charges, which is a figure a client must read from that broker’s own published schedule rather than assume. This article does not assert specific competitor percentage rates, because they vary by broker and by segment and must be sourced from each broker’s charges page.

Framing a like-for-like comparison

Because the statutory and exchange components are identical across brokers, a sound comparison isolates brokerage and then reads the all-in cost. The steps:

1. Hold the exchange and statutory components constant. MCX transaction charge, CTT, SEBI fee, stamp duty, and the GST base on those are the same everywhere. They are not differentiators; treat them as fixed.
2. Compare brokerage only. Read each broker’s published commodity brokerage. For Zerodha it is 0.03 per cent or Rs 20 capped on futures, flat Rs 20 on options. For a percentage-brokerage broker, read its percentage rate from its own schedule.
3. Size the comparison to actual order value. The flat-fee advantage grows with order size. A trader running large crude-oil or silver lots benefits more from the Rs 20 cap than a trader running small mini contracts.
4. Compute the all-in figure with a calculator. A brokerage calculator totals brokerage plus every statutory line so two brokers can be compared on the final number, not just the headline brokerage.

The decision-relevant question is rarely “which broker has the lower transaction charge”, because they all have the same one. It is “which broker’s brokerage, added to the identical statutory stack, gives the lower all-in cost for the order sizes I actually trade”. For active commodity traders running large lots, the flat Rs 20 cap is usually the deciding factor.

Where MCX charges sit in the overall trade cost

A complete commodity trade cost at Zerodha is the sum of brokerage, the MCX transaction charge, CTT on the sell side, the SEBI turnover fee, stamp duty on the buy side, and GST on the chargeable components. The MCX transaction charge is one line in that stack, and an exchange-set one. The practical detail of trading specific contracts is covered in guides such as how to trade crude oil on MCX with Zerodha and the margin side in how to compute commodity margin on Zerodha .

For a client, the takeaway is to read the transaction charge as a given, the same for every broker, and to focus the cost comparison on brokerage. The exchange charge funds MCX’s infrastructure and is not negotiable or broker-specific. The brokerage is the lever, and on commodity trades of any meaningful size the flat-fee model’s Rs 20 cap is where the saving lives. The segment background is in Zerodha commodity segment and commodity trading .

See also

• Zerodha commodity brokerage
• Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX)
• Multi Commodity Exchange
• Exchange transaction charges on NSE, BSE, and MCX
• Commodity Transaction Tax
• Securities Transaction Tax
• STT and CTT at Zerodha
• SEBI turnover fee
• Stamp duty on Zerodha
• GST on broking charges
• Zerodha F&O charges
• Zerodha commodity segment
• Zerodha commodities
• Commodity trading
• Zerodha brokerage structure
• Zerodha brokerage calculator
• Zerodha charges overview
• Zerodha hidden charges
• Zerodha MCX membership
• Zerodha MCX trading hours
• Zerodha CDS and MCX product circle
• How to trade crude oil on MCX with Zerodha
• How to trade gold mini futures on Zerodha
• How to trade silver micro futures on Zerodha
• How to compute commodity margin on Zerodha
• Zerodha versus Angel One
• Zerodha versus Upstox
• National Stock Exchange
• Zerodha

External references

• MCX charges and penalties
• MCX Commodities Transaction Tax
• Zerodha charges page
• SEBI

References

1. Multi Commodity Exchange of India, schedule of transaction charges, mcxindia.com.
2. Chapter VII of the Finance Act, 2013 (Commodity Transaction Tax), effective 1 July 2013.
3. SEBI turnover fee schedule for commodity derivatives.
4. Zerodha charges page, zerodha.com/charges (accessed 19 June 2026).