Zerodha vs Upstox

Zerodha and Upstox are two of the leading discount stockbrokers in India, both headquartered in Bengaluru, and both operating a flat-fee brokerage model. Zerodha, founded in 2010 by Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath, is the older and historically larger of the two. Upstox, founded in 2009 by Ravi Kumar and Shrini Viswanath (originally as RKSV Securities), repositioned itself under the Upstox brand in 2016 and received an institutional endorsement when Tiger Global and Ratan Tata invested in the firm in 2019. Both brokers target cost-conscious retail investors and active traders who are comfortable transacting digitally.

This article compares the two brokers across publicly available data on charges, platforms, product breadth, API capabilities, and regulatory standing. Data reflects information as of May 2026. Charge schedules change; readers should verify current rates on zerodha.com/charges and upstox.com/pricing before transacting.

Background

Zerodha

Zerodha was the first Indian broker to introduce a flat fee of twenty rupees per executed order in the intraday and derivatives segments, departing from the percentage-of-turnover model that dominated retail brokerage at the time. The firm grew organically through word-of-mouth among traders and subsequently expanded to a broad retail investor base with the launch of Kite, its proprietary trading platform. As of late 2025, Zerodha reported more than fifteen million registered clients and maintained the largest share of NSE equity derivatives turnover among retail brokers.

The firm has remained self-funded. All operating entities are privately held by the Kamath family, with no external institutional equity.

Upstox

RKSV Securities was founded in 2009 and initially operated as a retail derivatives broker. After the brand was relaunched as Upstox in 2016, the firm concentrated marketing on younger, digitally-native investors. Ratan Tata’s personal investment in 2019, followed by Tiger Global’s stake, raised the firm’s profile considerably. Upstox reported more than ten million registered clients by 2023 and ranked consistently among the top five brokers by NSE active client count.

Upstox is backed by Tiger Global Management, Ratan Tata, and other investors, and remains privately held. The firm’s technology stack was rebuilt between 2020 and 2022 following a data breach that affected client contact information in 2021; the firm notified affected clients and regulators.

Regulatory standing

Both Zerodha and Upstox are registered with SEBI as stockbrokers and depository participants. Both are members of NSE and Bombay Stock Exchange and hold CDSL depository participant registrations. SEBI SCORES data for October-December 2024 showed both brokers with complaint-to-active-client ratios within single digits per 10,000 clients. Zerodha’s historical complaint disposal rate has consistently exceeded 95 per cent within each quarter. Upstox’s disposal rate has been comparable in more recent periods; an elevated complaint count was observed in 2021-22, coinciding with the data breach notification period, and normalised subsequently.

Brokerage charges

Upstox revised its demat annual maintenance charge to zero in early 2025, making it a differentiator. Zerodha continues to levy Rs 300 per year from the first year. The intraday brokerage schedules are effectively identical for orders above Rs 66,667 in value; below that threshold Zerodha’s 0.03 per cent rate produces a charge below Rs 20.

Account opening and onboarding

Both brokers complete account activation within one to two business days of KYC submission under normal processing conditions. Aadhaar OTP-based e-KYC is used by both. Documents required are similar: PAN card, Aadhaar, bank account proof, and a signature image.

Upstox has invested in a mobile-first onboarding journey with step-by-step guidance, income and trading experience declarations, and an optional in-app video verification alternative to DigiLocker-based Aadhaar linking in some cases. Zerodha’s onboarding is similarly digital but has been described by reviewers as requiring slightly more familiarity with the process, particularly for investors who have never previously opened a broking account.

Trading platforms

Zerodha Kite

Kite offers a web application and Android and iOS mobile applications. Features include over 100 technical indicators, multi-leg options strategy execution, basket orders, GTT (good-till-triggered) orders, intraday alerts, and a five-level market depth display. Kite is widely regarded as the reference standard for Indian retail trading interfaces, and many brokers have benchmarked their platforms against it.

Kite’s web interface supports simultaneous display of watchlists, charts with multiple timeframes, and an order ticket in a multi-pane layout. The Console back-office portal provides portfolio analytics, tax P&L reports, ledger statements, and fund management.

Upstox Pro

Upstox offers its Upstox Pro platform on web and mobile. The platform underwent a significant rebuild in 2022-23 and added advanced charting via TradingView integration, which provides access to TradingView’s full indicator library and drawing tools. This TradingView integration is a feature Kite does not natively offer; Zerodha provides ChartIQ-based charts in Kite. Upstox Pro’s mobile application has received strong ratings on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Upstox’s platform includes multi-leg options strategy builder, a market scanner, and a portfolio analytics section.

API access

Zerodha’s Kite Connect is a mature, extensively documented REST API. It has been available since 2015, charges Rs 2,000 per month, and supports a wide range of order types, historical data, portfolio access, and market streaming via WebSocket. A large open-source community has built libraries in Python, Node.js, Java, and other languages. The developer ecosystem at kite.trade is active.

Upstox also offers a REST API (Upstox API v2), which is free of charge as of May 2026 and provides order management, portfolio data, market quotes, and historical data access. The API documentation is published on developer.upstox.com. The free tier is a differentiator relative to Kite Connect’s monthly fee; however, Kite Connect’s ecosystem, community, and library support are more extensive due to its longer availability.

Segments and product breadth

Both brokers cover the same primary exchange segments. Mutual fund access is available on both but at different cost structures: Zerodha’s Coin charges Rs 50 per month for active holdings after the first year; Upstox offers direct mutual fund investments at no additional fee.

Mutual fund access

Zerodha’s Coin platform is a separate product within the Zerodha ecosystem that provides direct mutual fund investment (without distributor commission). Users with any Coin holding are charged Rs 50 per month after the first free year.

Upstox offers direct mutual fund investments within its main application at no additional charge. Users can set up SIPs, place lump-sum investments, and view consolidated holdings (MF and equity) in a single dashboard. The no-cost MF access makes Upstox more cost-effective for users whose primary activity is mutual fund SIPs with occasional equity transactions.

IPO applications

Both brokers support IPO applications via UPI ASBA. The application process, mandate approval, allotment timeline, and refund mechanism are identical as both are governed by SEBI and exchange rules. Neither broker charges an IPO application fee. Allotment notifications are displayed in respective dashboards and also communicated by the registrar.

Customer support

Zerodha’s support is primarily ticket-based, supplemented by a comprehensive help centre with over 2,000 articles and a community forum (tradingqna.com). In-platform chat support is available but prioritised for higher-volume accounts in some periods.

Upstox offers in-app chat support, email, and a WhatsApp-based helpline. The WhatsApp channel has been highlighted in independent reviews as a convenient low-friction support option for retail users.

Security events

In April 2021 Upstox disclosed a data breach in which contact and KYC information for approximately 2.5 million clients was accessed by an unauthorised party. The firm reset passwords for all affected accounts, engaged a cybersecurity firm, and notified SEBI and affected clients. Trading credentials (passwords, PINs, order history) were not reported to be part of the breach. No comparable breach has been disclosed by Zerodha.

Investors who weight data-security track record in their broker selection should take note of this event, while also noting that Upstox has subsequently invested in security infrastructure.

Summary comparison table

See also

• Zerodha
• Upstox
• Zerodha vs Groww
• Zerodha vs Angel One
• Discount brokers in India
• Full-service vs discount broker
• Indian retail brokers comparison
• Kite (Zerodha)
• SEBI

References

1. Zerodha charge schedule. zerodha.com/charges (accessed May 2026).
2. Upstox pricing. upstox.com/pricing (accessed May 2026).
3. NSE active client data, quarterly reports. nseindia.com (accessed May 2026).
4. SEBI SCORES quarterly grievance report, October-December 2024. sebi.gov.in.
5. Upstox data breach disclosure. Upstox blog (April 2021).
6. Upstox API documentation. developer.upstox.com (accessed May 2026).
7. Kite Connect API documentation. kite.trade (accessed May 2026).