Are you too confused between whether to go for Zerodha or ShareKhan? This is a point by point comparison on different aspects based on adigitalblogger.com
For a complete comparison, we will be looking at the company backgrounds the pricing structures. We will be particularly comparing the account opening charges and transaction charges as well. Moreover, a comparison of annual maintenance charges and brokerage is also considered.
We will also cover the exposures and what kind of leverage each provides. Also, we will look at the back end and the research team’s expertise and also look at the different trading platforms relevant and special features based on which we’ll finally be able to compare pioneer stockbrokers.
History-
Zerodha which has been here for on ten years now while ShareKhan which has seen the ups and downs of the industry and has been there for on around 20 years. Sharekhan’s huge offline presence with a run to thousands of brokers and franchises across India. Zerodha being a discount broker doesn’t enjoy that particular feature but it does have corporate offices across India.
Sharekhan– Incorporated in February 2000, Sharekhan is India’s 3rd largest stockbroker (after ICICI Direct and HDFC Securities). Sharekhan provides brokerage services through its online trading website Sharekhan.com and 1800 offices which includes branches & franchises in over 550 cities across India. Sharekhan has seen incredible growth over the last 10+ years though it’s a very successful online trading platform and the chain of franchises located in almost every part of India.
Zerodha– is India’s largest and most popular stockbroker. It offers online flat fee discount brokerage services to invest in Equity, Currency, Commodity, IPO, and Direct Mutual Funds. Zerodha charges ₹0 brokerages for equity delivery trades and direct mutual funds. For intraday and F&O, it charges flat ₹20 or 0.03% (whichever is lower) per trade.
Pricing the account opening charges-
Zerodha is relatively better when it comes to account opening charges. ShareKhan having much higher account opening charges at the same time also charges much higher ANC. (ANC = Annual Maintenance Charges) Also, Zerodha is known to be one of the cheapest while ShareKhan is known to be one of the most expensive brokers in the industry so we’re actually talking about two different extremes.
Brokerage-
When it comes to brokerage delivery charges for Zerodha it is completely free while for shaken 0.5% which is a huge number even when comparing it to the other broker.
In other segments- equity, futures & options and, commodity Zerodha is around 10 times cheaper than ShareKhan.
Transaction charges-
Zerodha’s hidden secret is that most of the profit that the Zerodha makes every, major chunks come from with the transaction charges.
Apart from the equity delivery in every other segment the charges of transaction a higher for Zerodha than ShareKhan.
Scrutinize these differences before choosing and understand these aspects because at the end of the day you will be paying huge transaction charges and this one negative with Zerodha apart from other positives.
Exposure and leverage-
For equity and delivery segments, Sharekhan has an edge while in all other segments Zerodha has better leverage and is pretty reasonable in terms of providing leverage to its clients.
Since Zerodha is a full discount broker it doesn’t provide any research while ShareKhan is a full-fledged broker and has got expertise in research. This allows ShareKhan to provide recommendations and intraday tips and definitely have a big research advantage.
Trading segments-
No difference here. Both allow-
1. Equity
2. Mutal Funds
3. IPOs
4. Currency
5. Commodity
Customer service-
ShareKhan is a good name but has a long turnaround time while Zerodha is coming up better with active platforms like TradingQnA it comes to customer service.
Specific features-
Zerodha has an edge in this customer education via partners like Varsity and TradingQnA and a detailed comparison can be read on- adigitalblogger.com
Zerodha is better than Sharekhan for following reasons:
- Brokerage: Zerodha charges a fraction of brokerage in comparison to Sharekhan. Sharekhan charges a percentage based brokerage fee on the value of the trade. Zerodha follows a fixed brokerage model wherein a flat brokerage is charged from all.
- Brokerage Free Stock Market Investment: Zerodha offers brokerage free Equity Delivery trading which Sharekhan charges 0.55% brokerage.
- Direct Mutual Fund: Zerodha offers Direct Mutual Funds while Sharekhan offers only Regular Mutual Funds. Direct Mutual Fund offers an additional 1 to 2% yearly profits as the brokers are not paid any commissions by the Asset Management Company.
- Online Trading Platform: Zerodha’s online trading platform Kite is superior and technologically advanced trading software.
Conclusion
Sharekhan and Zerodha cater to different trading needs. Sharekhan caters to beginners to intermediate traders who need research services in addition to trading services. Zerodha works well for experienced traders who are looking for low brokerage and can research and trade on their own.