The best demat account is the one that matches how you invest.
Most “best demat account” lists are ads wearing ranking clothes. This page works differently: it writes the criteria down, shows verified figures for the five brokers first-time investors compare, and tells you exactly which profile each one suits. No picks for “everyone”.
What “best” means on this page
Six criteria, each checkable by you in five minutes. A claim without criteria attached is not a ranking, it is a slogan.
Account opening cost
Most modern brokers charge ₹0 to open online. If a broker charges more than ₹0 for a basic account, ask what the money buys.
AMC, the recurring fee
The annual maintenance charge recurs every year the account exists. Compare it over five years, not one: ₹0 versus ₹300 + GST per year is about ₹1,770 with GST over five years.
Delivery brokerage
This is what you pay when you buy a share and hold it. Zerodha charges ₹0; Upstox and Angel One charge ₹20 or 0.1%, whichever is lower; Groww adds a ₹5 minimum.
Intraday and F&O rates
Matters only if you trade. Upstox charges ₹20 or 0.05% on intraday, Zerodha ₹20 or 0.03%, Groww and Angel One 0.1% with a ₹5 minimum.
Mutual funds and IPOs
All five brokers compared here charge ₹0 commission on mutual funds and IPO applications. Direct plans on any of them cost the same.
The platform itself
This is the part no table measures. You will spend hours in the app. Most brokers let you open an account free, so you can try the app before funding it.
Best by situation, not by slogan
Three investor profiles, each with the charges that decide the answer. Figures checked 16 August 2026.
You buy and hold for years
The recurring fee decides this. Groww charges ₹0 AMC with no conditions. Zerodha and Upstox are free in year one and ₹300 + GST from year two on non-BSDA accounts, and any broker’s BSDA gives you ₹0 while holdings stay under ₹4 lakh. Zerodha’s ₹0 delivery brokerage also matters here, since you will sell occasionally.
Upstox vs GrowwYou want to trade intraday or F&O
The percentage rate decides this. Upstox charges ₹20 or 0.05% on intraday; Zerodha ₹20 or 0.03%; Groww and Angel One 0.1%. On active turnover the difference between 0.05% and 0.1% is the entire conversation.
Estimate your real costYou are opening your first account, this month
Opening cost, first-year AMC and setup speed decide this. All five brokers here open at ₹0 online with paperless KYC in about 15 minutes, and all five waive at least the first year of AMC for new accounts opened in 2026. On the criteria above, the cheapest choice for most first accounts is the one whose app you will actually keep opening.
How opening actually worksWho we are, said plainly
This is the part most ranking pages bury.
DematOpen is an Authorized Person of Upstox
We facilitate account opening with Upstox and earn from accounts that open through this site. That is a bias, and the correct response to a bias is not to pretend it away. It is to show sources. Every figure on this page and our comparison pages links to the broker’s own pricing page, checked on 16 August 2026, so you can verify each row yourself. We do not provide investment advice, and this ranking is information, not a recommendation.
The most advertised broker is the best one
Advertising budget and account quality are different things. The criteria above cost nothing to apply and answer the question faster.
Ranking lists are independent
Most lists earn a commission from the brokers they rank. The question is not whether a list has an incentive, it is whether it shows its sources.
The cheapest broker is always the best
Cheapest to open is not cheapest to use. A ₹0-AMC broker with a 1% order fee can cost far more than a ₹300-AMC broker with 0.05% rates, depending on how you trade.
Questions people ask
The ones this page raises, answered the same way the rest of the site answers them.
There is no single best account, only a best match for your behaviour, judged on the criteria on this page. If you buy and hold, the cheapest maintenance wins: Groww charges ₹0 AMC, and BSDA rules give everyone ₹0 AMC under ₹4 lakh holdings. If you trade intraday, compare rates: Upstox charges 0.05%, Zerodha 0.03%, Groww and Angel One 0.1%. The best account is the one that costs least for what you actually do.
Opening is free at every broker on this page, and mutual fund and IPO commissions are ₹0. What is not free anywhere: brokerage on stock orders, DP charges when you sell, statutory charges on every order, and AMC from year two at most brokers. “Free” is true for opening; the honest question is what the account costs to use.
You should not trust any comparison page blindly, including this one. DematOpen is an Authorized Person of Upstox and earns when accounts open through this site. What you can trust is the method: every figure links to the broker’s own pricing page, was checked on 16 August 2026, and the criteria are written down so you can apply them yourself.
For a beginner, ranked by the criteria above: opening cost (all five charge ₹0), AMC (Groww ₹0; Upstox free year one then ₹300 + GST; Zerodha free year one then ₹300 + GST; Angel One free year one then ₹240 + GST), and simplicity. A beginner who buys index funds and holds will feel little difference; a beginner who trades often should compare the intraday rows before choosing.
Yes. You can open demat accounts with multiple brokers, and you can transfer shares from one demat account to another. Closing an account that costs AMC and keeping a BSDA or zero-AMC account is a normal cleanup move.