Groww vs Zerodha – These two discount brokers without whom the stock market revolution in India would not be the same since they brought investing opportunities to millions of people. The OG disruptor was Zerodha, which was launched in 2010 and introduced transparency and powerful tools coupled with zero-commission delivery trades to serious investors.
Groww was founded in 2016, and at first, it was a mutual fund app, which immediately gained the trust of millennials and Gen-Z, and their clean interface with no frills. Both platforms today are ruthless competitors, each with a giant portion of the Indian retail investor base and taking financial inclusion to unprecedented levels with mobile-first, technology-driven experiences.
Groww vs Zerodha: Customer Base
| Metric | Groww | Zerodha |
| Active Clients | ~9.5 Million+ | ~7.5 Million+ |
| Total Downloads | 100 Million+ | 10 Million+ |
| Target Audience | Beginners & Millennials | Professional Traders |
| Market Share | ~26% | ~20% |
Groww is the most downloaded broking app in India, as it has more active users and is the most downloaded broking app. Being smaller in terms of users, Zerodha boasts of a strong following of high-volume traders.
Groww vs Zerodha: Charges
The fee structure is one of the most important details to pick a broker. The following is a complete comparison of Groww vs Zerodha fees in all trading categories.
Brokerage Charges Breakdown
| Segment | Groww Charges | Zerodha Charges |
| Account Opening | Free | ₹200 (Online) |
| AMC | Free | ₹300/year |
| Equity Delivery | 0.05% or ₹20 (Lower) | Free (Zero Brokerage) |
| Equity Intraday | 0.05% or ₹20 (Lower) | 0.03% or ₹20 (Lower) |
| F&O (Futures & Options) | ₹20 flat per order | ₹20 flat per order |
| Currency Futures | ₹20 flat | 0.03% or ₹20 (Lower) |
| Currency Options | ₹20 flat | ₹20 flat |
Equity Delivery Charges
Groww: It has a flat fee of 0.05% or ₹20 per executed order, whichever is less. Very easy and straightforward to start with, but somewhat more expensive than Zerodha to long-term investors with large delivery purchases.
Zerodha: Provides zero brokerage on equity delivery which is its single largest USP. It is that long-term investors, as well as value buyers, will be the greatest beneficiaries, and Zerodha is the best place to create a buy-and-hold portfolio without having to pay a single rupee in commission.
Intraday Charges
Groww: Charges 0.05% or ₹20 per executed order on intraday trades, whichever is less. Large trades are affordable because of the ₹20 limit. It is also easy to buy or sell stocks on a quick trade without getting confused by its user-friendly interface.
Zerodha: Charges 0.03% or ₹20 per order – lower percentage, which is more cost-effective to high frequency traders. Zerodha intraday pricing will be evidently more competitive and pocket friendly to those trading different trades on daily basis with a thin margin.
Options & Futures Charges
Groww: Plays a flat fee of ₹20 each executed F&O order – simple, transparent and simple to plan around. Nonetheless, the system remains in its early stages of development and its sophisticated analytical features might seem inadequate among serious derivatives traders who require the Greeks and strategy creators.
Zerodha: ₹20 flat per F&O order too. The actual advantage is the ecosystem – Sensibull integration, Kites advanced charts, and real-time Greeks are what make Zerodha the choice of the professional derivatives and option traders in India.
Currency Derivatives Charges
Groww: Currency derivatives is not one of the main areas of focus to Groww. The products mostly targeted by the platform include stocks, credit products, and mutual funds. It is consistent with the flat ₹20 per order pricing, where appropriate, but the segment is poorly developed in comparison with the competitors.
Zerodha: Currency Futures have 0.03 or ₹20 (lower) charges, and Currency Options have a flat ₹20 charges. Currency traders prefer Zerodha because of the reliability of their API and the possibility to handle a wide variety of asset classes in a single location.
Mutual Fund Transaction Charges
Groww: It was launched as a mutual fund platform and it reflects, no commission, no transaction fee on Direct Mutual Funds. The only cost paid by investors is the expense ratio of the AMC. It is also among the most user friendly and novice friendly MF investing applications in India today.
Zerodha: The Seller of Direct Mutual funds on its Coin platform – totally free, no commission, no platform fee. Investors save big as compared to the normal fund distributors. Coin is not as user-friendly as Groww to those users who would purely rely on MF, but it fits perfectly into the broader ecosystem of Zerodha.
DP Charges
Groww: When selling stocks through the Demat account, the charges are ₹13.5 per scrip per day (including GST). These are typical Depository participant fees imposed by CDSL and are not dependent on brokerage – only applicable in delivery-based sales.
Zerodha: Even levies ₹13.5 per scrip per day in addition to GST on the sale of shares charged on the sell side out of the Demat account. These DP charges imposed by CDSL are standardized throughout the industry and are not specific to Zerodha – simply an aspect of normal Delivery equity transactions.
Groww vs Zerodha: Profitability.
Groww vs Zerodha: Profitability
| Metric | Groww | Zerodha |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue (FY25) | ~₹4,000 cr | ₹8,500 cr |
| Net Profit (FY25) | ₹1,819 cr | ₹4,200 cr |
| Profit Growth Trend | Rapidly increasing, but some volatility | Stable, high, but sensitive to regulatory changes |
| Profit per User (ARPU) | ~₹3,300 | ~₹12,000+ |
| Key Revenue Drivers | Investment products, wealth management, lending | Active trading (esp. F&O), broking fees |
| Business Model | Diversified, user base expansion focused | Broking-centric, bootstrapped, high-margin F&O |
| Regulatory Exposure | Moderate (expanding into lending/wealth) | Higher (F&O derivatives rules affect revenue) |
| Scale Advantage | Growing user base | Larger overall profit and revenue |
| 2026 Outlook | Profitability expected to rise with diversification | Profitable but may face margin pressure from regulations |
Which Platform Is More Profitable?
Groww vs Zerodha in profitability is however an entirely different story although it has been leading in the number of active users, Zerodha wins by a landslide. The experienced and high-volume trader base of Zerodha has created massive F & O and intraday revenues per day. The fact that it is bootstrapped implies that there is no pressure by investors and maximum margin retention.
Groww, despite demonstrating a spectacular growth, has younger users with smaller investments. Groww has changed emphasis into monetisation by lending and insurance, which steadily reduced the profitability gap in FY24.
Revenue Sources
Brokerage: Brokerage is the main revenue generator of both platforms. With millions of daily trades even at discount rates a huge and steady cash flow is created. F&O and intraday trading volumes are the major drivers of revenue at Groww and Zerodha, which is largely made up of brokerage.
Interest: Both platforms are also making their interest on the uninvested money (float money) that is lying in the user accounts as well as the Margin Trade Funding (MTF) – loaning money to the investors to buy the shares at interest. This is an expanding and high-margin revenue of both brokers.
Subscriptions: Zerodha makes a profit on value-added applications such as Streak and Smallcase integrations. Groww is also expanding its offerings to include Groww Pay (credit), AMC products, and subscription-based financial solutions so that it is not solely reliant on the revenues of pure trading fees.
How Zerodha Makes Money
- Kite: Makes money by being a broker to millions of dollars of intraday and F&O trades.
- Coin: Free MF platform that retains users within the ecosystem of Zerodha, which enhances the cross-sell opportunities.
- Kite Connect API: Algo traders and API developers pay ₹2,000/month to use API.
- MTF (Margin Trade Funding): Makes interest through lending capital to investors to buy stocks on leverage.
- Smallcase & Streak: The Kite ecosystem revenue share used on third-party integrations of tools.
How Groww Makes Money
- Broking Charges: A flat charge of ₹20 per stock and F&O, irrespective of its huge number of users.
- Groww AMC: Viability receives management fees on its own in-house mutual fund plans and products.
- Groww Pay (Credit): Interests on personal loans and BNPL products provided to customers.
- Merchant Payments: Processing charges on payment and UPI transactions on Groww Pay.
- Insurance and Gold: Insurance product distribution and online gold commissions.
Profit Trend 2024–2025
The trends of profits between Groww vs Zerodha in 2024- 2025 have interesting but opposite patterns. The growth of Zerodha is now at stabilized level since it is nearing the point of saturation in the professional trader segment but still it is the most profitable broker in India.
Groww on the other hand has dramatically turned around its losses and it now makes significant profitability, fuelled by its growing user base and the new sources of revenue in lending and insurance. Both platforms have been confronted by headwinds of the new F&O regulations by SEBI that may squeeze the total derivatives volumes and industry wide margins in the near future.
Groww vs Zerodha vs Upstox: Quick Comparison
| Feature | Groww | Zerodha | Upstox |
| Ease of Use | Excellent | Good | Moderate |
| Delivery Fee | ₹20 | Free | ₹20 |
| Charting Tools | Basic | Advanced | Advanced |
| API Access | No | Yes (Paid) | Yes (Free/Paid) |
| NRI Support | No | Yes | Yes |
| AMC | Free | ₹300/year | Free |
Groww vs Zerodha for NRI Investors
| Feature | Groww (NRI) | Zerodha (NRI) |
| NRI Account Available | Not Supported | Fully Supported |
| Account Type | N/A | PIS and Non-PIS |
| Brokerage for NRIs | N/A | ₹100 per order |
| Repatriation Support | N/A | Available |
Which Is Better — Zerodha or Groww?
| User Type | Recommended Platform | Reason |
| Complete Beginner | Groww | Simple UI, zero AMC, great for first-time MF investors |
| Active Day Trader | Zerodha | Lower intraday % charges, advanced tools, better reliability |
| Long-Term Investor | Zerodha | Zero brokerage on delivery, free stock investing |
| Mutual Fund Investor | Groww | Cleanest MF interface, easiest to navigate |
| F&O / Derivatives Trader | Zerodha | Sensibull, Greeks, strategy tools, API ecosystem |
| NRI Investor | Zerodha | Only platform of the two that supports NRI accounts |
What If Groww or Zerodha Shuts Down?
Its ideation is frightening, and its actuality is reassuring. This is the case since the brokers such as Groww and Zerodha do not possess your shares, they are safely kept in a Depository (CDSL or NSDL) under your PAN. Should one of the two brokers go out of business, the Account Closure Form or the Easiest portal can be used to reinvest in a different broker.
Also there is the Investor Protection Fund (IPF), which offers a financial safety net to any cash held in the pool account of the broker, to a limited extent. The SEBI laws will protect the investors on all levels.
Groww vs Zerodha — Reddit Thoughts & Community Sentiment
| Aspect | Reddit Sentiment |
| UI/UX | Groww is widely praised as “clean,” “modern,” and “beginner-friendly” |
| Reliability | Zerodha is respected for stability; occasional “glitch” complaints surface during peak market hours |
| Customer Support | Both receive mixed reviews; Zerodha’s structured ticketing system is generally preferred |
| Tools & Charts | Zerodha’s Kite consistently rated better for serious traders; Groww called “too simple” by pros |
| MF Investing | Groww is the clear favourite among Reddit’s MF investing community |
| Overall Recommendation | Beginners → Groww; Experienced traders → Zerodha |
Disadvantages of the Groww App
- Poor Charting Aids: Lacks provided a few technical analysis tools required by serious traders.
- No NRI Support: Non-Resident Indians are not able to open and use a Groww account.
- Delivery Charges: Groww does not have fee-free long-term equity delivery trades, which Zerodha does.
- Delays in Customer Service: It has been accused of slow, auto-processed, unresponsive service.
- Periodic Glitches: Delays and technical crashes According to high volatility market events.
- Too Simple to Pros: Over-minimalist interface removes higher order trading strategies.
Conclusion
Groww vs Zerodha is an eventual decision that depends on what kind of an investor you are. Groww is the ideal place to start as an amateur, a student, or a mutual fund believer — with its simple design and free of charge account, it is easy to get started. Zerodha has the muscle of serious traders and long term wealth builders – free delivery trades, sophisticated charting, and a battle-tested ecosystem give it the advantage.
Both sites are regulated by SEBI, are secure and have been key in the retail investing revolution in India. Your money is in good hands whichever you choose. The most qualified broker is just the one that suits your purposes.
Also Read: Trading Apps Without Investment
FAQs
Which brokerage is superior between Groww and Zerodha?
Both have zero commission Direct Mutual Funds but the interface of Groww is more user-friendly and easy to use by pure MF investors.
Does Zerodha charge the opening of accounts?
Yes, Zerodha has a fee of 200 on opening an equity account online, and 300/year on Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC).
Is Groww entirely free to use?
There is no account opening fee or AMC on Groww though it has a ₹20 or 0.05% (lower) per stock trade executed.
Is it possible to invest with Groww vs Zerodha at the same time?
Yes! Demat accounts can maintain the same PAN card with any number of brokers, there is no limit to this.
Can I lose my money in case Groww or Zerodha collapses?
Yes. Both are SEBI controlled and your stocks are at CDSL – not in the hands of the broker. Your investments will not be at risk irrespective of the status of the broker.