Trading

Understanding Brokerage Charges: What You Actually Pay Per Trade

Updated 12 Feb 2026 7 min read

Charge structures and rates vary by broker and change periodically. This guide explains the standard components — verify exact rates on your broker's contract note.

"Zero brokerage" is one of the most misleading phrases in Indian retail investing. Most discount brokers genuinely don't charge brokerage on equity delivery trades — but brokerage is only one line item on your contract note, and several others apply regardless of what your broker charges. Here's what each one actually is.

The charges that apply no matter which broker you use

STT — Securities Transaction Tax

A tax charged by the government, not your broker, on every trade. For delivery trades, it's charged on both the buy and sell side (0.1% each). For intraday trades, it's charged only on the sell side, at a much lower rate (0.025%). This is the single largest charge on most delivery trades and it's completely non-negotiable — no broker can waive it.

Exchange transaction charges

NSE and BSE each charge a small transaction fee on every trade that passes through their systems — a tiny percentage of turnover, but it applies on both legs of the trade regardless of broker.

SEBI charges

A very small regulatory fee (a few rupees per crore of turnover) that funds SEBI's oversight of the markets. Negligible on individual trades, but real.

Stamp duty

A state-government levy, charged only on the buy side, at a rate set uniformly across India since 2020 (0.015% for delivery, lower for intraday). Like STT, no broker controls this.

GST

18% GST applies — but only on your broker's brokerage fee plus the exchange transaction charges, not on the full trade value. This is why "zero brokerage" traders still see a small GST line: it's calculated on the exchange charges even when the brokerage itself is zero.

The charges that actually vary by broker

Brokerage — many discount brokers charge zero on delivery trades and a flat fee (commonly around ₹20) or a small percentage, whichever is lower, on intraday and F&O trades.
DP (Depository Participant) charges — a flat fee, typically ₹13-20, charged when you sell shares from your demat account. This applies per scrip per day, not per trade, and it's separate from brokerage.
Account maintenance charges (AMC) — some brokers charge an annual or monthly fee just to keep your demat/trading account open, independent of how much you trade.

See the full breakdown on a real trade

Enter your buy/sell price and quantity to see every charge itemized.

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Why intraday and delivery charges look so different

The biggest structural difference is STT: 0.1% on both sides for delivery versus 0.025% on the sell side only for intraday. That alone makes intraday trading noticeably cheaper per-trade in statutory charges — which is part of why intraday brokerage plans and delivery brokerage plans are usually priced and structured differently by brokers.

Why "zero brokerage" traders still lose money to charges on frequent trading

Even with zero brokerage, STT, exchange charges, stamp duty, and GST don't disappear — and DP charges apply every time you sell delivery shares, broker or no broker. For someone trading frequently, these "invisible" charges accumulate fast, sometimes exceeding what a flat-brokerage plan would have cost. This is precisely why comparing brokers purely on their advertised brokerage rate is incomplete — the statutory charges are identical everywhere, and DP/AMC charges vary just as much as brokerage does.

A practical takeaway

Before trading, actually total up what a round-trip trade will cost you in charges — not just the headline brokerage number. For frequent traders, this changes the real breakeven point on every trade: the price needs to move enough to cover STT, exchange charges, GST, and DP charges before you're in profit, not just enough to beat a zero-brokerage claim.