Investment Desk · Methodology v1.0 · last updated 2026-04-26
How we rate demat brokers.
Five segments — discount, full-service, online-only modern, mobile-app-first, F&O / MTF specialist — each scored on its own rubric. Brokerage is already near-commoditised; the score weights platform reliability, expiry-day uptime, and SEBI SCORES complaint ratio over per-order fees.
· SEBI SCORES anchored· Uptime weighted heavily· Investment Desk owns it
Per-segment rubrics
Five formulas. One scoring scale.
Discount brokers (flat-fee equity)
Formula — Platform reliability 30% · SEBI complaint ratio 25% · Brokerage transparency 20% · Trading tools 15% · Onboarding + KYC speed 10%
Zerodha-style economics — flat ₹20 per executed order or zero on equity delivery. Brokerage is already a near-commodity, so the score weights platform reliability + complaint resolution heaviest. A broker that's ₹5 cheaper but goes down on expiry day costs the user 100× the savings.
Factor
What we measure
Weight
Platform reliability (uptime + glitches)
NSE/BSE technical-glitch incident log + crowdsourced downtime reports + broker's own published uptime SLA. Expiry-day outages weighted 3× regular outages.
30%
SEBI complaint ratio (per 1,000 active clients)
SEBI SCORES portal published complaints divided by NSE/BSE active-client count. Resolution speed + reopened-complaint ratio also factor in.
25%
Brokerage + total cost transparency
Equity / intraday / F&O / commodity per-order rates + DP charges + AMC + call-and-trade. Hidden charges (e.g., crossed-trade fee, square-off fee) penalised.
20%
Trading tools (charts, watchlist, basket order)
Native charting depth, basket / GTT orders, alerts, paper-trading, post-market analysis. Bonus for open API access.
15%
Onboarding speed + KYC experience
Account-open TAT (instant vs 3-day), digital KYC reliability, in-person hassle. Sub-24-hour fully-digital wins.
10%
Total
100%
Platform reliability (uptime + glitches): NSE/BSE technical-glitch incident log + crowdsourced downtime reports + broker's own published uptime SLA. Expiry-day outages weighted 3× regular outages.
SEBI complaint ratio (per 1,000 active clients): SEBI SCORES portal published complaints divided by NSE/BSE active-client count. Resolution speed + reopened-complaint ratio also factor in.
Brokerage + total cost transparency: Equity / intraday / F&O / commodity per-order rates + DP charges + AMC + call-and-trade. Hidden charges (e.g., crossed-trade fee, square-off fee) penalised.
Trading tools (charts, watchlist, basket order): Native charting depth, basket / GTT orders, alerts, paper-trading, post-market analysis. Bonus for open API access.
Onboarding speed + KYC experience: Account-open TAT (instant vs 3-day), digital KYC reliability, in-person hassle. Sub-24-hour fully-digital wins.
Full-service brokers
Formula — Research quality 30% · 3-in-1 integration 20% · SEBI complaint ratio 20% · Platform reliability 15% · Brokerage value 15%
HDFC Securities, ICICI Direct, Kotak Securities, Axis Direct — broker bundled with bank account + research advisory + relationship manager. Higher brokerage (typically 0.3–0.5% delivery, 0.03% intraday) is acceptable only if research quality + bank-integration value justifies it. We weight research depth + 3-in-1 account integration.
Factor
What we measure
Weight
Research quality (calls + reports + accuracy)
Number of analyst-covered stocks, hit rate of buy/sell calls (rolling 12-month), depth of macro/sector research, IPO note quality. We track call accuracy via Bloomberg / public-record audit.
30%
3-in-1 account integration (savings + demat + trading)
Seamless fund flow between bank → demat → trading without OTP friction. ASBA IPO experience. Margin top-up speed.
20%
SEBI complaint ratio
Same SCORES + active-client framework as discount brokers.
20%
Platform reliability
Web + mobile uptime. Full-service brokers historically slower at platform-modernisation; we score current state.
15%
Brokerage + total cost relative to research delivered
Premium pricing is acceptable only if research / advisory clearly justifies it. We compare against discount-broker baseline + research-quality adjusted.
15%
Total
100%
Research quality (calls + reports + accuracy): Number of analyst-covered stocks, hit rate of buy/sell calls (rolling 12-month), depth of macro/sector research, IPO note quality. We track call accuracy via Bloomberg / public-record audit.
3-in-1 account integration (savings + demat + trading): Seamless fund flow between bank → demat → trading without OTP friction. ASBA IPO experience. Margin top-up speed.
SEBI complaint ratio: Same SCORES + active-client framework as discount brokers.
Platform reliability: Web + mobile uptime. Full-service brokers historically slower at platform-modernisation; we score current state.
Brokerage + total cost relative to research delivered: Premium pricing is acceptable only if research / advisory clearly justifies it. We compare against discount-broker baseline + research-quality adjusted.
Online-only modern platforms
Formula — Trading tools depth 30% · Platform reliability 25% · SEBI complaint ratio 20% · Brokerage value 15% · API + integrations 10%
Dhan, Fyers, Angel One (post-flat-fee shift) — discount-fee economics + heavier feature stack (advanced order types, options strategies, scanners). User base skews active-trader and product-led. Score weights tools + execution quality + uptime over advisory.
Factor
What we measure
Weight
Trading tools depth (scanners, strategies, backtesting)
Pre-built option strategies (covered call, iron condor), strategy backtesting, real-time scanners, pattern detection, bracket orders. Number of supported order types is a proxy for sophistication.
30%
Platform reliability (uptime, latency, expiry-day stability)
Crowdsourced + broker-published uptime. Order-confirmation latency. Expiry-Tuesday/Thursday performance heavily weighted given the F&O lean.
25%
SEBI complaint ratio
Same SCORES framework. Note: complaint counts are proportional to client volume — we normalise per 1,000 active clients.
20%
Brokerage + cost transparency
Flat-fee structure clarity, MTF interest rate, exit-load on F&O squareoff, DP charges.
15%
API access + algo / fintech integrations
Open API for retail (with documented rate limits), integration with TradingView / Sensibull / Streak. Bonus for sandbox + free tier.
10%
Total
100%
Trading tools depth (scanners, strategies, backtesting): Pre-built option strategies (covered call, iron condor), strategy backtesting, real-time scanners, pattern detection, bracket orders. Number of supported order types is a proxy for sophistication.
Platform reliability (uptime, latency, expiry-day stability): Crowdsourced + broker-published uptime. Order-confirmation latency. Expiry-Tuesday/Thursday performance heavily weighted given the F&O lean.
SEBI complaint ratio: Same SCORES framework. Note: complaint counts are proportional to client volume — we normalise per 1,000 active clients.
Brokerage + cost transparency: Flat-fee structure clarity, MTF interest rate, exit-load on F&O squareoff, DP charges.
API access + algo / fintech integrations: Open API for retail (with documented rate limits), integration with TradingView / Sensibull / Streak. Bonus for sandbox + free tier.
Mobile-app-first brokers
Formula — Mobile UX + onboarding 30% · Product breadth (MF + equity + bonds + US) 25% · SEBI complaint ratio 20% · Platform reliability 15% · Cost transparency 10%
Groww, Paytm Money, Kuvera, INDmoney — onboarding-led platforms whose primary pull is friction-less mobile UX + entry-level investor education. Often double as MF + equity + bonds + US-stocks aggregators. Score weights UX + ease of first-trade + product breadth.
Factor
What we measure
Weight
Mobile UX + first-trade friction
Account-open to first-trade in <30 minutes. Clarity of trade-confirmation UI. Number of taps to place a market order. Beginner-onboarding clarity.
30%
Product breadth (MF + equity + bonds + US stocks + IPOs)
Number of investable categories under one roof. Direct vs Regular MF clarity. US-stock fractional support. SGB / bond marketplace quality.
25%
SEBI complaint ratio (mobile-first complaints often UX-related)
SCORES + per-1,000-active-clients. Mobile-first brokers historically score worse on complaint density due to younger / first-time investor base — we normalise for tenure.
20%
Platform reliability
Mobile + web uptime + push-notification reliability for order fills. App-store crash rate.
15%
Brokerage + cost transparency
Most mobile-first brokers are free on equity delivery; we score F&O + MTF + DP charges + AMC clarity.
10%
Total
100%
Mobile UX + first-trade friction: Account-open to first-trade in <30 minutes. Clarity of trade-confirmation UI. Number of taps to place a market order. Beginner-onboarding clarity.
Product breadth (MF + equity + bonds + US stocks + IPOs): Number of investable categories under one roof. Direct vs Regular MF clarity. US-stock fractional support. SGB / bond marketplace quality.
SEBI complaint ratio (mobile-first complaints often UX-related): SCORES + per-1,000-active-clients. Mobile-first brokers historically score worse on complaint density due to younger / first-time investor base — we normalise for tenure.
Platform reliability: Mobile + web uptime + push-notification reliability for order fills. App-store crash rate.
Brokerage + cost transparency: Most mobile-first brokers are free on equity delivery; we score F&O + MTF + DP charges + AMC clarity.
F&O / MTF specialists
Formula — Expiry-day uptime 35% · Margin + MTF policy 25% · Execution latency 15% · Brokerage on F&O lots 15% · SEBI complaint ratio 10%
Brokers preferred by active F&O traders + leveraged-equity (MTF / margin) users. Execution latency, margin policies, and uptime on expiry days are existentially important — a 30-second delay in F&O squareoff can wipe a position. Score weights execution + margin + uptime over UX.
Factor
What we measure
Weight
Expiry-day uptime + outage history
Tuesday (BSE) + Thursday (NSE) weekly expiry uptime. Past expiry-day outage incidents tracked from NSE/BSE technical-glitch logs + user reports. Even one major outage in the last 12 months caps this score.
35%
Margin + MTF policy
Span + exposure margin transparency, MTF interest rate (annualised), pledged-stock haircut, intraday-leverage rules. Intraday squareoff timing + autoclose-fee structure scored.
25%
Execution latency (order to confirmation)
Median latency in milliseconds, slippage on fast-moving F&O. Co-location / exchange-proximity infrastructure is a differentiator at the high end.
15%
Brokerage on F&O + MTF lots
Per-lot fee for futures + per-lot for options. Cap on absolute brokerage per order. STT impact transparency.
15%
SEBI complaint ratio (F&O complaints often margin / squareoff)
Same SCORES framework, with extra weight on margin-related + auto-squareoff complaints.
10%
Total
100%
Expiry-day uptime + outage history: Tuesday (BSE) + Thursday (NSE) weekly expiry uptime. Past expiry-day outage incidents tracked from NSE/BSE technical-glitch logs + user reports. Even one major outage in the last 12 months caps this score.
Margin + MTF policy: Span + exposure margin transparency, MTF interest rate (annualised), pledged-stock haircut, intraday-leverage rules. Intraday squareoff timing + autoclose-fee structure scored.
Execution latency (order to confirmation): Median latency in milliseconds, slippage on fast-moving F&O. Co-location / exchange-proximity infrastructure is a differentiator at the high end.
Brokerage on F&O + MTF lots: Per-lot fee for futures + per-lot for options. Cap on absolute brokerage per order. STT impact transparency.
SEBI complaint ratio (F&O complaints often margin / squareoff): Same SCORES framework, with extra weight on margin-related + auto-squareoff complaints.
Standardised adjustments
Cross-segment modifiers.
- ·Recent SEBI penalty / restraint order on broker −0.4 to −0.8 stars
- ·NSE/BSE technical-glitch incident in last 6 months −0.2 to −0.5 stars
- ·Client-funds misuse / pledged-shares misuse history −0.5 to −1.0 stars
- ·Major data-breach / KYC leak in last 12 months −0.3 to −0.6 stars
- ·ISO 27001 / SOC 2 certification + published security disclosure +0.0 to +0.1 stars
- ·Open API + retail-developer ecosystem traction +0.0 to +0.2 stars
- ·Public earnings + audited active-client count (transparency) +0.0 to +0.1 stars
Data sources
Where the values come from.
SEBI SCORES portal
Per-broker complaint count, resolution time, reopened-complaint ratio. Pulled monthly. Normalised per 1,000 active clients to account for size.
NSE + BSE active-client + glitch logs
Audited active-client counts (released monthly). NSE/BSE published technical-glitch incidents. Clearing-corp default events.
Broker-published rate cards + KYC kit
Brokerage + DP + AMC + margin rate audited monthly. Hidden charges flagged.
Crowdsourced uptime monitors
Aggregate downtime reports from Downdetector + Reddit r/IndianStreetBets + Twitter mentions. Cross-verified against broker's status page.
Regulatory filings + annual reports
Listed brokers (Angel One, IIFL Sec, Motilal Oswal, etc.): audited revenue, client-funds quantum, active-client trajectory.
In-house broker audit
Editorial team opens + funds + trades on each rated broker quarterly to verify onboarding TAT, order latency, fund-withdrawal SLA, support responsiveness.
Update cadence
When scores get refreshed.
- Monthly: SEBI SCORES complaint pull, NSE/BSE active-client count, broker rate-card audit.
- Quarterly: In-house broker audit (account-open + trade + withdraw cycle on each rated broker).
- Event-triggered: SEBI penalty / NSE/BSE technical-glitch / client-funds incident → re-score within 7 days.
- Annually: Full rubric refresh after RBI / SEBI annual reports + listed-broker audited filings.
Related methodologies
Other product types we rate.
Brokers methodology v1.0 · last updated 2026-04-26