List of Biggest Stockbrokers in India (Updated: May 2022) In this article, we are going to look at the 15 Biggest Stockbrokers in India based on their total number of unique active clients.

There are over Three hundred stockbrokers in India registered with SEBI and different stock exchanges. Even on National Stock Exchange (NSE), there are 305 registered stockbrokers in India (including defaulters or expelled) as of the latest available data of 31st March 2022. When you are looking for the best stock broker to open your demat and trading account, one of the most straightforward factors to look into is its total number of active clients. Although a large client base doesn’t guarantee a better service, however, being a big firm, it reduces the possibility of the brokerage firm disappearing or running out of the service soon enough. 

These days, one and all stockbrokers will argue that they are trustworthy as they are registered with SEBI. However, just because they are registered with SEBI doesn’t make them reliable for the long term. Time and again, a lot of such small brokers are either expelled out of the exchange or simply go out of the business and file for bankruptcy. And this leads to a lot of trouble for their current clients.

Therefore, a safer option for the customers to avoid any such kind of inconvenience is by opening their trading account with the biggest stockbrokers in the Industry.

15 Biggest Stockbrokers in India with Highest Active Clients

Several websites rank stockbrokers in India based on different factors like their brand value, trading platforms, customer services, facilities offered, complaint ratio, etc. However, in this article, we are not going to look into these factors. 

Here, we are going to look at just one factor, i.e. the total number of unique active clients for that stockbroker. In this post, the stockbroker with the highest number of clients is ranked first, followed by the subsequent stockbrokers with top active clients. 

For this approach, we are going to use the data available on the NSE India website. The national stock exchange website provides the details of the monthly total number of unique clients of the different stockbrokers registered with it. Here’s a quick link to the page. You can also download the spreadsheet available on this page to analyze the stockbrokers further. 

Here are the 15 Biggest Stockbrokers in India based on the total number of unique active clients:

Please note that the total number of active clients of all stockbrokers is 3,60,35,020 (3.60 Cr) as of 31st March 2022, as mentioned on the NSE India website.

From the above table, you can easily notice that Zerodha is the biggest stockbroker with the highest numbers of unique clients registered on the National stock exchange in India. 

As of 31st March 2022, Zerodha constitutes around 17.42% of the total market share of the active clients registered on the National Stock Exchange. It has over 62.77 lakh active customers compared to a total of over 3.50 Crore active clients of all stockbrokers on the NSE.

What makes this list even more interesting is that Zerodha which got a unicorn startup status in 2020, was just founded in 2010 and still has been able to outrank all the old and well-matured traditional brokers. As of 2022, Zerodha has reported an almost 60% year-on-year jump in both its profits and revenue for 2021-22 at around Rs 1,800 Cr and Rs 4,300 Cr. Currently, the Zerodha is valued at over 2 billion dollars.

The other discount brokers like RKSV Securities (Upstox), Angel Broking, 5Paisa, and Groww (NextBillion Technologies) have also made into the top ten stockbrokers in India as per the number of active clients.  

Also read: Zerodha Review –Discount Broker in India | Brokerage, Trading Platform & More

According to the above table, Zerodha is followed by Upstox, which ranks second and has over 52.15 lakhs unique clients and holds 14.47% of the market share. 

The other most prominent stockbrokers in this list are Groww (38.47 lakh clients), Angel Broking (36.57 lakh clients), ICICI Securities (30.31 lakh clients), 5Paisa (17.54 lakh clients), Kotak Securities (12.56 lakh clients), HDFC Securities (11.41 Lakh clients), IIFL Securities (11.32 lakh clients), Motilal Oswal Group (8.96 lakh clients) and Sharekhan (7.64 lakh clients). Together these 15 biggest stockbrokers constitute over 85.19% of the total share of the unique clients registered on NSE.

Further, Upstox (RKSV Securities) and Groww (Next Billion Technologies) have been climbing the ranks fastly compared to the other stock brokers. Upstox’s market share has increased from 11.33% on June 21 to 14.47% as of Mar 22. Groww has moved from 7th to 3rd position in the last six months by over-performing ICICI Securities, 5 Paisa, HDFC Securities, Kotak Securities, and Sharekhan in terms of total numbers of active clients on NSE. Coincidently, Upstox and Groww, both are heavily funded startups and are even valued higher than Zerodha. Upstox got a unicorn status after the recent funding round and now is valued at $3 Billion.

Also read: Compare Online broker in India – Stockbrokers list

Bonus: Additional Top Stockbrokers

Here is a list of the ‘Next’ 15 biggest stockbrokers in India with the highest active clients registered on the National stock exchange as of 31st March 2022.

FAQs on Biggest Stockbrokers in India

1) Which is the biggest stockbroker in India?

Zerodha is the biggest stockbroker in India based on the total number of clients which is estimated to be over +9 million clients on BSE and NSE (as per its website). Established in 2010, Zerodha is a discount broker founded by Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath. Zerodha is followed by Upstox, Angel Broking, and ICICI securities who are also renowned among the biggest stock brokers in India based on total customers.

2) Who is the No 2 stockbroker in India?

Upstox, registered as RKSV Securities, is the second-largest stockbroker in India based on the total number of active clients and market share. As of March 22, Upstox has a 14.47% market share in the Indian stock brokerage industry. Originally founded in 2010, and later rebranding in 2016, Upstox is a Unicorn startup backed by Ratan Tata with a valuation of over $3 Billion as of December 2021. Coincidently, the latest funding round made Upstox more valued than rivals Zerodha and Groww, as per the reports.

3) Who is the largest broker in India?

Zerodha is the largest broker in India in terms of the total number of active clients. However, other traditional brokers like ICICI Direct, Angel Broking, Sharekhan, etc are older and more popular. In terms of valuation or market cap, ICICI securities is the largest stockbroker in India. Other stockbrokers like Groww and Upstox are also more valued and bigger in terms of valuation, though Zerodha is a bootstrapped company. 

4) Can stockbrokers be rich?

Yes, stockbrokers can be rich. The founders of Zerodha, Nithin Kamath, and Nikhil Kamath are both billionaires and ranked among the top 100 richest men in India and draw an annual salary of Rs 100 crores. 

Among other big names on Dalal Street who are ranked among the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021 are  JM Financial’s Nimesh Kampani & family is worth Rs 5,600 crore. IIFL’s Nirmal Bhanwarlal Jain is worth Rs 4,800 crore. Motilal Oswal Financial Services’ Motilal Oswal is worth Rs 4,500 crore and is the 349th richest Indian. Market veteran Raamdeo Ramgopal Agrawal is worth Rs 4,400 crore. Even founders of other startup stock brokerage firms like Groww, Upstox, etc are also exceptionally rich and their firms are unicorns.

5) Which is the safest stock broker in India?

Zerodha is the biggest stockbroker in India and is considered to be the safest stock broker in India. It is trusted by over +9 million clients on NSE & BSE, and contributes to over 15% of all retail order volumes in India daily by trading and investing. Zerodha’s trading platform, Kite, is also considered the safest and best trading app for Indian stock traders.

6) Which is best Zerodha or Angel Broking?

Between Zerodha and Angel Broking, Zerodha is more popular among investors based on active clients. However, Zerodha is a discount broker while Angel Broking is a full-service broker that offers discount brokerage plans. Zerodha doesn’t provide Research reports or investment tips, however, Angel broking offers these facilities to its clients.

7) Can I have 2 Demat accounts?

Yes, you can have two or even more Demat accounts. It is legally permissible in India to have multiple Demat accounts. All these Demat accounts will be linked to the same PAN card of the individual. 

8) Which broker is better than Zerodha?

Upstox, Groww, and Angel Broking are considered to be the biggest rivals of Zerodha, and also better than Zerodha in a few features. Apart from these, traditional brokers like ICICI Direct, HDFC Securities, Sharekhan are also considered better than Zerodha as they offer full-service features to their customers that include advisory, research reports, and more.

9) What if Zerodha shuts down?

Even if Zerodha or any of your stock brokers shuts down, your stocks are safe. Your stocks are kept with the depositories, i.e. CDSL and NSDL. In the case of Zerodha, CDSL is the depository. Even if Zerodha shuts down, CDSL will remain active and you can open a new trading account and get your shares by linking your CDSL account with the new Demat account. 

That’s all for this article. I hope this list of 15 Biggest Stockbrokers in India with highest Active Clients was helpful to you. Further, please comment below which brokerage firm you’re using for trading in the Indian stock market and your review for the same. Happy investing!

Kritesh Abhishek

Kritesh (Tweet here) is the Founder & CEO of Trade Brains & FinGrad. He is an NSE Certified Equity Fundamental Analyst with +7 Years of Experience in Share Market Investing. Kritesh frequently writes about Share Market Investing and IPOs and publishes his personal insights on the market.