Zerodha is the largest trading platform in India, the number of customers of which exceeded 9 million. It offers several high-tech terminals that anyone can use regardless of their trading experience. In the article, we will discuss the pros and cons of Zerodha to see how good it is for beginner and more experienced traders.
What products does Zerodha offer?
Zerodha offers two trading software: Kite and Coin. In addition, the company’s clients have free access to the Varsity learning portal and Console, where they can get detailed information about their portfolios. Keep reading to find out more about each of these platforms.
Kite
Kite is the trading platform developed by Zerodha. The terminal is one of the most popular and convenient ones for online stock and commodity trading in India. Kite is available as both a web version and a mobile app for Android or iOS. Its intuitive interface makes trading simple, even for those who have never traded.
The platform offers six different types of charts, 20 drawing tools, around 100 indicators, and many timeframes, including the classic 4-hour chart. Kite has also become the first trading app in India to provide users with not only Level 2 data but also Level 3 (or 20 market depth data).
Also, the universal instrument search will allow you to find your favorite derivatives, stocks, metals, bonds and other assets without delay. The search is conducted on several exchanges at once and covers more than 90,000 stocks and F&O contracts.
Coin
Coin is a mobile application suitable for those who adhere to long-term strategies. Here you can invest commission-free in government, gold, and corporate bonds, as well as direct mutual funds.
Zerodha Coin is not presented as a web version; therefore, it is only suitable for trading from a mobile or tablet. There is also no official desktop app. Please do not download the Coin app on your PC from third-party sites as the company is not responsible for them.
Console
Сonsole is not a trading platform, unlike the two above. It is a central dashboard for your account designed to comprehensively analyse your portfolio. Here you can visualize trades as well as get ready-to-submit tax reports. Сonsole also provides the ability to gift ETFs and stocks to family or friends.
The dashboard handles a vast number of rows of historical trade breakdowns, ensuring maximum accuracy of P&L reports. In such a report, you can also mark the reason for taking a trade; it can act as your trading journal.
Varsity
Varsity is an educational platform with dozens of modules about investment and trading, such as introduction to stock markets, fundamental and technical analysis, strategies, etc. The learning terminal is available on both the website and the mobile app. For your convenience, you can choose from two languages, English and Hindi.
You can rely on Varsity because it was created by specialists with more than a decade of experience in financial market research. It is ideal for beginners as the material is sorted from easy to difficult. You also don’t have to spend much time, as it only takes a few minutes to complete the lesson.
The main advantages of Zerodha
Let’s take a look at the main pros of the platform that make it such a good choice for Indian traders:
- User-friendly platform navigation. Zerodha trading terminals, like the Varsity learning platform, are intuitive and do not require any preparation before using them.
- Convenient account opening Demat. The process can be done online if you have a mobile number connected to Aadhar. If not, creating an account offline won’t take long either.
- No mandatory investment amount. The online broker has not set a minimum deposit; you can replenish at your discretion. There are also no balance requirements to keep your account active.
- Low commissions. In addition to free investments in direct mutual funds and equity delivery, the broker offers minimum charges for F&O and intraday trading, namely 0.03% or ₹20 per order.
Note! Online opening of the Trading & Demat account will cost you ₹200, two times cheaper than submitting documents offline.
Disadvantages
The Zerodha platform has several disadvantages:
- No demo account. Since the securities are traded on live markets, there is no way to provide you with a test account on the platform. However, you can place hypothetical orders if you create and test techniques on the strategic trading platform Streak by Zerodha.
- Access to the Indian market only. On Zerodha, you will not be able to invest in foreign stocks, which can be frustrating for advanced traders. However, if you are a beginner, this is a plus that allows you not to get confused in the stock market.
- Limited time for withdrawal requests. They received on Sunday or public holidays are considered the next working day. On weekdays and Saturdays, there are also certain hours before which you need to apply so that it can be processed today. See more here.
Note! Zerodha provides a support portal that functions as a FAQ section to answer customer questions quickly.
Is Zerodha a good platform?
When choosing a platform to trade, you may feel reluctant to try out some ones as you might be concerned that they will turn out to be scams. However, Zerodha is a reliable and secure stockbroking platform with over ten years of experience in the industry.
One of the reasons to trust Zerodha is that it is listed with the CDSL depository and all major Indian stock exchanges. It also operates under the regulations of The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the primary regulator for securities and commodity markets in the country.
Zerodha is one of India’s platforms that provides online flat-fee brokerage services to invest in stocks, mutual funds, commodities, and more. The plus side of the platform is that it charges no brokerage for Equity delivery investments and Direct mutual funds investments.
Reviews
Zerodha is a trading platform that many Indians trusts. If you still doubt that the company is trustworthy, here are a few user reviews from the well-known forum Quora:
Chandra Vijay Singh:
Zerodha is undoubtedly the number one trading company in India. It’s good for me for many reasons, such as providing dynamic chart patterns.
Saumil Shah:
I’m satisfied with my experience with Zerodha. When compared to similar platforms, it is clear that this broker offers one of the lowest account maintenance charges.
Manas Nayak:
This is a good broker for beginners and all traders. I have been using Zerodha for over two years, and it has changed a lot for the better. For instance, options for mutual funds and small case investments have been added. If we talk about the speed of providing support, Zerodha is also number one.
General
Zerodha is the top online platform in India since it provides a multitude of perks that make trading in the stock market as convenient and safe as possible. Minor drawbacks, such as covering only the Indian market, are outweighed by the many benefits.
You do not need to worry about company legalities as SEBI regulates the broker’s activities. So, if you searched for a secure investment platform, go no further and give Zerodha a shot. However, keep in mind that trading is a high-risk activity. Don’t invest large amounts until you complete the training or risk losing your deposit.
