Demat Account Charges in India 2026: Complete Breakdown by Broker

What is a demat account? A quick recap

A demat (dematerialised) account holds your shares and securities in electronic form, just as a bank account holds your money. In India, every equity investor must have a demat account — physical share certificates have been largely phased out since SEBI mandated dematerialisation. The two depositories that maintain demat accounts are CDSL (Central Depository Services Limited) and NSDL (National Securities Depository Limited). Your broker acts as a Depository Participant (DP) — the intermediary between you and the depository.

The complete list of demat account charges

Here is every charge associated with a demat account in India, categorised by type. Not all brokers levy all of these, and amounts vary — the comparison section later in this article provides broker-specific details.

1. Account opening charges

This is a one-time fee charged when you first open your demat and trading account. In the competitive Indian brokerage landscape of 2025-2026, most discount brokers have eliminated this charge entirely. Full-service brokers may still charge ₹200-₹500 for account opening, though many run periodic "free account opening" promotions.

2. Annual Maintenance Charges (AMC)

The AMC is a recurring annual fee for maintaining your demat account, charged by the DP (your broker). This is arguably the most significant recurring cost for low-frequency investors who only make a few trades per year.

AMC ranges from ₹0 (Groww, m.Stock) to ₹300-₹450 (Zerodha, Angel One) per year. Some brokers charge it quarterly (e.g., ₹75 per quarter) while others charge annually. CDSL and NSDL themselves do not charge AMC directly to investors — they charge the DP, which passes it on to you (often with a markup).

3. DP charges (debit transaction charges)

This is the charge levied when shares are debited from your demat account — i.e., when you sell shares from your delivery holdings. This is separate from brokerage. The depository base charge (CDSL: ₹3.50, NSDL: ₹4.50 per instruction as of 2024) is passed through by your broker, often with a markup.

Key detail: DP charges are levied per scrip per day, not per share. If you sell 5,000 shares of Reliance in one transaction on one day, you pay the DP charge once. If you sell Reliance shares in two separate transactions on the same day, you still pay the DP charge once. But if you sell Reliance on Monday and TCS on Monday, you pay the DP charge twice (once per scrip).

Most discount brokers charge between ₹13 and ₹20 per scrip per day (including the depository's base charge plus the broker's markup plus GST).

4. Pledge and unpledge charges

When you use shares in your demat as margin collateral for F&O trading, the shares are "pledged" — a lien is created in the depository's records. Pledging and unpledging attract charges from both the depository and the broker.

As of 2024, CDSL charged ₹12 per ISIN per request for pledge creation. Broker markups vary: Zerodha charged ₹0 for pledging but applied standard DP charges for unpledging; other brokers charged ₹20-₹30 per pledge/unpledge transaction. If you actively use margin from pledged holdings for derivatives trading, these charges can accumulate.

5. Transaction fees and STT

While technically a trading charge rather than a demat charge, transaction fees (charged by NSE/BSE) and Securities Transaction Tax (STT, charged by the government) are deducted alongside every equity trade and often appear on the same contract note.

STT on delivery equity trades was 0.1% on both buy and sell (0.1% total on each side) as of the 2024-25 budget. For intraday, STT was 0.025% on the sell side only. These rates are set by the government and are the same across all brokers. You can estimate the exact impact using a brokerage calculator.

6. SMS and communication charges

SEBI mandates that depositories send transaction alerts via SMS and email for every demat debit/credit. Some brokers pass on the SMS charge (₹0.25-₹0.50 per SMS) to the investor, while others absorb it. This is a minor cost but can add up for active traders receiving dozens of alerts monthly.

7. Stamp duty

Since July 2020, stamp duty on securities transactions has been collected centrally by the depository and remitted to the state government. The rate is 0.015% on delivery purchases and 0.003% on intraday/F&O transactions (on the buy side). Stamp duty is uniform across states (previously it varied). This is not a broker charge — it is a government levy — but it appears on your contract note and affects your all-in trading cost.

CDSL vs NSDL: does the depository matter?

India has two depositories, and your broker determines which one your demat account is held with:

• CDSL (Central Depository Services Limited): Used by most discount brokers including Zerodha, Upstox, Angel One, and Groww. As of 2024, CDSL held approximately 13 crore+ demat accounts.
• NSDL (National Securities Depository Limited): Used by some full-service brokers and a few discount brokers. NSDL was the first depository in India (established 1996) and held approximately 4 crore+ demat accounts.

For the retail investor, the practical differences are minimal. Both depositories are regulated by SEBI, hold your securities with identical legal protections, and support the same corporate actions. The fee structures differ slightly (NSDL's debit transaction charge is ₹1 higher per instruction), but the broker's markup typically dwarfs the depository's base charge. Your choice of broker should drive your decision, not the underlying depository.

Broker-wise comparison of demat charges

The following comparison is based on publicly available information from each broker's website and tariff sheets as of early 2026. Charges may change — always verify the latest rates on the broker's website before opening an account.

* Upstox and 5Paisa AMC waivers are subject to conditions that may change. Check the broker's latest tariff sheet. Charges shown are inclusive of depository base charges. GST (18%) is applicable on all charges and is additional. Data compiled from publicly available broker tariff pages as of early 2026.

For detailed reviews of each broker, see our broker reviews and comparisons section, including individual reviews of Upstox, Angel One, Groww, and 5Paisa.

Hidden charges most investors miss

Beyond the headline charges, there are several line items that often surprise investors when they review their ledger for the first time:

• Off-market transfer charges: If you transfer shares from one demat account to another (not via an exchange trade — e.g., gifting shares to a family member), brokers charge ₹25-₹30 per ISIN plus GST. The depository also levies a separate charge.
• Physical CML (Client Master List) request: While most KYC updates are free digitally, requesting a physical copy of your CML may attract a charge of ₹50-₹100.
• DIS (Delivery Instruction Slip) booklet: Physical DIS booklets — used to authorise share transfers before DDPI/POA became standard — cost ₹100-₹200 per booklet. Though rarely needed now, they are still available.
• Failed transaction charges: If a sell instruction fails due to insufficient holdings (a rare but possible scenario with pledged shares or timing mismatches), some brokers charge a penalty.
• GST on everything:All broker and depository charges are subject to 18% GST. When a broker advertises "₹20 brokerage," the actual charge is ₹23.60 after GST. Over hundreds of trades, this adds up.

Corporate action charges

When corporate actions occur — stock splits, bonus issues, mergers, demergers — your demat account is updated automatically by the depository. Most brokers do not charge additional fees for standard corporate actions. However, there are edge cases:

• ISIN changes: In a merger or demerger, old ISINs are extinguished and new ones are credited. This is a depository operation and typically has no charge to the investor.
• Transmission of shares: If the account holder passes away, transferring shares to a nominee or legal heir involves documentation and may attract a charge (typically ₹100-₹500 depending on the broker and whether it goes through the simplified transmission process or requires legal heir certification).
• Rematerialisation: Converting electronic shares back to physical certificates (extremely rare, but legally possible for a few specific securities) attracts a charge of ₹200-₹500 per certificate.

Dormant account reactivation

If your demat account has had no transactions for 12-24 consecutive months, it may be classified as dormant by the depository. A dormant account status means:

• You cannot place sell orders until the account is reactivated.
• Your holdings remain safe — shares are not affected by dormancy status.
• Corporate actions (dividends, bonus, splits) continue to apply normally.
• Reactivation requires submitting a written request to your broker, possibly updating KYC documents if they have expired, and sometimes paying a reactivation fee (₹200-₹500).

If you hold shares for the very long term and do not trade frequently, one way to prevent dormancy is to ensure at least one transaction (even buying one share of any stock) within the depository's inactivity window.

NRI demat account charges

Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) can invest in Indian equity markets through NRE (repatriable) or NRO (non-repatriable) demat accounts. NRI demat accounts typically attract higher charges than resident accounts:

• Account opening: ₹500-₹2,000 (many brokers charge NRIs for account opening even when it is free for residents).
• AMC: ₹500-₹1,000 per year — higher than resident AMC.
• Higher brokerage: NRI brokerage rates are typically 0.1%-0.5% per trade (compared to the flat ₹20 or ₹0 for residents), partly due to RBI compliance requirements.
• TDS on capital gains:Brokers are required to deduct TDS on NRI capital gains before settlement. The TDS rate depends on the holding period and the applicable DTAA (Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement) with the NRI's country of residence.
• Contract note and custodian charges: Some brokers levy additional per-trade charges for NRI accounts to cover custodian and compliance costs.

NRIs should carefully evaluate the all-in cost of investing through an Indian broker, including forex conversion charges (bank spread on INR/USD or INR/GBP), which can add 0.5-1.5% to every repatriation.

How to minimise your demat costs

Based on the charge structures outlined above, here are practical approaches to reducing your total cost of demat account ownership:

1. Choose a zero-AMC broker if you trade infrequently. Paying ₹300-₹450 per year in AMC on a demat account with holdings worth ₹20,000 is a 1.5-2.25% annual drag — a significant cost for small portfolios.
2. Consolidate sell transactions: Since DP charges are per scrip per day, selling all your shares of a particular stock in one transaction on one day costs the same as selling one share. If you are reducing a position, sell in one batch rather than multiple small orders across different days.
3. Use a single demat for long-term holdings: Having multiple demat accounts means paying AMC on each. Unless you have a specific reason (separate account for trading vs investing), consolidating into one account reduces fixed costs.
4. Review your broker's tariff sheet annually: Brokers revise their charges — sometimes raising them quietly. Zerodha, for instance, increased its account opening fee from ₹0 to ₹200 in 2023 (later reversed for promotional periods). A yearly check ensures you are not overpaying.
5. Avoid unnecessary pledging: Every pledge and unpledge instruction has a cost. If you are not actively using pledged shares as margin, unpledge them and avoid the ongoing charge cycle.

The bottom line on demat costs

For an investor with a moderate portfolio (₹2-10 lakh) making 20-30 delivery trades per year, the total annual demat-related charges (excluding brokerage) typically fall between ₹500 and ₹1,500. This is a small percentage of the portfolio value, but it is not zero — and for small portfolios or inactive accounts, the fixed costs (AMC especially) can be a meaningful drag on returns.

The Indian brokerage industry is competitive enough that switching costs are low — most brokers support free account opening and free online KYC. If your current broker's charges are significantly above what others offer, switching is straightforward and can be completed in 2-3 business days via online processes.