Delivery-equity cost models applied to every trade of the back-test at today's published rate cards. Rates in earlier years differed; STT for delivery has been 0.1% per side since 2013, other statutory items are applied at current levels. Check each broker's own page before relying on a figure. Several brokers' figures come from public comparison sites that disagree with each other; entries marked as assumed or low-confidence must be confirmed with the broker before use. Broker names are used only to describe publicly listed prices; no affiliation or endorsement is implied.
Broker rate cards
| Zerodha | Dhan | Kotak Neo - Trade Free | Kotak Neo - Trade Free Youth | Anand Rathi | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equity delivery | ₹0 | ₹0 | 0.20% after first 30 days (Youth plan: ₹0; Pro plan: 0.10% + fixed ₹249) | ₹0 (under-30 plan) | 0.20% of value (plans listed from 0.15% to 0.30%) |
| Intraday | ₹20 or 0.03% (lower) per order | ₹20 or 0.03% (lower) per order | ₹10 per order (equity: ₹10 or 0.05%, lower) | ₹10 per order | 0.02% of value (0.015%-0.03% by plan) |
| Futures | ₹20 or 0.03% (lower) per order | ₹20 or 0.03% (lower); verify on rate card | ₹10 per order | ₹10 per order | 0.02% of value |
| Options | ₹20 flat per order | ₹20 flat per order | ₹10 per order | ₹10 per order | ₹50-100 per lot or order (sources differ) |
| DP charge on sale | ₹13.50 + GST per scrip per day on sale | ₹12.50 + GST per scrip on sale (per aggregator sites) | Not confirmed; modelled at ₹13.50 + GST (ASSUMPTION) | Not confirmed; modelled at ₹13.50 + GST (ASSUMPTION) | Not confirmed; modelled at ₹13.50 + GST (ASSUMPTION) |
| Account / AMC | AMC ₹75 + GST per quarter (BSDA under ₹50,000: nil) | Account opening and AMC free | Account opening ₹99 on one page, ₹0 on another; verify | Verify | AMC ₹450 per year on one listing |
| Confidence | Official page | Official page for delivery, intraday and options; DP and futures from aggregator sites | Plan terms conflict between sources; verify | Broker page; eligibility restricted | Aggregator listings only; the tariff must be confirmed with the broker |
| Sources | zerodha.com/charges support.zerodha.com/category/account-opening/c | dhan.co/pricing | www.kotakneo.com/pricing/trade-free-plan/ www.chittorgarh.com/brokerage_charges/kotak-ne | www.kotakneo.com/kotak-trade-free-plan/ | www.chittorgarh.com/brokerage-calculator/anand select.finology.in/broker/anand-rathi |
Statutory and exchange charges used
| Item | Rate | Note | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equity delivery STT | 0.1% on buy and sell | Unchanged by Budget 2026 | source |
| Equity intraday STT | 0.025% on sell | Unchanged by Budget 2026 | source |
| Equity futures STT | 0.05% on sell (was 0.02%) | From 1 April 2026 | source |
| Options STT | 0.15% of premium on sell (was 0.10%) | From 1 April 2026 | source |
| NSE equity transaction charge | about 0.00307% of turnover | Per Dhan's published page (0.0030699%); other sites list 0.00297%-0.00322% | source |
| SEBI turnover fee | ₹10 per crore (0.0001%) | Zerodha charges page | source |
| Stamp duty (equity delivery) | 0.015% on buy | Uniform since July 2020 | source |
| GST | 18% on brokerage, exchange, SEBI and DP charges | Zerodha charges page | source |
How a delivery trade is costed
For every buy and every sell the report adds, on the traded value V:
- Brokerage = broker's rate × V (0 for Zerodha and Dhan on delivery).
- STT = 0.1% × V (both sides). Exchange charge ≈ 0.00307% × V. SEBI fee = ₹10 per crore. Stamp duty = 0.015% × V on buys.
- DP charge on every sale (a flat rupee amount per scrip).
- GST = 18% × (brokerage + exchange + SEBI + DP).
- Slippage is separate: 0.15% plus a market-impact term, deducted from each fill in every model.
Worked example. Buy ₹20,000 of a stock and sell it later for ₹22,000 with Zerodha: buy side STT ₹20, exchange ₹0.61, SEBI ₹0.02, stamp ₹3.00, GST on exchange+SEBI ₹0.11; sell side STT ₹22, exchange ₹0.68, SEBI ₹0.02, DP ₹13.50 + 18% GST ₹2.43, GST ₹0.13. Total about ₹62.5, or 0.15% of the ₹42,000 traded, before slippage. On a 0.20% brokerage plan add ₹84 of brokerage plus GST.
Futures, options and commodity trades have different statutory items (for example futures STT of 0.05% on sell from 1 April 2026) and are shown in the rate cards for reference; the CRUDEOILM studies use their own cost estimate of about ₹58 per round trip, pending reconciliation with a contract note.