In a post on April 16 on X, Nithin Kamath said Zerodha remains among the few brokers that still charge zero brokerage on equity delivery trades.AI Quick ReadNithin Kamath, founder of discount broking platform Zerodha, recently revealed that the firm's decision to avoid squeezing a bit more revenue from customers has cost it around ₹25,620 crore in the last nine years.
In a post on April 16 on X, Nithin Kamath said Zerodha remains among the few brokers that still charge zero brokerage on equity delivery trades. Based on back-of-the-envelope calculations, he said that charging even 0.3% per trade could have generated significant revenue, but the company’s core philosophy has kept it from doing so. Most full-service brokers charge 0.3-0.5% as an equity delivery fee.
While highlighting the precarious nature of the broking business, Kamath said that their revenues are heavily tied to stock market performances and face regulatory risks, but despite that, they have not only refrained from charging a fee but also avoided new ways to extract revenue, such as pushing to trade more, cross-selling financial products and advertising.
That has, in turn, likely increased customer trust in the company as 25 to 30% of its accounts still come from referrals. Traders and investors who use Zerodha like what they see and tell their friends and family — a number means more to us than most metrics, and we’re genuinely grateful for it, according to the blog post tagged in Kamath's tweet.
He added that the temptation to make small tweaks, to nudge users a little harder or squeeze a bit more revenue, exists, but the "philosophy we started with on day one has stayed unchanged: don’t do unto others what you don’t want done unto you".
He said that in case he were burning money on advertising and incentives, they would have needed to find ways to make it back, and that’s where the compromises start. "We can offer zero brokerage on equity investing, free direct mutual fund investments, and dirt-cheap intraday rates. Our brokerage has stayed flat even as the rest of the industry has revised theirs. In fact, if we’d simply adjusted for inflation, we’d have to charge ₹50 today," said Kamath.
According to the billionaire entrepreneur, a major reason why he has managed to stay on the no-brokerage path is the bootstrapped nature of his firm. No investors to show growth numbers to and no pressure to justify revenue targets has certainly helped this initiative.
"Not having to answer to investors or chase revenue targets is a huge advantage and, honestly, a blessing. It's what has allowed us to stick to our philosophies like not spamming users, not tracking behaviour, not having different pricing for different people, and not doing things that aren't in the interest of customers," said Kamath's post on X.
He said that it is a freedom that "we don’t take lightly".
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Saloni Goel has over nine years of experience as a business journalist, with a strong track record of covering the financial markets. Over the course of her career, she has reported extensively on global and domestic equities, IPO market activity, commodities, and broader macroeconomic trends. Her reporting reflects a keen eye for detail, data-driven analysis, and the ability to spot emerging themes early.
At Mint, Saloni has been part of the markets team for nearly two years, where she currently works as Chief Content Producer. In this role, she plays a key part in shaping market coverage, driving editorial strategy, and ensuring timely, accurate, and insightful reporting across. She has been closely involved in breaking news coverage and in crafting stories that help decode the complex financial developments.
Before joining Mint, Saloni worked with some of India’s leading business newsrooms, including The Economic Times and Business Standard. Throughout her career, she has worn multiple hats—ranging from reporting and editing to contributing in-depth features and identifying new storytelling formats and market trends.
Her experience in fast-paced digital newsrooms has given her an edge in simplifying complex market concepts without losing analytical depth. Outside of work, Saloni enjoys reading books and spending time with her pet.