How to use the brokerage calculator
- Choose the segment: options, futures, intraday equity or delivery equity.
- Choose the exchange. Nifty contracts trade on NSE and Sensex contracts on BSE.
- Pick your broker, or choose a custom fee per order.
- Enter the buy and sell prices. For options these are premiums. For futures and options, enter the number of lots and the lot size; for shares, enter the quantity.
- Set how many round trips you make a day to see the monthly cost.
- Switch to Compare brokers to see the same trade at every broker, cheapest first.
A round trip is one buy and one sell, so it is two executed orders. The lot size is the number of units in one contract.
Charges on every trade in India
Six items make up the cost of a trade, and the brokerage calculator adds all of them. Brokerage is set by your broker. The other five are set by the government, the exchanges and SEBI, and are the same at every broker.
| Charge | Options | Futures | Intraday equity | Delivery equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STT | 0.15% of the sell premium | 0.05% of the sell value | 0.025% of the sell value | 0.1% of the buy and the sell value |
| NSE transaction charges | 0.03553% of premium turnover | 0.00183% of turnover | 0.00307% of turnover | 0.00307% of turnover |
| BSE transaction charges | 0.0325% of premium turnover | Nil | 0.00375% of turnover | 0.00375% of turnover |
| SEBI fee | ₹10 per crore of turnover | ₹10 per crore | ₹10 per crore | ₹10 per crore |
| Stamp duty | 0.003% of the buy premium | 0.002% of the buy value | 0.003% of the buy value | 0.015% of the buy value |
| GST | 18% of brokerage, transaction charges and the SEBI fee | Same | Same | Same |
Turnover is the buy value plus the sell value. For options, the values are premium × quantity, not the notional value of the contract, so option charges are small in rupees but large next to the premium.
The NSE rates include NSE's investor protection fund charge, which brokers show as part of the transaction charges. Selling shares from a demat account also costs a DP charge, set by your broker and depository and charged per company per day. At Zerodha it is ₹15.34 including GST.
What changed on 1 April 2026
Budget 2026 raised STT on futures from 0.02% to 0.05% of the sell value, on options from 0.1% to 0.15% of the sell premium, and on exercised options from 0.125% to 0.15% of the intrinsic value. Intraday and delivery equity rates did not change.
The futures change is the large one. On a round trip of one Nifty futures lot, bought at 25,000 and sold at 25,050, STT rose from ₹325.65 to ₹814.13, and total charges at a ₹20-per-order broker rose from ₹479.44 to ₹967.91. The move needed to cover charges doubled, from 7.38 points to 14.89 points. On the option round trip above, STT rose from ₹7.15 to ₹10.73 and total charges from ₹60.28 to ₹63.86.
Worked examples at Zerodha
Each example is one round trip on NSE at Zerodha's standard plan. These are the brokerage calculator's default inputs, so you can open any segment and change one number at a time.
| Options | Futures | Intraday | Delivery | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trade | 1 lot of 65, ₹100 to ₹110 | 1 lot of 65, 25,000 to 25,050 | 100 shares, ₹1,000 to ₹1,010 | 100 shares, ₹1,000 to ₹1,100 |
| Turnover | ₹13,650 | ₹32,53,250 | ₹2,01,000 | ₹2,10,000 |
| Brokerage | ₹40.00 | ₹40.00 | ₹40.00 | ₹0.00 |
| STT | ₹10.73 | ₹814.13 | ₹25.25 | ₹210.00 |
| Transaction charges | ₹4.85 | ₹59.53 | ₹6.17 | ₹6.45 |
| SEBI fee | ₹0.01 | ₹3.25 | ₹0.20 | ₹0.21 |
| Stamp duty | ₹0.20 | ₹32.50 | ₹3.00 | ₹15.00 |
| GST | ₹8.08 | ₹18.50 | ₹8.35 | ₹1.20 |
| DP charge | None | None | None | ₹15.34 |
| Total charges | ₹63.86 | ₹967.91 | ₹82.97 | ₹248.20 |
| Gross profit | ₹650.00 | ₹3,250.00 | ₹1,000.00 | ₹10,000.00 |
| Net profit | ₹586.14 | ₹2,282.09 | ₹917.03 | ₹9,751.80 |
| Charges as a share of gross profit | 9.8% | 29.8% | 8.3% | 2.5% |
| Move needed to cover charges | ₹0.98 a unit | 14.89 points | ₹0.83 a share | ₹2.48 a share |
What the examples show:
- In futures, STT is most of the cost. It is ₹814.13 of the ₹967.91 total, or 84%, so the choice of broker changes little. On BSE, where futures carry no transaction charge, the same trade costs ₹897.66.
- In options, brokerage is most of the cost. ₹40 of brokerage plus ₹7.20 of GST on it is 74% of the ₹63.86 total, so the choice of broker matters most here.
- In delivery, STT is most of the cost, but on a 10% gain the charges are small next to the profit.
Compare brokerage charges
Here are the published charges at four widely used brokers QuantPower connects for their standard plans, checked on 10 October 2026.
| Broker | Equity delivery | Equity intraday | Futures | Options |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zerodha | ₹0 | ₹20 or 0.03%, whichever is lower | ₹20 or 0.03%, whichever is lower | ₹20 per order |
| Upstox | ₹20 per order | ₹20 or 0.1%, whichever is lower | ₹20 or 0.05%, whichever is lower | ₹20 per order |
| Fyers | ₹0 | ₹20 or 0.03%, whichever is lower | ₹20 per order | ₹20 per order |
| IIFL Capital | ₹20 per order | ₹20 per order | ₹20 per order | ₹20 per order |
The Compare brokers view of the brokerage calculator puts the same trade side by side for each broker. The one-lot option round trip from the examples costs:
| Broker and plan | Brokerage per round trip | Total charges per round trip | A month at 10 round trips a day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zerodha, Upstox, Fyers or IIFL Capital (₹20 per order) | ₹40.00 | ₹63.86 | ₹14,049 |
A month is 22 trading days. For delivery the order changes: on the ₹1 lakh delivery trade from the examples, Zerodha and Fyers charge no brokerage and the total is ₹248.20, and Upstox and IIFL Capital charge ₹40 for a total of ₹295.40.
Brokers also offer other plans and change their charges from time to time. Check your broker's current charges page before you rely on these figures. The guides to Zerodha algo trading, Upstox API for algo trading, Fyers algo trading and Wisdom Capital algo trading cover each broker's API and setup.
Zerodha brokerage charges
Zerodha charges no brokerage on equity delivery, ₹20 or 0.03% per executed order (whichever is lower) on intraday and futures, and a flat ₹20 per executed order on options. With statutory charges, a one-lot Nifty option round trip costs ₹63.86, a one-lot Nifty futures round trip ₹967.91 and a ₹1 lakh intraday round trip ₹82.97, as in the examples above. Delivery sales add the DP charge of ₹15.34 per company per day.
Zerodha also charges ₹500 a month per API key for live and historical data through Kite Connect; its order APIs are free. For the margin a position needs, use the F&O margin calculator.
Option trading charges
You can test each of these in the brokerage calculator. Option trading charges behave differently from other segments because most brokers charge a flat fee per order, while the statutory charges are a percentage of a small premium. Three things follow.
- Size spreads the fixed fee. Buying one lot at ₹10 and selling at ₹12 makes ₹130 gross and costs ₹48.99 in charges at ₹20 per order, 37.7% of the profit. The same trade with five lots, still one order each way, makes ₹650 and costs ₹56.15, 8.6% of the profit. Cheap options bought for a large move, as in hero zero option trading, are where the fixed fee weighs most.
- Small moves are expensive. A scalp from ₹100 to ₹102 on one lot makes ₹130 gross and costs ₹62.86, so charges take 48% of the profit.
- Multi-leg strategies multiply orders. An iron condor has four legs, so opening and closing it takes eight orders. A one-lot condor sold for ₹3,758.30 and bought back for ₹2,600 makes ₹1,158.30 gross. Charges are ₹231.98 at ₹20 per order, ₹160 of it brokerage.
If you hold a bought option to expiry and it finishes in the money, it is exercised and STT is 0.15% of its intrinsic value instead of 0.15% of a sell premium. Since 1 April 2026 the two rates are the same, so letting an in-the-money option settle costs about the same STT as selling it on expiry day. Check whether your broker charges a fee on exercised contracts.
When the percentage cap matters
For brokers that charge a percentage capped at ₹20, small orders cost less than ₹20 and large orders cost exactly ₹20.
| Order value | 0.03% of the value | Brokerage charged |
|---|---|---|
| ₹10,000 | ₹3 | ₹3 |
| ₹50,000 | ₹15 | ₹15 |
| ₹66,667 | ₹20 | ₹20 |
| ₹16,25,000 (1 lot of Nifty futures) | ₹487.50 | ₹20 |
Above about ₹66,667 per order, a 0.03% plan costs the same as a ₹20 flat fee. Option orders are usually charged a flat ₹20, because a percentage of the premium would be very small.
What charges cost an active or algo trader
A trader who makes 10 option round trips a day for 22 trading days places 440 orders a month. At ₹20 per order, the charges on the one-lot example come to ₹14,049 a month, of which ₹8,800 is brokerage and ₹1,584 is GST on that brokerage. Set your own round trips a day in the brokerage calculator to see the figure for your trading.
Algo strategies with several legs, stop losses and re-entries place more orders than manual trading, so the plan you choose matters more once you automate. Include these charges in your results when you backtest trading strategies: a rule that makes ₹1 a unit per trade on one lot of options barely covers its costs. QuantPower does not charge brokerage. It charges a monthly plan fee, set out on the QuantPower pricing page, and your broker charges brokerage on the orders placed in your account.
Other charges to check
- DP charges when you sell shares from your demat account, charged per company per day.
- Account maintenance charges for the demat account, charged yearly or quarterly.
- Call and trade fees for orders placed by phone.
- Interest on margin trading or on a debit balance.
- API charges for market data. Zerodha charges ₹500 a month per API key for live and historical data through Kite Connect, and Dhan ₹499 a month plus taxes for its data APIs. Order APIs are free at both, and Upstox and Fyers offer their APIs free.
Related calculators
- STT tax calculator for the statutory charges alone, without brokerage
- Stock profit calculator for the profit on a holding after charges and tax
- Option profit calculator for the payoff of an options position at expiry
- F&O margin calculator for the margin a futures or options position needs
- SIP calculator for a monthly SIP in stocks or ETFs after charges and tax
Income tax on trading profits is separate from these charges; see F&O taxation India.
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Frequently asked questions
How is brokerage calculated on an options trade?
Most brokers charge a flat fee per executed order, usually ₹20, whatever the premium or the number of lots. A buy and a sell are two orders, so a round trip costs ₹40 plus 18% GST. The statutory charges are then worked out on the premium turnover.
Is brokerage charged on both buy and sell?
Yes. Each executed order is charged separately, so a buy and a sell cost two brokerage fees.
Which broker has the lowest brokerage for options?
Most of QuantPower's partner brokers charge ₹20 per option order on their standard plans, and some offer other plans. The cheapest choice depends on how many orders you place, so compare the brokers in the calculator with your own number of round trips.
Are statutory charges the same at every broker?
Yes. STT, exchange transaction charges, the SEBI fee, stamp duty and GST are set outside the broker, although brokers may show the transaction charges with slightly different rounding.
Why does my contract note differ slightly from the brokerage calculator?
Contract notes round some charges per order or per day, may show the investor protection fund charge separately from the transaction charges, and add DP charges and any plan fees. Differences of a few paise to a few rupees are normal. A larger difference usually means a different quantity, lot size or exchange.
Does a partly filled order count as one order?
At most brokers, yes: an order that fills in several parts on the same day is charged as one executed order. An order that is rejected, or cancelled before any part fills, costs no brokerage.
How much STT do I pay on options after April 2026?
STT is 0.15% of the premium on the sell side. Selling one lot of 65 at ₹110 pays ₹10.73. If a bought option is exercised at expiry, STT is 0.15% of its intrinsic value.
Sources
- Finance Act, 2026 and the Union Budget 2026-27: STT on futures and options from 1 April 2026
- NSE and BSE: transaction charges for equity, futures and options
- Zerodha: charges page, with NSE transaction charges shown including the investor protection fund charge (checked 16 October 2026)
- Zerodha, Upstox, Fyers, IIFL Capital and Wisdom Capital: published brokerage pages (checked 10 October 2026)
- Zerodha Kite Connect and Dhan DhanHQ: API pricing pages (checked 10 October 2026)