Best NRI brokers 6 compared
Six brokers ranked on the four things that actually matter for an NRI: AMC (Annual Maintenance Charge — the yearly fee to keep your demat open, typically ₹400–750), brokerage rate (what you pay per trade — flat ₹0–₹100 or 0.5%), PIS support (whether they handle the RBI's Portfolio Investment Scheme routing, mandatory for buying listed stocks from your NRE account), and US-NRI acceptance (whether they'll onboard you under FATCA — the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act that requires Indian financial institutions to report US-resident accounts to the IRS).
The shortlist: Zerodha if cost matters most — ₹0 brokerage, mobile-first, but you do everything yourself. ICICI Direct if you want a relationship manager, research reports and a single-login 3-in-1 setup (NRO + demat + trading) — costs more per trade but the hand-holding is real. HDFC Securities sits between the two — bank-backed convenience without ICICI's premium pricing. Kotak Securities is the cleanest path for US/Canada-resident NRIs because their FATCA paperwork actually gets processed.
⭐ Top picks · digital-first
Bank-backed alternatives
For DIY NRIs, Zerodha. For full service, ICICI Direct. For US-NRIs, Kotak.
Zerodha = ₹0 brokerage + ₹400 AMC saves ~₹15K/yr vs ICICI Direct on a ₹50L portfolio. ICICI's premium service includes 3-in-1 (NRO + demat + trading) under one login + research + relationship manager. Kotak handles US-NRI FATCA paperwork cleanly when others stumble.
→ Zerodha (₹0 brokerage)
Zero brokerage on equity delivery. ₹400/yr AMC. Kite app is the cleanest UX. Pair with IndusInd PIS for the bank-side. Best for NRIs comfortable picking their own stocks/MFs and wiring funds via NRE/NRO themselves.
→ ICICI Direct (with NRE/NRO)
Single login for NRE + NRO + demat + trading. Built-in PIS routing. Research reports + relationship manager. Costs ~0.55% per trade vs Zerodha's ₹0 — worth it for NRIs who want hands-off + research.
→ Kotak Securities
Kotak's NRI desk handles W-9 + Form 8938 paperwork without pushback. Some Indian brokers reject US-resident NRIs at onboarding; Kotak processes them cleanly. Worth the slightly-higher AMC for US-NRIs who've had FATCA friction.