Zerodha Success Story – Revolutionizing India’s Stock Market

Zerodha is one of India’s largest and most successful discount brokerage firms. The company has brought a revolution in the way millions of Indians have invested and traded into stocks. Zerodha started with a vision of making trading and investing simple, accessible, transparent and affordable for everyone. This article covers Zerodha’s success story and inspiring journey, how it functions, its founders and team, business model details, revenue numbers, what’s next for Zerodha, competitors, and much more.
Table of Contents
Zerodha Company Highlights
Feature | Details |
---|---|
Founded | 2010 |
Founders | Nithin Kamath, Nikhil Kamath |
Headquarters | Bangalore, India |
Type | Private (Bootstrapped) |
Users | 12+ million |
Valuation | $2 billion+ |
Revenue (FY 2022) | ₹4,963 crore ($600M) |
Profit (FY 2022) | ₹2,094 crore ($250M) |
Number of Employees | 1,100+ |
Products | Stockbroking, Trading, Mutual Funds, Derivatives, Commodities, Bonds |
Website | Zerodha.com |
About Zerodha and How Does It Work?

Zerodha is a fintech firm that serves as a gateway for a suite of financial services within the fintech space. They have stockbroking services, investment in mutual funds, and trading services for futures & options as well. Zerodha acts as a discount broker. It means they charge far lower fees and commissions than full-time stock brokers. Zerodha’s flagship platform, Kite, runs in a fully functional ecosystem. This app provides investors with seamless access to equity, F&O, commodity, and currency trading at a fraction of the price.
How It Works:
- Account Setup: Customers can open a Zerodha trading and Demat account online in a matter of minutes. Zerodha ensures a streamlined and quick onboarding of customers.
- Platform Usage: Users have access to Kite, an advanced yet user-friendly trading platform. Kite provides the ability to trade stocks and gives access to live market data and portfolio management.
- Cost Structure: Zerodha charges zero brokerage for equity delivery and charges a flat fee of ₹20 per order for intra-day and F&O. This significantly reduces the cost of trading for retail investors.
- Products: Users can trade in equity, derivatives, mutual funds, and commodities, allowing broad investment access.
Zerodha Founders and Team

Zerodha was founded by Nithin Kamath and his younger brother, Nikhil Kamath, in 2010. Before founding Zerodha, Nithin was a full-time trader and realized that the brokerage fees charged by traditional brokers were a huge hurdle for retail traders. He saw the need for a low-cost, tech-enabled brokerage platform.
- Nithin Kamath: The visionary behind Zerodha’s customer-first approach. Nithin is the driving force behind the company’s mission to democratize financial markets in India.
- Nikhil Kamath: He oversees the company’s investment strategies and has played a significant role in developing Zerodha’s asset management services.
Zerodha Startup Success Story
The seed for Zerodha was sown in the early 2000s. As a trader in the stock market, Nitin Kamath found out the brokerage charges levied on retail traders were significantly high. This was making small investors wary of entering into the stock market. To bridge this gap, he launched Zerodha in 2010. The name Zerodha is a blend of two words: Zero (no cost) and Rodha (obstacles in Sanskrit). It symbolizes the company’s philosophy of offering affordable brokerage solutions.
Zerodha Startup Launch
At the beginning, Zerodha’s innovation was based on offering a fixed price per trade, a first for India. The traditional brokers, on the other hand, charged fixed fees which ate into the profit of small traders. This flat fee of ₹20 per trade model introduced by Zerodha drastically changed the brokerage landscape, and within a few years, the company captured a large number of traders.
With the launch of the Kite trading platform and several other free educational resources on Varsity, Zerodha has empowered millions of new retail investors. By 2020, Zerodha became the largest retail brokerage in the country, with over 1.2 crore clients.
Zerodha Mission and Vision
Mission: Zerodha’s mission is to remove all barriers to trading and investing faced in the country related to cost or access or education. They want to make it possible for every person at any level of knowledge to confidently participate in the stock market.
Vision: Zerodha envisions a financial ecosystem in which trading and investing are simple to access for everyone. They hope to bring education, technology, and information to retail investors to allow them to become better investors.
Name, Logo, and Tagline
The name Zerodha is a combination of “Zero” (for zero-cost) and “Rodha” (obstacles), which illustrates the company’s commitment to removing financial and operational obstacles that impact what investors can do.
- Tagline: The tagline for Zerodha sums it up as they are “The Free Stock Trading Platform”.
- Zerodha Logo: The logo is minimalistic and displays the ease of use and transparency that represents the firm’s ethos.
Zerodha Business and Revenue Model
Discount Broking is the central business model of Zerodha. The major features of its business and revenue model are listed below
- No Brokerage on Delivery Trades: Zerodha charges zero brokerage for equity delivery.
- Flat Fee for Intraday and F&O: For intraday and F&O trades, Zerodha charges a flat fee of ₹20 per trade, regardless of the trade size, which is far more affordable than the percentage-based fees charged by traditional brokers.
- Technology-Driven: Zerodha’s entire infrastructure is based on cloud technology, which helps it reduce operational costs and focus on providing seamless digital services to customers.
- Premium Products: In addition to its core trading platform, Zerodha offers value-added services like Streak (for algorithmic trading) and Sensibull (for options trading).
Zerodha Revenue and Profit
Zerodha’s growth has been phenomenal. Here’s a quick look at its recent financial performance:
Financial Year | Revenue (₹ Crores) | Profit (₹ Crores) |
---|---|---|
FY 2020 | ₹1,094 crore | ₹440 crore |
FY 2021 | ₹2,728 crore | ₹1,000 crore |
FY 2022 | ₹4,963 crore | ₹2,094 crore |
FY 2023 | ₹6,895 crore | ₹2,907 crore |
Zerodha’s revenue continues to grow rapidly, with profits being reinvested to improve its product offerings and customer experience.
Future Directions
Zerodha is well-equipped to thrive as the interest in retail investing continues to grow in stock markets. The company set the following plans to expand:
- Educational Expansion: Zerodha seeks to make investing even more accessible by expanding its platform of free educational resources.
- New Product Development: The company is planning to roll out more sophisticated investment tools for algorithmic trading and wealth management.
- International Growth: While Zerodha primarily services clients in India, Zerodha has expressed interest in being active in international markets.
- Diversified Products: Zerodha has begun to diversify its business offerings by offering asset management and financial advisory services.
Zerodha Competitors
Here are some notable competitors of Zerodha in India, particularly in the discount broking and full-service broking sectors:
- Upstox – A major discount broker offering similar low-cost trading options. Upstox competes with Zerodha by providing a range of features and a competitive pricing model.
- Angel One – Known for its full-service brokerage, Angel One offers a hybrid model of discount broking and advisory services, making it a strong competitor for Zerodha.
- Groww – Originally a mutual fund investment platform, Groww has expanded into equity trading and poses significant competition to Zerodha by targeting young, tech-savvy investors.
- 5paisa – Another discount broker offering a wide range of financial services including stock trading, mutual funds, and insurance, at competitive prices.
- Sharekhan – One of the most prominent full-service brokers, Sharekhan competes with Zerodha through comprehensive advisory services along with trading facilities.
- ICICI Direct – A well-established full-service broker with a massive retail investor base, it competes by offering both trading and investment advisory services.
- HDFC Securities – With a focus on full-service broking, HDFC Securities offers strong competition through its wide range of financial services, banking integration, and investment products.
- Kotak Securities – Another full-service broker with a comprehensive range of financial products, it competes by leveraging its banking services.
- Motilal Oswal – A full-service broker that competes through personalized investment advisory and a range of investment products.
- Paytm Money – Originally focusing on mutual funds, Paytm Money has recently expanded into stock trading, offering stiff competition in the discount broking sector.
Each of these competitors has unique offerings, from advisory services to discount trading, making the competition in the brokerage industry in India highly dynamic.
FAQs
Is Zerodha a Good Platform for Beginners?
Yes, Zerodha has a user-friendly platform and also provides educational resources like Varsity for beginners.
How much does it cost to open a Zerodha Account?
Zerodha charges ₹200 to open an equity account and ₹100 to open a commodity account.
What is the brokerage fee for intraday?
Zerodha has a flat fee of ₹20 per trade for intraday and F&O trades.
Can I invest in Mutual Funds with Zerodha?
Yes, Zerodha has a platform called Coin. It provides an interface to invest in direct mutual funds and charges no commissions.
Is Zerodha profitable?
Yes, Zerodha has continuously shown good over the last few years. Its net profit rose 37% to INR 2,908.9 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 2,120.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year.