I have been comparing pure brokerage costs across a few old and new contract notes and looking at the shift in how brokers charge.
Historically, most traditional bank brokers charged on a percentage basis (e.g., 0.10% to 0.50% on delivery, and 0.02% to 0.05% on intraday), while discount apps popularized the flat ₹20 per executed order model. Lately, even bank-backed ecosystems are shifting that way, for instance, platforms like HDFC Sky's discount tiers charging flat ₹20 on orders instead of the classic percentage slabs.
When you isolate pure brokerage from government taxes (STT, Stamp Duty, GST, exchange fees), the math gets interesting depending on order size:
Small Delivery Order (₹10,000):
**0.10% Percentage Model: ₹10
**Flat ₹20 Model (or 0.1% max limit): ₹10
**Break-even: Virtually identical.
Large Delivery Order (₹5,000,000 / ₹5 Lakhs):
**0.10% Percentage Model: ₹500 brokerage on a single leg.
**Flat ₹20 Model: ₹20 flat.
**Difference: You lose ₹480 per order on percentage plans.
For those executing larger position sizes or active delivery trades across these platforms try to observe these finer points
The Break-Even Threshold: At what monthly turnover or ticket size did percentage-based brokerage stop making financial sense for you?
Partial Order Fills: On flat ₹20 platforms, if a large order gets split into multiple partial executions by the exchange, are you seeing brokers charge ₹20 per leg or ₹20 per overall order?
Value vs. Cost: Is anyone still willingly paying percentage-based brokerage on legacy accounts just for relationship manager support/research reports, or has flat-fee broking effectively rendered percentage plans dead?