What you actually pay to trade: brokerage, STT and more

When you buy or sell shares, the price you see isn't the price you pay. A handful of charges — brokerage, STT, exchange fees, GST and stamp duty — quietly eat into every trade, and on small or frequent trades they add up fast enough to turn a winning trade into a loss. Here's what you're actually paying.

Brokerage: your broker's fee

Brokerage is what your broker charges per executed order. Discount brokers (Zerodha, Groww, Upstox) typically charge a flat ₹20 per order (or a small percentage, whichever is lower) for intraday and F&O, and often ₹0 for equity delivery. Full-service brokers charge a percentage of the trade value, which can be much higher. On a ₹10,000 trade, ₹20 is 0.2% — small once, but it compounds across frequent trades.

STT and the statutory charges you can't avoid

On top of brokerage come government and exchange charges: Securities Transaction Tax (STT), exchange transaction charges, SEBI fees, 18% GST (on brokerage + transaction charges), and stamp duty on purchases. None is large on its own, but together they often exceed the brokerage itself — especially on delivery trades, where brokerage is zero but STT still applies on both legs.

Enter your buy and sell prices to see the all-in charges and your true net profit or loss — not the number the order screen shows.

Why it matters most for small, frequent traders

If you trade often or in small amounts, charges can quietly erase your gains. A ₹50 profit on a ₹5,000 trade can vanish once brokerage, STT and GST are deducted on both the buy and the sell. Always calculate net P&L after charges before you call a trade a win.