The differences between the two stockbrokers are plenty. But getting an up-close difference can help decide which stockbroker might be worth it. We have listed all the differences that one would want to know about the stockbrokers in detail below. Check it out.
About ICICI Direct
ICICI direct is part of ICICI securities which happens to be a full-service stockbroker in the country. It’s pretty popular as well, considering it 35 lakh active users of the stockbroker, making it one of the country’s most prominent stockbrokers. What makes it quite interesting is that they offer all the services right from assisting you with anything you require with the best of intent. These services range towards offline meetups, interacting with someone face-to-face to clear doubts, and much more.
The stockbroker comprises more than 154 branches spread across the country and has reasonable fees considering the features and services they have to offer. The AMC for a trading account is 700 rupees per year. While opening a trading demat account, AMC for the demat account is all capped at zero rupees. Moreover, the stockbroker’s brokerage fee is capped at 0.55% for equity delivery, equity options is between 35 and 95 rupees per lot, and currency options is 10-25 rupees per lot.
Another significant factor about ICICI Direct is that they offer research facilities such as daily market reports, news alerts, tips, analysis, and more. the segments of trade are associated with equity, currency, mutual funds, and IPOs’. Unfortunately, they don’t offer trading in the commodity segment.
About Interactive brokers
Interactive brokers aren’t part of India but are a US-based firm with their branch opened up in Mumbai. They are quite a well-versed stock brokerage firm with more than 1100+ employees and a presence in over 100+ countries. With such a global presence, the offerings are pretty limited. However, to know anything about the broker, let it be customer services, opening an account, trading assistance, and more, it’s all carried out online.
Though the stockbroker has only one branch in the country, they offer trading facilities in the NSE and BSE. The account charges are capped on the AMC of the trading account with 200 rupees monthly, and its Zero rupees for opening a trading account, demat account, and AMC for Demat account. Then, moving on towards the brokerage charges, it all comes between 6 rupees and 20 rupees per trade executed. Coming down to the research aspect, then it doesn’t provide much, and the segment in which you can trade in are equity and currency.
ICICI Direct vs. Interactive Brokers
Both the stockbrokers, as discussed above, are well versed and experienced in their respective fields. While one might be overpowering the others, it all comes towards personal preference. Thus, try to compare both of them in terms of your preferences to get the best experience using the services and features they have to offer.