The Zerodha Business Model of Flat Fee Broking and Margin Funding
How Zerodha earns from brokerage, interest and account charges
Key Takeaways
- FY25 revenue from operations: Rs 8,847 crore
- FY25 revenue fell 11.5% from FY24
- FY26 net profit reported at Rs 4,283 crore
- FY26 brokerage income: Rs 2,738 crore
- Margin trading funding launched December 2024, and its book is about Rs 9,000 crore
The Zerodha business model earns money from brokerage fees on trades, interest income and account charges, and it is bootstrapped. In FY25 Zerodha reported revenue from operations of Rs 8,847 crore.
For FY26 (April 2025 to March 2026), Zerodha's founder said revenue held steady, and net profit was reported at Rs 4,283 crore.
Zerodha at a glance
| Detail | Zerodha |
|---|---|
| What it does | Stock broking, mutual funds, trading tools and developer APIs |
| Founded | 2010, Bengaluru |
| Founders | Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath |
| FY25 revenue from operations | Rs 8,847 crore (FY24: Rs 9,993 crore) |
| FY26 net profit | Rs 4,283 crore, as reported |
| FY26 brokerage income | Rs 2,738 crore |
| Funding | Bootstrapped |
What Zerodha does
Zerodha is a stock broker. Clients open a demat and trading account and trade shares, derivatives, mutual funds and other products through its Kite platform. Coin is its direct mutual fund platform, Console is its back office for clients, Varsity is its education site and Kite Connect offers trading APIs to developers.
Zerodha started operations in August 2010 and describes itself as bootstrapped.
How Zerodha makes money from brokerage, interest and fees
A broker earns when clients trade or when it lends them money to buy shares. Because Zerodha caps brokerage at Rs 20 per order, its brokerage depends on how many orders clients place rather than how large each order is.
Zerodha is known for a flat-fee price list. Equity delivery trades carry no brokerage. Intraday equity and futures cost 0.03% or Rs 20 per executed order, whichever is lower, and options cost a flat Rs 20 per executed order. Direct mutual funds carry no commission.
Brokerage is the largest of the income lines reported for FY26. In FY26, brokerage income was Rs 2,738 crore, down 10.7%. Interest income was Rs 2,269 crore. Account maintenance charges were about Rs 180 crore. Net transaction charges, which were about Rs 400 crore in FY25, were nil in FY26 after a rebate on transaction charges ended.
Zerodha revenue model in numbers
Margin trading funding (MTF) lets clients buy shares with borrowed money. Zerodha launched it in December 2024. Its founder said MTF makes up about 10% of revenue. The MTF book is about Rs 9,000 crore, of which clients have borrowed about Rs 6,000 crore, about 25% of Zerodha's net worth.
Zerodha business model canvas
How Zerodha's income has changed
Revenue from operations fell 11.5% in FY25, from Rs 9,993 crore to Rs 8,847 crore. In FY26 Zerodha's founder said revenue held steady.
Zerodha's journey so far
Zerodha began as a broker charging a flat fee per trade. In December 2015 it removed brokerage on equity investing, and in December 2024 it launched margin trading funding, a facility that lets clients buy shares with borrowed money.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| August 2010 | Zerodha starts operations in Bengaluru |
| December 2015 | Brokerage on equity investing removed |
| December 2024 | Margin trading funding launched |
| November 2025 | Filings show FY25 revenue from operations of Rs 8,847 crore |
| August 2026 | 16th anniversary update on FY26 |
Who Zerodha competes with
Groww has had more active NSE clients than Zerodha since late 2023, and Angel One is also among the largest NSE brokers by active clients. In July 2026, NSE data showed about 1.31 crore active clients for Groww and about 67.62 lakh for Zerodha.
What changed at Zerodha
FY25 revenue from operations fell 11.5%. In FY26, brokerage income fell 10.7% and net transaction charges ended.
Conclusion on the Zerodha business model
Zerodha is a stock broker that earns from brokerage fees, interest income and account charges. Equity delivery trades are free, while active trading carries a flat fee of up to Rs 20 per order. It is bootstrapped.
In FY25, Zerodha had revenue from operations of Rs 8,847 crore. For FY26 its net profit was reported at Rs 4,283 crore, with brokerage income of Rs 2,738 crore and interest income of Rs 2,269 crore.
