I recently went down a rabbit hole exploring what it really costs to trade Indian stocks as an NRI. I was not switching anything, just wanted to understand where my money goes. Here is the short version.

The account maze

As an NRI you do not just open “an account.” You end up with layers:

  • NRE / NRO are the bank accounts. NRE holds money from abroad and is repatriable. NRO holds income earned in India.
  • PIS / Non-PIS is the route your trades take. PIS is the RBI-monitored channel needed to buy listed stocks with NRE funds. Non-PIS skips that (used for IPOs, mutual funds, and NRO-based trading).

Quick rule of thumb:

NRE-PIS     -> buying listed stocks (secondary market)
NRE Non-PIS -> IPOs and mutual funds (primary market)
NRO-PIS     -> secondary market with Indian-earned money
NRO Non-PIS -> primary market with Indian-earned money

If any of that feels unfamiliar, I broke down why the layers exist in a separate post on primary vs secondary markets and the PIS wrapper. This post assumes the structure and just costs it out.

Two kinds of cost

Every setup has the same two buckets:

  • Fixed: yearly fees you pay whether you trade or not. Demat AMC plus a PIS account fee charged by the bank.
  • Variable: per-trade cost. Brokerage plus statutory charges like STT, GST, and stamp duty.

The PIS fee is worth calling out. The bank charges it just for keeping the PIS account alive. If you are not using it, it is money down the drain.

The bank 3-in-1 route (for example, ICICIdirect)

Everything is bundled: bank, demat, trading, and PIS reporting, all under one login. It is genuinely seamless. Trades settle automatically, PIS reporting to RBI happens in the background, and TDS is handled for you.

The catch is cost. A big bank charges demat AMC per account, so if you end up with several (NRE-PIS, NRE Non-PIS, NRO-PIS, NRO Non-PIS), the yearly fixed cost stacks up fast, often ₹4,000 to ₹6,000 before you place a single trade. Per-trade brokerage runs around 0.75%, so all-in you pay roughly 1% per trade on a decent-sized order.

The discount broker route (for example, Zerodha)

A discount broker is not a bank, so it links to your PIS bank account instead of providing it. Two things change:

  1. One demat, one AMC (~₹500/yr) instead of a separate fee per route. This is the big saving.
  2. Lower per-trade cost. Around 0.5% capped at ₹100 for non-PIS or ₹200 for PIS per order. On larger trades that cap makes it effectively a small flat fee.

You still owe the bank’s PIS fee (~₹500 to ₹1,000/yr) because that is a bank product, not a broker one. Realistic fixed cost lands around ₹1,500/yr.

The two routes, side by side

                              Bank 3-in-1             Discount broker
                              (ICICIdirect)           (Zerodha + PIS bank)
                              ----------------        --------------------
Demat accounts                One per route,          One demat, one AMC
                              AMC stacks up

Yearly demat AMC              ₹4,000 to ₹6,000        ~₹500

PIS bank fee                  Included                ₹500 to ₹1,000

Total fixed cost              ₹4,000 to ₹6,000        ~₹1,500

Per-trade brokerage           ~0.75%                  0.5% capped
                                                       (₹100 non-PIS,
                                                        ₹200 PIS per order)

All-in per trade              ~1% (with STT/GST/etc)  Small flat fee on
                                                       larger orders

Setup                         One login, all bundled  You link a partner
                                                       bank + broker yourself

PIS reporting to RBI          Handled automatically   Handled automatically
                                                       (the PIS bank still
                                                        reports)

TDS on capital gains          Handled automatically   Handled by the PIS bank

Convenience                   Highest                 Medium

Cost                          Highest                 Lower

Where the break-even sits

The trade-off is simply convenience vs cost.

  • Trade rarely: the bank’s premium is small in absolute rupees and the convenience is worth it. You do nothing.
  • Trade often or in size: the ~1% per trade and the stacked AMCs add up quickly. The discount route starts to make real sense.

A rough back-of-envelope on the fixed side alone: switching saves roughly ₹3,000 to ₹4,500 a year in AMC before you count any trade. On the variable side, the ~0.5% brokerage gap on a ₹5 lakh trade is about ₹2,500 saved on that single order. It adds up fast if you are trading real amounts.

My takeaway

I was not looking to move, just to know what I am paying and why. The honest answer: with a big bank you are paying for convenience, and that is a fair deal if you value not thinking about it. The moment cost matters more than convenience, the math points elsewhere.

Rates change and vary by account type. Always confirm current figures with your bank or broker before acting. This is a personal cost-exploration, not financial advice.