Zerodha, Groww, Angel One, Upstox hit hard as retail trading activity slumps in 2025

India began FY26 with strong momentum, recording GDP growth of 8.2% in the second quarter, supported by services, manufacturing and public investment.

• India's top four brokerages lost 40 lakh active clients in 2025
• Decline linked to tighter F&O rules, market volatility, and weak IPO listings
• Some brokerages like SBIcap and Paytm Money saw client base growth

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India’s discount brokerage industry recorded a sharp contraction in its active client base in 2025, led by the country’s four largest platforms — Groww, Zerodha, Angel One and Upstox. The total number of active clients across brokerages fell by nearly 53.5 lakh during the year, with around 75 percent of this decline coming from these four firms alone.

As of December 2025, the total number of active clients across all stock brokers on the exchange stood at 4.49 crore, down by 53.5 lakh from 5.02 crore in December 2024.

Zerodha, founded by Nithin and Nikhil Kamath, saw the biggest erosion, losing about 12.68 lakh active clients over the year. Groww, the country’s largest brokerage platform, followed with a decline of nearly 10.32 lakh clients, while Angel One reported a drop of around 9.96 lakh. Upstox saw its active client base shrink by roughly 8.09 lakh during the same period.

Other brokerages that witnessed notable losses included Mirae Asset Capital, Sharekhan, 5Paisa Capital, Kotak Securities, Motilal Oswal Financial, PhonePe Wealth Broking, Finvasia Securities, Alice Blue Fin and Fyers Securities, among others.

Market participants linked the sustained decline to a sharp fall in futures and options participation after the Securities and Exchange Board of India introduced tighter regulatory measures last year. These included stricter margin requirements, fewer weekly expiries, higher capital thresholds and increased taxation, all of which reduced the attractiveness of derivatives trading for retail investors. Experts said a shift in investor preference toward professionally managed investment products such as mutual funds, portfolio management services and alternative investment funds also contributed to the trend.

The drop in activity also coincided with a sharp correction in domestic equities since the beginning of 2025. Although several initial public offerings entered the market, muted listings and, in some cases, discounted debuts weakened retail participation. Indian markets witnessed significant volatility during the year amid stretched valuations, weak corporate earnings and continued foreign investor outflows, while global uncertainties such as geopolitical tensions and trade disruptions further weighed on market sentiment.

In contrast, a few brokerages reported growth in their active client base during the year. SBIcap Securities added about 1.55 lakh clients, followed by Paytm Money with an increase of 1.41 lakh and ICICI Securities, which gained around 79,000 active clients.

Other firms, including Moneywise Finvest, Choice Equity Broking, HDFC Securities, Univest Stock Broking, Tradesmart Fintech, Bajaj Financial Securities and Yes Securities, also recorded increases ranging between 12,000 and 30,000 active clients during the year.

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