Discount brokerages face sharp slowdown, 26 lakh clients exit in September quarter

The September quarter alone accounted for almost half of the total attrition recorded in the first nine months of 2025, when discount brokerages collectively lost close to 50 lakh active clients.

India’s discount brokerages witnessed a steep fall in active clients during the September 2025 quarter, led by the country’s top four players -- Groww, Zerodha, Angel One, and Upstox. The total number of active clients declined by nearly 26 lakh during the quarter, with about 75 percent of the erosion coming from these leading firms.

The September quarter alone accounted for almost half of the total attrition recorded in the first nine months of 2025, when discount brokerages collectively lost close to 50 lakh active clients.

Groww, India’s largest brokerage platform, was the biggest loser, shedding about 6.73 lakh active clients during the quarter. Zerodha, led by founders Nithin and Nikhil Kamath, followed with a decline of nearly 5 lakh clients, while Angel One lost around 4.34 lakh. Upstox saw its active client base shrink by roughly 3 lakh during the period.

Other major players also witnessed erosion. Mirae Asset’s discount platform m.Stock lost over 1.3 lakh active clients, while HDFC Securities saw a reduction of more than 61,000. Motilal Oswal and Sharekhan each lost around 59,000 active clients, followed by PhonePe with about 58,000, Kotak Securities with nearly 49,000, and 5paisa, which saw a drop of around 26,400 clients.

The decline in investor activity coincided with a sharp correction in domestic equities since the beginning of the year. Although several initial public offerings hit the market, muted listings and, at times, discounted debuts dampened retail sentiment. Analysts attribute the drop in participation to multiple headwinds, including weak corporate earnings and persistent foreign investor outflows. Global uncertainties such as geopolitical tensions and trade disruptions further weighed on market confidence.

During the September quarter, Indian markets witnessed heightened volatility. The benchmark Sensex and Nifty declined 4 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively, while the broader BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices fell 4.2 percent and 4.6 percent.

A few brokerages, however, managed to buck the trend. Paytm Money added about 51,382 clients during the quarter, followed by SBICap Securities and Aaritya Broking, which gained around 44,000 and 28,650 clients, respectively. ICICI Securities and Choice Equity Broking also saw their client base rise by about 26,990 and 21,400, respectively.