Groww's active user base crosses 1 crore milestone in May

Groww increases market share

Financial services firm Groww continues to lead the online discount broking market with its active user base crossing 1.03 crore in May, ahead of rival Zerodha's 75 lakh, NSE data published on June 12 shows.

Groww added nearly 4.33 lakh active users in May and Zerodha around 1.14 lakh. With this, Groww's market share likely crossed 27 percent.

Groww’s numbers are in line with Moneycontrol’s expectations. Moneycontrol reported on May 28 that Groww's active user base was likely to cross 1 crore amid increased activity in the equity markets as well as a spurt in startup initial public offerings (IPOs).

Angel One added 1.84 lakh users in May, taking the total count to 64.86 lakh. Upstox has an active user base of 25.91 lakh. Vijay Shekhar Sharma's Paytm Money had 7.86 lakh active users, the NSE data shows.

Technology-led startups such as Zerodha, Groww and Upstox are called discount brokers who charge minimal flat transaction fees for stocks bought on their platform. These companies have snatched a sizable market share from traditional brokerages and bank-led broking institutions over the last decade or so.

In May 2024, ICICI Securities recorded an active user base of 18.7 lakhs, lower than Angel One and Upstox. Kotak Securities had a user base of 12.82 lakh and HDFC Securities 11.31 lakh.

Stock exchanges define an active user as one who has punched at least one trade in the past year.

Groww's growth trajectory

Groww, which overtook Zerodha in September, has now built an unassailable lead over its Bengaluru-based rival founded by well-known entrepreneur brothers Nithin and Nikhil Kamath.

In April, Groww grabbed a bigger slice of the market pie to command nearly a quarter of active investors on the NSE, as most of its peers either grew slower or saw a churn in customer base.

As of April, Groww’s active investor base went up to 99 lakh active investors up 77.5 percent from a year ago, according to NSE data.

Its market share expanded to 23.4 percent from 16.5 percent in the year-ago period. Zerodha’s active user base went up to around 74 lakh million active users in April.

Profitability game

While Groww will likely win the game in terms of market share, Zerodha’s focus on the trading community is likely to make it the largest company in terms of revenue and profit in the near future.

In FY23, Zerodha reported a 38.5 percent growth in revenue at Rs 6,875 crore from the previous financial year. It reported a 39 percent growth in profit at Rs 2,907 crore in FY23.

Groww reported a profit after tax of Rs 448 crore, largely on the back of its higher operating revenue, which grew 266 percent on-year to Rs 1,277 crore, documents sourced from the Registrar of Companies (RoC) showed.

Both Groww and Zerodha are privately-held and their FY 24 numbers will be shared with RoC later this year.