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There has also been a boon for retail investors seeking profit and reliable trading platforms. Here are the top Robinhood alt

India’s new trader breed had light-up Dalal Street in 2020. It was the year when many people across the globe were forced to stay home and find alternative careers as the pandemic played havoc with the job market.

In the United States, a considerable number of people had set up accounts with brokerage platforms such as Robinhood (1). In India, we also witnessed an unprecedented interest in trading as a career or as a means to generate side income.

During the lockdown, mobile trading in India had surged more than 100% because of the increasing number of beginner retail investors. According to an Economic Times report (2), India minted over a million new stock traders amid the coronavirus pandemic.

At the same time, India had also witnessed another positive wave with many women signing up as traders. There was also a surge in interest among students and people from smaller towns who always had a curiosity about markets but didn’t have time (3).

For these people, mobile trading apps or demat apps have become necessary in the Indian stock market trading space.

Some Facts about Mobile Trading Apps in India

If we compare the leading Indian stockbrokers, there is no significant difference in their brokerage charges. However, the technology they offer to their clients is what differentiates them from one another.

Except for day traders, who need desktop-based platforms, a mobile application is good enough for all other types of investors and traders for their day-to-day operations.

They don’t need to open their desktop and laptop to check the current price, place orders, etc. Technological advancements have allowed us to shore up most of these functions within mobile apps.

Consequently, more stockbrokers are focusing more on refining their mobile applications. And those who are ignoring the latest technology are suffering badly even after offering the lowest brokerage charges (4).

With massive disruptions and innovations happening across the phone app space and deep internet and smartphone penetration across the country, including the rural area, mobile trading is here to stay.

It means that stockbrokers looking to grow have to make sure that they offer the space’s latest implementations. At the same time, they need to ensure that these features and aspects are user-friendly and intelligible.

Today, let’s look at some of the best trading apps in India.

But before we move there, here are some points you need to know about trading apps.

Trading apps are technology-driven software application programs, tailor-made ad customized with the data point and interface to enable beginner and pro investors to execute their trade needs over the stock exchange.

More and more investors are turning towards online trading options, and since prices are pretty volatile, people want to benefit from every price change on the move. People prefer their mobile phones over installable software or a web-based terminal with limited time in the day. It brings value add-ons like convenience and trading at the right time allowing users to ripe-in maximum profits.

In the past five years, mobile trading has skyrocketed in terms of usage and coverage. According to an NSE report, mobile trading has increased by

It is worth noting that, at present, over 23% of trading is happening over mobile apps, according to a Bloomberg report (5)

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Points to Evaluate

  • Compatibility with your phone: One can check the version of iOS or Android supported by the app. If one has a lower version, he may need to update his phone.
  • The number of app downloads: One can visit Apple App Store or Google Play Store and check the app download numbers. It is an indirect method to see which is the most popular trading app in India.
  • User Reviews: One can also read reviews of other users at the play store to see what problems they are facing. However, be aware that few brokers may also try to manipulate the ratings with fake positive reviews.

Top Trading Apps in India

1. Zerodha Kite Online Trading Mobile Application

Kite, a mobile app introduced by Zerodha, is among the prime discount brokers in India. Users have applauded the app for its ease of use and interactive user experience.

Some of the top features of the app include:

  • Multiple market watch provision with comprehensive live market data
  • Intelligent search box with function to search hundreds of thousands of contracts and instruments across exchanges instantly

While the platform is known for being lightweight, it is one-third of the size of many other mobile trading applications; there are several concerns about the platform. It includes:

  • Network disconnection error for certain mobile service providers
  • Minor issues editing and deleting scripts from market watch
  • Frequent lags during chart loading

2. ICICI Mobile App

ICICI Direct Mobile Application is among the best trading apps available in the country. It comes with multiple features while being notably advanced and user-friendly.

The app has several advantages like:

  • Ability to purchase mutual funds with the stock market trading
  • Availability of research, tips, and recommendations within the app
  • Charting functionality within the app for technical and fundamental analysis
  • multiple watchlists, users can add up to 50 scrips in a watchlist

Users may face some of these concerns while using the app, such as:

  • Unsatisfactory app performance with frequent hanging and freezing moments
  • Offered charts are not interactive enough compared to other similar platforms.
  • Sporadic updates
  • Issues while logging in to the terminal
  • Overall bland design, difficult for beginners to understand the app

3. UpStox Pro

Upstox Pro is a mobile application by Upstox or RKSV, a leading discount broker. The app is among the most advanced trading platforms.

Some of the most notable features of the app include

  • Different chart types like Candlesticks with other drawing tools, allowing users to use and customize according to their analysis directly
  • Historic data availability for over a decade
  • Notifications and alerts for stock prices are available as per-user settings.

There are also some drawbacks of the app, including:

  • The lack of options to check linked bank account details within the app
  • Missing search option in the guide
  • Unavailability of Back Office app

4. Angel Broking

Angel Broking is among the most experienced campaigners with more than 30 years of presence in the Indian stock market. It provides a gamut of services from mutual funds to insurance and brokerage to almost all Indian financial instruments.

The app offers several advantages, including:

  • The availability to watch multiple real-time indexes with prices
  • Market watch streaming
  • Live updates on top gainers and losers
  • Availability of Intraday chart news
  • Users can create personalized watchlists and can access up to 10 transactions for the ledger

The platform also has some concerns like:

  • A dull user interface, making it a bit unappealing and uninteresting
  • The app is quite heavy compared to others with similar features
  • There is lagging in price and charts update

5. HDFC Securities

HDFC Securities mobile app allows users to get data they need to make better investment decisions. Its ease of use, navigation, and market ideas make it among India’s best trading apps.

There are several advantages of the app, including:

  • Allowing users to multitasks while managing multiple accounts at the same time
  • real-time market alerts and notifications according to user preferences
  • Offers reliable and secure trading platform with very effective encrypted firewall

There are also some disadvantages of the app, including:

  • Large size
  • Slow performance compared to other similar apps.
  • The buy and Sell feature is not upfront in the platform
  • Difficult for new users to the set-up process
  • Unavailability of detailed reports for users

6. Kotak Stock Trader

Kotak Stock Trader is a mobile app from Kotak Securities. It integrates feeds from Money Control, Times of India, and Economic Times that it shows users within the app according to their preferences.

Other unique features of the app include:

  • Live Bloomberg TV integration that users can watch 24 X 7 within the app
  • A unique feature, ‘My Investments’, helps investors see all their investments even made on other trading platforms of Kotak, such as KST, KEAT Pro, and websites within the single UI.
  • Users can access features such as market updates, watchlists, etc., without any details or log in.

Users have raised several concerns about the app, including:

  • Mobile app user experience, challenging for users to find different features
  • Requires a good internet bandwidth to operate smoothly. A lot of issues experienced in 2G mobile networks
  • There is no availability for stock selections. Clients need to type the script to choose stocks.

7. 5Paisa Online Trading Application

5Paisa Mobile Application is among the best performing mobile trading apps in India to order execution speed, performance, and user experience. With the app, users can trade across multiple segments and invest in mutual funds and insurance.

The best part about the 5Paisa mobile app is that even though it is a discount broker, it offers quick tips at fundamental calls and technical levels for its users. It also comes with a guest login, allowing potential users to gain insights into its features.

Some of the features of the 5Paisa app include:

  • Auto investor feature allows users with information on the kind of companies users can trade or invest in with the time limit.
  • Users can also perform a quick technical analysis with charting, heatmaps, and technical indicator features
  • The app is also popular for its authenticity and high security
  • Multiple communication channels for customer service

While it offers unique features, the mobile also has some concerns:

  • Slow chart loading with lower internet connection bandwidth
  • 5Paisa has a history of average mobile apps. Hence, it would need some time to get prominence

8. Sharekhan Mobile Trading App

Sharekhan is a well-reputed broker in India, and our readers would likely have seen at least one of their outlets in their city or town. However, one thing users are most concerned about the platform is its high brokerages.

While their basic brokerage plan is costly, the ShareKhan Pro app is among India’s best stock market mobile apps. Users can carry out multiple things through a single app.

The pros of the Sharekhan mobile app:

  • Enhanced live charts, including candlestick, line, Renko, bar, and area, with more time frames, ranging from 1 min to 1 year.
  • Users can place different types of orders, including SAM, sell against margin, standard orders, big trade, BO, bracket orders, and big trade plus.
  • Users can access all their financial data, watchlist, portfolio, mutual funds, market watch, reports, IPOs, market statues, indices, share market news.
  • Users can also create, pause, and change their SIPs anytime they want.

9. Motilal Oswal Trader App

Motilal Oswal, or MOSL, is another principal Indian stockbroker with a robust network of sub-brokers and branches in over 1,700 locations. They have been in the segment since 1987.

It offers a massive range of products like equity, IPO, mutual funds, bonds, life insurance, currency, and PMS, Portfolio Management Services.

Motilal Oswal is known for investing a considerable amount of its revenue for research, and its research papers are also reputed in the market. If an individual is new to the stock market and seeks guidance without worrying about extra brokerage charges, he can consider Motilal Oswal.

There are several advantages of the mobile app, such as:

  • Users can get a snapshot of their orders, positions, and limits with My Wallet’s Single View
  • Users can also get a Quote page with complete information about the companies you search on BSE and NSE
  • Users can also execute multiple orders with a single click via the bulk order feature

The app also has some disadvantages, including:

  • The app interface is updated sporadically
  • Their charting is below average compared to other brokerage platforms

10. Axis Direct Mobile App

Axis Securities is among the most prominent stockbrokers in the country. One of the app’s most unique features is it allows users to manage the app via voice commands.

The app has several advantages, such as:

  • Users can invest and trade across different segments like currency, mutual funds, equity, derivatives, and more.
  • Users can add multiple market watch lists
  • Users can log in as guests to access minimal basic features
  • Users can also access recommendations, tips, and research reports within the app

The app also has some disadvantages, as follows:

  • Delay in the news data feed
  • Users can’t invest in commodity segments or IPOs
  • Blackberry and Windows phones do not support the app
  • Limited charting functionality with low analysis usage

11. IIFL Markets

IIFL Markets is among the most popular mobile trading apps among users. The mobile app, launched by the financial services veteran IIFL, is considered one of the best intraday trading apps.

It offers unique features such as ‘One Swipe Trading’ considering the time aspect related to trading. The feature allows users to place an order with only a single swipe. Other features the platform offers include:

  • Users can apply for OFS or IPOs via their smartphones
  • Guest login feature, allowing non-clients to navigate some of the basic features and allowing them to understand the app working
  • Stock Watch feature, allowing users to keep their selected stock right at the home screen

Moreover, they also suggest robust strategies for buying stocks and trading them in the market.

Another unique feature the app offers is multiple stock watchlists, with each of those allowing users to add up to 50 market scripts at one point in time.

Some concerns about the app include:

  • Regular bugs after every app update, fixed with a quick turn around
  • Occasional issues with market and price notifications and alerts
  • Issues around OTP delivery

12. FYERS Markets

Fyers is among those Indian stockbrokers with an immense technology focus and offers optimal user experience to its clients. The Fyers mobile application has consistently performed well at different levels.

The best part about the platform is it is one of the youngest firms in the Indian discount broking space. However, it is already a pioneer when it comes to technology and its trading platform’s performance.

Some of the pros of Fyers Markets include:

  • Multiple features for technical analysis with a vast data range options
  • Works well even at low internet connection bandwidth
  • Inclusion with 25+ prominent stock banks for fund transfer

The app also has a few concerns:

  • Improvement needs for update frequency cycle to under four weeks per update
  • Historical charting for fundamental analysis is unavailable

13. Edelweiss Broking App

Edelweiss’s mobile trading application is among the highest-rated apps, with its easy-to-use features and installation. The organization is also among the most reputed advisories for stocks.

The app offers several advantages to its users, such as:

  • Offers brokerage plants supporting both investors and traders categories
  • Excellent offline and online presence with over 4,300 sub-brokers spread across the country
  • High compatibility across wide ranges of mobile devices
  • Offers deals in currency, equity, derivatives, mutual funds, ETFs, and IPOs
  • Free call and trade facilities

Some disadvantages of the app include:

  • Heavy app compared to other platforms with similar features
  • Relatively high brokerage fees
  • High AMC and account opening charges
  • Unavailability of 3-1 demat account
  • Lack of persistent customer support

Author’s Thoughts

Mobile trading has increasingly become more common these days. Traders and investors are more inclined towards the broker, offering the best online trading mobile app.

If you are already using any of these apps or any other app we may not have included in the list, please share your experience and ratings via comments!

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