What is the Brokerage?
Indian equity trades attract a fixed stack of charges: brokerage, STT, exchange transaction charges, SEBI turnover fees, stamp duty, and 18% GST on the brokerage and exchange components. Delivery and intraday are charged differently — intraday has lower STT and stamp duty but usually percentage-based brokerage.
Formula & worked example
Charges accumulate on turnover:
Breakeven price = Buy price + (Total charges / Quantity)
Worked example: 500 shares bought at ₹200 and sold at ₹210 as delivery, with ₹20 flat brokerage. Turnover is ₹2,05,000. Total charges come to ₹174.63 — ₹40 brokerage, ₹105 STT, ₹6.09 exchange, ₹0.21 SEBI, ₹15 stamp duty and ₹8.33 GST — so a ₹5,000 gross profit nets ₹4,825 and your true breakeven sits at ₹200.35.
How to use this brokerage calculator
- Enter quantity and both prices.
- Pick Delivery or Intraday — the STT and stamp duty rates differ significantly.
- Enter your broker's per-order charge (₹20 is standard for discount brokers).
- Use the breakeven price as your true cost basis when setting stop-losses.
Smart tips
- Delivery STT is 4× intraday STT, but intraday brokerage is usually percentage-based and adds up faster on large trades.
- On small trades, flat ₹20 brokerage can exceed 1% of turnover. Consider a zero-brokerage delivery plan if you trade small.
- Charges are payable whether you profit or not, so factor them into your target price before entering.
- Frequent trading compounds costs: 50 round trips a year at ₹165 each is ₹8,250 gone before any tax.
Frequently asked questions
What are the charges on delivery trades?
Brokerage (often zero or ₹20), STT at 0.1% on sell, NSE cash-market exchange charges of 0.00297% per side (₹2.97 per lakh, the uniform rate since 1 October 2024), SEBI turnover fees of ₹10 per crore, 0.015% stamp duty on buy, and 18% GST on brokerage and exchange fees.
Is intraday cheaper than delivery?
On STT and stamp duty, yes. But intraday brokerage is typically 0.03% or ₹20 whichever is lower per order, and high-frequency trading multiplies total costs quickly.
Do zero-brokerage brokers really cost nothing?
Brokerage may be zero, but STT, exchange charges, stamp duty, SEBI fees and GST always apply — they are statutory, not broker-set.
How do I calculate my breakeven price?
Add the total charges divided by quantity to your buy price. That is the price at which selling leaves you exactly even.
Want the theory behind the numbers? Read our trading cost guides on the Money Blog.
Written by Gurjeet Singh, Sharpen Solutions. Last reviewed 15 Oct 2026. Sources: GST Council — 56th meeting: 5% merit rate, 18% standard rate, 40% special rate, in force 22 Sep 2025. How we check these numbers.