Brokerage
The fee a broker charges for executing a trade, levied either as a flat amount per order or as a percentage of turnover.
Formula
Brokerage = Turnover x Percentage Rate, or a flat fee per executed order, whichever the broker's schedule specifies
Unit
₹
In depth
Brokerage is only one line in the total cost of a trade, and often not the largest: securities transaction tax, exchange charges, SEBI turnover fees, stamp duty and GST all sit alongside it. Percentage-based brokerage punishes large orders while flat-fee brokerage punishes small ones, so the cheaper structure depends entirely on your order size. Costs are charged on both the buy and the sell, so the round trip is what matters. Traders comparing brokers on the headline rate alone routinely underestimate their real cost by a wide margin.
Worked example
A flat ₹20 per order on a ₹10,000 trade is 20 / 10,000 = 0.20% each way, or 0.40% round trip. The same ₹20 on a ₹5,00,000 trade is 0.004% each way. The flat fee is expensive for small orders and negligible for large ones.
Illustrative figures, chosen so the arithmetic is easy to follow. Not a live price and not a valuation of any company.
Educational reference only
This entry explains what “Brokerage” means. It is not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Any numbers above are illustrative, not live prices, and nothing here predicts price direction or rates a stock. Consider your own circumstances and consult a SEBI-registered investment adviser before acting.