In this Dhan vs ICICIDirect comparison, we will try to find out who is best amongst two and why? Having said that if we talk about both this broker, Dhan is a discount broker whereas ICICIDirect is a full-time broker, so to be honest comparing both on one scale can’t be the right thing to do.
However, they both are in same business and industry and functioning among same group of people, therefore a comparison can be made on the different services offered by them in every segment.
By the way if you want you can read the separate review of Dhan and Icici direct by clicking on this links.(Dhan Review, ICICI Direct Review.
Dhan made their entry in one of the highly competitive broking industry in September 2021 and they have more than 1.8 million+ users who have installed their app from playstore. Looking at this number it does shows the trust they have created for users in their products and services.
But why one would even choose dhan as they seem to be somehow new in the industry at first place.
It is because believe me or not but dhan have evolve as one of the best stockbrokers in the current league and giving the tough competition to ICICIDirect Zerodha and Upstox in terms of best trading platform, lowest brokerage structure, better investing features etc.
Dhan has one of the best web based trading platform I have personally seen and it beats even Zerodha trading platform due to the various features available under the same page such as technical, advanced option chain, customised strategy builder, fundamentals of company, financials etc.
ICICIDirect have more than 2.9 million, 29,56,887 clients as per NSE data. (the no. keeps on changing) there are many other banks in India who offers the broking services, but ICICI is at the top amongst them due the major changes they do internally time to time, few of them I have tried to show you below as well while comparing.
Let us see now through comparing Dhan vs Icici direct on different parameters see what both has to offer to their clients and which is best for you as an individual trade and investor.
Just to let you know this review guide is going to be long, you can switch from table of contents to look for the relevant info you want to know.
However below is overall comparison points between ICICIDirect Vs Dhan to tell you in short about who is best by which you can make instant decision to open account instantly instantly.
Dhan Vs ICICIDirect Overall Comparison:
I have already used both their services as well as wrote the reviews about them in detailed way separately, based on my experience and facts below are things you can consider before opening an account with them.
- You can trade and invest in all segments i.e. stocks (equity) FnO, Commodity, Currency, at NSE, BSE, MCX on both ICICIDirect and Dhan.
- Both stock brokers ICICIDirect and Dhan, have best trading platform for desktop/mobile app, you can do fundamental as well as technical analysis quite easily.
- ICICIDirect also offers a downloadable trading platform version but Dhan do not have this as of now. On the other hand dhan have a dedicated option trading platform (Web + App) which is not available at ICICIDirect.
- Dhan has Pre-Built Option Trading Strategies for FREE plus customized Option strategy builder which you won’t be getting at ICICIDirect.
- ICICIDirect have also tied up with third party service such as Sensibull for options trading strategies and smallcase for making portfolio based investment.
- Recently Dhan have also made tie up with smallcase for making portfolio based investment moreover they do have a stock recommendation tool as well which gives long term investment ideas known as Stratzy (free).
- ICICIDirect is a full time broker, you may enjoy paid stock recommendation/ research reports, IPO Reports etc. This service is not available with Dhan.
- Dhan has also partnered with Tactic who provides Trade Ideas & Strategies of top SEBI registered traders in currently 3 modes – Intraday, Positional & BTST. This feature will greatly help the new as well as experience traders.
- 1Cliq by oipulse is integrated with Dhan which helps fast traders to identify trends especially scalpers. You can have trade execution with pre defined SL, auto Trailing SL, MTM target and stop loss are some of it’s amazing features which is not available with ICICIDirect.
- ICICIDirect has option for you to make investment in US stocks such as Apple, Google, Amazon, etc. using ICICI Direct trading platform whereas Dhan does not have this feature as of now.
- Dhan brokerages are lower than ICICIDirect brokerages when comparing. ICICIDirect as they are charging Rs.20 per executed order whereas Dhan charging Rs.20 or 0.03% (whichever is lower). Dhan also offers free delivery i.e. brokerage free trades, ICICIDirect charges 0.05% for same.
- Dhan offers brokerage or say commission free mutual funds investment and platform for its users. ICICIDirect charges 1-1.5% commission for same but they do give recommendation as well for investing in MF.
- If we talk about Margin at Dhan vs ICICIDirect, after SEBI Rules on Intraday margin every stockbroker is giving same margin in equity throughout India, hence this does not matter anymore.
- ICICIDirect also offers buy now pay later feature which means you get extra margin for delivery based trades as well.
- Dhan also gives Margin Trading Facility (MTF) for up to 4X leverage (75% funds) from Dhan for Equity Delivery trading. You can buy 950+ stocks and hold them for unlimited period of time.
- Dhan also has Auto-Detection of Candlestick Patterns on Charts on their trading platform which means charts will now automatically recognize & display the names of 37 widely known Candlestick Patterns. Combine this with dhan other features like 20 Depth Data, Price Alerts, Import Watchlists, etc. you have enough data to help you with your trades and these features are not available at ICICIDirect.
- With Dhan and ICICIDirect you can also invest and trade in IPO’s, NFO’s, ETF, SGB, and many other financial products with so much ease.
- ICICI Direct is better for people who do more investing than trading such as investment in ELSS, PPF, SIP’s, FD, RD, ETF’s etc., or looking for Loans or credit cards, Insurance etc.
- You can also do monthly, weekly, yearly SIP in stocks and ETF using Dhan Broker.
- ICICIDirect, there is no AMC (Annual Maintenance charges) for Demat Account for the first Year. However, charge of ₹700 (excluding taxes) is levied from 2nd year onwards.
- ICICIDirect do charges one time account opening fee of Rs.975.
- Account opening charges as well as AMC (Annual Maintenance Charges) is Zero for Dhan for a limited time period.
- Dhan also offers another feature known as WelathBasket, it is a basket of stocks/ETFs, based on a strategy, theme or idea. WealthBaskets are professionally managed and help you invest in Stock Markets in a systematic way.
So overall if we you are more of an investor than a trader than ICICIDirect will be a perfect stockbroker for you but if you are an active trader placing regular trades or even a investor than choose Dhan without any doubt.
If you’re looking for a broker that offers speed, transparency, and advanced tools, Dhan is one of the best choices today. With zero brokerage on delivery trades and intuitive charts, Dhan is built for both beginners and pro traders. Invest in Stocks, F&O, Commodities, Currency, ETFs, Mutual Funds, SGBs, IPOs, SIPs and much more.
Click Here to Open Your Free Dhan Account
No paperwork. No account opening charges. Get started in 5 minutes! Dhan also offers advanced tools like TradingView & Options Trader built-in.
Now, let us go dive deep to cover all different services and features of Dhan and ICICIdirect step by step and see who is best between both stock brokers by doing in depth analysis.
About Dhan Vs ICICIDirect:
Before we dig deeper to understand the various services offered it becomes utmost import to know in brief about ICICI Direct and Dhan history.
Dhan Stock broker made their entry in one of the highly competitive broking industry last year in September 2021. Pravin Jadhav who was also the former Paytm Money CEO is the CEO of Dhan. Dhan is backed by leading investor such as MIRAE ASSET, BEENEXT, BLUME, 3ONE4 CAPITAL, Social Leverage etc.
Dhan is SEBI Registered (INZ000006031) online stock broker offering trading on all exchanges (BSE, NSE, MCX) and across all segments (equity, exchange-traded funds, futures, options, currency, commodities). Dhan have partnered with CDSL for depository services.
The company is registered by the name Moneylicious Securities Private Limited and have corporate office in, Borivali East, Mumbai, Maharashtra.
ICICIdirect.com is a part of ICICI Securities and offers retail trading and investment services in India. ICICI Direct was founded in the year 2000.
ICICI direct has a wide range of financial products and services related to investment banking, institutional broking, retail broking, private wealth management etc.
ICICI Direct has facility to invest in Equity, Derivatives, Commodity, Currency Futures, Mutual Funds, IPOs along other services like Fixed Deposits, Loans, Tax Services, New Pension Systems, and Insurance etc.
ICICI Securities has more than 280 offices across 80 cities in India and they provide trading in both exchanges NSE BSE as well as MCX.
They are depository participant (DP) for both NSDL and CDSL. Apart from this they have also won Outlook Money Awards for Best Retail Broker of the year 2018,’16,’15 ,Best e-Brokerage house of the year 2014,’13,’12,’11,’09,’07 and many more.
Dhan Vs ICICIdirect Margin Comparison:
Margin in stock market refers to buying/selling of securities (shares) by borrowing money from your broker. This is very much similar to taking loan for short period of time. This helps traders in buying or selling more with less money in intraday trading.
If you are an active trader or a beginner who knows what exactly going on with recent changes brought by SEBI, Higher Margin won’t be a factor anymore, now the competition among the broking industry is in terms of better trading platforms and lower brokerages plans.
The upfront margin collection in cash segment has been kept at flat 20%, which means now the leverage for all stocks would be 5x also the penalty provision for short-collection/ non-collection of upfront margin in cash segment.
This means regardless of any broker you won’t get more than 5X times margin in equity cash segment and in FNO you need to have the full margin span+exposure to take any position.
You can read more about it here.
Therefore, the margin or leverages offered will be equal irrespective of the stock brokers in India going forward. Keep in mind this also applies to Currency and commodity derivatives as well.
For example: if there is a 20% margin requirement on a particular stock, then you will have to pay only Rs.20 to buy a stock of Rs.100. Another way to look at it is that if you have Rs.100, you will be able to buy five stocks instead of one.
Hence, the margin requirement will be same for all brokers including ICICIDirect and dhan for intraday trading in equites and derivatives.
One need to understand taking more margin means more risk and chances of your money getting wiped out is even more, so it is always advisable to use it in limited way.
So going forward please choose stock broker not in terms of margin or leverage as it is same for all brokers through out India.
Dhan Vs ICICIDirect Brokerages Comparison:
Brokerage is the most important factor when you trade and invest, both ICICIDirect and Dhan have quite low brokerages. Let us know brokerage for both discount brokers one by one.
Dhan Brokerage Structure:
Brokerage charge at Dhan is very low, there is no charge for taking delivery of the trades to your demat account. Whereas for intraday trades across equity, currency, commodity, it is flat Rs.20 or 0.03%(whichever is lower) and for options segment it is Rs. 20 per order.
Brokerage Structure of ICICIDirect:
Let us now move on check the brokerage at ICICI. ICICI have two brokerage plans prime brokerage plan and iVALUE – Plan.
ICICIDirect Prime Brokerage Plan Detail:
Prime Plan (Rs.) |
299  |
999  |
2999 |
4999 |
9999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cash % |
0.25 |
0.22 |
0.15 |
0.1 |
0.07 |
Margin % |
0.025 |
0.022 |
0.015 |
0.01 |
0.007 |
Futures % |
0.025 |
0.022 |
0.015 |
0.01 |
0.007 |
Options (Per lot)(Rs.) |
49 |
49 |
29 |
19 |
9 |
Currency & Commodity (Futures and options) |
Rs.20 |
Rs.20 |
Rs.20 |
Rs.20 |
Rs.20 |
Special MTF Interest rates (Yearly) % |
20.49 |
20.49 |
16.49 |
9.69 |
9.69 |
Shares As Margin Interest Rate (Futures and Options) |
0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
Overall, Dhan in terms of brokerages is much better then ICICIDirect.
iVALUE – Plan
Dhan Vs ICICIDirect Account Opening Charges:
There are no account opening charges as of now with dhan for a limited time period. You can open dhan trading and demat account with zero AMC (Annual Mainenetance Charges).
- ₹0 Demat Account Fees
- ₹0 AMC
- ₹0 Platform Fees
- ₹0 Brokerage for Delivery Trades
- ₹20 per order for Intraday Trades
If we talk about ICICI Direct it offers 3-in-1 accounts which includes ICICI bank account, ICICI trading account, and ICICI demat account. The 3-in-1 trading account gives you the convenience of opening a demat, trading & bank account.
You can seamlessly trade in Shares, Futures & Options, Currencies, commodities, invest in Mutual Funds, IPOs and Life Insurance.
»» Trading and Demat Account Opening Charges: 975
»» Demat Account AMC: Rs 700 PA (Waived for 1st year) Excluding taxes
However, if the Demat account is under Basic Service DEMAT Account (BSDA), no AMC is levied for holding value up to 50000.
Overall, If we see apart from free trading/demat account, Dhan is charging no AMC so it’s more of money saving for you.
Open a Free Dhan trading/demat account with Zero Annual Maintenance Charges online here
ICICIDirect Vs Dhan Online Account Opening Process:
The account opening process is online and it’s very seamless and smooth. Here is what you need to do:
To open an account with Dhan online, you can sign up using your mobile number through this link.
Similarly, To open an A/c online with ICICIDirect , go to their website and first enter your mobile number.
You will receive an OTP to your number and you can get started with the process.
You will be required to enter your PAN, Bank account details and personal details to continue with the sign-up.
Once you sign up you need to upload certain documents listed below:
1. Your PAN card
2. Your Aadhaar
3. To complete the e Sign process, you will have to authenticate it with an OTP. So, make sure you have the number linked to your Aadhaar handy. If not, you will not be able to complete the process. If the number linked to your Aadhaar is inactive, or if you don’t have any number linked, then you can visit your nearest Aadhaar Seva Kendra to get it updated.
4. A photo or scanned copy of your signature proof will be required to be uploaded.
6. Income proof – It is mandatory to submit income proof if you wish to trade in Futures and options – Equity, Commodity, and Currency.
You can submit one of the below documents.
- Form-16
- Income tax returns acknowledgment
- 6-month Bank statement
- Latest salary slip
- Demat holding statement, or
- A CA certifying your net worth
Note: The documents mentioned are for a Resident Individual Account.
Dhan Vs ICICIDirect Trading Platform Comparison:
The most important part of any trading platform is the tools and resources it has for technical and fundamental analysis. If we talk about Dhan first below is what you can expect as an trader and investor:
Dhan have 3 trading platform for all devices known as:
- Dhan App for Mobile
- Dhan for desktop web version
- Option trading platform (Web + App) by dhan
Dhan web or say browser based trading platform, which can be opened on any web browser you use. Just like a website but with all the tools and resources needed.
Honestly, this is one of the best web based trading platform I have personally seen it may sound little exaggerated but it beats even the Zerodha trading platform due to the various features available under the same page such as technical, advanced option chain data, customised option strategy builder, fundamentals of company, financials etc.
On left hand you will see the market watch, from here you can add or delete the scrips. When you move and hover over any stock it will give you different options.
If you know how to trade options then all the important details such as option chain, option delta, option moneyness etc. is easily available for you.
With Dhan platform you get the maximum no. of indicators you want in life. They are just one click away.
You can display and use any type of chart with different candlestick patterns
Whether you want to use:
Support and Resistance indicator and many others
Dhan gives Trading View charts along with ChartIQ on both web and mobile application. Different Candlestick patterns etc. you name the indicator and it will be there.
As, you can see in the above image of order window, you can place different types of orders in intraday trading, if you select the option delivery, it will give you the option to place different order for delivery.
You can add- withdraw funds directly, create or back-test trading strategies use DHAN API to trade and lot more.
The user interface is so clean and up to the mark, you can easily know which icon will do what, as the moment you will hover to any it will tell you the functionality of it.
So all in all Dhan trading platform has everything what is needed for a hassle-free trading platform.
Open a Free Dhan trading/demat account with Zero Annual Maintenance Charges online here
Below are some of the brilliant features of Dhan stock broker:
- Access 4,000+ Scrips and major Indices like Nifty 50, Bank Nifty, FinNifty
- Stock Trading App offers 1,600+ Stocks for Intraday Trading
- MTF with 4x Leverage on 1,000+ Stocks & Unlimited Holding Period
- Create a Basket of Stocks & Place Order in 1-Click
- Daily, Weekly, Monthly SIP in Stocks
- Busy Between 09:15 AM to 3:30 PM? Place After Market Orders
- ₹0 Brokerage on Stock Investing & ₹20 for Intraday Trading
- Buy/Sell Directly from Option Chain
- Get Real-time Payoff Graph, Greeks & Live Trade Volumes
- Advanced Order Types like Trailing Stop Loss, Iceberg, Forever (GTT)
- Get Instant Pledge Margin for Option
- Buying/Selling on 1,500 Stocks
- Buy Options Quickly with Flash Trade
- ₹20 on Options for All Segments
- ₹20 or 0.03% (whichever is lower) on Futures for All Segments
- Choose from 1,000+ Direct Mutual Funds
- Start SIP in Equity, Debt, Hybrid, and Index Funds
- Save Taxes with ELSS Funds
- Find Top Rated Funds Easily on Mutual Funds SIP App
- Add Multiple Funds in Cart and Invest in 1-Click
- Manage Mutual Fund SIP with AutoPay or 1-Tap Top-up
- Pay ZERO Charges for investing mutual funds – Absolutely Free!
- Access to All Stock Market ETFs – Nifty BEES, Gold, Debt, Global
- Daily, Weekly, & Monthly SIP in ETFs
- Pledge ETFs in your Portfolio to get Money for Trading
- MTF with 4X Leverage for Swing Trading ETFs
- Separate ETF Dashboard for Tracking Returns
- ₹0 Brokerage on ETF Investing
- Trade All Currency Pairs: 4 INR & 3 Cross Currency
- Trade All Commodities: Gold, Silver, Crude Oil, Natural Gas etc.
- Trade Currencies & Commodities from Charts
- Pre-Apply for Upcoming IPOs
- Bid for Mainboard & SME IPOs
- Invest in IPO at ₹0 Charges
Special Features Built by Dhan Broker to Solve Problems:
- Trade Options on TradingView.com only via Dhan
- Access & Trade NIFTY, NIFTY BANK, FINNIFTY from Charts
- Set Alerts on Losses and Over Trading with Trader’s Controls
- Evaluate what went right and wrong in your strategy with Traders Diary
- Save your Order and Execute later whenever you want with Draft Order
Incredible Dhan Features for Option Trading:
- Readymade Option Strategies – Fast create and execute popular option strategies like Straddle, Strangle, Iron Condor, and many more with our options app.
- Custom Strategy Builder – Create your own derivative trading strategies and execute them from the same platform. Simple. Convenient. Powerful option strategy builder!
- Options Screener & Scanner – Identify and monitor scrips based on Volume, OI, Trends, Buildup, IV, and more with our option trading analysis app.
- Outlook Based Ideas – Search scrips available for option trading ideas based on Bullish, Bearish, or Netural market outlook.
- Realtime Pay-off Graph – Dhan app for option analysis helps you understand the potential P&L for your strategies before you execute them.
- Dedicated Commodity & Currency Dashboard – If you are Trading Across Segments than you can Manage your positions in separate, dedicated dashboards.
- Forever Order with OCO – Set a target price that stays active on Dhan FnO app until the specified price hits, including OCO for F&O trading.
- Instant Pledge Margin – Pledge shares from your demat account to get more margin for f&o trading within minutes.
- Option Chain – Trade calls and puts directly from the option chain with Greeks and other awesome insights on Dhan option trading app.
- Synced Across All Dhan Platforms – All Dhan platforms are synced in real-time all across Positions, Orders, Basket, Margin & Funds, Portfolio, Charts, Watchlist and Tradebook.
Dhan mobile App have been downloaded on playstore for more than 1.8 million with a user rating of 4.6 which also shows the trust they have created among users within small time period.
Hence If you want a Safe & Trusted stock market app with Advanced Features, Fast Order Execution, Seamless Charts, Simple UI, and Helpful Customer Support? Dhan share market app has it all!
Dhan isn’t just another trading app it’s a next-gen platform built for serious traders and investors who want powerful tools, zero hidden fees, and a smooth trading experience.
From native TradingView integration to zero AMC and free API access, Dhan delivers everything you need to trade smarter all in one place.
🚀 And here’s the kicker:
For a limited time, you can open a Dhan account absolutely FREE — with zero maintenance charges and instant activation.
This is your chance to upgrade your trading game with one of the fastest-growing platforms in India.
👉 Don’t wait — open your Dhan account now before the offer ends!
Start Trading with Dhan Today
Let us now check ICICIDirect trading platform in comparison to Dhan in a detailed way:
ICICI direct have three trading platforms:
- Web based trading platform : Trade Racer web
- Desktop based trading platform : Trade Racer
- Mobile trading platform: ICICI Direct Markets mobile app
It is not possible for me to discuss all three of them individually in a single post, moreover the features remains same across all trading platform versions hence we would be knowing in brief about the Trade racer Web version and ICICIDirect Markets mobile app.
Let us know more about them:
You can also place the trades directly from the chart while doing technical analysis under flash trades.
You get the similar functionalities on all three trading platforms, however the web platform is much better than other two in terms of seamless operation. Moreover all different technical tools and resources are available to do technical and fundamental analysis as well.
Overall Dhan in comparison to ICICIDirect trading platform offers much better user interface as well as they have many other services integrated under one page which makes it very easy to find all resources specially if you are an avid option trader.
Dhan isn’t just another trading app it’s a next-gen platform built for serious traders and investors who want powerful tools, zero hidden fees, and a smooth trading experience.
From native TradingView integration to zero AMC and free API access, Dhan delivers everything you need to trade smarter all in one place.
🚀 And here’s the kicker:
For a limited time, you can open a Dhan account absolutely FREE — with zero maintenance charges and instant activation.
This is your chance to upgrade your trading game with one of the fastest-growing platforms in India.
👉 Don’t wait — open your Dhan account now before the offer ends!
Start Trading with Dhan Today
My Opinion On Dhan Vs ICICIDirect:
Dhan broker is a rising star and it is much better than ICICIDirect If we do a overall comparison of various charges, features hence I would advise anyone to go with Dhan and avoid ICICIDirect as of now.
If I have to rate the ICICI direct in comparison with other Dhan, I will give 8.2 out of 10.
On the other hand if we talk about dhan stockbroker
According to the latest NSE reports there are about 250+ stock brokers in India, however what makes Dhan a leading and strong contender in the stock broking industry is the tools and resources they have in their trading platform.
Moreover there are no hidden charges and the brokerages are very minimal if we do the industry comparison. They are also backed by cash enriched investors so nothing to fear.
If I have to rate Dhan broker after looking at there breakthrough pricing model for brokerages as well as other charges and experiencing there simple yet great user interface for trading platform I would give it 9.5 out of 10.
So if you are thinking of opening a trading/demat/mutual fund combined account, than do not put any second thought, go ahead and Open Free dhan trading and demat account with Zero AMC (Annual Mainenetance Charges) there is nothing to lose its a win-win deal.
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