Market experts believe that the growing market share of digital brokerage suggests investors’ preference for mobile-led, simplified investing experiences. This also indicates growing investor confidence in digital platforms — especially among India’s emerging investor base in Tier II, III, and IV towns
Mumbai: India’s capital markets witnessed remarkable retail participation in FY25, with over 8.4 million new active demat accounts added on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), a 20.5 per cent year-on-year increase, taking the total tally to 4.92 crore.
At the forefront of this growth are two digital brokerages — Groww and Angel One — which together accounted for over 57 per cent of these net additions.
Groww emerged as the single-largest contributor, adding 34 lakh new accounts — a 40 per cent share of NSE’s growth. Its active client base rose from 9.5 million in March 2024 to 1.29 crore in March 2025, reflecting a sharp 36 per cent year-on-year increase.
Groww’s market share rose from 23.28 per cent to 26.26 per cent during the same period, according to NSE data.
Angel One added 14.6 lakh accounts during FY25, contributing 17.38 per cent to NSE’s overall growth. The platform’s active user base climbed to 7.5 million, with a market share of 15.38 per cent.
Together, Groww and Angel One accounted for 4.8 million out of the 8.4 million new active demat accounts added to the NSE.
Apart from these, Zerodha added 580,000 new accounts in FY25, accounting nearly 7 per cent to NSE’s overall growth. It held a market share of 16 per cent by the end of FY25.
Market experts believe that the growing market share of digital brokerage suggests investors’ preference for mobile-led, simplified investing experiences. This also indicates growing investor confidence in digital platforms — especially among India’s emerging investor base in Tier II, III, and IV towns.
Traditional brokerages alike contributed to the rise of the country’s retail investing base.
HDFC Securities posted a strong year-on-year growth of 36.78 per cent, with its client base nearing 1.4 million and holding a 3 per cent market share. ICICI Securities saw a growth of 3.65 per cent with 1.9 million active clients.
Meanwhile, Dhan, on a low base of 960,000 clients, witnessed 89 per cent growth, gaining popularity among new-age traders.
Domestic brokerages added a record-breaking 41.1 million demat accounts in the financial year 2024-25 (FY25), bringing the total number of such accounts to 192.4 million, the highest annual increase ever in absolute numbers.
The monthly average of 3.42 million new accounts also set a new record for a financial year.
However, due to the larger starting base, the growth rate in percentage terms dipped from 32.2 per cent in FY24 to 27.1 per cent in FY25.
Demat accounts, essential for holding stocks and mutual funds electronically, are nearing the 200-million mark. Yet, this figure doesn’t reflect the number of unique investors, as individuals can hold multiple accounts. Estimates suggest the country has around 120 million distinct investors.