Active Demat Accounts Dip Marginally in October

The total number of active demat accounts across India’s top brokers declined slightly in October 2025, signalling an ongoing consolidation phase in the retail broking industry after years of rapid post-pandemic expansion.

According to data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the 25 largest brokers collectively lost around 57,000 active accounts last month. The total number of active accounts fell from 4.53 crore in September to 4.52 crore in October.

Digital-First Brokers Continue to Lead

Despite the overall decline, digital-first platforms continued to dominate the retail broking landscape. Groww emerged as the month’s biggest gainer, adding approximately 1.38 lakh new active accounts to reach a total of 1.20 crore.

In contrast, other major discount brokers saw account attrition. Zerodha’s active accounts dropped by about 62,000, Angel One’s fell by 34,000, and Upstox lost close to 59,000 accounts during the month.

Mixed Trends Among Traditional Brokers

Performance among full-service and bank-backed brokers was varied in October. SBI Caps and ICICI Securities posted gains of around 25,000 and 13,000 active accounts, respectively. Meanwhile, HDFC Securities, Kotak Securities, Motilal Oswal, and Sharekhan recorded moderate declines ranging between 10,000 and 25,000 accounts.

Among emerging platforms, Paytm added nearly 29,935 active users, while Sahi reported an increase of 10,634 accounts.

Market Share Concentration

The NSE data shows that the broking industry remains highly concentrated among the top three discount players. Groww, Zerodha, and Angel One together account for more than 57% of all active NSE demat accounts.

Of this, Groww alone holds approximately 26.6%, underlining its growing dominance in the digital investment ecosystem. The platform’s consistent account additions in recent months have positioned it as the market leader by active users, surpassing traditional players by a significant margin.

Read More: Reasons Why the Stock Market Is Crashing.

Conclusion

The marginal dip in total active demat accounts in October reflects a stabilisation phase for the broking industry following the exceptional retail participation seen in recent years. While digital-first brokers continue to drive most of the activity, the overall trend suggests a shift toward sustainable engagement rather than rapid expansion.

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