Head-to-head
Upstox vs Dhan: Which Trader Platform Wins?
The two most trader-pitched discount brokers head to head: Upstox with speed claims and free APIs, Dhan with TradingView-native charts and options-trader UX. Fees are near-identical — experience decides.
Pricing last verified 13 Sept 2026 against official sources.
4.3/ 5 | 4.4/ 5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Mobile-first traders and developers who use trading APIs. | Active F&O and intraday traders who live in charts. |
| Account opening | ₹0 (free)source | ₹0 (free)source |
| Annual maintenance (AMC) | ₹0 first year, then ₹300/yearsource | ₹0 lifetimesource |
| Equity delivery | ₹20 per ordersource | ₹0source |
| Intraday | ₹20 or 0.1% per ordersource | ₹0 or 0.03% per ordersource |
| Options | ₹20 per ordersource | ₹0 per ordersource |
| Futures | ₹20 or 0.05% per ordersource | ₹0 per ordersource |
| Research & advisory | — | — |
| Trading API | ✓ Free historical + websocket APIssource | ✓ Data + order APIssource |
| IPO investing | ✓ UPI-based IPO applicationssource | ✓ Supportedsource |
| Mobile app | ✓ Upstox Prosource | ✓ Dhan + Options Trader appssource |
| Web platform | ✓ Upstox Pro Websource | — |
| Charting | — | ✓ Full TradingView integrationsource |
| US stocks | — | ✓ From $1, fractional shares, 10,000+ stocks & ETFs (IFSCA route)source |
| Mutual funds | ✓ Supported | ✓ Supported |
| IPO | ✓ Supported | ✓ Supported |
| US stocks | — | ✓ Supported |
| Fees & pricing score | 4.4/5 | 4.5/5 |
| Trading platforms score | 4.3/5 | 4.7/5 |
| Customer support score | 3.7/5 | 3.8/5 |
| Research & education score | 3.0/5 | 3.0/5 |
| Ease of opening score | 4.4/5 | 4.4/5 |
Highlighted rows differ. “Confirming” means we haven't re-verified that figure yet — check the official pricing page.
Used one of these? Tell the next investor in 30 seconds.
A star rating and one detail is enough. Human-moderated, no account needed.
Algo/API traders: Upstox. Chart-driven discretionary traders: Dhan.
Upstox: strengths & weaknesses
What we like
- Free account opening
- Fast Pro web + mobile platforms
- Good API for algo traders
- Competitive flat pricing
Watch out for
- AMC and platform nuances change often — verify
- Support quality is inconsistent
- Margin-trading funding costs add up
Dhan: strengths & weaknesses
What we like
- Excellent options-trading and charting UX
- Free account opening, zero AMC positioning
- Trader-first feature velocity
- Clean modern interface
Watch out for
- Young broker — shorter track record
- Advisory is light — platform-first, not full-service
- Mutual-fund experience is secondary
Affiliate disclosure: LetsInvest earns a commission if you open an account via links on this page — at no extra cost to you. Rankings are editorial and never sold. Read how we make money and our methodology.
How we research. Every fee on this site carries a source and a verification date. Data is re-checked against official broker pages; read our editorial methodology. LetsInvest is a research publication, not a financial adviser — see our terms.