Motilal Oswal vs ICICIdirect | Broker Comparison

Motilal Oswal vs ICICIdirect

Side-by-side view of features, pricing context, and platform fit.

Motilal Oswal

Motilal Oswal

Active Clients: 9,04,002

With over 35 years of experience in the industry and a client base exceeding 50 lakhs, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. (MOFSL) has established itself as a prominent investment partner in India. Founded in 1987, ...

ICICIdirect

ICICIdirect

Active Clients: 20,45,086

ICICIdirect is a prominent retail stock broker in India, operating as part of the ICICI Group, and provides online trading and investment services spanning equity, derivatives, IPO, mutual funds, fixed deposits, bonds...

Side-by-Side Compare Table

Category	Motilal Oswal	ICICIdirect
Basic Details	•Broker Type: Full-service broker •Founded: 1987	•Broker Type: Full-service broker (ICICI Group) •Founded: 1995 (ICICIdirect platform legacy)
Charges & AMC	•Account opening and first-year concessions are frequently offered in campaigns. •Account administration charge may apply (listed in source as Rs 199).	•Account Opening: Rs 0 (as listed) •Demat AMC: Rs 700 per annum (individual account)
Brokerage	•Equity Delivery: 0.20% •Equity Intraday: Lifetime free highlighted in plan communication	•Brokerage is plan based (Prime plans and MoneySaver). •Prime plan examples range by subscription slab.
Other Charges	•Statutory and exchange charges apply separately. •Negotiated brokerage may be available for higher volume clients.	•Call and trade charges apply (listed as Rs 50 per order in extract). •Demat debit and operational charges apply per schedule.
Leverage (Margin)	•Equity intraday margin up to around 5x referenced. •F&O margins generally around exchange-required levels.	•Intraday equity margin can go up to around 5x on eligible stocks. •Delivery and carry-forward generally follow full margin norms.
Features	•35+ years legacy and strong research franchise. •Personal advisory and curated portfolios.	•Integrated 3-in-1 account (bank + trading + Demat). •Strong brand trust and branch-assisted model.
Trading Platforms	•MO Investor App •MO Trader App	•ICICIdirect.com website •ICICIdirect mobile app
Reviews & Ratings	•Rating snapshot in source includes low-to-moderate category scores (overall shown near 2.2/5).	•Viewed as feature-rich and trusted for integrated banking workflow. •In this source extract, no final single overall numeric rating table is shown.
Investment Options	•Equity, derivatives, commodity, currency •Mutual funds, IPO, insurance, fixed income	•Equity and derivatives •IPO, mutual funds, bonds, NCDs
Order Types Offered	•Standard delivery/intraday/F&O order flows •Platform support for investor and trader-specific execution styles	•Standard market/limit execution flows •VTC/GTC-style functionality referenced in source context
Suitable For (Investor Type)	•Investors who value research and advisory depth. •Users seeking broad product coverage including curated baskets.	•Investors wanting 3-in-1 integration and branch support. •Users preferring broader product coverage over pure discount pricing.
Pros and Cons	•Pros: •Deep research-led ecosystem and long market presence.	•Pros: •Robust integrated banking-broking setup.

Detailed Comparison

Basic Details

Motilal Oswal	ICICIdirect
•Broker Type: Full-service broker •Founded: 1987 •SEBI Registration: INZ000158836 •NSE Member Code: 10412 •Net Worth: Rs 2155.32 Cr	•Broker Type: Full-service broker (ICICI Group) •Founded: 1995 (ICICIdirect platform legacy) •SEBI Registration: INZ000183631 •NSE Member Code: 07730 •Net Worth: Rs 4581.84 Cr

Charges & AMC

Motilal Oswal	ICICIdirect
•Account opening and first-year concessions are frequently offered in campaigns. •Account administration charge may apply (listed in source as Rs 199). •AMC terms can vary by offer window.	•Account Opening: Rs 0 (as listed) •Demat AMC: Rs 700 per annum (individual account) •Demat debit charge and call-and-trade charges apply

Brokerage

Motilal Oswal	ICICIdirect
•Equity Delivery: 0.20% •Equity Intraday: Lifetime free highlighted in plan communication •Equity Futures: 0.02% •Equity/Currency Options: Rs 20 per lot •Commodity Options: Rs 200 per lot	•Brokerage is plan based (Prime plans and MoneySaver). •Prime plan examples range by subscription slab. •MoneySaver example: Delivery 0.29%, Intraday/Futures 0.029%, Options Rs 49 per lot.

Other Charges

Motilal Oswal	ICICIdirect
•Statutory and exchange charges apply separately. •Negotiated brokerage may be available for higher volume clients.	•Call and trade charges apply (listed as Rs 50 per order in extract). •Demat debit and operational charges apply per schedule. •Standard statutory charges apply separately.

Leverage (Margin)

Motilal Oswal	ICICIdirect
•Equity intraday margin up to around 5x referenced. •F&O margins generally around exchange-required levels.	•Intraday equity margin can go up to around 5x on eligible stocks. •Delivery and carry-forward generally follow full margin norms.

Features

Motilal Oswal	ICICIdirect
•35+ years legacy and strong research franchise. •Personal advisory and curated portfolios. •Investor and trader specific app offerings.	•Integrated 3-in-1 account (bank + trading + Demat). •Strong brand trust and branch-assisted model. •Research and multi-product investing workflows.

Trading Platforms

Motilal Oswal	ICICIdirect
•MO Investor App •MO Trader App •Desktop EXE and web login platforms	•ICICIdirect.com website •ICICIdirect mobile app

Reviews & Ratings

Motilal Oswal	ICICIdirect
•Rating snapshot in source includes low-to-moderate category scores (overall shown near 2.2/5).	•Viewed as feature-rich and trusted for integrated banking workflow. •In this source extract, no final single overall numeric rating table is shown.

Investment Options

Motilal Oswal	ICICIdirect
•Equity, derivatives, commodity, currency •Mutual funds, IPO, insurance, fixed income •US stocks and curated basket/intelligent advisory products	•Equity and derivatives •IPO, mutual funds, bonds, NCDs •Commodities •Insurance and other wealth products

Order Types Offered

Motilal Oswal	ICICIdirect
•Standard delivery/intraday/F&O order flows •Platform support for investor and trader-specific execution styles	•Standard market/limit execution flows •VTC/GTC-style functionality referenced in source context •Delivery, intraday, and derivatives order flows

Suitable For (Investor Type)

Motilal Oswal	ICICIdirect
•Investors who value research and advisory depth. •Users seeking broad product coverage including curated baskets. •Traders who can negotiate pricing or use campaign offers effectively.	•Investors wanting 3-in-1 integration and branch support. •Users preferring broader product coverage over pure discount pricing. •ICICI ecosystem customers who value seamless account linkage.

Pros and Cons

Motilal Oswal	ICICIdirect
•Pros: •Deep research-led ecosystem and long market presence. •Broad product stack and advisory services. •Free intraday proposition highlighted in current positioning. •Cons: •Standard card-rate brokerage can be high versus discount brokers. •Not the simplest low-cost structure for all customer types.	•Pros: •Robust integrated banking-broking setup. •Broad product basket and research availability. •Strong brand and support infrastructure. •Cons: •Brokerage can be high versus discount peers without optimized plan selection. •Charges and plan structure can feel complex for new users.

Final Note

Use this side-by-side comparison as a starting point and verify the latest brokerage and compliance details on official broker pages before taking decisions.