I was hit with demat account maintenance charges that I was never clearly told about when I opened the account, and getting them reversed was a nightmare. Support kept transferring me between departments and nobody could explain the deduction properly. For a brokerage this large, the lack of fee transparency is unacceptable.
Hidden AMC charges and poor resolution
ICICI Direct has been dependable for my long-term holdings and I never worry about settlement issues. The platform is stable and the IPO process is painless. My only gripe is that the brokerage on delivery trades feels steep compared to the discount brokers, so for frequent trading it adds up.
Stable, trustworthy, smooth IPO flow
Higher brokerage than discount brokers
What sets ICICI Direct apart for me is the depth of their equity research and the mutual fund recommendations. I moved my entire SIP portfolio here and tracking everything in one dashboard is brilliant. The customer support team actually called back when I had a question about a derivatives margin requirement.
Excellent research and one-window tracking
I like that ICICI Direct lets me handle stocks, MFs and IPOs without juggling apps. Their fund analysis tools are useful and the SIP setup was quick. The mobile app does feel a bit cluttered and slow to load on my older phone, but overall I am happy with the service.
All-in-one investing, good MF tools
App feels heavy and cluttered
Been using ICICI Direct for over four years now and the 3-in-1 account linking my bank, demat and trading is genuinely seamless. Order execution during market hours has never lagged for me, and the research reports on midcap stocks actually helped me time a couple of good entries. Applying for IPOs through the app takes under a minute.
Smooth 3-in-1 account, solid research