Is Groww really bigger than Zerodha?

Indian fintech company Groww has surpassed Zerodha to become India's largest brokerage in terms of number of active investors, as per data released by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Although Groww seems to be bigger than Zerodha when it comes to its user base, there are still some nuances around the two companies that need to be understood to conclude which company is bigger than the other.

Groww pips Zerodha 

Data by the NSE revealed that Groww has 6.63 million active investors. On the other hand, Zerodha has 6.48 million as of September 2023.

Over time, Groww's user base has expanded at a faster pace than Zerodha'a. In March 2021, Zerodha had 3.4 million customers, whereas Groww had 0.78 million. Since then, Zerodha's user base has only doubled, but Groww saw its customer base surge by 750 per cent in the same time frame.

How did Groww surpass Zerodha in terms of customers?

Venture capital-backed platform Groww has gained popularity as it does not charge customers for account opening or annual maintenance. The company also spends a lot on customer acquisition, unlike Zerodha.

Zerodha vs Groww- Revenue comparison

Despite the growth in number of users, Zerodha’s revenue is five times that of Groww. During FY 23,  Zerodha reported a 39 per cent growth in revenue at Rs 6,875 crore compared with the previous financial year. It also reported an identical growth in profits, which stood at Rs 2,907 crore during the last fiscal.

Groww’s parent company, Nextbillion Technology Private Limited, recorded a revenue of Rs 1,294 crore in FY23, more than three-fold growth from Rs 367 crore it reported in FY22. The company reported a net profit of Rs 73 crore.

How does Zerodha make more money as compared to Groww?

The significant difference in revenue of both companies is because of Zerodha’s dominance in the Futures and Options (F&O) trading. The F&O segment has been highly profitable for Zerodha.

On the contrary, Groww started as a platform that focussed on attracting new customers. Their main highlights have been long-term investment products like mutual funds, systematic investment plans (SIPs), etc. The company later moved on to direct equity investment on its broking platform.