Published: 19 October 2026
StartupFeed Quick Take
- Zerodha US stocks went live in public beta on Kite on October 19, 2026, with 4,000-plus stocks and ETFs
- Brokerage is 0.10% a side, floor $0.01 and cap $10 per order, plus 18% GST
- Funding works from five banks today, and the first transfer must be at least $50
Bengaluru-based Zerodha opened US stock investing in public beta on Kite on October 19, 2026, with more than 4,000 American stocks and ETFs.
Zerodha’s launch note puts the list at more than 4,000 names. Groww opened in September with over 10,000 stocks and ETFs. Upstox launched the same month with 8,000-plus stocks.
Money moves under a tighter rule. Funding works from five banks today: HDFC, ICICI, Axis, Kotak Mahindra and IDFC FIRST. The first transfer must be at least $50.
Kite routes these orders through GIFT City. Viewtrade, a US broker-dealer, holds the shares, working with BSE INX under Global Access Provider rules.
Zerodha’s technology head named this route a year before it opened.
“We now have the requisite regulatory clarity through GIFT City.”
Kailash Nadh, chief technology officer, Zerodha. From the Ask Me Anything session, October 2025.
Zerodha US Stocks Run Through Viewtrade And BSE INX
Zerodha US stocks sit with a US broker-dealer, not in an Indian demat account. Orders go from the same Kite login, through an IFSCA-regulated arm in GIFT City.
Resident Indians can switch the segment on from the account page. No fresh paperwork is needed. Aadhaar-based KYC is a must, and the name and date of birth must match PAN records.
NRI, minor, HUF and corporate accounts are left out for now. So are crypto-linked ETFs and leveraged or inverse ones.
Trades settle one business day after execution. Holdings are covered by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation for up to $500K if the US broker fails. Dividends land in the US account in dollars, after US withholding tax of generally 25%.
Market hours shift with American clocks. The regular session runs 7:00 PM to 1:30 AM India time until October 30, then 8:00 PM to 2:30 AM from November 2.
What The 0.10% Brokerage Leaves Out
Brokerage is 0.10% of trade value on each side, with a floor of $0.01 and a cap of $10 an order. Zerodha’s charges page adds 18% GST on brokerage, an IFSCA turnover fee of 0.005% on both sides, plus SEC and FINRA fees on sells.
The cap bites at a $10,000 order. Above that, brokerage stays flat at $10.
Currency is the bigger cost. Zerodha’s pricing guide sets a bank markup of 0.5% to 1.2% over the RBI reference rate. A conversion charge sits on top: Rs 45 up to Rs 25,000, then 0.18%, 0.09% and 0.018% as the amount rises.
Work it through on a $1,000 buy. Brokerage plus GST comes to $1.18, and the IFSCA fee adds $0.05. The markup on the same $1,000 is $5 to $12, four to ten times the brokerage.
Tax sits outside all of it. Banks collect 20% TCS on investment remittances once a person crosses Rs 10 lakh in a financial year, across all banks. That money is claimable back in the tax return.
Five Banks, And A $50 Floor On The First Transfer
Only five banks can fund this account today: HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and IDFC FIRST Bank. Zerodha’s launch note says more are coming.
No public sector bank is on that list, including State Bank of India. A client banking elsewhere can switch the segment on and watch prices. To buy anything, they must first add a supported bank account.
The $1 fractional headline needs reading twice. Fractional orders do start at $1. But the first bank transfer must be at least $50, and $100 from the second one onwards.
Transfers are slower than a normal Kite payin. Money sent before 2:30 PM may take up to two business days. After 2:30 PM, up to three.
Several features are not live yet. SIPs, good-till-triggered orders, price alerts and basket orders are listed as coming soon. Withdrawals, tradebook and ledger reach Console within two days.
Groww And Upstox Got There First
Groww opened US investing in September 2026, working with Alpaca Securities and listing more than 10,000 stocks and ETFs. Upstox launched the same month with 8,000-plus stocks and over 2,000 ETFs.
All three came through the same door. IFSCA cleared Zerodha, Groww, Upstox and Angel One in June 2026 to offer international investing from GIFT City. Zerodha and Upstox run as broker-dealers, Groww and Angel One as Global Access Providers.
On brokerage, the floors matter more than the headline rate. Both charge 0.10%, but Groww sets a $1 minimum an order against $0.01 on Kite. On a $200 trade that is $1 against $0.20, five times the cost.
INDmoney and HDFC Securities were offering US investing before any of them.
| Broker | US launch | Stocks and ETFs | Brokerage | Minimum per order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zerodha | October 2026 | 4,000+ | 0.10% | $0.01, capped at $10 |
| Groww | September 2026 | 10,000+ | 0.10% | $1 |
| Upstox | September 2026 | 10,000+ | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
StartupFeed Insight
The interesting number here is not 0.10%. It is five. Zerodha built its client base on free equity delivery, and a large part of that base cannot send a rupee to this product today, because the salary account sits at a bank that is not supported. Groww, with 10,000-plus names and a wider funding net, went first. Watch the bank list, not the stock list. If State Bank of India is still not supported by 31 December 2026, this beta stays a product for private-bank customers in metro cities, and the volume story belongs to Groww.
By Avinash Mishra, Business Correspondent
What this means for you: If you hold a Kite account and bank with SBI, PNB or any public sector lender, you cannot fund this product today. Open or link an account at one of the five supported banks, and keep your first transfer at or above $50.
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