Discount Broker Vs Full-service Broker

Published on December 16, 2025 | 2 min read

The first step of your investment journey is picking a broker. A broker is the middleman between you and the stock market and offers broking services along with other facilities. It is important to pick a type of broker that caters to your investment style and experience.

Many investors are often confused about whether to go for a discount broker or a full-service broker. Let’s understand the different facilities offered by them so you can make the right choice.

Who Is a Discount Broker?

A discount broker is a type of broker who offers their broking services at low brokerage charges compared to others. These brokers are heavily reliant on technology and provide basic services to their customers, such as basic trading tools and limited market insights.

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Discount brokers mainly just facilitate trading and investing and offer additional services like advisories, research reports, advanced trading tools and other related services.

Independent investors with good experience, seeking a hands-on approach to investing, usually go for discount brokers as they don’t require portfolio management services or guidance with their investments.

Who Is a Full-Service Broker?

As the name suggests, Full-Service brokers offer various services and facilities to their customers and charge premium brokerage fees. They provide a wide range of services such as portfolio management, research reports, market insights, wealth management, trade strategy and execution, along with personalized advisory services.

High-Net-Worth Individuals and institutional investors opt for full-service brokers as they have significant portfolio size, hence require risk management, asset management services and other services.

Difference Between a Discount Broker and a Full-Service Broker

Understanding the difference between discount brokers and full-service brokers will help you choose a broker that aligns with your investment approach.

Services Offered

A discount broker provides trade execution, basic technical analysis tools and market data to their customers.

A Full-service broker not only offers trade execution services, but also additional services such as portfolio management, tax planning, hedging strategies, research reports and personal advisory.

Brokerage Charges

Since discount brokers offer basic services, they charge nominal brokerage fees. They offer a flat fee structure, whereas full-service brokers charge as per your trading volume, additional services you opt for.

Investor Type

Discount brokers are suitable for experienced investors and traders who trade independently without requiring specialised guidance. Beginners, wanting to get familiar with the market dynamics, can also go to discount brokers to learn trading and investing at low costs.

Full-service brokers are suitable for HNIs and institutional investors who have large portfolios and require additional services and support from their brokers.

Accessibility of Brokers

There are various discount brokers you can approach online and they usually don’t have many physical branches.

Full-service brokers have multiple physical locations, allowing you to have one-on-one meetings with research analysts and investment advisors.

So, Which One Should You Go For?

If you’re a beginner looking to learn trading and investing with low expenses, you can go for a discount broker. On the contrary, if you’re an HNI with a significant portfolio size, full-service brokers are better suited for your investment style.

While discount brokers offer basic services at low costs, full-service brokers provide a wide range of services at high brokerage fees. Understanding the difference between discount brokers and full-service brokers allows you to choose the one that suits you best.

About Author

Mariyam Sara

Sub-Editor

holds an MBA in Finance and is a true Finance Fanatic. She writes extensively on all things finance whether it’s stock trading, personal finance, or insurance, chances are she’s covered it. When she’s not writing, she’s busy pursuing NISM certifications, experimenting with new baking recipes.

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About Upstox

Upstox is a leading Indian financial services company that offers online trading and investment services in stocks, commodities, currencies, mutual funds, and more. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Mumbai, Upstox is backed by prominent investors including Ratan Tata, Tiger Global, and Kalaari Capital. It operates under RKSV Securities and is registered with SEBI, NSE, BSE, and other regulatory bodies, ensuring secure and compliant trading experiences.