The Great Retail Churn: Groww Strengthens Lead as Zerodha and Other Brokers Lose Clients

India’s retail broking industry is going through an interesting phase. After years of rapid growth in demat accounts and retail participation, a relatively subdued market environment appears to be testing investor engagement.

The latest July 2026 data cited in the discussion points to a shift in the brokerage leaderboard, with Groww continuing to add clients while several established brokers recorded client losses. Zerodha, Upstox, SBI Securities, HDFC Securities and Motilal Oswal were among the platforms facing pressure, while ICICI Securities and Dhan continued to add clients.

Retail Participation Shows Signs of Cooling

The Indian equity market has spent considerable time moving without a sustained directional trend. For active traders and newer investors, such a market can be challenging.

Unlike a sharp market correction, which can sometimes encourage investors to buy at lower valuations, a prolonged sideways market can reduce trading activity and investor interest.

The July figures indicate that the active investor base has declined, pointing towards a period of retail investor consolidation and churn.

For investors who entered the market during the post-Covid retail boom, the current environment could be an important test of whether they remain long-term participants.

Groww Continues to Strengthen Its Lead

The biggest standout in the July brokerage data is Groww.

According to the figures cited, Groww had around 1.31 crore active clients and a market share of approximately 29%. The platform reportedly added around 70,000 clients during July, taking its year-to-date additions to approximately 10 lakh clients.

This is particularly notable because the broader industry has been experiencing slower client growth.

Groww’s active client base is now substantially ahead of its nearest competitors, giving the platform a significant lead in India’s retail broking market.

The key question for the industry is whether Groww’s growth reflects stronger customer retention, continued acquisition of first-time investors, or a combination of both.

Zerodha Remains No. 2 but Faces Client Pressure

Zerodha continues to occupy the second position, with approximately 67.6 lakh active clients.

However, July was another challenging month for the discount broker. The company reportedly lost around 38,725 clients during the month.

Its market share was around 14.88%, considerably below Groww’s reported 29%.

The important issue for Zerodha is not simply one month’s decline. Continued client attrition could become a concern if the trend persists for several quarters.

Zerodha nevertheless retains a very large customer base and remains one of India’s most important retail brokerage platforms.

Angel One Sees Almost Flat Growth

Angel One, another major retail brokerage, remained in third position with approximately 66.34 lakh clients.

However, July client additions were extremely modest, with the company reportedly adding just 286 clients during the month.

Its market share stood at approximately 14.5%.

The close positioning of Zerodha and Angel One makes the competition for the second-largest brokerage position particularly important to watch in the coming months.

Upstox Continues to Lose Clients

Upstox also remained under pressure.

The July data cited indicates that Upstox lost approximately 26,000 clients during the month, taking its year-to-date decline to around 1.25 lakh clients.

Its market share was approximately 4%.

The numbers highlight the difficulty faced by several discount brokers as the initial wave of retail demat-account growth slows.

ICICI Securities Shows Resilience

Not every major broker experienced declining client numbers.

ICICI Securities reportedly added approximately 11,748 clients in July, taking its market share to around 4.5%.

Its performance stands out because the company was able to grow its customer base despite the broader slowdown.

The presence of a large banking ecosystem and integrated investment services could potentially provide an advantage in retaining customers across different market cycles.

Dhan Continues Its Upward Movement

Dhan was another notable performer.

The platform reportedly added approximately 14,000 clients during July, taking its total client base close to 11 lakh.

Its market share was around 2.39%.

Although Dhan’s absolute client base remains much smaller than Groww, Zerodha and Angel One, continued additions indicate that newer brokerage platforms can still gain traction even when overall industry growth is slowing.

Traditional Brokers Also Face Pressure

The July data wasn’t challenging only for discount brokers.

SBI Securities reportedly lost around 47,550 clients during July, while HDFC Securities lost approximately 9,169 clients.

HDFC Securities was reported to have around 5.25 lakh active clients, with a market share of roughly 3%.

Motilal Oswal also reportedly lost more than 1,700 clients during July and maintained around 2% market share.

The broader picture suggests that the current client churn is affecting both technology-focused discount brokers and traditional financial institutions.

July 2026 Broker-Wise Client Trend

Based on the figures cited in the data:

Figures are based on the data provided for this article and should be read as reported/cited figures rather than independently reconstructed NSE statistics.

What Is Driving the Brokerage Client Churn?

Several factors could be contributing to the changing brokerage landscape.

1. Sideways Market Conditions

A prolonged period without strong market momentum can reduce trading frequency, particularly among newer investors.

2. Post-Covid Investor Normalisation

The extraordinary retail participation witnessed after 2020 may be settling into a more sustainable level.

3. Competition Between Brokers

Zero-cost or low-cost trading, better mobile applications, mutual fund offerings, IPO access and advanced trading tools have made switching between platforms easier.

4. Investor Consolidation

Some investors may be closing inactive demat accounts or shifting their investments to platforms they use more frequently.

5. Changing Investor Preferences

Investors increasingly expect a single platform to provide stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, IPOs, research, and other investment services.

The Bigger Picture: From Demat Account Growth to Customer Retention

The Indian broking industry is entering a different phase.

For several years, the primary question was how quickly brokers could acquire new customers. Today, the more important question may be how effectively they can retain existing customers.

Groww’s continued client additions are particularly significant in this environment. At the same time, the decline reported by several established players demonstrates that having a large customer base does not automatically guarantee continued growth.

For Zerodha, Angel One and Upstox, the next phase could therefore focus increasingly on customer engagement, product expansion and retention rather than simply acquiring new demat accounts.

July 2026 appears to have been another important month for India’s competitive broking landscape.

Groww continued to strengthen its position at the top, while Zerodha and several other major platforms experienced client losses. Angel One remained almost flat, whereas ICICI Securities and Dhan showed positive client additions.

The emerging trend suggests that India’s demat-account story may be moving from rapid expansion to consolidation and competition for active investors.

For brokerage companies, the next big battle may not be about who can open the most demat accounts—it could be about who can keep investors active through the next market cycle.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Investors should verify exchange data and conduct their own research before making investment decisions.