India, Oct. 7 -- justify;">A beginner and an active trader rarely want the same thing from a trading app. One may simply want to buy a few shares without getting lost in charts and technical data. The other needs quick order placement, live option-chain data, price alerts and low brokerage across dozens of trades.

A few platforms manage both reasonably well. This comparison looks at five trading apps available in India, based on their charges, usability, trading tools, investment choices and research facilities. Each one also provides a trading account and a Demat account.

We compared the five apps on the same five parameters: standard brokerage for intraday and F&O trades (weighted most heavily, since it is the cost active traders feel...