Systematic trading
Best Brokers for Algo Trading in India (2026): APIs, Costs & Published Speeds
The algo-relevant facts - API availability, published API pricing, algo-platform support and reported execution speed - compared without an editor's thumb on the scale.
APIs and algo support at a glance
| Broker | API | Published API pricing | Algo support | F&O brokerage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5paisa | 5paisa Xtream API | See official developer page | Yes - via Xtream API | ₹20 per order (flat) |
| Alice Blue | ANT API | Free (per official page) | Yes - free ANT API; partnerships with algo platforms | ₹15–₹20 per order depending on plan - see official pricing |
| Angel One | SmartAPI | Free (per official SmartAPI page) | Yes - free SmartAPI with multi-language SDKs | ₹20 per order (flat) |
| Arrow | Arrow API | See official docs | API with Python & Go clients; in-house algo tools “Coming soon” per official site | ₹20 per order (options); ₹20 or 0.03% per order for futures (whichever is lower) |
| Dhan | DhanHQ API | Free (per official DhanHQ page) | Yes - free DhanHQ API; native TradingView charts and order placement | ₹20 per order (flat) |
| Fyers | Fyers API | Free (per official API page) | Yes - free API; TradingView-based platform | ₹20 per order (flat) |
| Groww | Groww Trade API | See official developer page | Limited - API access is newer than peers | ₹20 per order (flat) |
| ICICI Direct | Breeze API | See official Breeze API page | Yes - via Breeze API | Plan-based - flat ₹20 per order on current flat-fee plans |
| IIFL Securities | IIFL Securities API | Free for IIFL customers (per official pages) | Yes - via IIFL trading API | ₹20 per order (flat) |
| Kotak Neo (Kotak Securities) | Kotak Neo Trade API | See official API page | Yes - via Neo Trade API | Plan-based - see official pricing |
| Paytm Money | Paytm Money API | See official developer page | Yes - via trading API | ₹20 per order (flat) |
| Pocketful | Pocketful API | Free (₹0 for all trading APIs, per official site) | Yes - free API | ₹20 per order (flat) |
| Shoonya (Finvasia) | Shoonya API | Free (per official page) | Yes - free API | ₹0 (zero brokerage, per official site) |
| Upstox | Upstox API | Free (per official developer page) | Yes - via Upstox API | ₹20 per order (flat) |
| Zerodha | Kite Connect | See official Kite Connect pricing page | Yes - via Kite Connect API | ₹20 per order (flat, options) |
Brokers without a documented public API are excluded from this table; they appear in the full API comparison marked Not Disclosed.
Published execution speeds
Latency is the metric algo traders ask about first and brokers document least. The table below is the complete set of published figures we could verify - everything else is honestly labelled.
| S.No | Broker | Reported execution speed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sahi | P95 < 6.61 ms · mean ≈ 5.9 ms self-reported | Sahi - official blog |
| 2 | Fyers | p99 < 7 ms (processing) self-reported | Fyers - official blog |
| 3 | Dhan | 95% < 25 ms (DEXT) self-reported | Dhan - official blog |
| 4 | Arrow | 95% < 2.9 ms · 99% < 4 ms self-reported | Arrow - official website |
| 5 | Groww | < 50 ms self-reported | Groww - official update |
| 6 | Pocketful | < 50 ms self-reported | Pocketful - official blog |
| 7 | Zerodha | ≈ 80 ms (median) | AlgoTest Broker Speedtest |
| 8 | Kotak Neo (Kotak Securities) | ≈ 80 ms (median) | AlgoTest Broker Speedtest |
| 9 | 5paisa | ≈ 85 ms (median) | AlgoTest Broker Speedtest |
| 10 | Angel One | ≈ 95 ms (median) | AlgoTest Broker Speedtest |
| 11 | IIFL Securities | ≈ 95 ms (median) | AlgoTest Broker Speedtest |
| 12 | Upstox | ≈ 135 ms (median) | AlgoTest Broker Speedtest |
| 13 | Shoonya (Finvasia) | ≈ 140 ms (median) | AlgoTest Broker Speedtest |
| - | Alice Blue | Not Disclosed | No published figure found |
| - | ICICI Direct | Not Disclosed | No published figure found |
| - | Paytm Money | Not Disclosed | No published figure found |
Figures are approximate, as published by the cited source (9 July 2026 review), and vary with device, network and market conditions. They are broker- or publisher-reported, not independently audited by this site. Brokers marked Not Disclosed had no published execution-speed figure on their official website or in the AlgoTest Broker Speedtest at review time. Bar length is proportional to the midpoint of the reported range; shorter is faster.
Choosing a stack
Cost-first builders can pick from the free documented APIs - Alice Blue, Angel One, Dhan, Fyers, IIFL Securities, Pocketful, Shoonya (Finvasia), Upstox - where the marginal cost of a strategy is only brokerage and statutory charges (and at zero-brokerage Shoonya, only statutory charges). Ecosystem-first builders tend toward the longest-established API with the most third-party libraries and integrations. TradingView-first builders should look at the brokers with native TradingView order placement. Whatever the pick, test order rejection behaviour, rate-limit handling and expiry-day stability with small size before scaling.
Conclusion
India's algo-broker choice is genuinely competitive: multiple free APIs, flat derivatives pricing, and one zero-brokerage option. The public record cannot crown a speed winner - published latency figures cover only a minority of brokers and are approximate - so build your shortlist on documented API terms and verify latency empirically from your own servers.
Frequently asked questions
Which broker is best for algo trading in India?
It depends on your stack. On published data: brokers with free documented APIs (Angel One, Upstox, Dhan, Fyers, Alice Blue, Shoonya, Pocketful) remove the cost barrier; Zerodha’s Kite Connect has the largest developer ecosystem; Dhan and Fyers suit TradingView-based strategies. Execution-speed data is published for only a minority of brokers, so speed-based rankings from public data are necessarily incomplete.
Do I need SEBI approval to run my own algos?
Retail traders operate under SEBI’s retail algo framework, which places compliance obligations largely on brokers (including order tagging and oversight of API-based algos). You do not register your personal strategy with SEBI, but you must comply with your broker’s API terms and applicable SEBI circulars.
Which free API should I start with?
Any documented free API with an SDK in your language is a reasonable start. Compare rate limits, WebSocket data quality and historical-data access on the official docs - these differ more than headline features do.
Does execution speed matter for retail algos?
For most retail strategies (minutes-to-days holding periods), broker-side latency differences of tens of milliseconds are immaterial next to slippage, data quality and fill logic. For scalping or latency-sensitive options strategies, benchmark brokers yourself - published figures are too sparse and too approximate to decide on.
Sources
- 5paisa - 5paisa Xtream API official page - https://www.5paisa.com/developerapi
- Alice Blue - ANT API official page - https://aliceblueonline.com/trading-apis/
- Angel One - SmartAPI official page - https://smartapi.angelbroking.com
- Arrow - Arrow API official page - https://docs.arrow.trade
- Dhan - DhanHQ API official page - https://dhanhq.co
- Fyers - Fyers API official page - https://myapi.fyers.in
- Groww - Groww Trade API official page - https://groww.in/trade-api
- ICICI Direct - Breeze API official page - https://api.icicidirect.com
- IIFL Securities - IIFL Securities API official page - https://www.iiflcapital.com
- Kotak Neo (Kotak Securities) - Kotak Neo Trade API official page - https://www.kotaksecurities.com/trade-api/
- Paytm Money - Paytm Money API official page - https://www.paytmmoney.com/stocks/trading-api
- Pocketful - Pocketful API official page - https://api.pocketful.in
- Shoonya (Finvasia) - Shoonya API official page - https://shoonya.com/api-documentation
- Upstox - Upstox API official page - https://upstox.com/developer/
- Zerodha - Kite Connect official page - https://kite.trade
- AlgoTest Broker Speedtest - https://openbroker.in/ (Independent, live place-order latency measured by AlgoTest and refreshed every 15 minutes during market hours. The figure shown is the median of AlgoTest’s 15-minute measurement windows; latency varies with network path and market conditions.)
- Arrow - official website - https://arrow.trade (Self-reported by the broker on its own website, measured by placing orders from the AWS Mumbai region. Not independently audited.)