Groww has become one of the most familiar investing apps in India. A first-time investor can open the app, start a SIP, buy shares, apply for an IPO or trade futures and options without visiting a traditional broker’s office.
At first, the business can look surprisingly simple. Account opening is free. There is no annual account-maintenance charge. Groww’s standard direct mutual-fund platform also charges zero commission. So if many popular services are free or low-cost, how does Groww make thousands of crores in revenue?
The answer is that Groww is much more than a free mutual-fund app. It has built a large investment and financial-services platform. Some products bring users into the ecosystem at little or no direct cost, while other products generate brokerage, interest income, lending fees and other service charges.
The scale is now substantial. In FY2025-26, Groww’s parent company, Billionbrains Garage Ventures, reported consolidated revenue from operations of about ₹4,644.6 crore and profit after tax of about ₹2,083 crore. By October 2, 2026, Groww reported 23.5 million transacting users and customer assets of about ₹3.66 lakh crore.
To understand the Groww business model, we need to look at how the company earns from trading, lending, margin funding, depository services and newer wealth products while continuing to use simple, low-cost investing to attract and retain customers. Let’s break down the model step by step.
1. Stock Brokerage: Groww Earns When Investors Trade
The most important part of Groww’s revenue model is brokerage.
When an investor buys or sells shares through Groww, the company can charge a brokerage fee. Groww’s current equity pricing is the lower of ₹20 or 0.1% of the trade value per executed order, subject to a minimum charge of ₹5.
For example, suppose Rohan buys shares worth ₹50,000. A 0.1% charge would be ₹50, but Groww’s maximum under this pricing formula is ₹20 for that executed order. Groww therefore earns ₹20 as brokerage from that trade.
One trade may produce only a small fee. But millions of investors buying and selling shares can generate a very large amount of brokerage income.
This is exactly what Groww’s financial statements show. In FY2025-26, fees and commission income from stocks, equity derivatives and commodities reached about ₹3,773.2 crore. This was the largest single contributor to the company’s income.
In simple terms, Groww attracts investors with a smooth app and low charges, and then earns more as active customers trade more frequently.
2. Futures, Options and Commodity Trading
Groww also earns when customers trade futures and options, commonly called F&O.
For equity and commodity futures and options, Groww currently charges ₹20 per executed order. This can become an important source of income because active traders may place many orders in a single day.
Imagine a trader who enters and exits several options positions during a market session. Each executed order can create brokerage revenue for Groww.
This helps explain why trading activity matters so much to an online broker. Groww does not need to earn a huge amount from one customer. A large number of small brokerage charges, repeated across millions of transactions, can build a very large revenue stream.
It is also important to separate Groww’s own brokerage from government and exchange charges. Taxes and statutory charges collected on a trade are not the same as Groww’s revenue.
3. Margin Trading Facility: Groww Earns Interest When It Funds Part of a Share Purchase
Groww has also developed a fast-growing business called the Margin Trading Facility, or MTF.
MTF allows an investor to buy approved shares by paying only part of the purchase value. Groww funds the remaining amount. The investor then pays interest on the money funded by Groww.
Suppose Meera wants to buy shares worth ₹1 lakh but uses only ₹25,000 of her own money under an eligible MTF transaction. Groww funds the remaining amount according to the applicable margin requirements. As long as that funded amount remains outstanding, Groww earns interest.
Groww’s current MTF pricing lists interest at 14.95% per year on the funded amount. Brokerage also applies to MTF orders.
This business has grown quickly. Groww’s FY2025-26 annual report says MTF interest income increased to about ₹257.7 crore from about ₹48 crore in the previous year. Its MTF funding book stood at roughly ₹2,814 crore at March 31, 2026. By October 2, 2026, Groww’s investor-relations dashboard showed an MTF net book of about ₹4,430 crore.
That makes MTF important because it gives Groww a source of recurring interest income in addition to ordinary transaction-based brokerage.
4. Personal Loans and Loans Against Securities
Groww is also expanding into credit.
The company offers personal loans and loans against securities through its credit business. It uses more than one model. Some loans are distributed in partnership with third-party banks and financial companies, while other loans are provided through Groww Creditserv Technology, its RBI-licensed lending subsidiary.
The way Groww earns depends on the type of loan.
For partner loans, Groww can receive a share of processing and distribution-related income for sourcing and servicing the customer. For loans provided through its own lending subsidiary, the business can earn interest, processing fees and other permitted charges.
For example, if a customer takes a personal loan through Groww, the loan may generate interest over its tenure. Groww’s help pages also show that processing fees can apply to personal loans, with the exact charges disclosed to the customer before borrowing.
This is already meaningful. Groww reported approximately ₹239.5 crore of interest income from loans in FY2025-26.
Credit therefore gives Groww another way to earn from users who may have originally joined the platform simply to invest in shares or mutual funds.
5. Depository and Other Trading-Related Charges
Some investors notice that selling shares can involve more than brokerage.
Groww also acts as a depository participant. When shares are sold from a demat account, a DP charge can apply. Under Groww’s current pricing, the Groww portion of the DP charge is ₹16.50 for eligible sell transactions of ₹100 or more, in addition to the depository’s own charge and applicable tax.
Groww can also charge for certain additional services, including pledge or unpledge requests, some physical or special account services, auto square-off of eligible positions and access to trading APIs.
For example, Groww currently lists a ₹20 charge per ISIN for pledge or unpledge orders and ₹499 per month for access to its trading APIs.
These are smaller revenue streams compared with brokerage, but they matter when a platform has millions of active customers.
6. Interest Earned on Deposits and Securities Linked to the Broking Business
There is another important source of income that ordinary users may never notice inside the app.
A large brokerage business has to maintain money and securities in regulated arrangements with banks, clearing corporations and stock exchanges. Certain deposits and securities earmarked for the broking business can earn interest.
Groww’s annual report shows that interest income from deposits and securities earmarked with stock exchanges reached about ₹374.2 crore in FY2025-26, up from about ₹320 crore a year earlier.
This is a good example of why Groww’s business cannot be understood only by looking at the brokerage shown on a customer’s contract note. The scale of the overall platform can create additional interest income around the infrastructure needed to support trading.
7. Mutual Funds: Free Direct Investing Helps Bring and Retain Users
Groww originally became popular through mutual funds, but this part of the model is often misunderstood.
On Groww’s standard mutual-fund platform, investors can choose direct mutual funds and Groww currently charges zero commission for those investments. Direct plans do not include the distributor commission built into regular plans.
So Groww is not simply taking a commission every time a customer starts a normal direct SIP.
Why offer this service for free? Because mutual funds can be a powerful customer-acquisition and retention product.
A student may start with a ₹500 monthly SIP. A few years later, the same person may buy stocks, use MTF, trade derivatives, take a loan or use a wealth-management product. The lifetime value of that customer can be much higher than the revenue from the first mutual-fund transaction.
Groww has also launched MF Prime, an optional guided mutual-fund service that uses regular mutual-fund plans for customers who want recommendations and portfolio guidance. The company’s classic direct-plan experience continues alongside it.
This shows how Groww can keep a free do-it-yourself option while gradually adding paid or monetisable services for customers who want more help.
8. Groww Asset Management: Earning From Its Own Investment Products
Groww is no longer only a platform that distributes products created by other companies.
It entered the asset-management business after acquiring Indiabulls Asset Management Company in 2023 and now operates Groww Mutual Fund.
This changes the economics of the business. When an investor buys a mutual fund managed by Groww Asset Management, Groww’s group is not only providing the app or distribution platform; it is also involved in manufacturing and managing the investment product itself.
Asset-management companies earn management income through the expense structure of the funds they operate. The fee is reflected in the fund’s expense ratio rather than appearing as a separate app charge every month.
Groww’s annual report says the asset-management business had about 1.3 million active investors by March 2026. The company has identified asset management as one of the areas it wants to scale over the long term.
This is an important shift because asset management can create revenue linked to the amount of money managed, rather than only to the number of trades placed.
9. Wealth Management and New Financial Products
Groww is also moving beyond mass-market investing.
Through its wealth business, including W by Groww and the Fisdom business it acquired, the group is building services for affluent investors who may need products such as portfolio management services, alternative investment funds, bonds, insurance and other specialised investments.
These services can generate advisory, distribution or product-related income depending on the product and structure.
This part of the Groww business model is still much smaller than the core brokerage business, but it is strategically important. As customers become wealthier, Groww wants them to continue using the same ecosystem instead of moving to a traditional private bank or wealth manager.
10. Why Does Groww Keep So Many Services Free or Cheap?
The answer is customer scale.
Free account opening, no annual maintenance charge and zero-commission direct mutual funds reduce the barrier for a new investor.
Once the customer is comfortable with Groww, the app can become the place where that person manages more of his or her financial life.
Consider a simple example.
Amit joins Groww to start a ₹1,000 SIP. Groww may earn no commission from that direct mutual-fund investment. Later, Amit starts buying shares and pays brokerage. He begins trading options and pays ₹20 per executed order. He uses MTF for a share purchase and pays interest on the funded amount. A few years later, he may use a loan or a wealth-management product.
The original free SIP helped Groww acquire the customer. The wider financial relationship creates the revenue.
That is the central logic of the model: keep the entry point simple, build trust and activity, and then earn from the services customers use as their financial needs become broader.
How Much Money Does Groww Make From These Activities?
Groww’s FY2025-26 numbers show the business model clearly.
Consolidated revenue from operations was about ₹4,644.6 crore. Of this, fees and commission income from stocks, equity derivatives and commodities was approximately ₹3,773.2 crore. Interest from loans contributed about ₹239.5 crore. MTF interest contributed around ₹257.7 crore, while interest from deposits and securities earmarked with stock exchanges was about ₹374.2 crore.
Together, these figures explain almost the entire operating-revenue picture for the year.
The latest quarter also shows the scale of the platform. For Q1 FY2026-27, Groww reported total income of about ₹1,549 crore and profit after tax of about ₹735 crore.
So even though Groww markets itself around simplicity and low costs, it has built a large and increasingly diversified financial business behind the app.
Conclusion
Groww makes money mainly because millions of Indians use it not just to invest, but also to trade, borrow and use additional financial services.
Its biggest revenue engine is brokerage from stocks, futures, options and commodities. MTF adds interest income when Groww funds part of a share purchase. Its credit business earns from loans. Depository and other account-related services add smaller fees, while exchange-linked deposits generate interest income.
At the same time, Groww continues to offer free direct mutual funds because not every product has to make money immediately. Some products are designed to bring users into the ecosystem and keep them there.
Newer areas such as Groww Mutual Fund, MF Prime, wealth management and credit are making the company less dependent on ordinary trading alone.
In simple words, the Groww business model works by making investing easy and inexpensive at the entry point, building a large base of active customers, and then earning from the higher-value financial services those customers use over time.
