Looking for the best apps to invest in US stocks from India?
Although you can open a US brokerage account from India without using certain apps, it isn’t as easy and often too tedious for most people.
And there isn’t any benefit in doing so. The Platforms and apps I’ve mentioned in this article allow you to open a US stock investment account in under 5 minutes. You don’t have to worry about any documentation and it’s all digital.
Below are the 3 best apps to buy US stocks from India.
Let’s get started!
Vested
Vested is probably the best platform for Indians to start investing in the US stock market. We’ve done a detailed review on Vested, feel free to check it out.
It is the first app that made it really easy for Indians to buy US stocks. Other Fintech companies followed the game plan laid by Vested.
Vested was started in 2018 by Viram Shah.
It comes in both web-app and smartphone applications. The web app is a little better than the smartphone app since you can view charts and compare two stocks in a much better, wider view.
Some of the key features offered by Vested:
- Zero commission investing, no brokerage fee
- Fractional purchase of US stocks
- Zero minimum balance
- Live data feed
- By far, the best portfolio dashboard
- Quick account opening experience
- Curated portfolio based on the investor risk profile
- Tax documents – something other apps don’t offer at all.
Vested is also much more transparent than its fintech competitors. Compared to both Grow and Indmoney, Vested has support documentation and explanations regarding many important as well as trivial questions you might have.
I also like the investment tools offered by Vested. One, in particular, is called “Vests”.
Vests are a set of curated portfolios which based on your risk profile allow you to invested in cherry-picked companies in different sectors by Vested experts. These are goal-based portfolios. This means if you want higher returns for short-term goals, you can opt for aggressive vests in the SaaS industry.
Similarly, if you are more of a Warren Buffet admirer like I am, you can invest in the Moat Vest. Companies listed in this Vest portfolio are large-cap and have a Moat that keeps their competitor at bay. So you can expect steady returns through the years.
You can deposit USD into your Vested account using International Money Transfer from most Indian banks. I’d recommend HDFC though since it has the lowest abroad transfer charges.
You will be charged $11 per withdrawal. This fee is fixed, regardless of how much you withdraw.
I recommend starting with Vested and only consider other apps in case you face an error that can’t be resolved by their support team.
Join vested & get $10 as a bonus reward when your account is approved.
INDmoney
If you are looking for the quickest way to start buying US stocks, INDmoney is a perfect choice.
Simply install the INDmoney app and open your US stocks investment account in 3 clicks. It happens in an instant and you’re ready to deposit money instantly too.
INDmoney is actually a portfolio tracking and investment management app. It allows you to view all your investments including stocks, mutual funds, real estate, PPF and more in a consolidated view.
They offer a great US stock investment account as well. It’s recently upgraded with a new interface which looks and feels great. You are able to browse top us stocks, top losers/gainers, filter companies based on their sectors and so on.
Some of the reasons why I recommend INDmoney:
- Quickest account opening experience. Takes less than a minute to being purchasing us stocks through INDmoney.
- Zero account opening and maintenance charges
- Clean UI, great experience
- Zero commissions
If you’re going to opt for any membership plans offered by INDMoney, you also get advisory regarding the US stocks. Advice regarding which sector is good, financial data about a company, and tax advisory are some of the perks offered by INDmoney for its premium members.
INDmoney has released a new feature allowing its users to open a digital savings account called IND Super by partnering with SBM bank. What’s more interesting is now you don’t have to pay any charges to transfer funds in your US stocks account. And they claim to offer the best INR to USD conversion rate, which I find to be quite accurate.
And one more thing, you can fund your IND Super account via UPI. Talk about making this easy.
Check out a detailed review of INDMoney here.
Groww
Groww is another great app to buy US stocks.
It’s one of my favorite investment apps, especially due to its interface and smooth experience.
Using Groww, you can invest in Indian stocks, mutual funds, FDs, Gold as well as US Stocks. Despite having so many features and multiple investment platforms combined in one, Groww is super stable.
It rarely goes down, unlike Zerodha.
Groww allows you to open a US investment account in partnership with ViewTrade securities.
It would take about 2 to 7 days for your US investment account to open, and Groww is really sloppy in this department. I’ve figured out contact Groww support as soon as you apply makes the whole process a lot faster.
In my case, it took more than 2 days so I reached out to the Groww team. And within 5 hours my account was ready.
Groww offers in-depth charts to help you analyze the company you’re investing in. It also shows you recommended ETFs depending on the stock you’re browsing.
The only issue with Groww is they are pretty new in this space. Certain stocks and ETFs are not fetched by Groww search. Such as my favorite ETF, Schwab Broad Market (SCHB). I was finally able to find it but using the URL string, not the search bar.
But there are certain advantages of using Groww, such as zero fees on first-time withdrawal, then $9 per withdrawal, the lowest in the industry.
There are no account opening or maintenance charges. Plus, you get $10 when you fund your US brokerage account for the first time.
Groww has significantly more stocks listed (2800+) compared to Vested (1400+).
*We ranked Groww #1 investment app in India for beginners. Read the full article here.
That’s it.
I hope you’ve found your preferred app to start investing in the US stock market.
You would also like to read How to Invest in the US Stocks from India.
Hi Aayush, just wondering. Does it really make sense to invest in US stocks at all, given the fees involves? I mean even with 0 commission you’d still be losing on converting and transferring funds (also withdrawal), right?
Also, do you have any thoughts on HDFC’s global investing option?
Hi Anvi,
Actually, if you’re not directly getting paid by a U.S. employer or generating any direct income from the states, it makes zero sense. There are other, better ways to diversify. We are Indians, with firm bullishness on the Indian Economy.
And that looks silly to me. Stockal (HDFC Sec. partnered with them) isn’t competing with INDMoney or Vested.
This is first time I am going to invest in share market internationally, find this blog very helpful.
Cheers!
Hello Aayush,
I am a seafarer and also first time investor in stocks. I wanted to know if any of these 3 top listed web apps (Vested, IND money & Groww) has funding options from a US bank. Or if you can suggest some other app which is user friendly and easier to understand for a rookie like me in this area where I can use a US bank to fund the account to buy US stocks.
Thank you,
Anurag
Hi Anurag,
I can only imagine what a thrilling life you have!.
To your question – you can fund your Vested account using any non-Indian bank account, through a simple write transfer.
Hello Aayush,
Thanks for your quick reply and yes as a seafarer we get to see places which people would spend to get there.
About my question, I was hoping not to do a wire transfer because this way I end up converting converted amount from USD to INR to USD again and lose on the exchange rate which is usually lower than other 3rd party apps plus it will take another 3 – 5 business days to get the money converted. Linking a US bank or a ATM card with USD balance to stock purchase apps would cut down this time lag plus save on the exchange rates as well. I totally understand that these apps are for Indian population with Indian bank account. Probably searching for an app made in US would be the best bet to invest in US stocks. If you happen to know something that can help individuals like us please do let me know. Thank you for your time. 🙂
In that case, I’d choose Charles Schwab International brokerage account. I’ve had an amazing experience with them.
Thank you for the information, Aayush. It is the best blog on finance in India. I always look at your blogs post Really , most informative blog in India love it man .