For me its Zerodha api - Stable. Finvasia seemed okay initially, but not anymore. Dhan is still WIP. Started exploring Kotak api now.
i used to automate over NEST + Finvasia few years back, it was fine. Then did Nest + Wisdom which was also fine. Both of this is old news and not applicable anymore.
Have used api with Fyers, it was fine but became unstable after a while and I was not comfortable with keeping too much capital with them. Then tried 5 paisa and they were absolutely horrific - wasted too much time with them.
Then finally explored Zerodha in 2021, trading along with Fyers and eventually moved it all to Z. Z is very stable and i am comfortable keeping money with them + pledging works well + quarterly settlement is very fast + support on forums is great. Also have traded on IB, execution is fine, but they have other issues and seem not willing to adapt to Indian markets.
After 5 paisa episode, i have stopped exploring other brokers - it takes up too much time to add broker support and test everything thoroughly. Will wait for experience of people i know confirming that there is a viable Z alternative, and even then probably will only try if i really need to.
Actually SEBI almost banned API but I guess now its on a hold situation.
There are also regulatory challenges. As per regulations, a broker must show the margin and charges before an order is placed. Not sure how in API this can be handled.
I think most brokers except a few are shying away from offering APIs primarily due to
- Regulatory challenges
- Too many orders from API can lead to trade messages to get clogged up and sort of create a denial-of-service situation. Also, their RMS has to be able to scale up to keep track of flurry of incoming orders.
Top 7 brokers (by active clients) have api - except HDFC Sec
Right - Groww, Dhan etc are not doing it. I think Groww had it and stopped. Are they offering now ? Upstox had it but now stopped it.
Upstox has uplink now. Dhan also has an API for sure.
Grow is hardly a broker preferred by active derivative traders and for good reason.
Oh nice - didnt notice this. I actually had used upstox API when it was launched to record data.