Rovia vs Dhan for US stocks: LRS vs GIFT City, RSU tools vs simpler transfers

Rovia and Dhan are doing fundamentally different things for Indian US stock investors. The comparison is not primarily about brokerage rates — it is about route, use case, and what problem each platform actually solves.

Rovia is built for Indian residents with RSU compensation. Dhan is built for investors who want a simpler domestic transfer process and are exploring the potential Section 10(4D) capital gains advantage of the GIFT City IFSC route. These are different audiences with different primary problems, and for most investors, one platform is clearly more relevant than the other.

Full disclosure: Vested.blog is the editorial publication of Rovia. This comparison reflects our honest assessment of both platforms.

The structural difference: LRS vs GIFT City

This is the most important thing to understand before anything else.

Rovia uses the standard LRS (Liberalised Remittance Scheme) route. When you fund your Rovia account, your money leaves India as a foreign remittance. This means:

• TCS applies: 0% on the first ₹10 lakh in aggregate investment LRS remittances per financial year, 20% on amounts above ₹10 lakh (reclaimable at ITR but capital is blocked until refund)
• The $250,000 annual LRS cap counts your Rovia remittances
• Schedule FA disclosure is required for your Alpaca account as a foreign financial account

Dhan uses the GIFT City IFSC route via Raise IFSC Pvt. Ltd. When you fund your Dhan US stocks account, the money goes via a domestic NEFT/IMPS transfer to Raise IFSC Pvt. Ltd. — Dhan's IFSCA-regulated GIFT City subsidiary. The GIFT City route is LRS-compliant:

• TCS applies at standard rates (0% up to ₹10L/year, 20% above) — same as any LRS investment remittance
• The $250,000 LRS cap applies equally
• Transfer is domestic NEFT/IMPS — no SWIFT, no Form A2/15CA/15CB required for the transfer itself
• Schedule FA disclosure status is evolving — the prudent position is to disclose until there is explicit guidance
• Potential Section 10(4D) capital gains exemption — uncertain, verify with CA

How TCS and costs compare between routes

TCS applies equally on both routes — Rovia (LRS) and Dhan (GIFT City):

Scenario: ₹25 lakh invested in US stocks in a financial year

TCS is identical on both routes. The difference is the transfer process and the potential Section 10(4D) capital gains advantage on Dhan.

Brokerage cost difference at ₹25L/year: Rovia (0.15%) saves ₹2,500 in brokerage vs Dhan (0.25%). This is the main recurring cost difference between the two platforms.

Brokerage: Rovia wins

Rovia charges 0.15% per trade, capped at $15. Dhan charges 0.25% per trade.

At ₹25 lakh per year, Rovia's brokerage advantage is ₹2,500 annually. TCS is identical on both routes. The brokerage saving is the main recurring cost difference.

At ₹5 lakh per year, Rovia's brokerage advantage of ₹500 applies.

RSU consolidation: Rovia only

This is the clearest dimension where the platforms are not comparable.

Rovia supports inbound ACATS transfers from Fidelity, E*TRADE, Schwab, and Morgan Stanley. You can move vested RSU shares from your employer broker to Rovia without selling — preserving cost basis, lot dates, and holding period. The shares arrive at Rovia's Alpaca-clearing account with the original vest dates intact.

Dhan does not support inbound ACATS transfers. If your RSU shares are at Fidelity or E*TRADE, your options on Dhan are: (a) sell on the employer platform, repatriate cash, reinvest in Dhan — which triggers capital gains and destroys lot-level history, or (b) keep the RSU shares at the employer platform and use Dhan only for new investing. Neither is the consolidation that RSU holders typically want.

If you have meaningful employer equity at a US broker, Rovia is the relevant platform. Dhan is not designed for this use case.

Tax tooling: Rovia significantly ahead

Rovia provides:

• Lot-level INR cost basis with vest-date SBI TT rates pre-applied per lot
• Specific-lot identification at sell (HIFO, LIFO, FIFO, or manual)
• Automated Schedule FA with SBI TT-rate converted peak balance from daily snapshots
• Realized-loss schedule with tax-loss harvesting carry-forward tracker
• Form 67 / Form 44 prep for dividend foreign tax credits
• India 24-month LTCG countdown per lot (vs the US 12-month rule)

Dhan provides:

• Standard account statements with transaction history
• No specific-lot identification at sell
• No INR cost basis per lot
• No Schedule FA helper
• No tax-loss harvesting reports
• Under GIFT City, the Schedule FA requirement itself is evolving — but that means more uncertainty, not less work

For investors with multiple vest tranches who need to manage lot-level capital gains in INR, Rovia's tax tooling is substantially more capable. For investors making a small number of regular purchases into an ETF and not managing RSU lots, the tooling difference matters less — though Dhan's absence of Schedule FA support means more manual work at filing time regardless.

Platform maturity

Both platforms are relatively new in their current form:

• Dhan launched its US stocks via GIFT City product in June 2026
• Rovia was founded in 2025

Neither has a decade of track record on the US investing side. Dhan has more established infrastructure on the Indian equity side (it is well-known for options trading and Indian markets). Rovia was purpose-built for the US-investing use case from the start.

The GIFT City regulatory framework Dhan uses is itself relatively new — IFSCA was established in 2020 and the rules around retail investors in GIFT City continue to evolve. Edge cases in repatriation, dispute resolution, and tax treatment have not yet been stress-tested at scale.

Full comparison table

Who should use which

Rovia is the right choice if you:

• Have RSU or ESPP shares at Fidelity, E*TRADE, Schwab, or Morgan Stanley and want to consolidate via ACATS
• Are managing multiple vest tranches and need lot-level INR tax tooling
• Are investing below ₹10 lakh per year where the GIFT City TCS advantage is zero
• Want the lowest per-trade brokerage among Indian-facing platforms (0.15%)
• Want Schedule FA automation, loss-harvesting reports, and Form 67 prep

Dhan is the right choice if you:

• Already use Dhan for Indian equity and F&O and want US stocks in the same app
• Want a simpler domestic transfer process (no SWIFT, no A2/15CA/15CB documentation)
• Do not have RSU shares to consolidate
• Want US stock SIP for automated recurring investing
• Are exploring the potential Section 10(4D) capital gains exemption (verify with CA)

Consider both only if you want to run parallel accounts — Dhan for new cash investments (simpler transfer process), Rovia for managing consolidated RSU shares (lot-level tax tooling). Some investors with large RSU positions do exactly this.

Related reading

• Dhan US stocks via GIFT City: what it means and how it differs
• Rovia vs Vested for US stock investing
• GIFT City vs LRS: the complete guide for Indian investors
• RSU lot selection and tax-loss harvesting

Vested.blog is the editorial publication of Rovia.

Verdict by use case

The decision in one question

Do you have RSU shares at a US employer broker?

Yes → Rovia. ACATS consolidation without selling preserves cost basis and lot dates. Lot-level INR tax tooling, Form 67/44 dividend prep, and Schedule FA automation are purpose-built for RSU holders managing Indian tax on employer equity.

No → Dhan for simplicity. Domestic NEFT/IMPS transfer, 0% brokerage (Dhan's revenue comes from the FX spread), and integration with the Indian equity app make it the lower-friction choice for retail investors making regular purchases into US stocks or ETFs without RSU complexity.

For very large US stock positions (above ₹1 crore), IBKR remains the most robust option: near-interbank FX rates, the broadest US market access (including options), and the longest track record among brokers accessible to Indian investors.

Fractional shares, SIPs, and stock universe

Both Rovia and Dhan support fractional shares for US stocks — you can buy a fraction of a share of high-priced stocks (like NVDA or BRK.B) for as little as $1–5.

SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) / recurring investment:

• Dhan supports automated recurring US stock investments — set a weekly or monthly amount and the platform executes the purchase automatically.
• Rovia does not support SIP at launch (as of mid-2026). Recurring purchases require manual placement.

For investors who want passive, automated dollar-cost averaging into US stocks or ETFs, Dhan's SIP feature is a genuine convenience advantage.

Stock universe: Both platforms provide access to the full NYSE and NASDAQ universe — all listed US equities and ETFs. Neither supports OTC (pink-sheet) stocks, options, or futures. For those instruments, IBKR remains the only accessible platform for Indian investors.

Repatriation: bringing money back to India

Rovia: flat $5 wire fee per outbound repatriation. The USD wire goes from Alpaca Securities to your Indian bank account (NRE or savings) via SWIFT, then converts to INR at your bank's rate.

Dhan: repatriation goes through the GIFT City entity (Raise IFSC) back to your Indian bank account via domestic transfer. The FX markup is applied at the GIFT City entity's rate — verify the current spread with Dhan before repatriating large amounts.

For both platforms, repatriation from US stock sales does not trigger additional TCS — TCS is assessed at the inward remittance stage, not the outward repatriation. Capital gains on the sale must be reported in the Indian ITR-2 for the relevant assessment year regardless of whether you repatriate or keep the funds offshore.