Tickertape vs Vested for US stocks: GIFT City vs LRS, 0.15% vs 0.25% brokerage

Tickertape and Vested are not direct equivalents. They use different regulatory routes, different clearing infrastructure, and different product philosophies. What they have in common: both let Indian residents buy US stocks without selling through a third-party intermediary.

The comparison matters because the cost difference is real: Tickertape at 0.15% brokerage versus Vested at 0.25% is a 40% saving on every trade for the average retail investor — and Tickertape's GIFT City route potentially avoids TCS altogether.

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The routing difference: GIFT City vs LRS

This is the most consequential structural difference between the two platforms.

Vested uses the LRS route. You remit Indian rupees to your Vested USD wallet through the Liberalised Remittance Scheme. Your bank files the Form A2, debits the rupees, converts to USD, and the funds arrive in your Vested account typically within 1–3 business days. Under LRS, TCS applies: 0% on aggregate annual remittances up to ₹7 lakh, 20% above ₹7 lakh per financial year across all LRS purposes. You can reclaim TCS at ITR filing, but the 20% gets locked up until then.

Tickertape uses the GIFT City IFSC route. Tickertape partners with ViewTrade International, which holds an IFSCA licence at GIFT City. Under the prevailing interpretation, remittances to GIFT City IFSC units are domestic transactions — not foreign remittances under LRS — and therefore do not attract TCS and are not counted against the $250,000 LRS annual cap.

The practical implication: if you invest ₹10 lakh in US stocks per year, the LRS route locks up ₹60,000 in TCS until your ITR refund. The GIFT City route (under current interpretation) does not. Verify the GIFT City TCS treatment with a CA, as IFSCA guidance continues to evolve and the explicit regulatory confirmation is limited.

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Brokerage comparison

	Tickertape	Vested
Brokerage	0.15% per trade	0.25% per trade, capped at $35
Cap	None	$35 (kicks in above $14,000 per trade)
Account opening fee	None	None
Account maintenance	None	None
Withdrawal fee	None	None

For the vast majority of retail trades — ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh per order — Tickertape is the cheaper platform on brokerage. The math:

Trade size	Tickertape (0.15%)	Vested (0.25%)	Saving
₹1 lakh (~$1,180)	₹150	₹250	₹100
₹2 lakh (~$2,350)	₹300	₹500	₹200
₹5 lakh (~$5,880)	₹750	₹1,250	₹500
₹12 lakh (~$14,000)	₹1,800	₹2,975 ($35)	₹1,175
₹20 lakh (~$23,500)	₹3,000	₹2,975 ($35 cap)	-₹25 (Vested cheaper)

Above roughly ₹12 lakh per trade (~$14,000), Vested's $35 brokerage cap makes it the cheaper option. But trades of that size are uncommon for retail investors. At typical SIP-style amounts, Tickertape saves money on brokerage on every order.

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FX markup

Both platforms charge an FX markup on rupee-to-dollar conversion:

• Vested: ~0.75–1% markup on the mid-market rate (approximately 75–100 paise per USD)
• Tickertape: routes through GlomoPay for FX. The effective markup is similar, in the 0.5–1% range

FX markup is not meaningfully different between the two platforms. Neither is as FX-efficient as IBKR, which offers near-interbank rates for investors moving large amounts.

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What you can buy

	Tickertape	Vested
NYSE/NASDAQ stocks	All	All
OTC (pink-sheet) stocks	No	No
US ETFs	All listed	All listed
Fractional shares	Yes	Yes (from $1)
Options/futures	No	No
Indian stocks	Yes (existing Tickertape product)	No

Both give full access to the NYSE/NASDAQ universe. Neither supports options or OTC stocks. Tickertape's research infrastructure extends to US stocks — its screener lets you filter by fundamentals, which Vested does not offer.

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Research and screener

This is Tickertape's clearest product edge.

Tickertape's US stock screener uses the same interface as its Indian stock screener. You can filter by:

• Revenue growth rate (1Y, 3Y, 5Y)
• Operating margin
• Price-to-earnings (trailing and forward)
• Debt-to-equity
• Market capitalisation (large/mid/small)
• Sector and industry

The workflow is continuous: screen → research → buy, without switching platforms or tabs. For investors who make decisions based on fundamental analysis, this is a meaningful time-saver.

Vested's research is limited to basic price history, key financials (revenue, EPS, P/E), and news. There is no screener equivalent to Tickertape's. If you want to systematically find US stocks meeting specific criteria, you need to use a third-party screener and then come to Vested to execute.

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Tax documentation

	Tickertape	Vested
Capital gains statement	Standard	Standard
Lot-level INR cost basis	Not lot-level ITR format	Not lot-level ITR format
Schedule FA support	Basic	Basic (better tooling)

Neither platform produces lot-level ITR-format tax reports with per-lot INR cost basis at the vest-date SBI TT rate. If you need that level of documentation (most relevant for RSU holders), Rovia is the strongest option — it provides automated Schedule FA, lot-level INR P&L with vest-date SBI TT rates, and Form 67/44 dividend prep. INDmoney offers ITR-format lot-level capital gains reports and is the next best option for non-RSU investors.

Vested has slightly more developed Schedule FA tooling — it shows aggregate balances and peak values needed for Part D of Schedule FA. Tickertape's tax documentation is adequate for most investors but less developed than Vested's on the compliance side.

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Account safety

Both platforms route through IFSCA-regulated or FINRA/SIPC-member US custodians:

• Tickertape: US stocks held at ViewTrade International's US custodian entity, which is a FINRA/SIPC-member broker-dealer. SIPC protection: up to $500,000 per account (including $250,000 cash).
• Vested: US stocks held at DriveWealth, a FINRA/SIPC-member US broker-dealer. Same SIPC protection level.

Both platforms have your US assets held at US custodians with the same federal protection. The Indian entity in each case is different (Tickertape/Smallcase is SEBI-registered; Vested is not SEBI-registered but is SEC/FINRA-regulated).

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Side-by-side summary

	Tickertape	Vested
Route	GIFT City IFSC (IFSCA)	LRS
TCS	Potentially none (verify with CA)	20% above ₹7L aggregate
Brokerage	0.15%	0.25%, capped at $35
FX markup	~0.5–1%	~0.75–1%
Research/screener	Best-in-class for fundamental research	Basic
Tax docs	Adequate	Adequate + better Schedule FA tools
Track record	Newer US product (~2025)	Since 2019
Regulation	IFSCA (GIFT City) + SEBI	SEC/FINRA (US entity)
US stock universe	Full NYSE/NASDAQ	Full NYSE/NASDAQ
Indian assets	Yes (existing Tickertape product)	No

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How to choose

Choose Tickertape if:

• You invest regularly in amounts under ₹12 lakh per trade and want to save 40% on brokerage
• You want to potentially avoid TCS on remittances above ₹7 lakh (GIFT City route)
• Research and screening is central to how you pick stocks — the integrated screener-to-execution flow saves time
• You're already a Tickertape user for Indian stock research

Choose Vested if:

• You want the longer-established platform with a 7-year operating history for US stocks
• You prefer a US-regulated entity (SEC/FINRA) as your direct counterparty rather than IFSCA
• Your average trade size is above ₹12 lakh, where Vested's $35 cap makes it cheaper
• You want better Schedule FA compliance tooling

Consider INDmoney if:

• You want lot-level ITR-format tax reports with automatic INR conversion
• You want OTC (pink-sheet) stock access
• You want Indian mutual funds + US stocks in one app with the GIFT City TCS-free option

Consider IBKR if:

• You're deploying ₹25 lakh or more per year and near-interbank FX rates are worth the complexity

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Vested.blog is the editorial publication of Rovia.