What is the difference between brokerage and transaction charges?

Brokerage goes to the broker for executing your trade; transaction charges go to the stock exchange (NSE or BSE) for the infrastructure that matches buyers and sellers. They’re two separate line items on the contract note, and a broker doesn’t set the exchange’s transaction charge rate, it just collects and passes it on. Transaction charges are usually a small percentage of turnover and differ between segments: NSE and BSE, for instance, have historically charged different rates for equity versus F&O, and even between futures and options within F&O. On a low-brokerage or zero-brokerage plan, transaction charges, STT, GST, and SEBI fees can end up being a bigger share of total cost than brokerage itself, which is why you never judge a broker’s total cost only by its advertised brokerage number.