Kuvera vs Groww | Is Kuvera better than Groww?

Kuvera and Groww are two of the top mutual fund investment platforms available to the general public today. Headquartered in Bangalore, both apps gained popularity for bringing investments to the comfort of a user’s smartphone, breaking traditional methods of investing through distributors – which was cumbersome and provided limited options.

These investment platforms have revolutionized market investments, opening it up to a much larger and younger audience. Despite being operational for less than five years, both apps have received a tremendous amount of traction. The following article compares the two apps to help you make an informed decision on whom to go with to invest your hard-earned money.

Kuvera vs Groww

While there are merits to using either app, most of us do not have the luxury or the capacity to invest and monitor or portfolio across both platforms. Thus, the following provides an overview of how each app fairs across some key criteria:

App features

Both apps offer a rich set of features for the user to help them make the most of the app. These include providing joint or family accounts to manage investments for more than one individual, fund recommendations, tracking dashboards, tax saving, etc.

However, the Kuvera app offers a broader set of use cases through some additional features for the user. Some of the key features are:

• Goals: One of the first tips that any investor hears about before entering the market is to invest keeping in mind a clear goal. Goal-based investing is particularly important for all kinds of investors, old and new alike. The Kuvera app provides you multiple default goals, both with a short-term and medium-term focus. These include early retirement, own a home, own a car, educate my child, foreign vacation, etc.

When a user chooses a goal, the app records information such as the user’s current age, user’s age by which goal needs to be met, monthly expenses, etc. and then asks the user to enter their estimated monthly investment.

Once this information is in place, the app provides its calculation on future savings based on these parameters. It helps users pace their investments according to the goals, which are very helpful for new users and experienced users alike.

• Import portfolio (through PAN): While both Groww and Kuvera offer the option to sync investments made outside the app to be managed on the app, the difference here is Kuvera allows a user to do so using his or her PAN card. Groww, on the other hand, tries to map a user’s investment based on the registered email ID. This is often a long and painful process, which can get complicated for users who have multiple email IDs registered.

• Trade smart: Another interesting and helpful feature of the Kuvera app is the Trade Smart feature. The feature ensures that users pay minimum taxes on their transactions. This is done by providing users recommendations on when they should make these transactions (either switching or redeeming funds) to save maximum tax, thereby helping the user make an informed decision.

• Tax harvesting: Long-term gains from equity funds are taxed at 10%. Tax harvesting is a feature offered on Kuvera that utilizes the annual long-term capital gains exemption of 1 lakh by selling and buying back parts of the user’s investment to help realize the user’s gains every year. This feature is particularly helpful for users to save tax and improve their profits across returns on investments.

Although Groww has its own set of additional features, Kuvera’s value addition does seem to be more relevant to the standard user.

Verdict: Kuvera wins

Ease of use

Both apps have a fairly simple user interface, making it easy for users to navigate and explore through the app. There are, however, some advantages that the Groww app has over the Kuvera app. These are summarized below:

• Fingerprint access: Groww app allows the user to access the app through the phone’s fingerprint scanner. This option is not available on Kuvera – which uses a PIN to access the app.
• Compact view: The Groww app gives a user the benefit of having all key actions within the same screen by using a quick access bar and user-friendly compact tabs.

Although marginal, the Groww app has a slight edge in terms of ease of use.

Verdict: Groww wins

Transaction & service charges

Both apps are currently free to subscribe to and charge similar transaction fees depending on the AMC costs and payment gateway charges. Kuvera, however, does charge Rs 2500/- per year once investments through the platform cross Rs 1 lakh.

Verdict: Groww wins

Customer support

One of the key drawbacks of both apps, however, has been the lack of customer care numbers for users to dial into for any issues they face. Both apps require users to contact their service teams via email in case of any problems. However, the Groww app does have a robust FAQ section, which helps the user get out of common issues – providing quick resolutions and a better overall experience.

Verdict: Groww wins

Safety & Reliability

Both apps are registered with SEBI, which offers a stamp of reliability. At no point during the transaction does a user’s money reside on the app. When a user wants to invest with a particular AMC, then the app takes them to that AMC’s website where they can make the purchase.

Further, users will also be provided with a Folio number (which acts as a bank account number) that they can use to track their money. Thus, both apps are safe to transact upon as they are heavily regulated and give users full control to track their investments.

Verdict: Tie

Third-party reviews

Kuvera app has a slightly better rating (4.7) than the Groww app (4.6) on the Play Store. Apart from this, however, there are minor differences between the two apps, with most 3rd party websites claiming that the only difference between them is – personal preference of the users.

This sentiment seems to echo across blogs, given that both apps do provide all necessary features, and different categories of users consider the additional features valuable across both apps.

Verdict: Tie

The bottom line

The Groww app is primarily seen as an app for anyone new to investing, courtesy of its well-defined support section and easy-to-use interface. The Kuvera app is an app for the more seasoned investors with its robust set of features.

While the Kuvera app does have its own set of advantages and offers a richer set of features for the user, the Groww app seems to be the complete app overall and emerges as the winner in this comparison.