Toast vs Zerodha: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Toast had $6.2B of annual revenue in FY2025 and $342M of net income. Zerodha had ~$1B of annual revenue in FY2025 and ~$491.5M of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Toast
Toast's revenue rose from $665 million in 2019 to $1.71 billion in 2021, the year of its NYSE IPO, $3.87 billion in 2023, $4.96 billion in 2024 and $6.15 billion in 2025. It reported its first full year of GAAP net income in 2024 ($19 million) and earned $342 million in 2025, with adjusted EBITDA of $633 million. In Q2 2026, revenue grew 23% to $1.91 billion, net income was $154 million, GAAP operating margin reached 26% and the company raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance. Market capitalization was roughly $16-18 billion in September 2026, with shares down about 20% over the prior year.
Zerodha
Zerodha reported revenue of ~$1.03 billion (₹8,847 crore) and net profit of ~$491 million (₹4,237 crore) in FY25, down from about $1.16 billion (₹9,993 crore) and ~$638 million (₹5,496 crore) in FY24 after SEBI's F&O changes. FY26 profit was ~$497 million (₹4,283 crore) on roughly flat revenue, helped by margin trading income.
Revenue and profit by year
Toast
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $6.2B | $342M | 5.6% | +24.1% | Source |
| FY2024 | $5B | $19M | 0.4% | +28.3% | Source |
| FY2023 | $3.9B | -$246M | -6.4% | +41.5% | Source |
| FY2022 | $2.7B | -$275M | -10.1% | +60.2% | Source |
| FY2021 | $1.7B | -$487M | -28.6% | +107.2% | Source |
| FY2020 | $823M | -$248M | -30.1% | +23.8% | Source |
| FY2019 | $665M | -$209M | -31.4% | — | Source |
Zerodha
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | ~$1B | ~$491.5M | 47.9% | -11.5% | Source |
| FY2024 | ~$1.2B | ~$637.5M | 55.0% | +45.3% | Source |
| FY2023 | ~$797.7M | ~$336.9M | 42.2% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Toast
- Financial Technology Solutions~80%
Card processing fees on restaurant payment volume (about $195 billion of GPV in 2025), plus Toast Capital lending fees.
- Subscription Services~15%
Recurring fees for POS software, kitchen display, online ordering, payroll, scheduling, inventory and marketing modules.
- Hardware and Professional Services~5%
Terminals, Toast Go handhelds and installation, usually priced to win accounts rather than for profit.
Zerodha
- Brokerage (intraday and F&O)
~$318M (₹2,738 Cr) in FY26
Flat fee of up to ₹20 per executed order on intraday and derivatives trades. FY26 brokerage income fell about 11% from ~$356 million (₹3,066 crore) in FY25.
- Interest income
~$263M (₹2,269 Cr) in FY26
Interest earned on client margin funds and the company's own reserves; down about 4% year on year in FY26.
- Margin trading facility (MTF)
~10% of FY26 revenue
Launched in December 2024. Kamath said the MTF book reached about $1.04 billion (₹9,000 crore), with customers borrowing around $696 million (₹6,000 crore).
- Demat annual maintenance charges
~$20.9M (₹180 Cr) in FY26
Annual charges on demat accounts, up from ~$18.6 million (₹160 crore) in FY25. Accounts opened from 1 June 2026 get the first year free.
Business model and strategy
Toast
How it makes money
Toast sells restaurants a bundled platform and monetizes it in three ways. Financial technology solutions, mainly card processing on the gross payment volume that runs through Toast terminals and online ordering, make up the large majority of revenue (roughly four-fifths in recent filings), though payments carry thinner margins than software.
Growth strategy
Toast's growth strategy has four parts: keep adding small and mid-sized US restaurants through local field sales; win enterprise chains; expand into adjacent food and beverage verticals and international markets (Canada, the UK and Ireland); and raise revenue per location by attaching more software modules, including AI-driven marketing and analytics under the Toast IQ brand.
Competitive advantage
Toast's advantages are its restaurant-only focus, a single platform that ties POS, kitchen display, online ordering, payroll and payments to one data set, field sales density in major US metro areas, and switching costs once staff, menus, kitchens and payroll run on Toast. Its offline mode lets terminals keep taking orders during internet outages.
Zerodha
How it makes money
Zerodha earns most of its money from trading and from client funds. Brokerage is charged only on intraday and futures and options orders, capped at ₹20 per executed order, while equity delivery trades are free. The second large stream is interest income, mainly on client margin money and on its own cash reserves.
Growth strategy
With retail derivatives activity slowing under SEBI's F&O rules, Zerodha is shifting its focus from adding traders to growing customer assets. Its levers are margin trading funding, the integration of mutual funds into Kite, Zerodha Fund House's passive funds, and new businesses in asset management, lending and insurance.
Competitive advantage
Zerodha keeps costs low through in-house technology, a team of fewer than 1,100 people and no advertising spend, which lets it stay highly profitable even as trading volumes slow.
Questions about Toast vs Zerodha
Which company has higher revenue — Toast, Inc. or Zerodha?
Toast, Inc. had $6.2B (FY2025), while Zerodha had ~$1B (FY2025). By latest annual revenue, Toast, Inc. is the larger business, with Zerodha showing a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of Toast, Inc. vs Zerodha?
Toast, Inc. has a market capitalisation of $17.0B. A public market cap figure for Zerodha was not available (it may be privately held).
How does revenue per employee compare for Toast, Inc. and Zerodha?
Toast, Inc. has $947k / employee in revenue per employee, while Zerodha has $933k / employee. Headcounts may use different dates, so the ratio alone does not establish which business operates more efficiently.
How do Toast, Inc. and Zerodha make money?
Toast, Inc. and Zerodha generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Toast, Inc.: Toast sells restaurants a bundled platform and monetizes it in three ways. Zerodha: Zerodha earns most of its money from trading and from client funds.
Is Toast, Inc. bigger than Zerodha?
By last reported revenue, Toast, Inc. ($6.2B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Zerodha (~$1B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Toast vs Zerodha overview