Direct Plan vs. Regular Plan (Mutual Funds)

This isn't about which mutual fund to buy - it's about how you buy the fund you've already chosen. The same underlying fund (identical portfolio, identical manager) is typically offered in two versions: a direct plan, purchased straight from the fund house with no distributor commission, and a regular plan, purchased through an intermediary whose commission is funded by a higher expense ratio built into that version. Over long periods, that expense ratio gap compounds into a real difference in your final corpus - the same fund, same holdings, but a meaningfully different outcome purely based on which version you hold. Note this is a distinct distinction from choosing between a mutual fund and picking individual stocks yourself - see our article on mutual funds vs. direct stocks for that separate comparison.