Best payment gateway for Shopify in India (2026): Razorpay vs PayU vs Cashfree, UPI and COD
Shopify Payments isn't available in India, so pick Razorpay, PayU or Cashfree (~2% + GST). Shopify adds 2%/1%/0.6% on prepaid orders. UPI, COD compared.
The short answer
- Shopify Payments is not available in India, so every Indian Shopify store needs a third-party gateway such as Razorpay, PayU, Cashfree, PhonePe PG or CCAvenue.
- Standard gateway pricing (Oct 2026): Razorpay 2%, PayU 2%, Cashfree 1.95% on domestic cards and netbanking, plus 18% GST on the fee.
- Shopify adds its own fee on prepaid gateway orders: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced, 0.2% on Plus.
- Built-in Cash on Delivery pays no Shopify transaction fee, since Shopify doesn't charge fees on manual payments.
- From 15 October 2026, NPCI sets a 0.4% MDR on merchant UPI payments above ₹2,000, capped at ₹300; payments up to ₹2,000 stay at zero MDR.
- Standard settlement: Razorpay T+1, PayU T+2, Cashfree next day, per their pricing pages.
Want this done rather than explained? a Shopify developer in Delhi NCR
Shopify Payments is not available in India, so the payment gateway for an Indian Shopify store is a third-party one: usually Razorpay, PayU or Cashfree, with PhonePe PG and CCAvenue as other options. Their standard domestic rates sit around 2% plus 18% GST, and Shopify adds its own fee on prepaid orders (2% Basic, 1% Grow, 0.6% Advanced, 0.2% Plus). Choose on UPI success rate, settlement speed and support, because the headline rates are within a fraction of a percent of each other.
I keep the live plan and fee numbers on Shopify pricing in India. This post is about choosing the gateway.
I am a senior Shopify developer based in Delhi, and I set up and debug payment stacks for Indian D2C brands most weeks. This is the comparison I give clients: what each gateway actually costs once Shopify's fee, GST, UPI and settlement timing are all in the picture, with worked numbers.
What are the payment gateway options for Shopify in India?
Shopify's Shopify Payments supported-countries page doesn't list India, and says stores in unlisted countries need a third-party payment provider. So the real shortlist is:
- Razorpay. Very common on Indian Shopify stores. UPI, cards, netbanking, wallets and EMI, with a mature Shopify integration.
- PayU. A strong alternative, used widely by mid-market and larger merchants. Comparable feature set.
- Cashfree. Slightly lower standard card rate on its pricing page and next-day settlement as standard.
- PhonePe PG, CCAvenue and others. Also available. Compare them on the same criteria below.
Some guides still list Shopify Payments as an Indian option or say it's "rolling out." It isn't available, and any fee comparison that assumes it is will understate your costs.
How does Shopify's fee interact with the gateway?
Shopify charges its own third-party payment fee on top of the gateway's rate for orders paid through an outside gateway. In India that means every prepaid order.
| Shopify plan (billed monthly) | Shopify's fee on prepaid gateway orders | On built-in COD |
|---|---|---|
| Basic (₹1,994/mo) | 2% | 0% |
| Grow (₹7,447/mo) | 1% | 0% |
| Advanced (₹30,164/mo) | 0.6% | 0% |
| Plus (from ₹1,75,000/mo) | 0.2% | 0% |
Shopify's Help Center says "You aren't charged third-party transaction fees for manual payments," and built-in Cash on Delivery is a manual payment, so COD orders skip Shopify's fee. On Basic with Razorpay, a prepaid order pays Razorpay's fee plus 18% GST, plus 2% to Shopify. I break the full stack down in Shopify transaction fees in India, explained.
Moving up a plan only pays when your prepaid sales are high enough. Grow beats Basic above about ₹5.45 lakh a month of prepaid sales on monthly billing. Plan pricing is in Shopify pricing plans in India (2026).
Razorpay vs PayU vs Cashfree: the head-to-head
From each gateway's own pricing page in October 2026. Rates vary by merchant category and negotiation, so verify before you sign.
| Factor | Razorpay | PayU | Cashfree |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic cards / netbanking / wallets | 2% | 2% | 1.95% |
| Amex, Diners, EMI | 2% (EMI 2%) | 3% | Varies |
| International cards | Up to 3% | 3% | 2.99% (Visa/MC), 2.95% (Amex) |
| UPI | "Zero MDR, 2% platform fee" | Varies by business type | "As per applicable law" |
| GST on fees | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Standard settlement | T+1 | T+2 | Next day |
| Faster settlement | Instant (extra) | Same-day / priority (eligible merchants) | Instant at +0.30% |
| Setup fee | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹0 |
| Shopify fee on top (prepaid) | 2% / 1% / 0.6% / 0.2% | Same | Same |
| COD | Shopify manual method, gateway-independent | Same | Same |
Watch the promotions. Cashfree advertises zero platform fees for new merchants up to ₹20 lakh of sales until 31 March 2027. PayU's "lifetime rates from 1.9%" Shopify offer required signing up and transacting by 30 June 2026, so it's closed for new merchants.
On standard processing rate alone, the three are nearly identical. Anyone who tells you one is dramatically cheaper is quoting a promotional rate or a specific card category. The differences that matter are operational.
How does UPI work on Shopify in India, and what changes in October 2026?
Shopify has no UPI option of its own in India. UPI comes through your gateway: install the gateway's Shopify app, finish KYC, enable it under Settings → Payments, and UPI appears inside the gateway's payment page alongside cards and netbanking.
UPI is the default way a lot of Indian shoppers pay. NPCI counted 2,451 crore UPI transactions worth ₹29.9 lakh crore in August 2026 alone. That makes UPI success rate the payments metric most worth tracking. A failed or janky UPI intent flow on mobile is a lost sale, whatever your fee rate looks like. Mobile checkout speed on Indian networks matters here too; see fixing Shopify mobile speed on low bandwidth.
The October change. NPCI's FAQ dated 15 September 2026 introduces a 0.4% MDR on person-to-merchant UPI payments above ₹2,000, capped at ₹300 per payment, effective 15 October 2026. Payments up to ₹2,000 stay at zero MDR, and NPCI says merchants can't pass the MDR on to customers. If your average order value is above ₹2,000, ask your gateway in writing how UPI will be priced for you from that date.
What actually differs between the gateways?
Since the headline rates are a wash, here is where the real decision lives:
- UPI success rate. Small differences in success rate move your conversion rate more than any fee difference. This is a checkout-conversion issue as much as a payments one; see why your Shopify store isn't converting.
- Settlement speed and cash flow. The standard cycles differ (T+1, T+2, next day), new accounts often start slower, and instant-settlement pricing differs. If you're inventory-heavy, get your exact cycle in writing.
- Support quality. When a settlement is stuck or KYC breaks, the gateway whose support answers is worth more than a 0.1% rate edge. PayU is often stronger on enterprise support; Razorpay is often smoother for smaller, self-serve merchants.
- Integration cleanliness. All of them integrate with Shopify, but edge cases like refunds, partial captures and webhook reliability behave differently. This is usually where I get called in.
What does a single order actually cost me?
A ₹2,000 UPI order on the Basic plan using Razorpay at its standard 2% rate, with 18% GST on the gateway fee and Shopify's 2% fee. USD at about ₹96 = $1 (early October 2026).
| Line | Rate | Amount (INR) | Amount (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order value | n/a | ₹2,000 | ~$20.80 |
| Gateway fee | 2% | ₹40 | ~$0.42 |
| GST on gateway fee | 18% | ₹7.20 | ~$0.08 |
| Shopify fee (Basic) | 2% | ₹40 | ~$0.42 |
| Total fees | n/a | ₹87.20 | ~$0.91 |
| You keep | n/a | ₹1,912.80 | ~$19.90 |
Shopify's fee also appears on your Shopify bill, and Shopify's Help Center says Indian stores are charged GST on Shopify fees unless they submit a GSTIN. Check your invoice for that amount.
Run the same order on Grow and Shopify's part falls to ₹20; on Advanced, ₹12. If the same customer chooses built-in COD, Shopify's fee is zero, but you pay the courier's COD charge and carry the RTO risk. These figures use standard published rates. Your real numbers depend on card mix, category and your negotiated rate.
How does COD change the payments picture in India?
COD is still huge. Cash on delivery remains a large share of orders in many Indian D2C categories. It runs as a Shopify manual payment method, independent of your online gateway, so it doesn't touch Razorpay or PayU fees and doesn't attract Shopify's transaction fee. Its cost shows up elsewhere: the courier's COD charge and RTO losses when buyers refuse delivery. Unicommerce's India D2C Report 2026 found 58% of COD orders came back during the November 2025 festive peak, against under 15% for prepaid.
Most stores I work with keep COD on but nudge buyers to prepaid with a small discount, which cuts RTO and improves cash flow. The GST and COD mechanics are in Shopify Payments, COD and GST in India.
Should I switch gateways to save on fees?
Almost never for the headline percentage alone. The gap is small enough that switching to shave 0.05% off processing is a false economy once you count re-integration effort and the risk of new-account settlement delays.
Switch for a real operational reason:
- Your current gateway's UPI success rate is measurably dragging conversion.
- Settlement is too slow for your cash flow and another offers materially faster.
- Support has failed you during a live incident.
- You need a feature (specific EMI options, international cards, a subscription flow) another does better.
The bigger fee lever is your Shopify plan, and only once prepaid volume justifies it. Fix that before you agonise over Razorpay vs PayU.
How I set up payments for D2C clients
- Pick the gateway on operations, not rate. Match it to the brand's support needs, settlement requirements and category.
- Turn on built-in COD as a manual method, with a confirmation step so RTO doesn't eat the saving.
- Match the plan to prepaid volume. Stay on Basic until prepaid sales pass the Grow crossover.
- Optimise checkout for UPI and COD-to-prepaid conversion. A clean UPI flow and a smart prepaid nudge beat any fee tweak.
Payments is one of those areas where a small configuration mistake (wrong plan for your volume, a gateway with a poor UPI success rate, COD left un-optimised) leaks money every single order. It's worth getting right once.
What's next
The always-current plan prices and fee table are on Shopify pricing in India.
If you're running an Indian D2C store and you're not sure your payment stack keeps the most money and converts the most checkouts, that's exactly the kind of thing I fix. Tell me your monthly volume, plan, current gateway and UPI/COD split at /start, and I'll tell you honestly whether you're overpaying on fees or leaking sales at checkout, and what to change. How I work with Delhi and India D2C brands is on the Shopify developer in Delhi page.
Related reads
- Shopify transaction fees in India, explained: the full per-order fee stack with worked maths.
- Shopify Payments, COD and GST in India: how COD, GST and payments interact for Indian stores.
- Shopify pricing plans in India (2026): Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus in INR.
- Why your Shopify store isn't converting: the checkout and UPI issues that lose you sales.
Sources
- Shopify India — plans and pricing
- Shopify Help Center — Shopify Payments supported countries
- Shopify Help Center — manual payments
- Razorpay — pricing
- PayU India — pricing
- Cashfree — payment gateway charges
- NPCI — FAQs on MDR on select UPI (P2M) transactions, 15 Sept 2026
- Unicommerce — India D2C Report 2026
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Which payment gateway is best for Shopify in India?
For most Indian D2C stores it's Razorpay, PayU or Cashfree. All three support UPI, cards, netbanking and wallets on Shopify, and their standard domestic rates sit around 2% plus 18% GST. Shopify Payments isn't an option in India. Choose on UPI success rate, settlement speed and support quality rather than the headline rate, and check each gateway's current pricing page before you sign.Is Shopify Payments available in India?
No. India is not on Shopify's list of countries where Shopify Payments is supported, and Shopify says stores in unlisted countries need a third-party payment provider. So every Indian store uses a gateway like Razorpay, PayU, Cashfree, PhonePe PG or CCAvenue, and pays Shopify's third-party fee on prepaid orders: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus.How do I accept UPI payments on my Shopify store in India?
Install an Indian gateway's Shopify app, such as Razorpay, PayU or Cashfree, complete their KYC, and enable it under Settings, Payments. UPI appears inside the gateway's checkout alongside cards and netbanking. Shopify has no UPI option of its own in India. Test UPI intent and QR flows on a real phone before launch, because a failed UPI payment is a lost order.Does Shopify charge an extra fee for using Razorpay or PayU?
Yes, on prepaid orders. Shopify adds a third-party payment fee of 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus, separate from the gateway's own charge and its GST. It doesn't apply to manual payments like built-in Cash on Delivery. There's no way to remove it in India, only to lower it by moving up a plan.Will UPI payments on Shopify cost more after October 2026?
Possibly, for orders above ₹2,000. NPCI's FAQ dated 15 September 2026 introduces a 0.4% MDR on person-to-merchant UPI payments above ₹2,000, capped at ₹300, from 15 October 2026. Payments up to ₹2,000 stay at zero MDR. Gateways price UPI in their own way, so ask yours in writing what you'll pay on UPI orders above ₹2,000.How long does settlement take with Indian payment gateways?
Per their pricing pages in October 2026, Razorpay settles on a T+1 cycle, PayU on T+2, and Cashfree next day as standard, with instant or same-day settlement available at extra cost or for eligible merchants. New accounts can start slower until KYC and transaction history settle. If cash flow matters, get your exact cycle in writing before choosing.Can I use COD alongside a payment gateway on Shopify?
Yes. Cash on Delivery is a manual payment method in Shopify and runs independently of your online gateway, so you can offer COD, UPI, cards and netbanking together. Shopify charges no transaction fee on manual payments, so COD orders skip Shopify's fee. Your courier's COD charge and RTO losses still apply, which is why many stores nudge buyers to prepaid.Should I switch gateways to save on fees?
Rarely for the headline percentage alone. Razorpay, PayU and Cashfree are within a fraction of a percent of each other on standard pricing. Switch for a real reason: a better UPI success rate, faster settlement, a cleaner Shopify integration, or support that answers. A higher payment success rate at checkout is usually worth more than a slightly lower fee.
Revision history· 2 entries
October 05, 2026
Corrected Shopify Payments from "limited availability" to not available in India (Shopify supported-countries page), and removed the Shopify Payments column and advice. Replaced it with Cashfree. Gateway rates and settlement cycles re-checked on Razorpay, PayU and Cashfree pricing pages (settlement changed from T+2–T+3 for both to T+1 Razorpay, T+2 PayU, next day Cashfree). Fixed Advanced to 0.6%, renamed the Shopify plan to Grow, and noted that COD pays no Shopify fee. Removed the unverified 18% GST line on Shopify's fee. Added the NPCI UPI MDR change from 15 October 2026, a UPI setup FAQ, new title and links to the pricing hub.
September 14, 2026
Initial post. Razorpay vs PayU vs Shopify Payments for Indian D2C stores — fees, UPI, COD, settlement times, Shopify Payments availability, and how the platform transaction fee stacks on top, with worked INR and USD examples.
Last updated October 05, 2026
