Shopify Starter plan in India (2026): why new stores can't get it and what to pick instead
Shopify's Starter plan isn't available to new stores. New Indian sellers should start on Basic: ₹1,994/mo monthly or ₹1,499/mo yearly.
The short answer
- Shopify's Help Center says: "The Starter plan isn't available to new stores."
- Starter has been advertised in India at ₹399/mo, a figure that still appears in search results and articles.
- A merchant who leaves Starter for another plan can't switch back to it.
- Basic, the cheapest plan open to new Indian stores, costs ₹1,994/mo billed monthly or ₹1,499/mo billed yearly.
- New stores get 3 days free, then ₹20/month for 3 months.
- Basic adds a 2% Shopify fee on third-party gateway orders and no Shopify fee on manual payments such as COD.
Want this done rather than explained? see my published Shopify developer rates
New stores in India can't get the Shopify Starter plan. Shopify's Help Center says plainly that "The Starter plan isn't available to new stores," even though you'll still see it advertised at ₹399/mo in search results. If you're starting today, pick Basic: ₹1,994/mo on monthly billing or ₹1,499/mo yearly, after 3 days free and ₹20 a month for 3 months.
I'm Tanuj, a Shopify developer in New Delhi, and "Shopify starter plan India" is one of the searches that sends people to my site. Most of them arrive expecting a ₹399 store. This post explains what happened to Starter, who still has it, and what a new Indian seller should pick instead. Every plan price and fee is also on my Shopify pricing in India hub, which I keep updated.
What was the Shopify Starter plan?
Starter was Shopify's cheapest tier, built for selling through links rather than a full website: share a product on Instagram, WhatsApp or email, the buyer checks out on a simple Shopify page. It has been advertised in India at ₹399 a month.
Shopify's Help Center describes what Starter includes and what it leaves out. It comes with the Spotlight theme and reports, plus "a default home, product page, a contact page, 404 page, cart page, and checkout." It doesn't support:
- Grouping products into collections
- Staff accounts
- Third-party carrier-calculated shipping
- Upgrading POS to POS Pro
So even when it was open to everyone, Starter was a checkout with a few pages attached. A D2C brand with more than a handful of products would outgrow it quickly.
Can you still sign up for Starter in India?
No. The Help Center page for the plan says: "The Starter plan isn't available to new stores."
The ₹399 price keeps showing up because Shopify's own India pages advertised it, and a lot of third-party articles copied that number and haven't been updated. Search results lag behind plan changes. If a blog post tells you to "start on Starter for ₹399," it was written before the change or by someone who didn't check.
Who still has the Starter plan?
Merchants who were already on Starter keep it. The catch is in the same Help Center article: "If you're a merchant currently on the Starter plan and you decide to change your plan, then you can't revert back to the Starter plan."
If you're on Starter now, think before you upgrade. Moving to Basic gets you collections, a proper theme and a full online store, and it's the right call once you need those. But it's one-way. If you sell a few products through Instagram and WhatsApp and Starter does the job, there's no rush.
Which Shopify plan should a new Indian seller pick?
Basic, for almost everyone. These are the plans open to new stores, from Shopify's India pricing page, checked October 2026:
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly | Shopify fee on third-party gateway orders |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | ₹1,994/mo | ₹1,499/mo | 2% |
| Grow | ₹7,447/mo | ₹5,599/mo | 1% |
| Advanced | ₹30,164/mo | ₹22,680/mo | 0.6% |
| Plus | from ₹1,75,000/mo | n/a | 0.2% |
New stores get "3 days free, then ₹20/month for 3 months." Prices are shown without tax, so check your invoice for GST.
Two facts about fees matter here. Shopify Payments isn't available in India, so prepaid orders (UPI, cards, netbanking) go through a gateway like Razorpay, PayU or Cashfree. You pay the gateway's fee plus Shopify's percentage from the table. Cash on delivery set up as a manual payment method is different: Shopify's Help Center says "You aren't charged third-party transaction fees for manual payments." Your courier still charges for COD, but Shopify doesn't.
That's why Grow rarely makes sense at launch. Grow costs ₹5,453 a month more than Basic on monthly billing and cuts Shopify's fee from 2% to 1%. It only pays for itself once your prepaid sales pass about ₹5.45 lakh a month (about ₹4.1 lakh on yearly billing), and that ignores any features you'd use. I go through the full comparison in Shopify Basic vs Shopify vs Advanced for Indian D2C.
What does Basic cost in the first year?
Using the offer above, before tax:
| Period | Monthly billing | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| First 3 days | ₹0 | Free trial |
| Next 3 months | ₹60 total | ₹20 a month |
| Remaining 9 months | ₹17,946 | 9 × ₹1,994 |
| Year one total | about ₹18,006 | |
| Each year after, monthly | ₹23,928 | 12 × ₹1,994 |
| Each year after, yearly billing | ₹17,988 | 12 × ₹1,499, saves ₹5,940 |
Compared with Starter's ₹399 a month (₹4,788 a year), Basic is about ₹13,000 to ₹19,000 more a year depending on billing. For that you get a real storefront, collections, themes and the full app ecosystem. If you're serious enough to register a brand, it's the cheaper decision over two years, because you won't be rebuilding when you outgrow a link-only setup.
The plan fee is the smallest line in a new store's budget. Apps, gateway fees and the build cost more, as I lay out in what a Shopify store actually costs per month in India.
What if you only want to sell through Instagram or WhatsApp?
Basic covers it. Share product links on Instagram and WhatsApp the same way Starter users did, and you also have a proper site for people who want to browse. For WhatsApp-led selling specifically, read Shopify WhatsApp commerce in India.
If you're not ready to pay ₹1,499 to ₹1,994 a month, use the trial period to build the store and test whether people buy. ₹20 a month for three months is cheap market research.
What I'd do
If I were starting an Indian D2C brand on Shopify this week: Basic, switched to yearly billing once the ₹20 months are over and I'm confident the business will run for a year. That's ₹1,499 a month. Razorpay or Cashfree for prepaid, Shopify's built-in COD as a manual method, and no Grow until prepaid sales pass about ₹5 lakh a month.
If you're already on Starter and it works, stay. Upgrade on the day you need collections or a full storefront, and not before, because you can't go back.
For the full numbers on every plan, see the Shopify pricing in India hub. If you'd rather have the store set up properly from the start, tell me about your project and I'll reply with a fixed quote.
Related reads
Sources
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is the Shopify Starter plan available in India?
Not for new stores. Shopify's Help Center states that "The Starter plan isn't available to new stores." You may still see Starter advertised at ₹399/mo in search results and older articles, but a store you open today can't choose it. Merchants who were already on Starter keep it. If you're starting now, the cheapest plan you can pick is Basic at ₹1,994/mo, or ₹1,499/mo on yearly billing.What are Shopify's subscription plans for India in 2026?
Shopify's India pricing page lists Basic at ₹1,994/mo (₹1,499/mo yearly), Grow at ₹7,447/mo (₹5,599/mo yearly), Advanced at ₹30,164/mo (₹22,680/mo yearly) and Plus from ₹1,75,000/mo. Shopify adds 2%, 1%, 0.6% or 0.2% on orders paid through a third-party gateway, since Shopify Payments isn't available in India. Prices are shown before tax, so check your invoice.What is the cheapest Shopify plan for a new store in India?
Basic. It's ₹1,994/mo on monthly billing or ₹1,499/mo on yearly billing, and new stores start with 3 days free, then ₹20 a month for 3 months. Starter used to sit below it at ₹399/mo, but Shopify no longer offers Starter to new stores. Basic gives you a full online store with themes, collections and checkout, which Starter never did.I'm on the Shopify Starter plan. Should I upgrade?
Only when Starter actually limits you, because you can't come back. Shopify says a merchant who changes plan can't revert to Starter. Starter has no collections, no staff accounts, no third-party carrier-calculated shipping and only default pages. If you need any of those or a proper branded storefront, move to Basic. If you sell a few products through links and social, Starter may still be fine.Can I sell on Instagram and WhatsApp with Shopify Basic?
Yes. Basic includes everything Starter was used for, like sharing product links on Instagram, WhatsApp and email, plus a full online store. You can connect sales channels and take payments through an Indian gateway such as Razorpay, PayU or Cashfree. Cash on delivery set up as a manual payment method carries no Shopify transaction fee, though your courier still charges for COD.How much does Shopify Basic cost in the first year in India?
With the current offer you pay ₹20 a month for the first 3 months after a 3-day free trial. If you then stay on monthly billing, the rest of the year costs 9 × ₹1,994, so about ₹18,006 for year one before tax. Yearly billing at ₹1,499/mo is ₹17,988 a year, which saves ₹5,940 over a full year of monthly billing.
Revision history· 1 entry
November 02, 2026
Initial post. Starter availability from the Shopify Help Center, plan prices and trial from shopify.com/in/pricing, manual payment fees from the Shopify Help Center (all checked 2026-10-05).
Last updated November 02, 2026
