In brief: An e-commerce website in India costs a platform fee, payment fees on every sale, a one-time build and yearly running costs. Shopify’s India plans cost 1,499, 5,599 and 22,680 rupees a month billed yearly, with no setup fee; a third-party payment provider adds a Shopify fee of 2%, 1% or 0.6% by plan. Razorpay lists its standard rate as 2% plus GST, and from 15 October 2026 most person-to-merchant UPI payments above 2,000 rupees carry a 0.4% charge, capped at 300 rupees. Kosmonk IT Pvt Ltd, a digital marketing and web development agency in Ahmedabad, recommends comparing total yearly cost, including fees on sales, before choosing a platform.
Picture a saree shop on C.G. Road that wants to sell online before the wedding season. The owner asks one question: what will it cost? The honest answer has four parts. There is the platform, the payment fees on every sale, the build, and the yearly running costs. The e-commerce website cost in India depends on all four. In the worked example below, fees on sales alone come to almost three times the platform price.
This guide uses only official price pages, checked in October 2026. It shows what each part costs, which fees grow with your sales, and a worked first-year example you can adapt.
Key Takeaways
- Shopify's India plans start at ₹1,499 a month when billed yearly.
- Using a third-party gateway on Shopify adds a fee of 2% to 0.6%, depending on the plan.
- Razorpay lists its standard rate as 2% plus GST, with no setup fee.
- From 15 October 2026, most business UPI payments above ₹2,000 carry a 0.4% fee.
What Does an E-commerce Website Cost in India?
It costs a platform fee, payment fees on each order, a one-time build, and yearly running costs. On Shopify, the platform starts at ₹1,499 a month billed yearly. Gateway fees are around 2% of each sale plus GST. The build varies most, because it depends on design, product count and integrations.
That 2% is the rate at the two gateways we checked, and Shopify adds its own fee if you use an outside gateway. A quote that shows only one of these numbers is hard to compare. For example, a quote of ₹40,000 for “website design” says nothing about the fees you will pay on every order for years. Ask for all four parts in writing before you choose a platform or an agency.
If you are still deciding between a store and a regular website, our guide to website cost in Ahmedabad covers non-store sites. This guide is only about selling online.
How Much Does Shopify Cost in India?
Shopify has three main plans for small and growing stores, priced in rupees on its India page. Billed yearly, Basic is ₹1,499 a month, Grow is ₹5,599 and Advanced is ₹22,680. Billed monthly, they cost ₹1,994, ₹7,447 and ₹30,164. Paying yearly saves about a quarter on every plan.
Shopify’s India pricing page says “there are no setup fees on any of our plans.” It also offers a trial: “Try 3 days free, then ₹20/month for 3 months.” The page does not say whether GST is added, so check the final checkout amount before you commit.
Here are the same plans side by side, with the fee Shopify adds when you use an outside payment gateway. All figures are from Shopify’s India pricing page, checked on 16 October 2026.
The plan you need depends on your team and sales. Shopify’s page lists up to five staff accounts on Grow, and up to fifteen on Advanced. A single-owner shop with a few hundred products can start on Basic and move up when a real limit appears.
What Do Payment Fees Add to Every Sale?
This is the cost that grows with your business. A payment gateway charges a percentage of each payment, about 2% plus GST on its fee at the two we checked. On Shopify, a third-party gateway adds Shopify’s own fee on top: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced.
A payment gateway is the company that collects card and UPI payments for you. Razorpay’s pricing page describes its standard rate as “2% + GST”, with “zero setup fees and zero Annual Maintenance Charges.” Cashfree’s charges page lists “standard Cashfree platform fees of 1.95% + applicable taxes,” with GST charged “at 18%” on those fees. Both pages carry offers for new merchants, so read the current terms before you sign.
Shopify’s page states the second layer plainly. “Third-party transaction fees may apply when you use a third-party payment provider (instead of Shopify Payments).” It adds that “the rate depends on your plan.” So on Basic, a store using an outside gateway pays roughly 4% of each sale in combined fees, plus GST on the gateway’s part. Shopify’s page also says “Shopify Payments is available only in certain countries,” so check whether it is offered for your store.
What Changed for UPI on 15 October 2026?
UPI payments to businesses now carry a small fee above ₹2,000. The government’s notice says a 0.4% charge now applies to UPI payments to a business above ₹2,000. It is capped at ₹300 for payments of ₹75,000 and above. Payments of ₹2,000 or less stay free.
There are exceptions, such as a flat ₹5 fee in a few sectors and no fee for small vendors paid by QR code. The Department of Financial Services published the rules in a set of FAQs dated 15 September 2026. The FAQs say the new structure takes “effect from 15th October 2026.” They also note that payments up to ₹2,000 make up “more than 95%” of person-to-merchant UPI transactions by volume.
For stores whose orders are mostly ₹2,000 or less, this charge will rarely apply. For example, a ₹1,450 kurta order paid by UPI stays free of this new charge. A ₹4,800 order now costs the store about ₹19 in this fee. Stores that sell high-value items, such as furniture or jewellery, should add this to their pricing sums. The fee is paid by the store, so it comes out of your margin unless you build it into your prices. Your gateway may also charge its own platform fee on UPI, so check its current terms.
What Does It Cost to Build an E-commerce Website in India?
The build is a one-time cost, and it varies the most. It covers the theme or design, setting up products and categories, payment and shipping, and pages such as returns and privacy. Prices vary by agency, so compare written quotes line by line, with the same scope in each.
On Shopify, the build is mostly design and setup, because hosting and security come with the plan. With WooCommerce, the store plugin itself is free. Its site says “Download WooCommerce free.” You then pay for hosting, a theme, any paid plugins, and someone to keep it all updated. Our comparison of WordPress and custom development explains that trade-off in more detail.
A good quote also says what happens after launch. Ask how product changes, new banners and festive sale pages will be handled, and whether those are included or billed by the hour. Ask too where the store’s accounts sit. The Shopify or hosting account, the domain and the payment gateway should all be in your business’s name, with the agency added as a user.
Ask each quote to list these items:
- Design: a ready theme adjusted to your brand, or a custom design.
- Product setup: how many products are included, with photos and descriptions.
- Payments and shipping: which gateway and which courier are connected.
- Legal pages: shipping, returns, refunds and privacy, written for your store.
- Training and handover: who owns the accounts, and who you call when something breaks.
Yearly Running Costs and a Worked Example
Running costs come back every year, long after the build is paid for. You pay for the platform or hosting, the domain renewal, any paid apps or plugins, and someone to make small changes. Then there is marketing, which a new store needs before anyone can find it. Our guide to what performance marketing is explains the paid side.
Here is a worked example for the first year, using the rates on Shopify’s and Razorpay’s pricing pages. The store and its sales are made up for illustration. Picture a small store on Shopify Basic, billed yearly, selling ₹12,00,000 of goods in the year through Razorpay. The plan costs ₹17,988. Shopify’s 2% third-party fee comes to ₹24,000. Razorpay’s 2% is another ₹24,000, and GST at 18% on that fee adds ₹4,320.
That comes to ₹70,308, before the build, apps, the domain and marketing. Fees on sales make up three-quarters of it. A higher plan only pays off at much larger sales. In this example, Grow becomes cheaper than Basic only above about ₹49 lakh of sales a year, because its plan price is higher. Run the same numbers with your own sales before you choose.
How Do You Choose the Right Setup for Your Store?
Match the platform to your team and your sales. Then compare the total yearly cost, with fees included, alongside the build quote. A small catalogue with one owner often suits a hosted plan like Shopify Basic. A store with special needs, or an existing WordPress site, may suit WooCommerce better. Either way, the payment fees deserve the closest look.
Three questions help you decide:
- Who will run it day to day? A hosted platform needs less technical upkeep. A WordPress store needs someone to keep plugins and security updated.
- How much will you sell? At much higher sales, the percentage fees outgrow the plan price, so a plan with a lower transaction fee can pay for itself. Work out where that point is for your store.
- What do customers pay with? Under the government’s new UPI rules, orders of ₹2,000 or less carry no new UPI charge, though the gateway’s own fee still applies. High-value orders need the sums above.
Before you sign, run one simple test. Ask each option for a demo store and place a test order on your own phone, paying by UPI and by card. Note how many taps it takes and how the order shows up for you. A checkout that feels slow to you may feel slower to a customer too.
Selling online also means marketing the store. Our guide to digital marketing for D2C and e-commerce brands covers what comes after launch.
What to Do Before You Pick a Platform
Your e-commerce website cost in India is more than the build. The fees on each sale can cost more than the plan itself, so plan for them from day one. Once you know your likely sales and your usual order size, the choice gets much simpler.
This week, write down your likely sales for the year and your usual order value. Run them through the fees above for two platforms. Then ask each agency for all four costs in writing.
If you would like help weighing the options, our e-commerce development team can go through them with you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest way to start an online store in India?
On official prices, Shopify Basic billed yearly starts at ₹1,499 a month, with no setup fee. WooCommerce is free to download, but you pay for hosting, a theme and upkeep. Gateway fees of about 2% per sale apply either way, and Shopify adds its own fee if you use an outside gateway.
Does Shopify charge extra if I use Razorpay?
Shopify’s pricing page lists a fee for third-party payment providers: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced. That is in addition to the gateway’s own fee.
Is UPI still free for online stores?
For payments of ₹2,000 or less, yes. From 15 October 2026, UPI payments to a business above ₹2,000 carry a 0.4% charge. The most it can reach is ₹300, on payments of ₹75,000 or more. Your gateway may charge its own fee as well.
Is GST charged on payment gateway fees?
Yes, on the gateway’s fee. Razorpay quotes its rate as “2% + GST”, and Cashfree says GST is charged at 18% on its platform fees.
Should I pay for Shopify monthly or yearly?
Yearly is about 25% cheaper on every plan. Monthly billing can make sense while you are still testing whether the store will sell.
