Is WooCommerce or Shopify better for Indian online stores?

WooCommerce is generally better for Indian stores for two reasons: (1) No transaction fees — Shopify charges 2% extra on every order when you use a non-Shopify Payments gateway (Shopify Payments is not available in India), making WooCommerce significantly cheaper at scale. (2) WooCommerce supports all Indian payment gateways natively via free plugins — Razorpay, PayU, CCAvenue, Instamojo, Cashfree all have official WooCommerce plugins. Shopify is better if you want minimal technical setup and are willing to pay the transaction fee premium.

How much does Shopify cost per month in India?

Shopify Basic costs approximately Rs 1,500/month (billed in USD at ~$19/mo). But the actual cost for Indian stores is higher: Shopify Payments is not available in India, so you must use a third-party gateway (Razorpay, PayU). Shopify charges an additional 2% fee on every transaction when using third-party gateways. On a store doing Rs 1,00,000/month in sales, that is Rs 2,000/month in extra fees on top of the plan cost.

Does WooCommerce support Razorpay in India?

Yes. Razorpay has an official free WooCommerce plugin that supports UPI, cards, net banking, wallets, EMI, and buy-now-pay-later. No per-transaction fee from WooCommerce — only Razorpay's standard processing fees (typically 2% on cards, 0% on UPI). Install from Plugins → Add New → search Razorpay.

Can I create GST invoices with WooCommerce?

Yes. The free WooCommerce GST plugin (by WebToffee or similar) adds GST fields to checkout, calculates CGST/SGST/IGST based on customer location, and generates GST-compliant invoices that your CA can use for filing. Shopify also supports GST through its Tax settings but Indian GST compliance plugins are more mature and widely tested in WooCommerce.

WooCommerce vs Shopify India 2026 — Which is Better for Indian Stores?

By HostStack Editorial · Published 28 May 2026 · All posts

Indian founders ask this question every day. Both platforms can build a functional online store, but for Indian businesses specifically, there are significant differences in transaction fees, payment gateway support, GST compliance, and total monthly cost. Here is the honest comparison.

The biggest difference: Shopify's 2% transaction fee

Shopify Payments — Shopify's own payment processor — is not available in India. When you use a third-party gateway (Razorpay, PayU, CCAvenue), Shopify charges an extra 2% on every order on the Basic plan, 1% on Shopify plan, 0.5% on Advanced plan.

For a store doing ₹2,00,000/month in sales on Shopify Basic: that is ₹4,000/month in Shopify transaction fees alone — on top of your plan cost and payment gateway fees. Over a year, that is ₹48,000 in extra costs that WooCommerce does not charge.

WooCommerce charges zero platform transaction fees. You only pay your payment gateway's processing fee (Razorpay: ~2% on cards, 0% on UPI).

Full cost comparison for an Indian store

Cost item	WooCommerce	Shopify Basic
Platform fee	₹0	~₹1,500/mo (USD)
Hosting (HostStack cloud)	₹599/mo	Included
Transaction fee (on ₹2L/mo)	₹0	₹4,000/mo
Payment gateway (Razorpay)	~2% cards, 0% UPI	~2% cards, 0% UPI
GST invoice compatibility	Excellent (free plugins)	Good (built-in)
Monthly total (₹2L sales)	~₹599/mo	~₹5,500/mo

Payment gateways: WooCommerce wins for India

Indian payment gateways that have official, free WooCommerce plugins:

Razorpay: UPI, cards, net banking, wallets, EMI, BNPL — most popular for Indian stores
PayU: Full Indian payment rails, popular for B2B invoicing
CCAvenue: Multi-currency, popular for international Indian stores
Cashfree: Strong UPI and bank transfer support
Instamojo: Good for small sellers and digital products

Shopify also supports these gateways but charges the 2% extra transaction fee on every order through them.

GST compliance: both work, WooCommerce more flexible

Both platforms support GST but differently:

WooCommerce: Free GST plugins (WebToffee, WP-GST) handle CGST/SGST/IGST split based on customer location, generate GST-compliant invoices, and work with India's e-invoice requirements for large businesses
Shopify: Built-in tax settings support Indian GST. Tax reports and invoices work, but less customisable than WooCommerce plugins for complex B2B GST scenarios

When to choose Shopify

You want zero technical setup and are willing to pay ₹1,500/mo + transaction fees
You need Shopify's app ecosystem for specific industry features
You primarily sell on social media and want Shopify's social commerce integrations
Your store volume is under ₹50,000/month (transaction fee impact is small)

When to choose WooCommerce

Your monthly store volume exceeds ₹1,00,000 (transaction fee savings justify hosting cost)
You need full GST invoice customisation for B2B customers
You want to keep all customer data on Indian servers for data residency
You run campaigns or have seasonal spikes — WooCommerce on cloud hosting scales for Diwali traffic
You are already on WordPress and want to add an online store

Frequently asked questions

WooCommerce or Shopify for Indian online stores?

WooCommerce is better for most Indian stores: zero platform transaction fees, native support for all Indian payment gateways, and better GST customisation. Shopify's 2% extra fee costs ₹4,000/month on ₹2 lakh in sales.

Does Shopify work with Razorpay in India?

Yes, but Shopify charges 2% extra per transaction when using Razorpay (not Shopify Payments). WooCommerce + Razorpay has no platform transaction fee.

How much does hosting for WooCommerce cost in India?

HostStack cloud hosting for WooCommerce starts at ₹599/mo on annual billing — includes LiteSpeed web server, NVMe SSD, daily backups, and Mumbai servers for Indian visitors.