Payment Gateway Pricing in India: 6 Providers Compared

Prices checked 21 October 2026 against each provider’s official pricing page (sources below).

Quick answer

• Standard domestic rates: All are plus 18% GST on the fee. At 2% that is 2.36% of the payment.
  • Cashfree 1.95% [3]
  • PhonePe 1.99% [6]
  • Razorpay 2% [1]
  • PayU 2% [7]
• Premium methods cost more:
  • Razorpay and PayU charge 3% on Amex, Diners, international cards and EMI [2][7].
  • Cashfree lists 2.99% on international Visa/Mastercard, 2.95% on international Amex and 2.2% on credit-card EMI [3].
• New-merchant offers are limited:
  • Razorpay waives the platform fee for 90 days or ₹5 lakh, whichever comes first [4].
  • Cashfree waives it on the first ₹20 lakh, for new merchants, until 31 Mar 2027 [3].
  • In both cases GST is still charged [3][4].
• Paytm and CCAvenue: we could not read current rates on their official pages today. Not verified – check with provider.

How payment gateway pricing works in India

You pay three things:

1. A percentage fee on each successful payment. Providers call it a platform fee, MDR or TDR, and it often differs by payment method.
2. 18% GST on that fee (not on your sale). The providers below state GST separately [1][3][7].
3. Sometimes fixed or optional charges: setup, annual maintenance, faster settlement, refunds or chargebacks.

UPI is not automatically free.

• Razorpay says standard bank-to-bank UPI carries zero MDR, but its 2% platform fee still applies [1].
• PayU says P2P UPI has zero MDR and that merchant UPI pricing “varies by business type and volume” [7].
• Cashfree says UPI charges are “as per the applicable law” [3].

Always ask for the UPI line on your own rate card.

What GST does to the rate (arithmetic)

Calculated by ScaleSaathi: fee × 1.18. If you are GST-registered, you may be able to claim the GST on gateway fees as input tax credit. Confirm with your CA; this is not tax advice.

1. Cashfree payment gateway charges

• Standard platform fee: 1.95% + GST on domestic modes [3]. The pricing grid also shows a 2.0% figure next to the 1.95% for the same block of modes (including Amex and Diners). Which modes carry 2.0% is not clear – check with provider.
• Other rates on the official page [3]:

• Setup fee: ₹0 [3].
• Limited-period offer (“Festive offer till 31-Mar-27”, new merchants only) [3]:
  • 0% platform fee on the first ₹20 lakh GMV, plus next-day settlement.
  • After that, the standard 1.95% + taxes applies automatically.
  • GST of 18% is still deducted during the offer, calculated on the standard 1.95% fee. Example: on ₹1,00,000 of offer-period payments, GST of about ₹351 is still deducted (1,950 × 18%).
  • The offer can be withdrawn if credit cards make up 60% or more of GMV (fair-use clause) [3].
• Instant settlements: platform fee 0.30%*, excluding GST [3].
• Who it suits: new online sellers who want the lowest published standard rate and can use the offer before 31 Mar 2027. Check the exact rate on each payment mode you use.

2. Razorpay payment gateway charges

• Standard platform fee: 2% + GST [1].
• 3% on Diners, Amex, international cards, EMI (credit, debit and cardless) and corporate credit cards [2].
• Credit card on UPI: 2.15% + GST [1].
• Standard UPI: Razorpay states zero MDR at bank level, but the 2% platform fee still applies [1].
• Setup ₹0, annual maintenance ₹0, integration support ₹0, with no volume condition [1][2].
• Welcome offer (merchants activated on or after 1 Jul 2026) [4]:
  • 0% platform fee for 90 days or ₹5,00,000 of transactions, whichever comes first, then standard fees.
  • Domestic only. Excludes prepaid cards, corporate credit cards, Amex, Diners and all EMI.
  • GST is not waived.
  • A KYC processing fee of ₹199 + tax may apply.
• Settlement: standard domestic cycle T+2 working days; international T+7 [5]. Instant Settlements are an optional paid service [1][5].
• Who it suits: businesses that want a wide toolset (payment links, subscriptions, plugins) and a free start. Budget for 3% if many customers pay by Amex, EMI or international cards.

3. PhonePe payment gateway pricing

• Standard Plan: 1.99% per transaction; “Zero setup fee”, “Zero annual maintenance fee”, “Zero hidden charges” [6]. GST treatment isn’t stated on the page; budget for 18% on the fee until your agreement says otherwise.
• Offer: the page shows “Free*” with “*T&C Apply” and “zero payment gateway fees during the offer period”. Offer length and caps are not stated on the pricing page – check with provider.
• Enterprise Plan: personalised pricing for high volume [6].
• Premium-card, international and EMI rates: not listed on the pricing page – check with provider.
• Who it suits: sellers who want a simple flat rate. Ask for the full method-wise rate card before you sign.

4. Paytm payment gateway charges

Not verified – check with provider. Paytm’s official pricing page (business.paytm.com/payment-gateway/pricing) builds its rates in the browser, and we could not read them on 21 Oct 2026. We have removed the tiered rates shown on the earlier version of this page (0.40% / 0.90% / 2.75%). Ask Paytm for a written, method-wise rate card that includes ticket-size tiers and GST.

5. CCAvenue payment gateway charges

Not verified – check with provider. We could not find a current official pricing or scheme page on 21 Oct 2026. The homepage still showed a “1.90% / zero platform fees for 2 months” offer marked valid only up to 31 Mar 2026, so it has expired [8]. We have removed the 2.00% platform fee and the ₹1,200 annual charge (ASUC) shown on the earlier version. Ask CCAvenue for the current scheme, annual charges and method-wise rates in writing.

6. PayU payment gateway charges

• 2% for Visa, Mastercard, net banking, BNPL and wallets (domestic) [7].
• 3% for Diners, Amex, EMI and international transactions [7].
• 18% GST applicable on all transactions [7].
• No setup, onboarding, maintenance or annual fees [7].
• UPI: P2P has zero MDR; merchant UPI pricing varies by business type and volume [7].
• Settlement: standard T+2. Same-day or priority settlement may carry a “nominal” fee [7].
• Who it suits: merchants who want a published, method-wise rate card and may negotiate at volume.

Side by side (official published figures, 21 Oct 2026)

What this tells you (editorial):

• On published standard rates the gap is small. 1.95% vs 2% is ₹590 a month on ₹10 lakh of sales (₹23,010 vs ₹23,600 incl. GST).
• Your payment mix matters more. If 25% of a ₹10 lakh month is Amex, EMI or international at 3%, the blended fee at Razorpay or PayU rises from ₹23,600 to ₹26,550 incl. GST (₹7.5L × 2.36% + ₹2.5L × 3.54%).

Hidden fees to check before you sign

Ask for these in writing:

• chargeback fee
• refund handling (whether the original fee is kept)
• premium and international slabs
• payout or add-on charges
• faster-settlement fees (Cashfree instant settlements 0.30% excl. GST [3]; Razorpay Instant Settlements, see [5])
• any reserve or rolling hold on settlements

We have not listed specific chargeback or refund fees because the pricing pages we checked don’t publish a single figure. Check with provider.

How to find the lowest charges for you

1. Take three months of sales and split them by method (UPI, domestic cards, net banking, wallets, premium/international, EMI).
2. Apply each provider’s method rate, then multiply by 1.18.
3. Add any annual charge divided by 12, and subtract any offer for the months and caps it really covers.

Worked example (arithmetic): ₹5,00,000 a month at 2% + GST = ₹11,800; at 1.95% + GST = ₹11,505. That’s ₹295 a month, or ₹3,540 a year. If one gateway fails 1% more of your payments, you could lose about ₹5,000 of sales a month on the same volume. Success rate can outweigh a small rate gap, so ask each provider for it.

When a simpler option is enough

If you invoice a handful of clients a month, a bank transfer or UPI to your own account may be enough. A gateway earns its fee when you sell online at volume and need checkout, cards and reconciliation.

Related guides

• Razorpay charges explained
• Best payment gateway for small business in India

Disclosure: This page contains no affiliate or tracked links.

Sources (all checked 21 Oct 2026)

1. Razorpay pricing – https://razorpay.com/pricing/ (2%, CC-on-UPI 2.15%, zero MDR on UPI with 2% platform fee, setup/maintenance ₹0)
2. Razorpay Payments App – https://razorpay.com/payments-app/ (3% for Diners, Amex, international, EMI, corporate credit cards; setup ₹0; annual maintenance ₹0)
3. Cashfree payment gateway charges and offer T&Cs – https://www.cashfree.com/payment-gateway-charges/
4. Razorpay 90-day offer T&Cs – https://razorpay.com/terms/90-day-free-pg-offer/
5. Razorpay settlements docs – https://razorpay.com/docs/payments/settlements/ (T+2 domestic; T+7 international; instant settlements)
6. PhonePe PG pricing – https://www.phonepe.com/business-solutions/payment-gateway/pricing/
7. PayU pricing – https://payu.in/pricing
8. CCAvenue homepage – https://www.ccavenue.com/ (expired offer only; no current rate card found)