Best e-commerce platforms in India for small and growing stores

• Fact-checked: 25 October 2026
• 16 min read
• Official-source research

Quick answer: For most Indian sellers, Shopify Basic at ₹1,499/month paid yearly (₹17,988 a year, ₹21,225.84 with 18% GST) is the simplest start. WooCommerce is free software, but you pay for hosting, for example Hostinger Premium at ₹139/month for 48 months.

Last updated: 25 October 2026 · 25 Oct 2026. Prices checked on 25 October 2026 on Shopify’s India pricing page, Hostinger’s India hosting page, Wix’s plans page and WordPress.com’s pricing page.

What to know first

• A store platform must be judged on orders, inventory, recovery and support—not only homepage design.
• Shopify Basic is ₹1,499/month when paid yearly on the checked India page, before third-party app and payment costs.
• WooCommerce core is free, but a production store still needs hosting, extensions, security and maintenance.
• Run real test orders, refunds, tax invoices and shipping labels before directing traffic to the store.

The shortlist at a glance

Price check: Offers change. Confirm tax, billing term, renewal and included features on the official checkout before paying.

Our picks in detail

Feature matrix: what matters for an Indian store

This matrix compares the four main platforms on the needs Indian sellers raise most often. “Check vendor site” means the official page did not state it clearly on 25 October 2026.

India-specific needs, one by one

GST invoicing

Every Indian seller registered for GST needs proper tax invoices with the right CGST/SGST or IGST split. Shopify does this through apps; several GST invoice apps on the Shopify App Store have a free plan for up to 50 orders a month and paid plans from US$4.99 a month. WooCommerce handles it through invoice plugins. Ask your accountant which invoice format they want before choosing.

Cash on delivery

COD is still a large share of Indian online orders, and it costs money: failed deliveries, return shipping and cash collection fees. On Shopify, COD is a manual payment method, and Shopify’s help centre says manual payments do not attract its third-party transaction fee. Shopify’s Advanced Cash on Delivery app lets you limit COD by PIN code and order value. WooCommerce includes a COD payment method in its core plugin.

UPI and payment gateways

UPI reaches your store through a payment gateway, not the platform itself. Razorpay lists a 2% platform fee plus 18% GST on the fee and no setup fee; Cashfree lists 1.95%. Both have official WooCommerce plugins. Wix’s help centre lists Razorpay, PayU India, Cashfree, Paytm, Easebuzz, airpay, Nimbbl and PayPal for India.

Shipping aggregators

Most small Indian stores ship through an aggregator rather than one courier. Shiprocket’s help pages explain how to connect Shopify, WooCommerce and Wix stores so orders sync automatically. Check pickup locations, COD remittance timing and weight rules with the aggregator before launch.

Razorpay and Cashfree support at a glance

Platform by platform: how each one works for an Indian store

Gateway cost on a typical order

On a ₹1,000 order, gateway fees with GST are about ₹23 either way. On Shopify Basic, add ₹20 more (plus GST) as Shopify’s third-party fee.

How we evaluated store platforms

We examined official plan information for product management, checkout, third-party payment cost, inventory, ownership, support and the responsibility for hosting and recovery. We did not process live Indian orders in this research batch, so payment-provider and shipping compatibility must be confirmed in a trial account.

The list prioritises operational fit over the largest feature count. A store that staff can fulfil accurately is better than a feature-rich build that nobody understands.

The real three-year cost

For Shopify, include subscription, third-party payment fees where applicable, premium theme, apps and specialist setup. For WooCommerce, include hosting, domain, security, backups, extension renewals and maintenance. For Wix or WordPress.com, include the correct commerce tier, apps, currency conversion and payment processing.

Model low, expected and high order volumes. A percentage fee can overtake a subscription difference as sales grow. Do not rely on promotional months to judge a business expected to operate for years.

Three-year cost with GST, side by side

This table adds 18% GST to the platform price over three years. It leaves out themes, apps, design and payment gateway fees, which you add on top whatever you choose.

Worked example: ₹2 lakh of sales a month

Shopify Basic costs ₹1,499 a month on yearly billing, and because Shopify Payments is not offered in India, Shopify adds 2% to each order paid through your gateway: ₹4,000 on ₹2,00,000. That is ₹5,499 a month before GST. A WooCommerce store on Hostinger Premium pays about ₹139 a month for hosting, with no platform fee on sales, but someone has to run updates, backups and security. If that is a paid freelancer, add their monthly fee before you compare.

For Shopify’s full plan list, read Shopify pricing in India. To estimate the whole build, see e-commerce website cost in India or try the online store cost calculator. Gateway fees are covered in Razorpay charges and the best payment gateways for small businesses.

Pros and cons of each platform

Shopify

WooCommerce

Wix

WordPress.com Commerce

Who should choose which platform

Website builder for small business or a full e-commerce platform?

Many small-business owners are not choosing “a store” at all. They want a business website that can also sell a few products, take a booking or collect a payment. Others want a shop where products and daily orders are the whole business. The two needs point to different tools, and picking the wrong type is a bigger mistake than picking the wrong brand.

• Products and daily orders are the main business: start with a store-first platform such as Shopify, and cost the staff access and payment setup you will need.
• The shop sits beside service pages, a portfolio or brand content: a website builder with commerce, such as Wix or Hostinger Website Builder, is often enough.
• You already run Zoho Books or Zoho Inventory: look at Zoho Commerce for its documented links into those tools.
• You need control over hosting and customisation: choose WooCommerce, with a named person responsible for updates and backups.

Staff access and plan limits

Shopify Basic does not support adding staff accounts, so a store where an employee needs regular admin access may need a higher plan (Shopify Help). On Wix, the plans page lists accepting payments and e-commerce from Core upward; Light is not a store plan. Wix sites run on Wix’s own hosting, so plan the store as staying on Wix.

Zoho Commerce: when your accounts already live in Zoho

Zoho’s pricing page lists the Standard plan with 2 users, 500 product listings and a 0% transaction fee, plus an ONDC sales channel. Payment gateway charges still apply. Check the current rupee price and GST on Zoho Commerce pricing, and test that an order, a stock change and a refund flow correctly into Zoho Books or Inventory before relying on the connection.

Hostinger Website Builder: a low-cost shop with conditions

Hostinger’s India builder page lists e-commerce in the Unlimited plan at ₹199/month when you pay for 48 months: ₹9,552 upfront before GST, or ₹11,271.36 with 18% GST, renewing at ₹649/month. It also advertises 0% transaction fees. That headline is a four-year purchase, not a monthly payment. Before paying, confirm which payment gateway the builder supports for your business, how UPI works at checkout, and how orders and shipping are handled (Hostinger Website Builder plans).

What a 2% platform fee means in rupees

At ₹1,00,000 of online sales in a month through a third-party gateway, Shopify Basic’s 2% fee adds ₹2,000 before GST, on top of the gateway’s own charge. A 0% platform fee does not make payments free either: the gateway still takes its cut. Compare the full monthly cost of the same working store, not just the headline fee.

Run one complete test order on each finalist

Use a trial or sandbox and the same example on each platform. Two units at ₹1,200 each make ₹2,400; a 10% discount takes off ₹240, leaving ₹2,160; ₹80 delivery brings the total to ₹2,240 before tax. If one unit comes back and delivery is not refunded, the item refund is ₹1,080. This is a made-up example to test the arithmetic, not a returns policy.

• Stock: the right variation is reduced by two units.
• Mobile checkout: discount, delivery and payment all work on a phone.
• Confirmation: the customer message and order status match the payment result.
• Fulfilment: staff can find, pack and update the order with their own login.
• Partial return: the refund and the restock are both recorded correctly.
• Accounts: the order, fees and refund can be reconciled and exported.

If a must-have step fails or needs an unpriced add-on, do not buy until it is solved.

Check your exit route before the store grows

Keep the domain, owner account and payment account in the business’s name. Before subscribing, ask for sample exports of products, customers and orders. A product CSV is not a full store backup: order history, design and app settings may each need a separate move. Keep your original product text and images, and make sure you can edit product URLs, titles and image ALT text.

India launch checklist

Confirm that the payment provider supports the business entity, bank account, product category and settlement needs. Configure GST and invoices with qualified advice, test serviceability and returns, and check how cash-on-delivery risk is handled. Place real low-value orders across mobile and desktop.

Test failed payments, cancellations, refunds, out-of-stock states, email and WhatsApp notifications, shipping labels and reconciliation. Export the catalogue and orders so the business has a recovery path.

Five mistakes Indian sellers make when choosing a platform

1. Comparing only the first-month price. Add the gateway fee, the platform fee, apps and GST, then compare the yearly total. Our Shopify pricing guide shows the fee maths at different sales levels.
2. Switching on COD for every PIN code. Returned COD parcels cost you shipping both ways. Start with COD limits by order value and region, and review them after your first month of orders.
3. Leaving GST invoices until later. Fixing invoice numbering after hundreds of orders is painful. Set up the invoice app or plugin and test one order with your accountant before launch.
4. Choosing hosting on price alone for WooCommerce. A slow checkout loses orders. Pick a host that lists daily backups and servers near your customers, and plan to upgrade as orders grow.
5. Not checking how to leave. Before you commit, export a sample of products and customers to a spreadsheet. If the platform makes that hard, moving later will be harder.

A simple first-year budget, line by line

Use this list to build your own first-year budget. Fill in the prices from each vendor’s page on the day you buy, because offers change often.

• Platform or hosting plan, for the full billing term you will actually choose
• Domain name, first year and renewal
• Theme, if you buy a paid one
• GST invoice app or plugin
• Shipping aggregator charges per parcel, including COD fees
• Payment gateway fees on your expected online sales, plus 18% GST on those fees
• Platform transaction fee, if your plan charges one with third-party gateways
• Email for the business domain
• Developer or designer time for setup and fixes

For a small Shopify store selling ₹1 lakh a month online through Razorpay, payment-related costs alone come to about ₹4,720 a month on Basic, including GST on both fees. A WooCommerce store on the same sales would pay the gateway part, about ₹2,360, but would add hosting and more of your own time. Neither is “cheaper” until you add your own numbers.

Which platform should you choose?

Choose Shopify when commerce is the business and a hosted operating system is worth the subscription. Choose WooCommerce when content and store need deep integration and you have technical ownership. Choose Wix for a visually led small catalogue or service business, Hostinger Website Builder for a low-cost shop once its payment flow is confirmed, and Zoho Commerce when your accounts already run on Zoho. Choose WordPress.com Commerce when managed WordPress is the desired middle ground and the USD baseline is acceptable.

Launch with the smallest reliable configuration, document every paid app and review the stack quarterly. Revenue should fund complexity; complexity should not precede validated demand.

Frequently asked questions

Continue your decision