A clear, fee-first comparison of India's main payment gateways - what each actually charges per transaction, how UPI pricing works, and which one fits your business.
When you sell online in India, the payment gateway fee is a direct tax on every order. A difference of 0.3% does not sound like much until you are doing a few lakh rupees a month in sales, at which point it is real money leaving your margin. This guide compares what the main Indian gateways actually charge, in plain numbers, so you can pick on cost and fit rather than marketing.
All figures below are standard published rates as of 2026 and exclude 18% GST on the fee. Negotiated rates exist for high volume, so always confirm your own pricing with the provider before committing.
Most Indian gateways charge a percentage of each successful transaction (the MDR, or merchant discount rate) rather than a monthly subscription. There is usually no setup fee and no annual maintenance fee on the standard plan. The rate varies by payment method: UPI is the cheapest, domestic cards sit in the middle, and international cards and EMI cost the most.
One important nuance: under government policy, UPI and RuPay debit transactions carry zero MDR for merchants. In practice some aggregators still apply a small platform fee on UPI, and the headline percentages quoted below apply to cards, netbanking and wallets. Read each gateway's UPI line carefully.
Razorpay is the default for most Indian startups and SMBs because of its clean developer experience, payment links, and wide method support. Its standard rate is 2% per successful transaction on domestic UPI, cards, netbanking and wallets, with no setup or annual fee. Corporate cards are around 2.15% and international cards up to 3%.
It suits teams that want a polished integration, subscriptions and payment links out of the box, and do not mind the flat 2%.
Cashfree is the value pick on headline rate: its standard charge is 1.95% per transaction on UPI, cards, netbanking and wallets, with Amex at 2.95% and international cards at 2.99%. There is no setup fee, and new merchants sometimes get promotional rates.
If your volume is card and netbanking heavy, that 0.05% difference versus Razorpay adds up over a year. Cashfree also has strong payouts and settlement features for marketplaces.
PayU is one of the oldest gateways in India and is commonly quoted at around 2% + GST per transaction across UPI, cards, netbanking and wallets, with Amex and Diners higher. It has broad payment-method coverage and is widely supported by Indian platforms. PayU's public pricing page is light on numbers, so confirm your exact rate during onboarding.
Instamojo targets very small sellers and solopreneurs who want to start collecting payments with minimal setup. Its free Payment Links charge 2% + Rs.3 per transaction (plus GST), and it layers paid annual plans on top (Smart from around Rs.4,999/yr) that add an online store and features. For a tiny operation that just needs a link to get paid, it is the fastest start.
For most Indian SMBs the practical choice is between Razorpay and Cashfree, and the deciding factor is usually integration fit and support rather than the 0.05% gap. If you sell globally, check the international-card rate specifically, since that is where the gateways differ most.
Two things to remember regardless of choice: settlement to your bank typically takes one to three business days, so plan cash flow accordingly, and the quoted rates exclude 18% GST. You can compare these and other options side by side in the payments category.
Rates change. Always confirm current pricing on the provider's own site before you commit.
Turn this research into a workflow with apps, stages, caveats, and next actions.
Start with the product itself: a place to write and ship code, host it reliably, and catch errors in production, because nothing else matters until customers can actually use what you built. Next, get the team coordinated with project management and a shared knowledge base so work and decisions are not lost in chat. Then put customer acquisition on a real CRM so leads, demos, and deals are tracked rather than living in inboxes. Add billing and accounting once you have paying users, choosing payment rails that fit whether you sell to India, abroad, or both, and keep GST-clean books from day one. Finish with customer support, product analytics, and access security so you can keep users happy, see what they actually do, and not get breached. Do not buy enterprise sales, analytics, and security suites before you have product-market signal; sequence around shipping and getting your first paying customers.
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Start by choosing the right no-code platform for what you are building, because a customer-facing web app, a mobile app, and an internal portal each suit different tools. Next, model your data cleanly in a database or spreadsheet backend, since a messy data model is the most common reason no-code projects collapse later. Then build the interface and logic so users have real screens and workflows, not just a database. Add payments, forms, and automations to connect your app to the outside world and remove manual work. Finish by launching, securing team access, and measuring usage so you know the app works and is safe. Do not expect no-code to scale infinitely; it is excellent for validating and running real workflows, but be honest about its ceilings and plan to move to custom code if you outgrow it.
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Start by choosing a website builder that matches your skill and needs, because the builder decides how fast you launch and what you can do later. Sort your domain and hosting next, remembering that most builders bundle hosting while self-hosted WordPress needs its own, so you do not pay twice. Then design and write the site so it looks credible and explains clearly what you offer, since a confusing site loses visitors in seconds. Add lead capture, booking, and payment tools so the site actually does something, whether that is collecting enquiries, taking appointments, or selling. Finish by getting found and measuring, with basic SEO, a Google presence, and analytics so you know what is working. Do not over-build a complex site before you have visitors; launch a clear, fast site and improve it with real data.
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