The India software tax
The price on a SaaS pricing page is not the price an Indian buyer pays. There are really two India taxes. The one nobody escapes is the ~4% card forex markup on a dollar charge, which even a GST-registered business cannot reclaim. On top sits 18% GST, but that is reclaimable if you are registered, so it only bites if you are not, taking the premium to about 22%. We priced the 216 tools with a verified monthly rate the way you actually pay, and used our function tags to rank each kind of software. Updated August 2026.
Key findings
- The unavoidable premium is the ~4% forex markup on dollar-billed tools. A $50/mo tool (₹4,780 at the mid-market rate) costs a registered business about ₹4,947/mo, GST reclaimed.
- If you cannot reclaim GST, the premium is ~22% once 18% GST is added, taking that same tool to about ₹5,837/mo. Registered businesses reclaim it; foreign B2B is reverse-charged.
- A local tool is often the cheapest true cost in 16 of the 26 software functions we ranked, the lowest forex-adjusted option is an India-built, rupee-billed product.
Where the money goes
Take a $50/month tool. A quick mental conversion at the mid-market rate says ₹4,780. Your card actually converts about 3.5% higher, so a GST-registered business pays about ₹4,947 a month (it reclaims the GST). If you cannot reclaim GST, 18% lands on top and the bill is closer to ₹5,837. None of that shows on the vendor's pricing page.
India cost by function, cheapest first
Typical (median) monthly cost for a GST-registered business in each software function with enough verified monthly pricing to compare, plus the cheapest verified option in each. Forex-adjusted, with GST reclaimed. Add 18% if you cannot reclaim GST.
See your own India software tax
List the tools you pay for and the Software Savings Audit shows your real India cost, cheaper substitutes, and the rupees you could save.
Run the Savings AuditMethodology
Based on the India-first SMB tools in the FindThatSoftware catalog with a source-backed monthly price. For each tool we take the verified starting price and convert any dollar amount at the effective card rate (mid-market plus a ~3.5% forex markup) — the cost a GST-registered business nets after reclaiming GST. Adding 18% GST gives the figure for a buyer who cannot reclaim it. Only monthly-recurring plans are compared; per-unit and one-time-license tools are excluded so the per-function medians stay like-for-like. Per-seat tools are marked /user/mo — that price is per user, so a team pays a multiple of it. Figures are indicative, not a bill, and update automatically as more tools are verified.
Explore the data
- The SaaS tools Indians overpay most on (the worst offenders)
- Software Savings Audit (your India cost + cheaper swaps)
- Per-seat vs flat pricing (what multiplies with your team)
- Does your software price for India? (USD vs INR)
- India Software Pricing Report
- Software pricing data by category
Frequently asked questions
- How much more does dollar-billed software cost in India?
- It depends whether you can reclaim GST. For a GST-registered business, about 4% more, the card forex markup on a dollar charge, which is not reclaimable. If you cannot reclaim GST, about 22% more once 18% GST is added. A $50/month tool looks like ₹4,780 at the mid-market rate, but a registered business pays about ₹4,947, or ₹5,837 if you cannot reclaim GST.
- Do most tools sold to Indian businesses price in rupees?
- No. Among tools with a verified monthly price, 54% bill in US dollars versus 44% in rupees. Rupee pricing comes mostly from India-built vendors, so a dollar sticker (and the forex layer on top) is still the norm.
- Which software is cheapest in India?
- It depends on the function. In 16 of the 26 functions we ranked, the cheapest option (forex-adjusted) is an India-built, rupee-billed tool, so the lowest true cost is often a local product rather than the global default.
- Are these the exact prices I will pay?
- They are indicative, not a bill. We take each vendor's verified starting monthly price and convert dollars at the effective card rate (mid-market plus the forex markup) — the cost a registered business nets after reclaiming GST. GST adds 18% if you cannot reclaim it. Your card's markup, plan and negotiated rates will vary. It is meant to show the shape of the cost, not to quote you.
Source: FindThatSoftware catalog analysis, August 2026. Rupee figures are indicative estimates (forex-adjusted; GST conditional), not billing figures. Cite as "FindThatSoftware, The India Software Tax".