Shopify vs WooCommerce in India: real monthly costs, payments, COD and which is better for your store

An Indian agency owner put the Shopify vs WooCommerce question plainly on r/woocommerce. He had launched his own D2C brand on WooCommerce, yet "almost 9 out of 10 ecommerce brands I've worked with are on Shopify." His complaint: "The biggest headache with WooCommerce is spam orders, hosting and hacking attempts."

Here is the short answer. For most Indian D2C brands that want to spend their time on marketing, Shopify is the better choice, even with its extra fee. WooCommerce wins when you already run a WordPress site, sell mostly on COD, need unusual features, or have someone technical to look after it.

The detail that most comparisons miss is money. Most top-ranking articles quote US prices and Shopify Payments rates that do not apply in India. So here are the numbers as of today.

What Shopify costs in India today#

Shopify's India prices, from its pricing page:

New stores currently get three days free, then ₹20 a month for three months. Hosting and SSL are included.

That last column is the one to watch. India is not on Shopify's list of countries supported by Shopify Payments, so every Indian store uses a third-party gateway such as Razorpay or PayU. Shopify then charges its own fee on top of the gateway's fee.

There is one big exception. Shopify says that "You aren't charged third-party transaction fees for manual payments", and cash on delivery is a manual payment. So the 2% only hits your prepaid orders.

Outside India, in countries where Shopify Payments works, that extra fee disappears if you use it. That is why US comparisons make Shopify look cheaper than it is here.

What WooCommerce costs#

WooCommerce itself is a free WordPress plugin. You pay for everything around it:

• Hosting. Hostinger India's WordPress plans show ₹139 to ₹199 a month on a 48-month term, renewing at ₹449 to ₹649. A busy store will want cloud or managed hosting; Hostinger's Cloud Startup renews at ₹1,599 a month.
• Theme. Free themes are fine for many stores. Premium ones are a one-off or yearly licence.
• Paid extensions. This is where costs creep. The official WooCommerce Subscriptions extension alone is ₹27,050 for a one-year plan.
• Upkeep. Updates, backups, security and fixing whatever breaks. In our website maintenance cost guide we put a looked-after WordPress site at ₹2,000 to ₹7,000 a month, and a store sits at the upper end.

WooCommerce takes no cut of your sales. You only pay your gateway.

Real monthly cost: a worked example#

Take a hypothetical skincare brand in Jaipur selling ₹3 lakh a month: 300 orders at ₹1,000, 60% prepaid and 40% COD. Shipping is left out because it costs the same on both.

At this size the two are close. The difference is how they grow. Shopify's cost rises with your prepaid revenue. WooCommerce's cost rises with complexity, traffic and how much help you buy.

If prepaid sales grow, the plan maths changes too. Basic costs ₹1,800 plus 2%; Grow costs ₹6,700 plus 1%. Grow becomes cheaper once prepaid sales pass roughly ₹4.9 lakh a month.

Payment gateways in India#

The big three work with both platforms. Rates on their pricing pages today, before GST:

On WooCommerce, Razorpay's official plugin has over 100,000 active installs. On Shopify, Razorpay is a common choice, and whichever gateway you pick, the Shopify 2% applies on top. Our guide to choosing a payment gateway in India compares them in more depth.

COD and shipping#

COD still matters for many Indian brands, and both platforms handle it.

On Shopify, as one r/shopify reply explained, "cod is a separate manual payment method you turn on in shopify's payment settings". Orders arrive as payment pending until the courier remits the cash. The same reply notes that Razorpay Magic Checkout builds COD in, with controls such as a COD fee or switching COD off for high-RTO pincodes.

WooCommerce has a built-in Cash on Delivery method. Fine-grained rules usually need a plugin.

For shipping, Shiprocket connects to both. Its plans run from a free Lite plan (around ₹45 average per shipment) to ₹199, ₹499 and ₹799 a month with lower rates, and include COD reconciliation.

Running it day to day#

Shopify is easier for a small team. No servers, no plugin conflicts, and security is Shopify's job. The admin and mobile app are built for orders, inventory and discounts. The catch is deep customisation, which means learning Liquid, Shopify's template language, or paying a developer.

WooCommerce gives you full control and a familiar WordPress dashboard, but you are responsible for updates, backups and security. Spam orders are a real annoyance, though as one reply on the same r/woocommerce thread put it, "99% of spam orders are solved by throwing in a Cloudflare Turnstile". If nobody on your team will own the upkeep, budget for someone who will.

SEO and speed#

Both can rank well. WordPress is the stronger blogging tool, and WooCommerce lets you control every URL. Shopify fixes some URL patterns, such as /products/ and /collections/, which rarely matters in practice.

Speed is a clearer gap. In HTTP Archive's Core Web Vitals technology report for September 2026, 76% of Shopify sites pass on mobile against 39% of WooCommerce sites. A well-built WooCommerce store on good hosting can do far better, but Shopify gives you a faster default.

Scaling#

Shopify absorbs sale-day traffic spikes without you thinking about servers. As you grow, the main costs are higher plans and apps.

WooCommerce scales too, but you pay for it in better hosting, caching and developer time. Big catalogues and heavy order volumes need someone who knows what they are doing.

When a custom Next.js storefront makes sense#

Some brands go "headless": a custom Next.js front end on top of Shopify or WooCommerce, or a fully custom store. It buys you complete design freedom and fast pages, at a much higher build and maintenance cost.

It makes sense when you have strong revenue, a large catalogue, and a shopping experience the themes cannot deliver, such as product configurators or app-style browsing. For a new brand selling 20 products, it is money better spent on ads and photography. We compare the trade-offs of custom builds in Next.js vs WordPress, and budgets in our ecommerce website cost guide.

Shopify vs WooCommerce: which should you choose#

Pick Shopify if:

• You want to launch fast and spend your time on marketing, not servers
• Most orders are prepaid and you want stable WhatsApp, email and SMS integrations
• Nobody on your team wants to manage hosting or security

Pick WooCommerce if:

• You already have a WordPress site with traffic and content
• A large share of orders are COD, so the Shopify fee saving matters less, or your margins are thin
• You need unusual product logic, or you have a developer on hand

Consider a custom storefront if you have outgrown both and can fund ongoing development.

Common questions#

Is Shopify better than WooCommerce for small businesses?#

For most small businesses without technical help, yes. It is easier to run and harder to break. WooCommerce suits owners who are comfortable with WordPress or have a developer.

Is Shopify more expensive than WooCommerce?#

Usually, for prepaid-heavy Indian stores, because of the plan fee plus the 2% fee on third-party gateways. Once you count WooCommerce hosting, paid plugins and upkeep, the gap often narrows.

Shopify vs WooCommerce for SEO: which is better?#

Neither ranks better by default. WooCommerce gives more control and better blogging; Shopify gives better default speed. Content and product pages decide rankings.

Is Shopify worth it in India?#

Yes, for brands that want a stable store with little upkeep. Just budget for the 2% fee on prepaid orders, apps priced in dollars, and GST on top of gateway fees.

The short version#

Shopify suits most Indian D2C brands that want to sell without managing technology, at the cost of a 2% fee on prepaid orders. WooCommerce is cheaper to start and gives more control, but someone has to look after it. Work out your own monthly numbers with your real prepaid and COD split before you decide.

Choosing a platform for your store? Book a free call and we will run the numbers with you.