WooCommerce is the best ecommerce platform in India for most sellers: the software is free, hosting starts at ₹400 a month and no platform takes a cut of sales. Shopify is the faster managed option at ₹1,499 a month billed yearly. The choice turns on catalog size, who maintains the store and how easily you can leave.
How the best ecommerce platforms in India were compared
Five tests decide the ranking: the year-one bill at a realistic order volume, UPI and COD support, GST invoicing, shipping integration, and how easily the catalog and customer list export. Advertised entry prices are ignored, because a cheap plan plus apps and commission rarely stays cheap.
The best ecommerce platforms in India, compared
WooCommerce, Shopify, Instamojo and Magento cover four buying situations in India: own-and-maintain, managed subscription, per-sale selling and enterprise. The table compares what each costs and what it takes to run.
| Platform | What it costs in India | Payments and COD | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce | Free plugin; hosting from ₹400/month at WebJi | UPI, cards and net banking through Razorpay; COD toggle built in | Sellers who want the database and no commission |
| Shopify | Basic ₹1,499/month billed yearly (₹1,994 monthly) | Local gateway required; COD set up as a manual method | Brands that want a managed, design-led store |
| Instamojo | ₹0/year Lite with 5% + ₹3 per sale; Starter ₹3,999/year | Built-in gateway with UPI; COD on the free tier | Digital products and very small catalogs |
| Magento | Open-source licence free; build and hosting are project costs | Gateway and COD through extensions | Large catalogs with a developer on retainer |
Shopify and Instamojo plan prices as published in October 2026. Plan pricing changes, so confirm on the vendor page before you buy.
WooCommerce is the free plugin that turns a WordPress site into a store. You pay for hosting, not for the software or a share of sales, and the GST invoice, UPI checkout and shipping rules come from plugins you choose. Speed depends on the host, and updates are your job or your host's.
Shopify is the fastest route to a polished store. Basic costs ₹1,499/month billed yearly, and Shopify's own payments product is not offered in India, so checkout runs through a local gateway such as Razorpay. Every app you add lifts the monthly bill.
Instamojo sells before it hosts: Lite is ₹0/year with 5% + ₹3 per completed sale, and Starter at ₹3,999/year adds a custom domain and removes Instamojo branding. It fits courses, templates and small digital catalogs better than a 500-SKU warehouse.
Magento, now Adobe Commerce, is free to license in open-source form and expensive to run: a build, a server and a developer on call. Choose it when the catalog, warehouse or B2B price rules genuinely exceed what WooCommerce plugins handle.
Wix, BigCommerce and Zoho Commerce also sell in India, and their own plan pages carry the current INR price better than any comparison table can.
WooCommerce hosting requirements and costs in India
WooCommerce needs a current PHP version, LiteSpeed or Redis caching, HTTPS and daily backups, because checkout slows first when a catalog grows. On WebJi, WordPress Unlimited at ₹400/month carries a normal store, and Cloud Entry at ₹5,900/month covers festive peaks.
- WordPress Unlimited at ₹400/month: LiteSpeed with LSCache, sized for one catalog store.
- Cloud Entry at ₹5,900/month: 2 vCPU and 8 GB RAM for sale-day traffic.
- Managed WordPress updates at ₹5,900/year if you want core and plugin updates handled.
Three plugins do the India-specific work: Razorpay's official extension for UPI, cards and net banking, a GST invoice plugin for HSN-wise tax breakup, and Shiprocket for courier rates at checkout. Each adds weight, so re-test checkout speed after installing them. Hosting specs for bigger catalogs sit on the WooCommerce hosting page.
What it costs to start an online store in India in 2026
A lean WooCommerce store costs about ₹400/month in hosting and ₹900–₹1,200/year for a .com domain, with no platform licence fee. Shopify starts at ₹1,499/month billed yearly. Gateway fees apply to both and are charged per transaction.
- Hosting: ₹400/month on WordPress Unlimited, or ₹5,900/month on Cloud Entry for peak traffic.
- Domain: ₹900–₹1,200/year for a .com.
- Platform: ₹0 for WooCommerce, ₹1,499/month for Shopify Basic billed yearly.
- GST: 18% on hosting and subscriptions, shown separately on the invoice.
- Theme and plugins: free options cover a standard store; paid ones are one-time or annual.
Hosting and domain come to roughly ₹6,000 in year one before GST. Design, catalog photography and a custom build sit outside that number, and the e-commerce website cost guide breaks the project side down separately. Gateway rates by payment method are compared in the payment gateway guide.
Which ecommerce platform fits which Indian seller
Sellers who want to own the store and pay no commission should start on WooCommerce. Brands that value a managed admin and can carry a monthly fee should pick Shopify. Digital-first sellers with tiny catalogs fit Instamojo, and Magento only makes sense with a developer.
- First store, a few hundred products, run by you: WooCommerce on WebJi hosting.
- Store wanted live in days with design and admin handled: Shopify Basic.
- Courses, templates or ebooks: Instamojo.
- Thousands of SKUs with warehouse and B2B price rules: Magento with a development budget.
- No time to run any of it: WebJi's online store build covers setup, payments and handover.
The exit test decides long-term cost: export products, orders and customers today. WooCommerce and Magento pass because the database is yours, and Shopify passes through CSV exports. A platform that makes the export hard is telling you what next year will cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the best ecommerce platform in India in 2026?
WooCommerce, for most sellers: free software, hosting from ₹400/month at WebJi, no commission and ownership of the catalog. Shopify Basic at ₹1,499/month billed yearly is the better pick when you want a managed store and a faster launch.
Is WooCommerce better than Shopify for India?
On cost and ownership, yes: WooCommerce has no licence fee or platform commission, and GST invoicing, UPI and COD come from plugins and a local gateway. Shopify wins on speed to launch and admin polish, at ₹1,499/month plus apps.
How much does it cost to start an online store in India?
About ₹6,000 in year one for WooCommerce hosting and a .com domain before GST, plus any theme or build work. Shopify starts at ₹1,499/month billed yearly, and payment gateway fees apply to both.
Which ecommerce platform supports COD and Razorpay?
All four here can. WooCommerce runs the Razorpay extension and its own COD toggle, Shopify connects a local gateway and manual COD, Instamojo has UPI and COD built into its plans, and Magento adds both through extensions.
Can I switch platforms later without losing data?
Usually yes, through CSV or database exports. Products, customers and orders move cleanly; theme, apps and URL structure do not, so plan redirects and rebuild the checkout rather than expecting a like-for-like copy.
Do you provide GST invoices for hosting?
Yes. WebJi invoices are in INR with 18% GST and the GSTIN printed for input credit, and hosting prices are quoted before GST.