Key Takeaways
- Shopify: fastest launch (days), hosting and security bundled, GST invoices need an app, transaction fees that compound; comparison guides call it expensive past roughly ₹10 crore a year.
- WooCommerce: zero platform transaction fee, native Indian gateway support, mature GST plugins, more maintenance; guides estimate ~₹1.2 lakh a year saved on fees at ₹5 lakh monthly sales versus Shopify Basic.
- Custom: for unusual catalogues, pricing rules or stock models; slowest to launch, fastest to load, wholly yours.
- The deciding question is not features. It is: does the number on the product page have to be true? If yes, the platform must integrate with the stock system.
Ecommerce website development in India comes down to three choices — Shopify, WooCommerce or a custom build — and the comparison guides ranking for the question in 2026 mostly agree on the facts: Shopify launches fastest and bundles hosting; WooCommerce has no platform transaction fee and the deepest Indian payment and GST plugin ecosystem; custom fits what neither can express. Where they differ is which to pick, and that depends on your business, not on the guide. This article lays the facts side by side, adds the GST and stock realities Indian stores actually live with, and ends with the one question that decides it.
The Facts, Side by Side
| Shopify | WooCommerce | Custom | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to first sale | Days: theme, products, gateway | One to two weeks with a professional | Weeks to months |
| Hosting and security | Bundled | Yours to manage (or managed hosting) | Yours |
| Platform transaction fee | Yes, unless Shopify Payments (not available in India as of the guides) | None | None |
| GST invoicing | Via an app (Tera GST, Sufio and others named in guides) | Mature plugins; HSN, CGST/SGST/IGST splits | Built in, to your accountant’s spec |
| Indian payment gateways | Razorpay, PayU, Cashfree and others via integrations | Native plugins for all major gateways and UPI | Direct integration |
| Speed on 4G Android | Good if the theme is light and apps are few | Depends entirely on the build | Fastest, if built for it |
| Unusual pricing / stock | Apps, with limits | Plugins and code | Anything |
| Cost at scale | Guides call it expensive past ~₹10 crore/yr (Plus tier, fees) | Hosting grows; no fee | Development grows |
| You own | Your data; not the platform | Everything | Everything |
The GST Reality
Every Indian store must issue GST-compliant invoices: HSN codes at the required digit level, CGST/SGST or IGST splits by destination state, the seller’s GSTIN on every order, and — above the e-invoicing turnover threshold — an IRN from the Invoice Registration Portal. Shopify does not do this natively; guides point to apps. WooCommerce does it through mature plugins. Custom does it however your CA specifies.
Two practical notes the guides make: GST-registered sellers can claim input tax credit on platform subscription and gateway fees; and destination-state tax splits depend on shipping address logic that must be right at checkout, not fixed in the accounts later. Thresholds and rates move; we point at the GST portal rather than restating them, and we wrote the system side separately in GST e-invoicing and your ERP.
The Fee Arithmetic
Indian comparison guides run the numbers roughly like this: at ₹5 lakh a month in sales, Shopify Basic’s transaction fee costs around ₹10,000 a month more than WooCommerce’s zero — about ₹1.2 lakh a year — before hosting and maintenance are counted on the WooCommerce side. At ₹50 lakh a month the gap is large enough to fund a developer; at ₹50,000 a month it is smaller than the cost of managing your own hosting. So the honest answer to “which is cheaper” is “at what volume”.
The guides also agree on the other end: past roughly ₹10 crore a year, Shopify Plus pricing and fees make Shopify expensive relative to a well-run WooCommerce or custom store. Brands that start on Shopify to launch fast and migrate later are common, and the migration is a redirect-map exercise if planned.
The Question That Decides It
Not features. Not fees. This: does the number on the product page have to be true?
For a small store shipping from one shelf, the answer is “more or less”, and Shopify or WooCommerce with a spreadsheet is fine. For a trader with three godowns, a manufacturer selling finished goods, or a D2C brand that has been apologising for overselling every week, the answer is yes — and then the platform is chosen by how well it integrates with the stock and order system, because that system is the truth and the storefront is a window on it.
That is how we choose for Mumbai e-commerce clients: the storefront and the stock system are one project. Shopify when the store must be selling next month and the catalogue is ordinary; WooCommerce when the business lives in WordPress and wants zero fees; custom when the catalogue, pricing or stock model is genuinely unusual. And whichever it is: fast on a 4G Android, a staging URL from week one, and the code and accounts in your name.
Frequently Asked Questions
Shopify or WooCommerce for an Indian online store?
Shopify when the store must be selling within days and you would rather not manage hosting, plugins or security. WooCommerce when the business already lives in WordPress, wants zero platform transaction fees and native Indian gateway and GST plugins, and can handle maintenance. Comparison guides estimate WooCommerce saves around ₹1.2 lakh a year in fees at ₹5 lakh monthly sales.
Does Shopify support GST invoices in India?
Not natively. Indian guides point to apps such as Tera GST or Sufio for invoices with HSN codes, CGST/SGST/IGST splits and the seller GSTIN. WooCommerce does it through mature plugins; a custom store does it to your accountant’s specification.
How much does an e-commerce website cost in India?
Published 2026 guides put e-commerce builds at roughly ₹1.5–₹4 lakh on Shopify or WooCommerce, and custom stores from about ₹2 lakh to well above ₹10 lakh when stock integration, pricing rules or a portal are involved.
When does a custom e-commerce build make sense?
When the catalogue, pricing rules or stock model cannot be expressed by a platform — configurable products, customer-class pricing, multi-godown allocation — or when the storefront must read live availability from an ERP. Otherwise a platform is faster and cheaper.
Can I start on Shopify and move later?
Yes, and many Indian brands do once fees or limits bite. Plan the migration as a redirect-map exercise so search authority moves with the products, and export orders and customers before the switch.
Planning a site or a store?
Book a free strategy call. We look at what you have, tell you what it should cost to fix or replace — honestly, including “keep it” — and you get a staging URL from week one if we build it.
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