The real monthly cost of an online store in India

The real monthly cost of an online store in India is the platform plan plus everything that sits around it: GST on the plan if it is not already included, payment gateway fees, any transaction fee the platform charges on top, paid apps and themes, your domain, packaging, shipping and the cost of returns. The plan is often the smallest line. This guide lists every line item so you can add up your own number and compare platforms fairly.

Why is the headline plan price misleading?

Store platforms compete on the number on their pricing page. That number rarely tells you what you will pay in a normal month. Some prices include GST and some do not. Some platforms take a percentage of every order on top of the gateway fee. Some keep core features, such as GST invoices or cash-on-delivery rules, in paid add-ons. A plan that looks cheaper can end up costing more once you have sales.

The fix is simple: build a monthly budget with every line below, using your own expected sales. Do it once for each platform you are considering.

What goes into the monthly cost of an online store?

Platform plan and GST

Start with the plan, and check whether the price includes 18% GST. If GST is added on top, add it to your sum. If you are GST-registered you may be able to claim input tax credit on it, but you still pay it out of your bank account first. Ask your CA how this works for you.

UpMinutes prices include GST: Starter is ₹500 a month, Growth ₹999 a month and Pro ₹2,000 a month, and yearly billing gives you twelve months for the price of ten. You get a GST invoice for every payment. The full table is on the pricing page.

Transaction fees and commission

This is where costs hide. A marketplace takes a commission on each sale. Some store builders take a smaller cut, or charge a fee when you use a payment gateway other than their own. Either way, the amount grows as you grow, so a fee that looks small at ₹20,000 a month of sales becomes a real number at ₹5,00,000. Our guide to transaction fees vs commission explains the difference.

UpMinutes takes no commission on your sales and has no app fees.

Payment gateway fees

Whatever platform you use, your payment gateway charges its own fee for processing online payments. Rates differ by method (UPI, cards, EMI, wallets) and by your agreement with the gateway, so take the number from your gateway's current pricing, not from a blog. With UpMinutes you connect your own Razorpay account and the money goes to your bank; Razorpay bills its own fees. Cash-on-delivery orders do not go through the gateway, but they have their own costs, such as the courier's COD charge and the risk of returns.

Paid apps, plugins and themes

On platforms with an app store, many sellers end up paying monthly for several apps: GST invoices, cash-on-delivery controls, product reviews, translation, WhatsApp messages, back-in-stock alerts. Each one may be modest, but together they can cost more than the plan. Read how paid apps add up before you commit.

On UpMinutes these features are built in, and there is no app store. Every plan, Starter included, has all 150 themes.

Domain name

A custom domain is a yearly cost. Check the renewal price, not just the first-year offer, because the two are often different. Every UpMinutes plan includes a free subdomain (yourbrand.upminutes.com) and hosting, and connecting your own domain needs two DNS records, with HTTPS set up automatically. Our guide to choosing and connecting a domain walks through it.

Shipping, packing and returns

These are usually your biggest running costs after the products themselves. Courier rates depend on weight, distance and your volume. Packing material adds a few rupees to every order. Returns and failed cash-on-delivery deliveries (RTO) cost you shipping both ways and sometimes the product too. If you use Shiprocket through your store, Shiprocket bills its own rates.

How do you compare two platforms on total cost?

Take one realistic month and run the numbers. Here is a worked example using published prices; the sales figure is made up for illustration.

Say you sell ₹2,00,000 a month, all paid online through Razorpay.

Shopify prices as listed on shopify.com/in/pricing on 20 October 2026. Shopify Payments is not available for businesses in India, so Indian stores use a third-party provider such as Razorpay, and Shopify's third-party transaction fee applies on top of the gateway's own fee. Shopify changes prices and offers from time to time, so check Shopify's current pricing. Shopify is a trademark of Shopify Inc.; UpMinutes is not affiliated with Shopify.

Shopify can still be the better choice for some businesses, for example if you need checkout in many currencies or POS hardware across several shops. Our UpMinutes and Shopify comparison and the post on when Shopify is the better choice cover those cases honestly.

What one-time costs should you budget for?

Some costs come once, at the start:

• Product photos: a phone, a window and a plain background go a long way. See product photos with a phone.
• Packaging stock: boxes, mailers, tape and branded inserts, bought in bulk.
• Registrations: GST, and licences such as FSSAI for food. Your CA can tell you what applies.
• A logo and brand basics: often a few hours of your own time.
• Moving from another platform: if you are switching, budget an afternoon or two for import and checking. The switch guide lists the steps.

How do you keep monthly costs under control?

• Pay yearly once you are sure. On UpMinutes, yearly billing is ten months' price for twelve.
• Start on the smallest plan that fits. Upgrade when you hit the product or team limit; upgrades start immediately with unused days credited.
• Price for real margins. Use the free profit margin calculator and our guide to profit per order so fees and shipping do not eat your profit.
• Audit subscriptions every quarter. Cancel apps and tools you no longer use.
• Cut RTO. Set COD limits and confirm COD orders before shipping; see reducing COD returns.

A quick monthly cost checklist

• Plan price, with GST added if it is not included
• Platform transaction fee or commission at your expected sales
• Gateway fees from your gateway's current rate card
• Every paid app, plugin and theme, monthly equivalent
• Domain renewal divided by twelve
• Average shipping and packing per order, times orders
• A returns and RTO allowance
• Messaging and marketing spend

Add it up for two or three platforms and the right choice is usually obvious. You can try UpMinutes free for 14 days, with no card needed, from the start page.

Filed under Comparisons. More guides on the UpMinutes blog.