Shopify Store Setup Cost in India, Line by Line

Most founders asking what a Shopify store costs in India get one of two answers: "Rs 1,499 a month" or "it depends". The first leaves out gateway fees, apps and tax. The second is not an answer. This guide splits the cost into the lines you will actually pay, quotes each one from the provider's own page, and shows which costs are fixed, which grow with sales and which depend on how the store is built.

Prices were checked on 9 October 2026 on Shopify's India pricing page, the Shopify Help Centre, the Shopify Theme Store, the Shopify App Store, and Razorpay's and Cashfree's pricing pages. Providers change prices and run offers often, so recheck each one on the day you sign up.

What are the cost lines in a Shopify store setup?

There are seven lines. Some you pay every month whether you sell or not, some you pay only when you sell, and some are one time.

A founder who budgets only for the first line usually gets surprised by the second and third in the first month of real orders.

How much is the Shopify plan in India?

As of 9 October 2026, Shopify's India pricing page lists these plan prices in rupees:

The same page offers a 3 day free trial, then Rs 20 a month for the first 3 months on most plans, before standard pricing starts. Shopify also states there are no setup fees on any plan.

For a new brand, Basic is almost always the right starting point. You can upgrade in a few clicks once sales justify it, and the upgrade decision is mostly about the transaction fee, which we work through in our Basic or Grow fee maths. Paying yearly saves money only if you are sure you will still be on that plan in twelve months.

Why does Shopify charge a fee on every online sale in India?

Because Shopify Payments is not available in India, Indian stores accept online payments through a third-party provider such as Razorpay or Cashfree. Shopify's Help Centre says third-party transaction fees apply "when you use a third-party payment provider to accept customer payments". The rate is the percentage in the table above: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced.

Two details matter for Indian stores:

• Cash on delivery is exempt. The same Help Centre page says transaction fees "don't apply for POS orders or for manual payment methods, which include cash on delivery (COD), bank deposits, checks, test orders, and draft orders marked as paid or pending."
• Gift cards and store credit can trigger it. On stores created on or after 12 May 2025, Shopify also charges the fee when an order includes store credit or gift cards as a payment method.

So the fee scales with your prepaid share. A store that is mostly COD pays little of it. A store pushing customers to prepaid UPI pays it on most orders, on top of the gateway's own fee.

What do Razorpay and Cashfree charge per transaction?

Both gateways publish standard pricing on their own pages, Razorpay pricing and Cashfree pricing. As of 9 October 2026:

Both pages also carry introductory offers. Razorpay's page advertises a 0% fee for the first 90 days. Cashfree's festive offer gives new merchants zero gateway fees on their first Rs 20 lakh of GMV, running until 31 March 2027, and states that GST on the waived platform fee is still charged. Read the terms before you build a budget on an offer, because offers end and the standard rate is what you will live with.

Razorpay also notes zero MDR on standard UPI and RuPay debit card payments, while its FAQ says a platform fee still applies. Our comparison of Razorpay and Cashfree on Shopify covers checkout and settlement differences beyond price.

What does that look like on a real month of sales?

Here is an illustrative example, not a forecast. Say a new store on Basic does Rs 1,00,000 of prepaid online orders in a month through Razorpay at the standard rate, with no offer applied.

That is Rs 6,354 before apps, shipping or GST on Shopify's own bill. The point of the exercise is the shape, not the total: at low volume the plan dominates, and as sales grow the two percentage lines overtake it. If the same Rs 1,00,000 came in as COD, the Shopify and Razorpay percentage lines would not apply, but COD brings its own costs in returns and courier charges.

Do you pay GST on Shopify's bill?

Yes, unless you give Shopify your GSTIN. Shopify's Help Centre says that if your store is located in India, "you're charged GST on your Shopify fees" on your monthly or yearly bills. It also says exemptions "apply only to invoices issued after you submit your GSTIN", and GST already charged before that "can't be reversed or refunded".

The practical step: if you are GST registered, add your GSTIN under Settings, then Billing, then Billing profile, before your first paid bill. If you are not registered yet, plan for GST on top of the plan price. Collecting GST from your own customers is a separate setup, covered in our GST setup guide for Shopify.

Should you buy a paid theme for a new store?

Not necessarily. When we checked the Shopify Theme Store on 9 October 2026 it listed 24 free themes and 1,287 paid ones, with paid themes priced from $100 to $500. Free themes are built by Shopify and are a sound base for a first store.

Things to know before paying:

• Paid themes are final sale. Shopify's Help Centre says third-party theme purchases "are considered final sale" and the developer cannot refund them.
• You can preview before buying. Shopify lets you preview up to 19 paid themes at the same time in your admin.
• Support comes from the developer. Updates and support for third-party themes are provided by the theme developer, not Shopify.

A paid theme earns its price when it has a specific feature you would otherwise pay to build, such as a strong lookbook layout or built-in mega menu. If you expect heavy changes, the bigger cost is customisation, which we break down in our theme customisation cost guide.

Which apps does a new store actually pay for?

Fewer than most founders install. Many useful apps have a free plan, and a paid plan only matters once you need its features. Two common examples, as listed on the Shopify App Store on 9 October 2026:

Both listings state that charges are billed in US dollars every 30 days. Note that the Shiprocket app plan is separate from what you pay per shipment, which depends on the courier, weight and zone and is set in Shiprocket's own account. Our guide to choosing a shipping aggregator covers how to compare those terms.

A simple rule for launch: install an app only when you can name the problem it solves this month. App subscriptions are the line that creeps up quietly, because each one looks small.

What about the domain and email?

You need a domain, and you can either buy one through Shopify or connect one you already own. Shopify's Help Centre confirms that a domain from a third-party provider can be connected to your store, or transferred to Shopify. Domain prices vary by registrar and extension, so compare at the registrar on the day you buy. Plan prices include a free SSL certificate and hosting, per Shopify's pricing page, so you do not pay for those separately.

What drives the cost of building the store itself?

This is the line with the widest spread, and it is driven by scope rather than by the platform. The questions that move it most:

• Theme approach. A configured free theme, a customised paid theme, or a custom design built from scratch.
• Catalogue size and data. Ten products entered by hand is a different job from a few thousand variants imported from a spreadsheet or ERP.
• Integrations. Gateway, courier aggregator, WhatsApp, accounting or inventory software. Each one is setup and testing time.
• Custom features. Anything no app does well needs custom code, priced separately, as our custom app cost breakdown explains.
• Who does it. Doing it yourself costs time. A freelancer or agency costs money, and the quote should list exactly what is included.

Whoever you hire, ask for a written scope with every page, integration and app named. Our guide on how to read a Shopify quote lists what should be in it. For how to split a small launch budget between the store and marketing, see where your first two lakh should go.

How do you keep setup costs low without cutting corners?

Start on Basic with a free Shopify theme, one gateway, one shipping app and only the apps that fix a problem you already have. Add your GSTIN to Shopify billing before the first bill. Model your fees at your expected prepaid and COD mix, not at the headline plan price. Spend on the things customers notice, such as product photos, clear product pages and fast delivery promises, before you spend on features.

What not to cut: correct GST setup, policy pages your gateway requires, and testing the checkout with real payments before launch. Fixing those after customers arrive costs more than doing them once, properly.

Want a second opinion on your store budget?

Free setup cost review. Get in touch or email hello@exactwhy.com with the subject "Store Setup Cost Review" and your store URL or launch plan. Tell us your product count, expected monthly orders and your prepaid and COD mix. We reply within 4 hours with a line by line view of your running costs and the setup items you can skip at launch.

If you go ahead. We set up your Shopify store on the right plan, configure your theme, payment gateway, GST and shipping, install only the apps you need, and test checkout end to end before launch.