{"id":27981,"date":"2026-09-30T18:54:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:24:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/blog\/?p=27981"},"modified":"2026-09-30T18:54:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:24:41","slug":"cheapest-payment-gateway-for-businesses-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/cheapest-payment-gateway-for-businesses-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Which Is the Cheapest Payment Gateway for Businesses in India? A 2026 Comparison With Real Numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The cheapest payment gateway for businesses in India in 2026 depends on your monthly transaction volume, payment method mix, and business type. For new businesses, Razorpay offers the lowest entry cost with a <a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/terms\/90-day-free-pg-offer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">0% platform fee for the first 90 days<\/a> on up to Rs 5 lakh in cumulative domestic transactions. There is no setup fee, no annual maintenance charge, and no lock-in. For established businesses processing above Rs 5 lakh per month, the cheapest gateway is determined by total cost of ownership, not headline transaction rates alone.<\/p>\n<p>This guide breaks down what payment gateway charges actually include in 2026, shows you how to calculate the real cost for your specific business, and explains why the gateway with the lowest advertised percentage is often not the cheapest option once you account for all the costs.<\/p>\n<div style=\"border-left: 4px solid #007BFF; background: #f0f8ff; padding: 25px; margin: 30px 0; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;\">\n<h3 style=\"margin-top: 0; color: #007bff; font-size: 22px;\">Key Takeaways<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Razorpay charges 2% per domestic transaction with zero setup fee, zero annual maintenance, and no lock-in.<\/strong>\u00a0New merchants get\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/terms\/90-day-free-pg-offer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">0% platform fees for 90 days<\/a>\u00a0or Rs 5 lakh in cumulative GMV, whichever comes first.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The 0% offer includes the full technology stack from day one.<\/strong>\u00a0Smart routing, intelligent retries, 100+ payment methods,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/payment-links\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Payment Links<\/a>, Payment Pages, Invoices, card tokenization, and fraud screening are all active during the offer at no extra charge. There is no lite version during the promotional period.<\/li>\n<li><strong>At Rs 10 lakh monthly GMV, one percentage point of payment success rate is worth Rs 10,000 in captured revenue.<\/strong>\u00a0A 0.05% MDR difference at the same volume is worth Rs 590. Success rate is roughly 17 times more valuable than headline MDR for businesses under Rs 25 lakh monthly GMV.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Some providers revoke the 0% offer if credit cards exceed 60% of your GMV.<\/strong>\u00a0Razorpay&#8217;s threshold is 90%, which means virtually no business loses the offer under normal operations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Razorpay is the only Indian payment gateway that also offers business banking, payroll, lending, and POS under the same account.<\/strong>\u00a0You start with payments during the 0% offer, and the rest of the stack is there when you need it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2 aria-level=\"5\">Cheapest Payment Gateway by Business Type in India<\/h2>\n<p>The cheapest payment gateway varies based on your business stage, monthly volume, and payment mix. Here is how costs break down across different business profiles in 2026.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Business Type<\/th>\n<th>Monthly GMV<\/th>\n<th>What Makes It Cheapest<\/th>\n<th>Approximate Annual Cost<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>New business (first 90 days)<\/td>\n<td>Under Rs 5 lakh cumulative<\/td>\n<td>Razorpay&#8217;s 0% welcome offer gives you zero platform fees, zero setup, zero AMC, and the full technology stack from day one<\/td>\n<td>Rs 0 during the offer period<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Startup or small business<\/td>\n<td>Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh<\/td>\n<td>A zero-AMC gateway eliminates the fixed-cost trap. At this volume, 2% with zero AMC is cheaper per year than 1.8% with Rs 4,999 AMC<\/td>\n<td>Rs 12,000 to Rs 48,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Growing D2C or e-commerce brand<\/td>\n<td>Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh<\/td>\n<td>Depends on your UPI-to-card split and your payment success rate. Negotiate split pricing if your UPI share is above 50%<\/td>\n<td>Varies<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>High-volume enterprise<\/td>\n<td>Rs 1 crore and above<\/td>\n<td>Custom pricing. Razorpay offers custom rates starting at Rs 5 lakh per month<\/td>\n<td>Negotiated<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Freelancer or solopreneur<\/td>\n<td>Under Rs 50,000<\/td>\n<td>Pay-per-transaction with zero fixed costs<\/td>\n<td>Under Rs 12,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>SaaS or subscription business<\/td>\n<td>Varies<\/td>\n<td>UPI Autopay, card tokenization, and subscription billing included without extra charges.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/subscriptions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Razorpay Subscriptions<\/a>\u00a0includes these in the standard fee<\/td>\n<td>Varies<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Pro Tip:<\/strong> The cheapest option changes as your business grows. Start with a zero-AMC gateway during the early months, negotiate custom pricing once you cross Rs 5 lakh per month, and re-evaluate your total cost annually.<\/p>\n<h2 aria-level=\"5\">How Razorpay&#8217;s 0% Welcome Offer Works for New Businesses<\/h2>\n<p>If you are starting a new business in India in 2026, the single cheapest way to accept payments is to use Razorpay&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/terms\/90-day-free-pg-offer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">0% platform fee welcome offer<\/a>. Here is exactly how it works.<\/p>\n<p>Razorpay&#8217;s standard 2% domestic platform fee is waived entirely for the first 90 days from account activation, or until you process Rs 5 lakh in cumulative domestic transaction value, whichever comes first. The waiver is applied automatically as Amount Credits the moment you complete KYC and your account is activated. There is no promo code to enter and no request to submit.<\/p>\n<h3 aria-level=\"6\">What Is Included During the 0% Period<\/h3>\n<p>During the 0% period, you get access to the same technology stack that Razorpay provides on its standard paid plan. There is no lite version and no feature restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>From day one of the offer, you get:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Smart routing and intelligent retries<\/strong>\u00a0across multiple acquiring banks, automatically rerouting failed payments in real time.<\/li>\n<li><strong>100+ payment methods<\/strong>\u00a0including UPI across 50+ apps, domestic Visa, Mastercard, and RuPay cards, net banking across 70+ banks, and wallets.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/payment-links\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Payment Links<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0for collecting payments via WhatsApp, email, or SMS without a website.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Payment Pages<\/strong>\u00a0for building branded checkout pages without writing code.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/invoices\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Invoices<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0with GST-compliant billing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>QR Codes<\/strong>\u00a0for in-store and event payments.<\/li>\n<li><strong>RBI-compliant card tokenization<\/strong>\u00a0through Razorpay TokenHQ.<\/li>\n<li><strong>PCI DSS Level 1-compliant<\/strong>\u00a0security and built-in fraud screening on every transaction.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Some promotional offers in the market restrict you to basic payment processing during the free period. With Razorpay, the full infrastructure is active from transaction one.<\/p>\n<h3 aria-level=\"6\">Eligibility and Exclusions<\/h3>\n<p>The offer is available to new merchants who complete KYC and receive account activation on or after 1 July 2026. It is limited to one redemption per PAN or bank account.<\/p>\n<p>Five payment categories are excluded from the 0% benefit and are charged at standard rates from day one: Prepaid Cards, Corporate Credit Cards, American Express (AMEX) Cards, Diners Club Cards, and all EMI-based payment methods.<\/p>\n<p>These exclusions are standard across most payment gateway promotional offers in India. The difference is in how many additional exclusions other offers carry. Some 0% offers in the market exclude nine or more payment categories, including Pay Later, subscription mandates, e-mandate transactions, and any method where the standard MDR exceeds 3%.<\/p>\n<p>GST and other statutory levies on platform fees continue to apply during the offer period. A one-time KYC processing fee of Rs 199 plus applicable taxes may also apply.<\/p>\n<h3 aria-level=\"6\">The Credit Card Threshold<\/h3>\n<p>This is the detail that matters most for D2C brands, travel companies, and education platforms. Some 0% offers in the market are revoked if credit card transactions exceed 60% of your total processed volume. If your business naturally runs at 65% or 70% credit card share, you lose the offer entirely and may face standard charges applied retroactively.<\/p>\n<p>Razorpay&#8217;s credit card threshold is set at 90%. In practical terms, virtually no business operating under normal conditions will trigger this.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Did You Know:<\/strong> A larger GMV cap sounds better on paper. But if that larger cap comes with 9+ payment method exclusions and a 60% credit card threshold, a significant portion of your real transactions may not be covered. A smaller cap with only 5 exclusions and a 90% threshold often covers a higher percentage of your actual revenue during the offer period.<\/p>\n<h2 aria-level=\"5\">What Goes Into Payment Gateway Charges: The 7 Costs That Determine the Cheapest Option<\/h2>\n<p>Most merchants compare payment gateways by looking at one number: the headline transaction rate. A gateway advertising 1.8% looks cheaper than one charging 2.0%. But that comparison ignores six other costs that frequently outweigh the rate difference.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Cost Component<\/th>\n<th>Typical Range in India (2026)<\/th>\n<th>Razorpay<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Domestic platform fee<\/td>\n<td>1.90% to 2.00%<\/td>\n<td>2% (0% for first 90 days)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>GST on platform fees<\/td>\n<td>18% (adds ~0.35% to effective rate)<\/td>\n<td>18%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Setup fee<\/td>\n<td>Rs 0 to Rs 30,000<\/td>\n<td>Rs 0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Annual maintenance charge<\/td>\n<td>Rs 0 to Rs 9,999 per year<\/td>\n<td>Rs 0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>UPI MDR<\/td>\n<td>0% (government mandate across all gateways)<\/td>\n<td>0%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Instant settlement<\/td>\n<td>0.20% to 0.50% per transaction<\/td>\n<td>0.20% to 0.30%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>EMI, corporate cards, AMEX, Diners<\/td>\n<td>3% and above<\/td>\n<td>3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>International cards<\/td>\n<td>2.95% to 3.50%<\/td>\n<td>3% plus FX charges<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Refund MDR<\/td>\n<td>Retained as standard industry practice<\/td>\n<td>Retained<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>The single biggest cost most merchants miss is <strong>payment success rate<\/strong>. When a customer taps &#8220;Pay&#8221; and the transaction fails because of a bank timeout, a dropped authentication flow, or a routing issue, that order value disappears from your revenue.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Success Rate<\/th>\n<th>Revenue Captured (on Rs 10L attempted)<\/th>\n<th>Revenue Lost<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>70%<\/td>\n<td>Rs 7,00,000<\/td>\n<td>Rs 3,00,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>85%<\/td>\n<td>Rs 8,50,000<\/td>\n<td>Rs 1,50,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>93%<\/td>\n<td>Rs 9,30,000<\/td>\n<td>Rs 70,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>The difference between 70% and 85% success rate on Rs 10 lakh attempted GMV is Rs 1,50,000 per month in captured revenue. The TDR difference between 1.95% and 2.00% on that same volume is Rs 500 per month. The success rate gap is worth 300 times the TDR gap.<\/p>\n<p>Razorpay&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/optimizer-intelligent-payments-routing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">smart routing infrastructure<\/a> dynamically routes each transaction through the bank terminal with the highest real-time success probability, and it is active from day one of the 0% offer at no extra charge.<\/p>\n<p><em>Success rates are based on internal average data and may vary by industry and payment mix.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2 aria-level=\"5\">How to Calculate the Actual Cheapest Payment Gateway for Your Business<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Step 1:<\/strong> Start with your monthly attempted GMV, including failed checkout attempts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 2:<\/strong> Apply the gateway&#8217;s success rate to get your captured GMV.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 3:<\/strong> Calculate transaction fees on captured GMV. Multiply by TDR, then by 1.18 for GST.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 4:<\/strong> Add fixed costs. Divide AMC by 12 for the monthly cost. At Razorpay, AMC and setup are both zero.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 5:<\/strong> Calculate your failure cost. Multiply attempted GMV by (1 minus success rate) and by your net margin.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 6:<\/strong> Add settlement costs if you use instant settlement.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 7:<\/strong> Compare net revenue retained. The gateway where you keep the most money after every cost is the cheapest.<\/p>\n<h3 aria-level=\"6\">Worked Example: Rs 10 Lakh Monthly Volume<\/h3>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Cost Component<\/th>\n<th>Gateway at 1.8%, Rs 5K AMC, 72% Success<\/th>\n<th>Razorpay at 2%, Zero AMC, 85% Success<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Revenue captured<\/td>\n<td>Rs 7,20,000<\/td>\n<td>Rs 8,50,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Revenue lost to failures<\/td>\n<td>Rs 2,80,000<\/td>\n<td>Rs 1,50,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Monthly TDR cost (including GST)<\/td>\n<td>Rs 15,293<\/td>\n<td>Rs 20,060<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Monthly AMC<\/td>\n<td>Rs 417<\/td>\n<td>Rs 0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Net revenue after all costs<\/td>\n<td>Rs 7,04,290<\/td>\n<td>Rs 8,29,940<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Monthly advantage<\/td>\n<td>Baseline<\/td>\n<td>Rs 1,25,650 more revenue<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Over 12 months, that is over Rs 15 lakh in additional captured revenue.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Did You Know:<\/strong> At Rs 10 lakh monthly GMV, one percentage point of higher payment success rate captures Rs 10,000 in additional revenue. A 0.05% difference in TDR at the same volume is worth Rs 590. Success rate is roughly 17 times more valuable than headline TDR for businesses processing under Rs 25 lakh per month.<\/p>\n<h2 aria-level=\"5\">The UPI Advantage: How to Get Your Effective Rate Below 1%<\/h2>\n<p>UPI transactions have historically carried zero MDR for merchant payments, making UPI the most cost-effective payment method for Indian businesses. However, the UPI pricing landscape is changing.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What has changed<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>NPCI announced on 15 September 2026 that a 0.4% MDR will apply on person-to-merchant (P2M) UPI transactions above Rs 2,000, effective 15 October 2026. For transactions of Rs 75,000 and above, the MDR is capped at Rs 300 per transaction. Payments to select categories like railways, telecom, insurance, and fuel will carry a flat fee of Rs 5 instead of the percentage-based MDR.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What remains free<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Small merchants receiving up to Rs 1,00,000 per month through UPI QR code payments are exempt from MDR. QR code transactions in rural and semi-urban areas also remain free. Person-to-person (P2P) UPI transfers are not affected.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What this means for your payment gateway costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Even with the new 0.4% MDR on larger transactions, UPI remains significantly cheaper than card payments (which carry 1.9% to 2.0% plus GST at most gateways). The introduction of MDR does not change the fundamental math. UPI-heavy businesses will still have a lower blended payment cost than card-heavy businesses.<\/p>\n<p>Most payment gateways charge a flat platform fee (typically around 2%) across all payment methods, including UPI. The way to reduce your effective cost is to negotiate split pricing with your gateway. Instead of a flat 2% across all methods, negotiate a structure where card transactions are charged at the standard rate, and UPI transactions are charged at a lower rate that reflects the reduced interchange cost.<\/p>\n<p>Once you have split pricing in place, maximise your UPI share by placing UPI as the first payment option in your checkout flow, showing UPI app intent links directly on mobile, using UPI Autopay through <a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/subscriptions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Razorpay Subscriptions<\/a> for recurring billing, and using UPI payment links for B2B invoicing.<\/p>\n<p>At 70% UPI share with favourable split pricing, your blended effective rate can still drop well below what you would pay on an all-card payment mix. On Rs 10 lakh monthly volume, optimising your payment method mix can save you thousands every month simply by rearranging your checkout flow and negotiating smarter.<\/p>\n<h2 aria-level=\"5\">What Happens After the 0% Offer Ends<\/h2>\n<p>After the 90-day period expires or the Rs 5 lakh cap is exhausted, standard pricing applies: 2% per successful domestic transaction plus 18% GST. Setup fee remains Rs 0. AMC remains Rs 0, always. There is no lock-in and no exit fee. Everything you had during the 0% period continues at the standard rate with no feature downgrade.<\/p>\n<p>For businesses processing above Rs 5 lakh per month, Razorpay offers custom enterprise pricing. At Rs 1 crore monthly volume, negotiated rates on card transactions can reach 1.4% to 1.6% depending on your payment mix and business category.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pro Tip:<\/strong> During your 90-day 0% window, track your actual payment success rate, UPI versus card split, average order value, and refund rate. These four numbers give you the leverage to negotiate the best possible post-offer pricing.<\/p>\n<h2 aria-level=\"5\">Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<h3 aria-level=\"6\">Which is the cheapest payment gateway for businesses in India in 2026?<\/h3>\n<p>For new businesses, Razorpay offers the lowest entry cost with a 0% platform fee for the first 90 days, covering up to Rs 5 lakh in cumulative domestic transaction value. No setup fee, no AMC, and the full technology stack is included from day one. For established businesses, the cheapest gateway depends on total cost of ownership, including success rates, fixed fees, and settlement charges, not just the headline TDR rate.<\/p>\n<h3 aria-level=\"6\">Does Razorpay offer a free payment gateway for new businesses?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes. Razorpay&#8217;s welcome offer gives new merchants 0% platform fees for 90 days from account activation, covering up to Rs 5 lakh in cumulative domestic transactions. Amount Credits are applied automatically after KYC. No promo code is needed. The offer includes smart routing, 100+ payment methods, Payment Links, Invoices, and fraud screening.<\/p>\n<h3 aria-level=\"6\">Are UPI transactions really free on all payment gateways in India?<\/h3>\n<p>UPI has zero MDR as per NPCI guidelines. However, most gateways charge a flat platform fee across all methods, including UPI. To benefit from UPI&#8217;s zero MDR, negotiate split pricing with your gateway. With 70% UPI share and split pricing, your blended effective rate can drop below 1%.<\/p>\n<h3 aria-level=\"6\">What hidden charges do payment gateways have in India?<\/h3>\n<p>Common charges not always visible on the pricing page include annual maintenance fees (Rs 1,200 to Rs 9,999 per year), setup fees (Rs 5,000 to Rs 30,000), instant settlement surcharges, and separate charges for payment links or invoicing. Razorpay charges zero setup, zero AMC, and includes Payment Links, Payment Pages, Invoices, and QR Codes at no extra cost.<\/p>\n<h3 aria-level=\"6\">Which payment gateway is cheapest for Shopify stores in India?<\/h3>\n<p>Total payment cost for Shopify includes both the gateway fee and Shopify&#8217;s own third-party transaction fee (2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced). Razorpay offers a dedicated <a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/integrations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shopify plugin<\/a> with zero setup, zero AMC, and the 0% welcome offer for new merchants. Since Shopify&#8217;s surcharge applies regardless of gateway, the differentiator is success rate and post-offer pricing.<\/p>\n<h3 aria-level=\"6\">How do I calculate the actual cheapest payment gateway for my business?<\/h3>\n<p>Total monthly cost equals (Successful GMV multiplied by TDR multiplied by 1.18 for GST) plus (AMC divided by 12) plus (Attempted GMV multiplied by failure rate multiplied by your net margin). The gateway with the lowest total cost and highest net revenue retained is the cheapest for your business.<\/p>\n<h3 aria-level=\"6\">Is Razorpay cheaper than other payment gateways in India?<\/h3>\n<p>Razorpay charges 2% per domestic transaction with zero setup fee, zero AMC, and no lock-in. At Rs 3 lakh monthly GMV, Razorpay at 2% with zero AMC costs Rs 72,000 per year. A gateway charging 1.8% with Rs 4,999 AMC costs Rs 74,300 per year. The lower headline rate ends up costing more when fixed fees are factored in.<br \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n  \"mainEntity\": [\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"Which is the cheapest payment gateway for businesses in India in 2026?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"For new businesses, Razorpay offers the lowest entry cost with a 0% platform fee for the first 90 days, covering up to Rs 5 lakh in cumulative domestic transaction value. No setup fee, no AMC, and the full technology stack is included from day one. For established businesses, the cheapest gateway depends on total cost of ownership, including success rates, fixed fees, and settlement charges, not just the headline TDR rate.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"Does Razorpay offer a free payment gateway for new businesses?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"Yes. Razorpay's welcome offer gives new merchants 0% platform fees for 90 days from account activation, covering up to Rs 5 lakh in cumulative domestic transactions. Amount Credits are applied automatically after KYC. No promo code is needed. The offer includes smart routing, 100+ payment methods, Payment Links, Invoices, and fraud screening.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"Are UPI transactions really free on all payment gateways in India?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"UPI has zero MDR as per NPCI guidelines. However, most gateways charge a flat platform fee across all methods including UPI. To benefit from UPI's zero MDR, negotiate split pricing with your gateway. With 70% UPI share and split pricing, your blended effective rate can drop below 1%.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"What hidden charges do payment gateways have in India?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"Common charges not always visible on the pricing page include annual maintenance fees (Rs 1,200 to Rs 9,999 per year), setup fees (Rs 5,000 to Rs 30,000), instant settlement surcharges, and separate charges for payment links or invoicing. Razorpay charges zero setup, zero AMC, and includes Payment Links, Payment Pages, Invoices, and QR Codes at no extra cost.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"Which payment gateway is cheapest for Shopify stores in India?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"Total payment cost for Shopify includes both the gateway fee and Shopify's own third-party transaction fee (2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced). Razorpay offers a dedicated Shopify plugin with zero setup, zero AMC, and the 0% welcome offer for new merchants. Since Shopify's surcharge applies regardless of gateway, the differentiator is success rate and post-offer pricing.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"How do I calculate the actual cheapest payment gateway for my business?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"Total monthly cost equals (Successful GMV multiplied by TDR multiplied by 1.18 for GST) plus (AMC divided by 12) plus (Attempted GMV multiplied by failure rate multiplied by your net margin). The gateway with the lowest total cost and highest net revenue retained is the cheapest for your business.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"Is Razorpay cheaper than other payment gateways in India?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"Razorpay charges 2% per domestic transaction with zero setup fee, zero AMC, and no lock-in. At Rs 3 lakh monthly GMV, Razorpay at 2% with zero AMC costs Rs 72,000 per year. A gateway charging 1.8% with Rs 4,999 AMC costs Rs 74,300 per year. The lower headline rate ends up costing more when fixed fees are factored in.\"\n      }\n    }\n  ]\n}\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The cheapest payment gateway for businesses in India in 2026 depends on your monthly transaction volume, payment method mix, and business type. For new businesses, Razorpay offers the lowest entry cost with a 0% platform fee for the first 90 days on up to Rs 5 lakh in cumulative domestic transactions. There is no setup<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":180,"featured_media":27987,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[906],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-27981","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-payment-gateway"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/180"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27981"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27988,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27981\/revisions\/27988"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}