Quick Answer
Razorpay, PayU and Cashfree are the three leading payment gateways for Indian online stores, and all charge roughly 2% per transaction. Razorpay wins on ease of onboarding and developer experience; PayU and Cashfree are strong on settlement and enterprise features. The per-transaction cost is similar — so pick the one you can onboard fastest and that your store platform supports. HOD Media connects to all three, and you can push customers to UPI/prepaid to cut both fees and RTO.
The three gateways at a glance
Razorpay
The most widely used gateway for Indian startups and SMBs. Fast onboarding, clean dashboard, excellent developer docs, and broad payment-method support (UPI, cards, net-banking, wallets, EMI). Standard pricing is ~2% per transaction. Great default choice if you want to be live quickly.
PayU
A long-established gateway with strong success rates and good support for recurring payments and enterprise needs. Pricing is comparable (~2%). A solid pick if you value settlement reliability and a mature feature set.
Cashfree
Known for fast settlements (including same-day options on some plans), payouts, and a developer-friendly API. Pricing is again in the ~2% range. Good if quick access to your money matters or you also need payouts.
What actually matters when choosing
- Onboarding speed & KYC — can you get approved with your documents quickly?
- Settlement time — T+1 to T+3 typically; faster is better for cash flow.
- Success rate — fewer failed payments = more completed orders.
- UPI support & cost — UPI is your cheapest method; make it the default.
- Platform integration — your store should connect with a simple key paste, not custom code.
Don't forget COD
Cash on Delivery still drives a big share of Indian orders. It has no gateway fee, but it adds COD-remittance charges from your courier and a much higher RTO (return-to-origin) rate. The best setup is to offer COD and nudge buyers toward prepaid/UPI — for example with a small discount on prepaid, or a partial advance on COD (collect a token amount online) to filter out fake orders. HOD Media supports partial-advance COD out of the box.
How to connect a gateway to your store
- Sign up with Razorpay/PayU/Cashfree and complete KYC.
- Generate your API key + secret from their dashboard.
- Paste them into your store's payment settings (on HOD Media: Settings → Payments).
- Enable UPI, cards and COD, and run a ₹1 test order.
Bottom line: the gateway choice is rarely the thing that makes or breaks your store. Pick one, get live, push UPI/prepaid, and keep COD with a partial advance to protect your margins.
Which is the best payment gateway for an online store in India?
All three major gateways — Razorpay, PayU and Cashfree — are reliable and charge roughly 2% per transaction. Razorpay is the most popular for ease of onboarding and developer experience; PayU and Cashfree are strong on settlement speed and enterprise features. For most Indian stores, pick whichever you can onboard fastest and integrate with your store platform — the per-transaction cost is similar.
What are payment gateway charges in India?
Typically around 2% per successful transaction for cards and UPI (UPI is often cheaper or zero on some plans), deducted automatically from each payment. There may be small setup or annual fees on some plans. COD has no gateway fee but adds courier COD-remittance charges and higher return risk.
Is UPI cheaper than cards for my store?
Usually yes. UPI MDR is very low (and sometimes nil for small-value person-to-merchant transactions), so encouraging UPI/prepaid over cards or COD reduces your effective payment cost and your RTO. Showing UPI as the default option at checkout helps.
How long does it take to start accepting payments?
Onboarding takes from a few hours to a couple of days, depending on KYC and document verification (PAN, bank, business proof). Once approved, you get API keys and connect them to your store. On HOD Media you paste your gateway keys in settings and you're live.
Do I need a registered business to use a payment gateway?
You can often start as an individual/sole proprietor with PAN and a bank account, but a registered business and GST help with higher limits and smoother KYC. Requirements vary by gateway and risk category — check the latest onboarding docs.