The Indian SaaS Payment Problem
Indian SaaS companies often face a split decision: Indian customers prefer Indian payment methods (UPI, net banking, wallets), but global customers expect cards and international payment flows. Getting this right early prevents painful migrations later.
Razorpay β The Indian Default
Best for: Indian customers, Indian businesses, INR billing.
Razorpay handles the full Indian payment stack β UPI, net banking, wallets, cards, EMI, BNPL. Subscriptions and recurring billing work well for SaaS use cases.
Pricing: 2% per transaction (no monthly fee). Slightly higher for international cards.
Strengths: Best-in-class Indian payment method coverage. Clean API. Good webhook reliability. Strong subscription management.
Weaknesses: International card acceptance isn't as smooth as Stripe. Limited support for multi-currency billing.
Use Razorpay when: Your primary customer base is Indian, you bill in INR, and you need UPI support.
Stripe β For Global-First SaaS
Best for: Global customers, USD billing, international expansion.
Stripe has the cleanest developer experience of any payment gateway globally. Subscriptions (Stripe Billing) are powerful and flexible. The dashboard is excellent.
Pricing: 2.9% + $0.30 per card transaction. Additional fees for Indian cards.
Strengths: Best developer experience. Strongest subscription management. Available in 46 countries. Excellent fraud detection.
Weaknesses: No UPI support. Limited reach for Indian payment methods. Requires Indian entity registered with Stripe India for INR billing.
Use Stripe when: You're targeting international customers, billing in USD, and your Indian customers are comfortable with cards.
Cashfree β The Underrated Option
Best for: High-volume Indian transactions, marketplaces, payouts.
Cashfree is strong on payouts (paying out to vendors or users) and has competitive pricing for high-volume businesses. API is clean. Supports UPI, cards, net banking.
Pricing: Starts at 1.75% for domestic cards β cheaper than Razorpay at scale.
Use Cashfree when: You need both payment collection and payouts (marketplace model), or you're processing high volume and need lower rates.
Paddle β For SaaS Simplicity
Best for: SaaS companies that want tax compliance handled automatically.
Paddle is a Merchant of Record β they handle VAT, GST, and sales tax globally so you don't have to. This is enormously valuable if you're selling to customers in multiple countries.
Pricing: 5% + $0.50 per transaction β higher than others but includes global tax compliance.
Use Paddle when: You're selling globally and don't want to deal with international tax complexity. The 5% is often cheaper than hiring a tax consultant.
The Split Stack Approach
Many Indian SaaS companies run two gateways: Razorpay for Indian customers (INR), Stripe or Paddle for international customers (USD/EUR). This gives each segment the best checkout experience.
Implementation: detect customer location at checkout and show the appropriate gateway. Slightly more complex but higher conversion.
What to Evaluate
- Where are your customers? India vs. global determines which gateway is primary
- How do you bill? One-time vs. subscription affects which gateway handles it best
- Do you need payouts? (marketplaces need Cashfree or Razorpay Route)
- What's your volume? Higher volume justifies negotiating custom rates
- Do you need tax handling? If global, consider Paddle
Don't over-engineer this early. Pick Razorpay for Indian-first, Stripe for global-first. You can always add a second gateway later.
