Payments · Comparison
Razorpay vs Stripe vs PayPal vs Cashfree
Four gateways that often come up together. Two are built for selling inside India, one is a global platform with limited sign-up in India, and one is mainly used for payments that cross borders.
4 options · 9 questions side by side · updated
| Compare | Razorpay | Stripe | PayPal | Cashfree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Indian gateway with banking extras | Global payments platform with rich APIs | Global wallet and checkout | Indian gateway known for payouts |
| Best for | Indian businesses selling in India | Businesses based outside India | Getting paid by clients abroad | Indian marketplaces paying many vendors |
| Signing up from India | Open, with KYC | Invite only since May 2024 | Open, for international payments only | Open, with KYC |
| Domestic fee in India | About 2% + GST on most methods | About 2% on Indian cards | No domestic payments in India | About 1.95% + GST on most methods |
| International cards | About 3% + GST | About 3%, plus 2% if converted | About 4.4% + fixed fee, plus conversion | About 2.99% + GST |
| UPI | Yes, including Autopay | Supported since 2026 | Not offered | Yes, including Autopay |
| Setup and yearly fees | None on the standard plan | None | None | None |
| Settlement | T+2 working days; instant for a fee | Rolling payouts; timing varies by country | Withdrawn to an Indian bank in rupees | T+2 working days; instant for a fee |
| Watch out for | 3% on Amex, corporate cards and EMI | Hard to get an Indian account | Conversion adds about 3% | EMI, Pay Later and international cost more |
How to choose between Razorpay, Stripe, PayPal and Cashfree
- Pick Razorpay or Cashfree for a business in India selling to Indian customers, since both handle UPI, cards and netbanking with standard KYC.
- Pick Cashfree when paying out to many vendors or partners matters as much as collecting money.
- Pick Stripe when the business is registered outside India, or already holds an invitation, and needs subscriptions or marketplace payouts.
- Pick PayPal to get paid by clients abroad who already use it, and budget for the conversion cost.
The options
- RazorpayAn Indian payment gateway that lets a business accept UPI, cards, netbanking, wallets and EMI through one checkout, with the money settled to an Indian bank account.
- StripeA global payments platform known for its developer-friendly APIs, used to accept cards and local payment methods and to run subscriptions in dozens of countries.
- PayPalA global digital wallet and checkout that lets buyers pay with a PayPal account or a card, widely used for paying businesses in other countries.
- CashfreeAn Indian payment gateway that accepts UPI, cards, netbanking and wallets, and is also known for bulk payouts to bank accounts and UPI IDs.
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