Best ecommerce website builder in India (2026)
The best builder for an Indian seller is not the one with the longest feature list. It is the one that already speaks UPI, cash on delivery, WhatsApp and Indian couriers, at a price that makes sense before your first order. Eight options, ranked and compared on what decides it here.
By Manan Agrawal, Founder · Updated September 30, 2026
45 live customer stores
Every store here is live and taking orders · read the SitesPlaced reviews from their owners
Real sellers on SitesPlaced
sitesplaced.official@thehouseofurmila
The House of Urmila · Jewellery
Testimonial video · July 22, 2026
View on Instagramsitesplaced.official@talkingtails_
The Pet Journal · Pet products
Testimonial video · August 11, 2026
View on Instagramsitesplaced.official@surroor_house
Surroor House · Clothing store
Store launch · August 13, 2026
View on InstagramMore ratings and press coverage — read the SitesPlaced reviews
Syndicated across 207 outlets (2.1M+ potential reach)All coverage
SitesPlaced Stores is the best ecommerce website builder in India for most sellers in 2026. It is the only option here where UPI (through your own Razorpay, PhonePe or Cashfree account), cash on delivery, WhatsApp checkout, PDF invoices, coupons and Shiprocket or Shipmozo shipping are all on the ₹0 plan, with unlimited products and 0% commission. Your own domain, the badge removed and store pages that answer about 4× faster cost ₹199/month on Starter. Do not pick SitesPlaced if you need a marketplace’s built-in traffic, pre-orders, delivery slots, gift cards or a returns module: it does not have them.
Real stores, live on SitesPlaced
Not mockups: real sellers running live stores on SitesPlaced with their own domains, UPI and COD. Open any of them in a new tab.
The House of Urmila
A handcrafted jewellery label running its full catalogue on its own domain — UPI & COD checkout built in.
Visit live site
Surroor House
An oversized-tee label running its full catalogue on its own domain — trending designs, sizes and COD checkout.
Visit live site
The Pet Journal
India's first guided journal for pet parents, selling direct from its own domain instead of through DMs.
Visit live siteHow we judged the builders
Every builder was scored on the same eight questions, the ones an Indian seller asks in the first month:
- ✓Cash on delivery. Is COD a switch or an app? Can you add a small COD charge to discourage fake orders?
- ✓UPI. Can a buyer pay by UPI at checkout, through a gateway that pays out to your own bank account?
- ✓WhatsApp. Can a buyer send the order to your WhatsApp as a structured message?
- ✓Couriers. Do Shiprocket, Shipmozo or another Indian aggregator connect without a plugin hunt?
- ✓Commission. What does the platform take from each sale, on top of the gateway’s own fee?
- ✓Your own domain. What does it cost to run the store on yourbrand.com?
- ✓Price. The real monthly bill: plan, apps, theme, gateway fee and, for self-hosted options, hosting and your time.
- ✓Speed. How fast a store page answers on a phone on mobile data, because that is where Indian buyers are.
SitesPlaced facts come from our own pricing page and code as of 30 September 2026. Every fact about another company is from their public pricing page as quoted in our earlier comparisons, with the date we read it. Prices change; check their pricing page before you buy. Where we could not verify something, the table says so instead of guessing.
The best ecommerce website builders in India, ranked
SitesPlaced Stores
Best for most Indian sellersA free store with unlimited products, UPI through your own Razorpay, PhonePe or Cashfree account, cash on delivery, WhatsApp checkout, coupons, PDF invoices, Shiprocket and Shipmozo, and all 16 templates. Starter adds your own domain and pages that answer about 4× faster. No pre-orders, delivery slots or returns module.
Free ₹0 · Starter ₹199/month · Growth ₹499/month · 0% commissionBest for: Instagram, WhatsApp and small-business sellers who want the whole Indian checkout at ₹0.Shopify
Most powerful, least India-nativeThe global leader with the biggest app store. In India the plan is the smallest part of the bill: WhatsApp alerts, Indian couriers and server-side Meta tracking are usually paid apps, and a transaction fee can apply without Shopify Payments.
Basic ₹1,994/month (₹1,499 yearly), Sept 2026, + apps + up to ~2% external gateway feeBest for: Established brands with a team or agency and a monthly budget for apps.Dukaan
Fast catalogue-first storeOne of the quickest ways to put a catalogue online in India, with UPI and COD built in. Catalogue-first and self-serve: every store is the same grid, and your own domain sits on a paid tier.
Free tier + paid plans; custom domain on higher tiersBest for: Sellers who want a simple catalogue live in minutes and do not mind a generic look.WooCommerce (WordPress)
Free software, paid everything elseOpen-source and endlessly customisable. You pick the host, install the plugin, add plugins for payments, couriers and invoices, and keep it all updated and secure yourself. Powerful with a developer; a second job for a solo seller.
Software free; hosting, domain and plugins ~$8–$30/month (June 2026) + your timeBest for: Technical sellers and agencies who want full control and a big blog next to the store.Wix and Squarespace
General website builders with a store add-onBeautiful general-purpose builders that added stores later. Design and blogging are the strengths. Neither was built around UPI, COD, WhatsApp or Indian couriers; check their current India plan page for each.
Entry ~$16–17/month, commerce ~$23–29/month (June 2026)Best for: Content-led brands, studios and cafés that also sell a little.Bikayi
WhatsApp-first catalogueA WhatsApp-first builder that treats the store as a digital catalogue. Quick to set up and fine if a catalogue is all you need, but every business gets the same theme and the paid plans start high for what is included.
Paid plans from around ₹999/month; custom domain on higher tiers (our 2026 comparison)Best for: Sellers who only want the simplest WhatsApp catalogue.Instamojo
Payment links with a storefront attachedIndia's first popular payment-link product, with a storefront added later. Payments are the strength; the store feels like a shop glued onto a gateway, and the gateway's own fee applies on every order.
Storefront plans rise as you add modules; Instamojo Pay charges MDR on topBest for: Sellers who mainly need payment links and an occasional product page.The WhatsApp-first budget builders
WSTORES, Shopexer, StartupInMinutes, Shop2Host, StoreMaker, StoreBase, FlexiCommerceSmaller Indian builders aimed at Instagram and WhatsApp sellers. Some have real free plans; others sell prepaid multi-year deals, cap products on the cheap tier, or charge a commission until a monthly cap. Compared in one table, linked below.
From ₹0 (Shopexer, StartupInMinutes, Shop2Host) to ₹999/month (FlexiCommerce), Aug 2026Best for: Sellers with one specific need: a customer app, a managed setup, a prepaid deal.
1. SitesPlaced Stores: the whole Indian checkout, free
The free plan is a real store, not a trial: unlimited products and orders, UPI, cards and net banking through your own Razorpay, PhonePe or Cashfree account, cash on delivery with an optional COD charge, WhatsApp checkout, coupons, a free-shipping bar, PDF invoices, Shiprocket and Shipmozo, and all 16 store templates, on a free yourbrand.sitesplaced.site address with a small badge. SitesPlaced takes 0% commission; your gateway pays you directly and charges its own standard fee.
Starter, at ₹199/month or ₹1,990/year, adds your own domain, removes the badge, and brings analytics, Meta Pixel with the Conversions API, AI site copy and a dedicated setup person. It also makes store pages answer about 4× faster than on the free plan: measured on 28 September 2026 on live paid stores, a page answered in about 75 ms instead of about 330 ms. That is how fast the page answers before images load, not the full page load; see why paid stores answer 4× faster. Growth, at ₹499/month, adds the sales boosters, product reviews, a loyalty programme, WhatsApp Business API order alerts, 1-click checkouts and done-for-you migration. Code FREE7 gives 7 days free on Starter or Growth when you set up autopay; cancel before the first charge and pay nothing.
Good at
- • UPI, COD, WhatsApp checkout, invoices and couriers on the ₹0 plan, 0% commission
- • 16 free templates laid out by category, and a free importer from Instagram or an existing website
- • A flat delivery charge, free delivery above an amount, an optional COD charge, pause ordering and order limits against spam
- • 45 real customer stores with 1,300+ products on the marquee above
Not good at
- • No marketplace traffic: you bring the buyers
- • No per-product COD, pincode restrictions, delivery slots, pre-orders, returns module, gift cards, manual orders or marketplace sync
- • PDF invoices carry no GST tax column; GST-registered sellers still raise tax invoices from their own billing tool
- • Four templates (Premium, Simple Fashion, Grocery, Astrology) have no quick add on product cards; the merchant app is Android only
2. Shopify: the most powerful, and the most expensive in India
Shopify is a paid, hosted platform with the largest app store in ecommerce, and with a team it can do almost anything. The problem for an Indian seller is what it costs to make it Indian. Shopify’s India pricing page listed Basic at ₹1,994/month billed monthly, or ₹1,499/month billed yearly, in September 2026, after a 3-day trial and an introductory offer. WhatsApp order alerts, Indian courier integrations and server-side Meta tracking are usually separate paid apps, and a transaction fee of up to about 2% can apply without Shopify Payments. Its theme store listed 24 free themes in September 2026, with paid themes at roughly $100 to $420. Prices change; check their pricing page.
Good at
- • Depth: multi-currency, big catalogues, complex inventory, international logistics
- • The largest app ecosystem
- • A large pool of agencies and developers who know it
Not good at
- • Price in India: plan, apps and a possible gateway fee before your first order
- • UPI, COD, WhatsApp and Indian couriers are add-ons, not defaults
- • Overkill for a one-person Instagram shop
More in Shopify alternative for India and what Shopify apps cost versus built-in integrations.
3. Dukaan: the fast catalogue
Dukaan is a catalogue-first store builder popular with Indian sellers, and for a first store it is genuinely quick. It has a free tier plus paid plans, with advanced features and your own domain often on the higher tiers. The trade-off is that every store is the same grid, so a jewellery brand and a grocery shop look alike, and nobody sets it up with you.
Good at
- • Speed to a first catalogue
- • UPI and COD built in
- • Familiar to Indian sellers and buyers
Not good at
- • Brand-fit design: one look for every category
- • Your own domain and advanced features on paid tiers
- • Self-serve only
4. WooCommerce: free software, paid everything else
WooCommerce is the store plugin for WordPress. The software costs nothing, but a store needs a host, a domain, a theme and plugins for payments, couriers, invoices, backups and speed. Our June 2026 comparison put realistic hosting, domain and a couple of premium plugins at around $8 to $30 a month, and the hidden cost is your time: updates, security and plugin conflicts are yours.
Good at
- • Total control and ownership of the code
- • A big blog next to the store
- • Any feature, if you can find or build the plugin
Not good at
- • Maintenance: hosting, updates and security are your job
- • Speed depends on your host and plugin count
- • Slow to set up for a non-technical seller
WordPress vs Shopify for a small store weighs it against the hosted option.
5. Wix and Squarespace: designers first, stores second
Wix and Squarespace are general website builders with a store bolted on, and both are very good at the website part: Squarespace for designer templates, Wix for drag-and-drop. In our June 2026 comparison their entry plans were around $16 to $17 a month and their commerce plans around $23 to $29, billed in dollars. Neither was built around Indian buying habits, so check their current India plan page for UPI, cash on delivery, WhatsApp ordering and Indian couriers.
Good at
- • Design and typography
- • Blogs, portfolios and service pages alongside a small shop
- • Polished editors
Not good at
- • Indian checkout: nothing about UPI, COD or WhatsApp is a default
- • Dollar pricing for a rupee business
- • Commerce plans cost more than the whole SitesPlaced ladder
6. Bikayi: the WhatsApp catalogue
Bikayi builds WhatsApp-first stores and treats the store as a digital catalogue. If a catalogue is all you need, it is fine. Our 2026 comparison found paid plans starting around ₹999/month, your own domain gated to higher tiers, and the same catalogue-style theme for every business. It is self-serve, so setup speed depends on you.
Good at
- • The simplest WhatsApp catalogue with the least friction
- • Sellers who never want a real website
Not good at
- • Brand polish: one theme for everyone
- • Price for what is included
- • Your own domain on higher tiers
Head-to-head: SitesPlaced Stores vs Bikayi.
7. Instamojo: payment links with a shop attached
Instamojo built India’s first popular payment-link product and added a storefront later. Payments are its strength. The storefront works, but it feels like a shop glued onto a gateway: plans go up as you add modules, and Instamojo Pay charges its MDR on every order. Good for a seller who mostly needs a link to collect money; the wrong starting point for a seller who needs a store.
Good at
- • Payment links and one-off collections
- • A known name for Indian buyers
Not good at
- • A store that looks like a brand
- • Cost as modules add up, plus gateway MDR
Head-to-head: SitesPlaced Stores vs Instamojo.
8. The WhatsApp-first budget builders
Below the big names sits a crowd of smaller Indian builders aimed at Instagram and WhatsApp sellers. We read all seven pricing pages in August 2026. Shopexer, StartupInMinutes and Shop2Host listed real free plans (Shop2Host caps free stores at ten products, StartupInMinutes at three images per product); WSTORES started at ₹399/month with a 7-day trial that needs a UPI AutoPay mandate; StoreMaker at ₹222/month with a 30-product cap; StoreBase at ₹99/month plus 10% of sales, capped at ₹999/month; FlexiCommerce at ₹999/month, the one to look at if you need a branded customer app or a multi-vendor marketplace. The full table is in eight Indian online store builders compared.
India ecommerce builders compared
| Feature | SitesPlaced | Shopify | Dukaan | WooCommerce | Wix / Squarespace | Bikayi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash on delivery | Yes, free, optional COD charge | Via apps / setup | Yes | Via plugins | Check their plan page | Check their plan page |
| UPI | Yes, via your own Razorpay, PhonePe or Cashfree | Via apps / setup | Yes | Via plugins | Check their plan page | Check their plan page |
| WhatsApp checkout | Yes, free | Via apps | Yes | Via plugins | Not built in | Yes (WhatsApp-first) |
| Couriers | Shiprocket, Shipmozo, Shippo, Rehbar Post, free | Via apps | Available (check plan) | Via plugins | Check their plan page | Not listed in our comparison |
| Commission | 0% | Up to ~2% unless Shopify Payments | Plan-dependent | 0% (you pay hosting) | 0% on their own gateway | Not listed in our comparison |
| Your own domain | Starter, ₹199/month | Paid plans | Higher tiers | You buy and connect it | Paid plans | Higher tiers |
| Starting price | ₹0 | ₹1,994/month (₹1,499 yearly), Sept 2026 | Free tier | ~$8–$30/month all-in, June 2026 | ~$16–29/month, June 2026 | ~₹999/month |
| Page speed | Paid stores: pages answer about 4× faster (75 ms vs 330 ms, measured Sept 2026) | Not measured by us | Not measured by us | Depends on your host | Not measured by us | Not measured by us |
SitesPlaced facts as of 30 September 2026. Other builders' figures are from their public pricing pages as quoted in our earlier comparisons, on the dates shown; 'check their plan page' means we could not verify it and will not guess. Prices exclude taxes and change often; confirm on each pricing page.
A worked example: the first year, in rupees
Take a made-up seller, Priya, who sells hand-painted mugs from Instagram, gets around 40 orders a month and wants her own domain. Round numbers, not a survey.
- ✓SitesPlaced Starter: ₹1,990 for the year (₹199/month paid monthly), plus the domain from a registrar, plus her gateway’s standard fee on each UPI or card payment. Commission: ₹0.
- ✓Shopify Basic: ₹1,499 × 12 = ₹17,988 on the yearly rate listed in September 2026 (₹23,928 paid monthly), plus paid apps for WhatsApp alerts and an Indian courier, plus a possible fee of up to about 2% per payment without Shopify Payments, plus the domain.
- ✓WooCommerce: roughly $8 to $30 a month for hosting, domain and plugins (June 2026 estimate), so somewhere around ₹8,000 to ₹30,000 a year depending on the exchange rate, plus the evenings spent on updates.
Shopify is not bad. But at Priya’s size the plan is the smallest part of the Shopify bill, and everything SitesPlaced includes at ₹0 has to be bought back one app at a time.
Which builder for whom
- ✓You sell from Instagram or WhatsApp and want UPI, COD and WhatsApp orders working today, free: SitesPlaced. Start free, move to Starter when you want your own domain.
- ✓You want a catalogue online in ten minutes and do not care how it looks: Dukaan, or SitesPlaced’s General Store template with the free importer.
- ✓You are an established brand with a team, an agency and a monthly app budget: Shopify.
- ✓You are technical, or have a developer, and want to own every line: WooCommerce.
- ✓Your business is mostly a website or blog that also sells a few things: Wix or Squarespace, after you check their India payment options.
- ✓You only want the simplest WhatsApp catalogue: Bikayi, or SitesPlaced’s free WhatsApp checkout.
- ✓You need a branded customer app or a multi-vendor marketplace: FlexiCommerce; SitesPlaced does not build those.
- ✓You want a marketplace’s built-in shoppers: list bestsellers on Amazon, Flipkart or Meesho for reach and send Instagram and WhatsApp buyers to a store you own; see selling online without marketplace commissions.
- ✓You need pre-orders, delivery slots, pincode checks, gift cards or a returns module: not SitesPlaced, as of September 2026.
See real Indian storefronts
Live SitesPlaced demos across categories. Open them on a phone and clone the closest fit; every template is free.
ClothingClothing Store
Laid out like Jnorss. Edge-to-edge photos, the sizes still in stock on every card, and a save-% tag on anything on sale.
View live demo
BeautyBeauty Store
Laid out like Bella Vita. Bestsellers and New arrivals tabs, a benefit line with star ratings and Add to cart on every card, an offer band, and a bottom menu on phones.
View live demo
JewelleryJewellery Store
Laid out like GIVA. A search box that stays open, two rows of category tiles, shop-by-price tiles, and each finish shown as a photo on the product page.
View live demo
HomeHome & Decor Store
Laid out like Troost. A dark header, a calm product grid, a photo mosaic of your categories, and each rug or print design shown as a photo on the product page.
View live demo
ElectronicsElectronics Store
Laid out like boAt. Categories above the banner, a strip of key specs on each card, and coupon offers laid out on the product page.
View live demo
FoodFood Store
Laid out like The Whole Truth. A giant type headline instead of a banner photo, colourful category cards, and pack sizes right on the product card.
View live demo
FootwearFootwear Store
Laid out like Neeman’s. Big cards with each colour shown as a photo, a square size grid with the size chart on the product page, and a card that works out the price after your best published coupon.
View live demo
GiftsGifts & Lifestyle Store
Laid out like Chumbak. A home page of big stacked category photos, shop by occasion, and a preview of the shopper’s own photo on personalised products.
View live demo
WellnessWellness Store
Laid out like Power Gummies. A colour spotlight panel for every product, shop by concern, benefits as an icon list and pack cards with their own prices on the product page, and a bottom menu on phones.
View live demo
PetPet Store
Laid out like Heads Up For Tails. Shop by pet (All, Dogs, Cats), a discount band and a quick Add on every card, deal tiles worked out from your real prices, and a bottom menu on phones.
View live demo
FurnitureFurniture & Mattress Store
Laid out like The Sleep Company. Call and WhatsApp buttons in the header and on every product page, room tabs that switch the category tiles, sizes listed with their own prices, and a talk-to-us block.
View live demoOur verdict
For the seller this page is written for, the answer is clear. If you sell to Indian customers, mostly from Instagram and WhatsApp, and you want UPI, cash on delivery, WhatsApp checkout, invoices and Indian couriers working out of the box at 0% commission, SitesPlaced Stores is the best ecommerce website builder in India in 2026. The whole Indian checkout is on the free plan, and the paid plans are priced for a small business: ₹199/month for your own domain and pages that answer about 4× faster, ₹499/month for the tools that lift order value.
Choose Shopify if you are a large brand going international with the budget and team to match. Choose Dukaan if you only need a quick catalogue. Choose WooCommerce if you are technical and want total control. Choose Wix or Squarespace if the website matters more than the shop. And do not choose SitesPlaced if your business depends on pre-orders, delivery slots, a returns module or marketplace sync, because it does not have them yet. For everyone else, start free and grow without migrating again. The marquee at the top is 45 real customer stores with more than 1,300 products between them; real websites built with SitesPlaced walks through them.
Razorpay, Shiprocket, Shipmozo, WhatsApp API, Meta CAPI: all built in.
Razorpay, cash on delivery, WhatsApp checkout, Shiprocket and Shipmozo are on the free plan. From ₹199/month (Starter): Meta Pixel + Conversions API, your own domain, branding removal, AI and analytics. The ₹499/month Growth plan adds WhatsApp Business API alerts and the 1-click checkouts, bring your own credentials. No app store, no per-integration fees.
Payments
- Free
UPI, cards, net banking and wallets at checkout. SitesPlaced takes 0% commission; Razorpay's standard gateway fee applies.
razorpay.com - Free
StripeNew
Card, Apple Pay and Google Pay from customers worldwide. Connect your own Stripe account with a restricted key — payments land in your Stripe balance and SitesPlaced takes 0% commission.
stripe.com - Free
PayPalNew
Customers pay with their PayPal balance or a card. Connect your own PayPal app — the money lands in your PayPal balance and SitesPlaced takes 0% commission.
paypal.com - Free
PhonePeNew
UPI, cards, net banking and wallets at checkout on your own PhonePe Business account. Money settles straight to you and SitesPlaced takes 0% commission; PhonePe's standard gateway fee applies.
phonepe.com - Free
CashfreeNew
UPI, cards, net banking, wallets and pay-later at checkout on your own Cashfree account. Money settles straight to you and SitesPlaced takes 0% commission; Cashfree's standard gateway fee applies.
cashfree.com - Free
- Free
COD at checkout with an optional COD charge you set.
- Free
- ₹499
Sell with ShiprocketNew
1-click checkout by Shiprocket — saved addresses, UPI/cards/COD and RTO scoring, without your own payment gateway. Shiprocket collects and settles to you; SitesPlaced takes 0%, Shiprocket charges 2% per order.
shiprocket.in - ₹499
Razorpay Magic CheckoutNew
1-click checkout on your own Razorpay account — saved addresses, UPI/cards/COD in one step, with COD intelligence and RTO protection. Money settles straight to your Razorpay. Can run alongside Shiprocket checkout.
razorpay.com
Shipping
- Free
Push orders to Shiprocket, get AWB numbers back, and show live tracking on your Track Order page.
shiprocket.in - Free
ShippoNew
USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL and Royal Mail labels for US, UK and international orders — around 5¢ a label with no monthly fee, billed to your own Shippo account.
goshippo.com - Free
ShipmozoNew
Courier selection, pickup scheduling and tracking status synced back to each order.
shipmozo.com - Free
Rehbar PostNew
Compare courier rates, book the shipment, print the label and track it back — on your own Rehbar Post account.
rehbarpost.com
Fulfilment
- Free
Qikink
Print-on-demand for India — t-shirts, hoodies and mugs printed and shipped domestically from your own Qikink account.
qikink.com - Free
PrintifyNew
Print-on-demand t-shirts, hoodies, mugs and posters. Link a product to your own Printify catalogue and paid orders are sent for printing automatically — Printify bills your account, we take nothing.
printify.com
Messaging
- ₹499
Every new order sends you an alert and the customer a confirmation, from your own WhatsApp Business number via Meta's Cloud API. Bring your own credentials.
business.whatsapp.com
Marketing
- ₹199+
Meta Pixel + Conversions APINew
Your own Pixel on the storefront plus server-side Purchase events from the order record, deduplicated, so Instagram and Facebook ads report real sales. Bring your own credentials.
facebook.com - ₹499
Import the product reviews you already collected in Judge.me on Shopify or WooCommerce onto your product pages, matched by product name. Bring your own API token; SitesPlaced also collects and moderates its own product reviews on every plan.
judge.me - ₹499
Resend emailNew
Email the subscribers your store collected — a new drop, a reopening — from your own domain through your own Resend account. Bring your own API key; sending, limits and unsubscribes stay on your Resend account.
resend.com - ₹199+
Custom head code
Paste Google Analytics, Clarity or any tag into your live site.
Growth
- ₹199+
yourbrand.com with one-click DNS setup for most Indian registrars.
- Free
Create and edit your store by chatting with your AI assistant.
modelcontextprotocol.io - Free
Bring a catalogue in from Instagram, your existing website, a PDF, dm2buy or Shopexer.
- Free
A public API for your store. A custom website with no backend of its own can read your products, send a shopper to your checkout with a prepared cart, read and update orders, look up tracking and receive webhooks.
- Free
WooCommerceNew
Keep your WooCommerce shop. A plugin copies every order into SitesPlaced, so you get the order dashboard, the mobile app, courier booking and a tracking page. WooCommerce stays in charge of payment, stock and cancellation.
- Free
ShopifyNew
Early access, not open to everyone yet. Keep your Shopify shop and copy its orders into SitesPlaced for the order dashboard, courier booking and a tracking page. Ask us for access.
Build your store with the #1 India pick
Free to build and publish, keep 100% of every sale. UPI, cash on delivery, WhatsApp checkout, invoices and Shiprocket are included on the ₹0 plan. Starter at ₹199/month adds your own domain, removes the badge and makes store pages answer about 4× faster; code FREE7 gives 7 days free on Starter or Growth when you set up autopay.
Build your store →No card needed for the free plan. Import products from Instagram or an existing website in one paste.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best ecommerce website builder in India?
For most Indian sellers in 2026 it is SitesPlaced Stores. The free plan includes unlimited products, UPI through your own Razorpay, PhonePe or Cashfree account, cash on delivery, WhatsApp checkout, coupons, PDF invoices, Shiprocket and Shipmozo, and all 16 templates, at 0% commission. Starter at ₹199/month adds your own domain, removes the badge and makes store pages answer about 4× faster. Shopify is more powerful but costs far more in India once apps are added; Dukaan is the quick catalogue option.
Which ecommerce platform is best for a small business in India?
The one with the lowest real monthly cost that already handles how Indian buyers pay: UPI, cash on delivery and WhatsApp. On that test SitesPlaced wins, because those are on the ₹0 plan with 0% commission and no app stack to maintain. Dukaan is a fair second if you only need a catalogue; Shopify makes sense once you have a team and a budget for apps.
Is Shopify or SitesPlaced better for Indian ecommerce?
Shopify is the bigger platform with the largest app store. SitesPlaced is cheaper and more India-native: UPI, COD, WhatsApp checkout, invoices and Indian couriers are built in on the free plan, where Shopify usually needs paid apps on top of a plan listed at ₹1,994/month (₹1,499 billed yearly) in September 2026. Selling to Indian customers from Instagram and WhatsApp: SitesPlaced. A large brand in several countries with developers on hand: Shopify.
Which ecommerce builders support UPI and cash on delivery?
SitesPlaced and Dukaan support both natively. On SitesPlaced, UPI runs through your own Razorpay, PhonePe or Cashfree account (their standard gateway fee applies; SitesPlaced takes 0%), and COD is a switch with an optional COD charge you set. Shopify and WooCommerce can take both through apps, plugins or extra setup. For Wix and Squarespace, check their current India plan page.
How much does an ecommerce website cost in India?
From ₹0 to several thousand rupees a month. On SitesPlaced a full store is free on a sitesplaced.site address with a small badge, at 0% commission; your own domain and faster pages cost ₹199/month (₹1,990/year). Shopify's India pricing page listed Basic at ₹1,994/month (₹1,499 billed yearly) in September 2026, before apps and any gateway fee. WooCommerce software is free but hosting, a domain and plugins usually land around $8–$30/month plus your time. Prices change; check each pricing page.
Can I sell on WhatsApp and Instagram with these builders?
Yes, and it is how most small Indian stores get orders. On SitesPlaced, WhatsApp checkout is free: the buyer picks products on your store and the order lands on your WhatsApp as a structured message instead of a DM you have to decode. Put the store link in your Instagram bio and stories. Dukaan and Bikayi also lean on WhatsApp. On Shopify, WhatsApp order alerts are usually a paid app.
Which ecommerce website builder is completely free in India?
SitesPlaced's free plan is a real store, not a trial: unlimited products and orders, UPI, COD, WhatsApp checkout, coupons, invoices, couriers and every template, with 0% commission, on a free sitesplaced.site address with a small badge. No time limit, no card, no UPI mandate. Dukaan has a free tier with advanced features on paid plans. Shopexer, StartupInMinutes and Shop2Host listed free plans in August 2026, with limits such as ten products or three images per product.
Should I build my own store or sell on Amazon and Flipkart?
Do both if you can, but own the store. Marketplaces bring their own shoppers and charge commission and fees per category (check their seller pages), and the customer belongs to the marketplace. Your own store keeps 100% of the sale on SitesPlaced, keeps the buyer's WhatsApp number for the next order, and costs ₹0 to run. Many sellers list bestsellers on a marketplace for reach and send Instagram and WhatsApp buyers to their own store.
