Free vs paid store plans: what you actually need, and the moment to pay.
The wrong question is 'which plan has more features'. The right one is 'what stops me selling on the free plan, and what stops me growing'. On a well-designed freemium platform the answer to the first is nothing — and the second is a short, specific list. Here is that list, using SitesPlaced's free and ₹499 plans as the example because we can be exact about them, and the three signals that mean it's time.
What a free plan should let you do — completely
A free store that cannot take money or ship a parcel is a demo, not a store. Everything a store needs to *work* belongs on the free plan: publishing, unlimited products, online payments on your own gateway, cash on delivery, WhatsApp checkout, shipping integrations, invoices and coupons. On SitesPlaced all of that is free, with 0% commission, forever. Not a trial.
| Free on SitesPlaced | Why it's free |
|---|---|
| Publish on a sitesplaced.site address, unlimited products & orders | A store with a product cap isn't a store |
| Razorpay, PhonePe, Cashfree, Stripe, PayPal on your own account · COD · WhatsApp checkout | Payment rails are never gated; you pay only the gateway's fee |
| Shiprocket, Shipmozo, Rehbar Post, Shippo · Qikink & Printify | Shipping is how the order finishes |
| Coupons, offers, invoices, Track Order, inventory, variants | Running the store |
| 16 themes, every section editable, blog, contact forms, subscribers | Looking real is free |
What a paid plan is actually for
Two things: identity and insight. Identity is the link in your bio being *yourbrand.com* instead of a platform address, and the storefront carrying no platform badge — the difference between "someone selling on a site" and "a brand". Insight is knowing where visitors come from, which ads produce orders, and being able to talk to buyers automatically. Then a third: the checkout and messaging integrations that make sense once volume exists.
| ₹499/month Growth plan adds | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Your own domain + no SitesPlaced badge | The link looks like a business; buyers trust it more; the badge stops advertising us on your page |
| Product reviews with approval, Google star ratings, Judge.me import | Proof from real buyers on the product page, and stars under your products in Google |
| Store analytics | Visits, sources, top products, cities, devices — you stop guessing what works |
| Meta Pixel + Conversions API | Instagram/Facebook ads report real purchases, deduplicated; ads get cheaper because Meta learns |
| WhatsApp Business API order alerts | Confirmations from your own number, automatically — no typing |
| Sell with Shiprocket & Razorpay Magic 1-click checkout | Saved addresses, RTO scoring, fewer abandoned carts |
| AI product copy & all four AI agents | Descriptions and store copy written from your data |
| Unlimited digital downloads, 5 GB, custom head code | Scale and tooling |
| A dedicated setup person | Razorpay, Shiprocket and your domain set up for you |
₹499/month is the early-bird price, locked for the first 50 stores; the list price after that is ₹999. Yearly billing is 10 months for 12.
The three signals it's time to pay
- You've had orders from strangers. Friends buy from a .site link; strangers ask "is this real?". Your own domain, no badge and verified reviews answer that at a glance. This is the moment most sellers upgrade, and it usually comes in the first month.
- You're about to spend on ads. Running Instagram ads without the Pixel + Conversions API is paying Meta to guess. The plan pays for itself on the first ad that Meta can optimise.
- Order admin is eating an hour a day. WhatsApp alerts from your own number, 1-click checkout with saved addresses and RTO scoring, analytics that tell you what to stock — at fifteen orders a day these are the difference between running a store and being run by it.
If none of the three describes you yet, stay free. The plan will still be there, and a store that upgraded before it had orders is paying for a domain nobody visits.
Try it before deciding
You can try the paid features — domain, badge removal, product reviews, analytics, Meta CAPI, WhatsApp API, AI — free for 7 days by setting up autopay at checkout with the FREE7 code, on Starter or Growth, monthly or yearly. Use the week to look at Analytics after your first orders, connect a domain if you have one, and see whether the paid features change anything for you. Cancel before the first charge and you pay nothing; the store stays live on the free plan either way.
What this costs against the alternatives
| Platform | Cheapest plan that sells | Domain + no branding | Commission |
|---|---|---|---|
| SitesPlaced | ₹0 | ₹499/mo (early-bird; ₹999 list) | 0% |
| Shopify | ~₹1,994/mo Basic (check current India pricing) | Included | 0% on Shopify Payments where available; else a transaction fee |
| Dukaan | Paid plans only in most cases | Paid | 0–2% depending on plan |
| WSTORES | ₹399/mo Basic | ₹499/mo Pro | 0% |
| Instagram/WhatsApp only | ₹0 | n/a | 0%, all manual |
Competitor figures are as published in September 2026 and change; confirm on their pricing pages. Every SitesPlaced figure is on our pricing page.
FAQs
Can I really sell on the free plan?
Yes. Publishing, unlimited products, UPI/card payments on your own gateway, COD, WhatsApp checkout, shipping integrations, invoices and coupons are all on the free SitesPlaced plan, with 0% commission. It is not a trial.
What do I lose by staying free?
Your own domain, a badge-free storefront, product reviews and Google star ratings, analytics, Meta ad tracking, WhatsApp API alerts, the 1-click hosted checkouts, AI copy and the setup person. Nothing that stops an order.
When should I upgrade?
When strangers start buying (domain, no badge and verified reviews), when you're about to run ads (Pixel + CAPI), or when order admin eats an hour a day (WhatsApp alerts, 1-click checkout, analytics). Before that, stay free.
Is there a trial of the paid plan?
Yes, 7 days. Set up autopay at checkout with the 7-days-free option (code FREE7) on Starter or Growth, monthly or yearly. Cancel before the first charge and you pay nothing; the store stays on the free plan.
What is the FREE7 code?
A promo code at checkout on Starter or Growth, monthly or yearly: you set up autopay today and the first charge lands 7 days later. Cancel before then and nothing is charged.
Start free. Try the paid features for 7 days. Pay when the signals show.
Unlimited products, 0% commission, payments and shipping free. Your domain, product reviews, analytics and ad tracking for ₹499/month when you grow — free for your first 7 days with autopay.
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