WSTORES vs Shopexer vs FlexiCommerce vs StartupInMinutes vs SitesPlaced: eight Indian store builders, one table.
Short answer: SitesPlaced has the lowest starting price in this comparison (₹0, unlimited products, 17 themes, Razorpay, COD, WhatsApp checkout, Shiprocket and Shipmozo) and its ₹499/month plan is the only one here that lists Meta Conversions API and WhatsApp Business API alerts from your own number. Shopexer and StartupInMinutes are the other real free plans. WSTORES and StoreMaker sell prepaid multi-year deals. FlexiCommerce is the pick if you need a branded customer app or multi-vendor. Details below.
How this comparison was built
Every competitor cell in the table comes from that builder’s public pricing page as listed in August 2026. Plans change, so confirm before you buy. Where a pricing page does not mention a feature, the cell says “not listed”; that does not mean the feature is missing, only that the builder does not advertise it. SitesPlaced cells are verifiable on our pricing page.
We picked these eight because they are what Indian sellers search for together: the WhatsApp-first builders (WSTORES, StoreBase), the Instagram-seller builders (Shopexer, StartupInMinutes), the budget builders (Shop2Host, StoreMaker) and the full-platform option (FlexiCommerce). Dukaan, Bikayi and Instamojo have their own comparisons, linked at the end.
The master table
Scroll sideways on a phone. First column stays fixed.
| Feature | SitesPlaced | WSTORES | Shopexer | FlexiCommerce | StartupInMinutes | Shop2Host | StoreMaker | StoreBase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | ₹0; ₹499/month early-bird (₹999 after the first 30 stores) | ₹399/month Basic (incl. GST) | ₹0 | ₹999/month Starter (₹799 annual) | ₹0; Pro ₹999/month | ₹0; Pro ₹690/month (₹586 annual) | ₹222/month Starter | ₹99/month + 10% of sales, capped at ₹999/month |
| Free plan | Yes: unlimited products and orders, 500 MB storage, up to 5 sites, small badge | No | Yes: unlimited products, Shopexer subdomain | No | Yes: unlimited products, up to 3 images per product | Yes: max 10 products, COD, S2H Pay UPI | No | No |
| Trial mechanics | None needed; free plan is permanent, no card, no UPI mandate | 7-day trial that requires a UPI AutoPay mandate; billed on day 8 | — | 14-day trial, no card; 1 theme, 10 products, 3 categories; store goes offline after | — | — | 7-day trial for ₹50 | not listed |
| Product limit on cheapest tier | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | not listed (trial: 10) | Unlimited | 10 | 30 products, 5 categories | not listed |
| Themes | 17 store themes, all free | custom themes (count not listed) | not listed | 5 industry themes + Theme Engine with 40+ presets | 2 templates | not listed | 2 demo stores; logo/colour on Growth | 7 layout presets, 217+ widgets |
| Razorpay / cards | Razorpay: UPI, cards, net banking, wallets (free) | UPI, cards (Basic) | UPI, cards, wallets | Razorpay, Cashfree, PayU, PhonePe (paid plans) | UPI, direct checkout | S2H Pay UPI on free; Razorpay on Pro | UPI via GPay/PhonePe on Starter; no card gateway listed | UPI/cards via gateways |
| Cash on delivery | Yes, free, optional COD charge | Yes | not listed | Yes (UPI + COD) | not listed | Yes (free) | Yes | not listed |
| WhatsApp checkout | Yes, free | Yes | WhatsApp order updates | not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed | Yes, pre-formatted message to your number |
| Shipping integrations | Shiprocket + Shipmozo, AWB + live tracking (free) | Shiprocket + Delhivery (Pro) | integrated shipping | Shiprocket + Shipway, 17+ couriers | Shiprocket (Pro) | Shiprocket (Pro) | not listed | not listed |
| Invoices | PDF invoices, free | Pro only | not listed | GST invoices | not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed |
| Custom domain plan | ₹499/month | Pro ₹499/month | not listed | from ₹999/month | Pro ₹999/month | Pro ₹690/month (add-on) | Growth ₹499/month | not listed |
| WhatsApp alerts from your own number (Business API) | Yes, ₹499 plan, Meta Cloud API, bring your own credentials | not listed | not listed | WhatsApp/SMS via MSG91 (own-number Cloud API not listed) | not listed | WhatsApp alerts on Pro (method not listed) | not listed | not listed |
| Meta Pixel + Conversions API | Pixel + CAPI, server-side, deduplicated (₹499 plan) | not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed | Pixel on Pro; CAPI not listed | not listed | not listed |
| AI copy | Yes (₹499 plan) | auto product descriptions (mentioned on site) | not listed | AI descriptions + SEO meta (Starter) | not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed |
| Store importer | Free: Instagram, website URL, PDF, dm2buy, Shopexer | bulk upload; importer not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed |
| ChatGPT / Claude editing | Yes, free (MCP server) | not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed |
| Merchant app | Android on Google Play; iOS not yet | store management app | Google Play + App Store | admin panel; customer, delivery and seller apps | PWA install prompt | not listed | not listed | not listed |
| Commission | 0% | 0% transaction fees | zero on Shopexer shipping plan | 0% | 0% platform fee | 0% transaction fees | not listed | 10% of sales until the ₹999/month cap |
Verdict on each builder
WSTORES
WSTORES is the most complete of the WhatsApp-first paid builders. Unlimited products, WhatsApp checkout, UPI, cards and COD all sit on the ₹399/month Basic plan, and there is a store management app. Its real strength is the ₹5,999 three-year deal, which works out to about ₹167/month and suits a seller who has already decided to stay for years. The catch is that shipping, invoices, product badges and a custom domain are Pro-only at ₹499/month, and the 7-day trial asks for a UPI AutoPay mandate before you see the product, with billing starting on day 8. Read WSTORES pricing explained before you set up that mandate.
Shopexer
Shopexer’s strength is simplicity: one free plan, unlimited products, UPI and cards, integrated shipping, WhatsApp order updates and apps on both Google Play and the App Store. Most of its live stores are jewellery and fashion sellers from Instagram, and for that audience it is a reasonable first step. What it does not list is a custom domain, Meta ad tracking or any AI. When we checked in August 2026 the public pricing page returned a 404 and only the free plan was shown on the homepage, so there is no published upgrade path. If you outgrow it, SitesPlaced imports a Shopexer store URL in one paste.
FlexiCommerce
FlexiCommerce is the only platform here that bundles a website, a customer app, a delivery app and an admin panel, with multi-vendor and B2B on the Business plan, nine Indian languages, GST invoices and four payment gateways. For a grocery chain, a multi-vendor marketplace or a business that genuinely needs its own app in the Play Store, it is the serious option. For a solo seller it is expensive: no free plan, ₹999/month Starter, and a 14-day trial limited to one theme and ten products whose store goes offline when the trial ends.
StartupInMinutes
StartupInMinutes aims squarely at Instagram and WhatsApp sellers who are tired of taking orders in DMs. The Free Forever plan has unlimited products, a custom store name and 0% platform fee, which is generous. Its distinctive strength is the onboarding specialist who stays with you until your first sale on the ₹999/month Pro plan. The limits are two templates, three images per product on free, and a product that still shows “Get Early Access” and “Stores Launching” with no public store count.
Shop2Host
Shop2Host has a genuinely free tier with COD and its own built-in UPI (S2H Pay), plus a phone support number in the header, which is rare at this price. Pro at ₹690/month (₹586 annual) unlocks unlimited products, Razorpay, Shiprocket, WhatsApp alerts and a custom domain add-on, and there is a Meta Pixel integration. The free plan’s ten-product cap is the dealbreaker for anyone with a real catalogue, and the features most sellers need (Razorpay, shipping, coupons) are all behind Pro.
StoreMaker
StoreMaker is the cheapest paid entry here at ₹222/month, framed as “just ₹7/day”, and it offers long prepaid terms: ₹999 for six months, ₹1,799 for a year, ₹2,999 for two years. For a local business that wants a Google Maps pin and a simple UPI-plus-COD menu, it fits. The Starter plan is capped at 30 products and 5 categories, lists no card gateway, no Shiprocket, and no free plan (the trial costs ₹50). Unlimited products and a custom domain need the ₹499/month Growth plan.
StoreBase
StoreBase is the one builder here that does the setup for you: managed store setup, lifetime free support, 217+ page widgets and seven layout presets, with WhatsApp ordering through a pre-formatted message and coupons including BOGO and tiered discounts. Its pricing is ₹99/month plus 10% of sales, capped at ₹999/month. That is a commission model until you hit the cap, so a seller doing ₹9,000 a month pays the full ₹999, and the cap makes it a ₹999/month plan for anyone selling more.
Why SitesPlaced wins for most Indian sellers
Three things in the table decide it. First, price: the store itself is ₹0, not a trial and not a mandate, with unlimited products, unlimited orders, 0% commission and all 17 themes. The only other builders with a free plan either cap products at ten (Shop2Host), cap images at three per product (StartupInMinutes) or publish no upgrade path (Shopexer).
Second, integrations on the free plan: Razorpay with UPI, cards, net banking and wallets; cash on delivery with an optional COD charge; WhatsApp checkout; Shiprocket and Shipmozo with AWB and live tracking on a Track Order page; PDF invoices; coupons and Buy-X-Get-Y; product badges; delivery options with custom order IDs. On WSTORES, shipping and invoices are Pro-only. On Shop2Host, Razorpay and Shiprocket are Pro-only. On StoreMaker, neither is listed at all.
Third, what ₹499/month buys: a custom domain with one-click DNS for Indian registrars, branding removal, AI copy, analytics, custom head code, Meta Pixel plus Conversions API with server-side deduplicated Purchase events, and WhatsApp Business API alerts sent from your own number via Meta’s Cloud API. No other builder in the table lists CAPI or own-number WhatsApp API. That is the difference between running Instagram ads blind and running them with real purchase data. Our integrations post goes through each one.
Where SitesPlaced does not win: if you need a branded customer app in the Play Store, a delivery-rider app or a multi-vendor marketplace, FlexiCommerce is built for that and we are not. If you want someone to set the store up for you, StoreBase sells that service. And our merchant app is Android only for now.
How to start, or move
- Pick a store theme. All 17 are free, including jewellery, fashion, the Pronto grocery theme and a luxury maison layout.
- If you already sell somewhere, paste your Instagram handle, website URL, PDF catalogue, dm2buy or Shopexer store into the importer. Products, prices, images, variants and categories are rebuilt for you.
- Connect Razorpay, switch on COD and WhatsApp checkout, connect Shiprocket or Shipmozo. All free.
- Publish on your sitesplaced.com URL. Put the link in your Instagram bio and WhatsApp status.
- When you want your own domain, ads tracking or WhatsApp API alerts, upgrade to ₹499/month. Cancel any time; the free store stays.
Two sellers who did exactly this: The House of Urmila (jewellery) and Surroor House (t-shirts).
Frequently asked questions
Which Indian online store builder is actually free?
Four of the eight builders in this comparison list a ₹0 plan: SitesPlaced (unlimited products, Razorpay, COD, WhatsApp checkout, Shiprocket and Shipmozo, 17 themes), Shopexer (unlimited products, subdomain), StartupInMinutes (unlimited products, 3 images per product) and Shop2Host (maximum 10 products, COD and its own UPI). WSTORES, FlexiCommerce, StoreMaker and StoreBase have no free plan as listed in August 2026.
What is the difference between WSTORES and Shopexer?
WSTORES is a paid WhatsApp-first store builder starting at ₹399/month with a 7-day trial that needs a UPI AutoPay mandate; shipping, invoices and a custom domain are on its ₹499/month Pro plan. Shopexer shows only a free plan with unlimited products, UPI and card payments, integrated shipping and WhatsApp order updates on a Shopexer subdomain. SitesPlaced covers both use cases: a free store with shipping and invoices, and a ₹499/month plan for a domain, Meta CAPI and WhatsApp Business API alerts.
Which store builder is best for WhatsApp sellers in India?
If you want WhatsApp checkout without a monthly fee, SitesPlaced includes it on the free plan along with Razorpay UPI, COD and shipping. If you also want automatic order alerts sent from your own WhatsApp Business number through Meta's Cloud API, SitesPlaced is the only builder in this comparison that lists it, on the ₹499/month plan.
Do any of these builders charge commission?
StoreBase charges ₹99/month plus 10% of sales, capped at ₹999/month in total. SitesPlaced, WSTORES, FlexiCommerce and StartupInMinutes list 0% commission or 0% platform fee. Shopexer lists zero commission on its shipping plan. Shop2Host and StoreMaker do not list a commission figure. Payment gateway fees (for example Razorpay's) apply everywhere.
Which builder lets me run Meta ads with proper tracking?
SitesPlaced is the only builder in this comparison that lists Meta Pixel plus the Conversions API, with server-side Purchase events that are deduplicated against the browser pixel. Shop2Host lists a Meta Pixel on its Pro plan. The others do not list Pixel or CAPI on their pricing pages as of August 2026.
Start with the free column.
Unlimited products, Razorpay, COD, WhatsApp checkout, Shiprocket and Shipmozo, 17 themes. ₹0, no card, no mandate. Keep 100% of every sale.
See the full pricing →
