WSTORES vs SitesPlaced: the line-by-line decision.
WSTORES and SitesPlaced both build WhatsApp-friendly online stores for Indian sellers, and they both land on ₹499/month as the headline paid price. The decision comes down to three lines: SitesPlaced has a free plan that publishes a working store and WSTORES does not; shipping, invoices and product badges are free on SitesPlaced and Pro-only on WSTORES; and ₹499 on SitesPlaced includes Meta Conversions API and WhatsApp Business API order alerts, which WSTORES does not list at any price. If you want the cheapest way to own a domain for three years, WSTORES’s ₹5,999 one-time plan wins on cash. Everything else below is the detail behind those sentences.
The full comparison table
| Line item | SitesPlaced | WSTORES |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | ₹0 | ₹399/month (Basic) |
| Free plan | Yes, forever; publishes a live store | No |
| Trial mechanics | None needed; no card, no UPI mandate | 7-day trial on monthly plans; UPI AutoPay mandate required; auto-billed on day 8 |
| Paid plans | Ecommerce ₹499/month early-bird (₹999 after the first 30 stores) | Basic ₹399/month, Pro ₹499/month, 3 years ₹5,999 one-time; GST included |
| Products | Unlimited on free | Unlimited on Basic |
| Themes | 17 store themes, all free, every section editable | Custom themes on Basic |
| Payments | Razorpay (UPI, cards, net banking, wallets), COD with optional charge, WhatsApp checkout: free | UPI, cards, COD, WhatsApp checkout: Basic |
| Shipping | Shiprocket + Shipmozo, AWB and Track Order page: free | Shiprocket + Delhivery: Pro |
| Invoices | PDF invoices: free | Pro |
| Product badges | Free | Pro |
| Custom domain | ₹499 plan (one-click DNS) | Pro; can buy a domain in the dashboard |
| WhatsApp order alerts from your own number | ₹499 plan, Meta Cloud API, your own credentials | Not listed |
| Meta Pixel + Conversions API | ₹499 plan, server-side and deduplicated | Not listed |
| AI copy | ₹499 plan | Not listed |
| Store importer | Free (Instagram, website, PDF, dm2buy, Shopexer) | Not listed |
| ChatGPT / Claude editing | Free via official MCP server | Not listed |
| Mobile app | Android (Google Play); iOS not yet | Store management app |
| Analytics | ₹499 plan | Basic; advanced on Pro |
| Staff logins / Google Sheets sync / QR code | Not listed | Pro / Pro / Basic |
| Commission | 0% | 0% transaction fees |
WSTORES details are as listed on their pricing page in August 2026; plans change, so confirm before you buy. SitesPlaced lines are on our pricing page. “Not listed” means the feature does not appear on the public pricing page, not that it cannot exist.
Pricing and how the trial works
WSTORES sells three plans, all with 18% GST included in the sticker price: Basic at ₹399/month, Pro at ₹499/month, and a 3-year plan at ₹5,999 paid once. The monthly plans come with a 7-day free trial, but the trial is not a no-strings sandbox. You set up a UPI AutoPay mandate to start it, and on day 8 the mandate bills you unless you cancelled. That is a normal SaaS pattern, and it is worth knowing before you tap “start trial” on your phone.
SitesPlaced has one paid plan and one free one. The free plan is not a trial. It publishes a live store on a sitesplaced.com URL, with unlimited products and orders, 500 MB of storage, up to five sites, and a small “Made using SitesPlaced” badge in the footer. Nothing expires. The Ecommerce plan is ₹499/month early-bird, locked for the first 30 stores, then ₹999/month. We say that number out loud because a comparison that hides it would not be worth your time.
Neither platform takes a cut of sales. WSTORES advertises 0% transaction fees and SitesPlaced is 0% commission on every plan. Razorpay’s gateway fee still applies to online payments on SitesPlaced, as any gateway fee would anywhere.
WhatsApp: a checkout button is not the same as order alerts
This is the line most sellers misread. WhatsApp checkout means the customer taps a button and the order lands in your WhatsApp chat as a message. WSTORES includes it on Basic; SitesPlaced includes it on the free plan, alongside the usual Razorpay and COD options. So far, equal.
WhatsApp Business API order alerts are a different thing. On the SitesPlaced ₹499 plan, every order triggers two automated messages through the Meta Cloud API: an alert to you and a confirmation to the customer, both sent from your own WhatsApp Business number using your own credentials. The customer sees your brand, not ours, and you do not have to copy order details into a chat by hand. WSTORES shows a Verified Meta Tech Provider badge, which is a real credential, but its pricing page does not list merchant-number order alerts as a feature. We explain the setup in this guide.
Ads and tracking
If you will ever spend on Instagram or Facebook ads, this section decides the comparison. A browser pixel can miss a purchase when the customer blocks tracking or closes the tab before the thank-you page loads, which is the problem the Conversions API exists to solve. SitesPlaced includes Meta Pixel plus Conversions API on the ₹499 plan: Purchase events are sent server-side from the order record and deduplicated against the pixel, using your own Pixel ID and access token. You also get custom head code on the same plan, so GA4, Microsoft Clarity or any other tag goes in without a developer.
WSTORES lists analytics on Basic and advanced analytics plus SEO tools on Pro. It does not list Meta Pixel or Conversions API on its pricing page. If ads are in your plan, ask them directly before you commit, or read our explainer on CAPI for small Indian stores to see why it matters.
Building and editing the store
WSTORES offers custom themes, bulk upload, sizes and variants, an announcement bar and a store QR code on Basic. SitesPlaced offers 17 storefront themes on the free plan, with every heading, product grid, hero image, footer column and menu editable, plus variants, coupons, Buy-X-Get-Y offers, delivery options with Standard and Express pricing, custom order-ID prefixes and newsletter capture.
Three SitesPlaced tools have no listed counterpart on WSTORES. The store importer rebuilds a catalogue from an Instagram handle, a website URL, a PDF or a dm2buy or Shopexer store. AI copy on the ₹499 plan writes product and section text from what it sees. And the official MCP server lets ChatGPT or Claude create and edit the store by conversation, free.
WSTORES has three things SitesPlaced does not list: staff management, Google Sheets sync and an in-dashboard domain purchase, all on Pro. If your operation has a team member who needs their own login, weigh that seriously.
Three-year total cost, worked out
| Plan | Maths | 3-year total | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| WSTORES 3-year plan | ₹5,999 once | ₹5,999 | Pro features; no CAPI or WhatsApp API listed |
| WSTORES Basic monthly | ₹399 × 36 | ₹14,364 | No domain, shipping or invoices |
| WSTORES Pro monthly | ₹499 × 36 | ₹17,964 | Pro features; no CAPI or WhatsApp API listed |
| SitesPlaced Free | ₹0 × 36 | ₹0 | Everything except domain, branding removal and paid integrations |
| SitesPlaced Ecommerce (early-bird locked) | ₹499 × 36 | ₹17,964 | Domain + Meta CAPI + WhatsApp Business API + AI copy + analytics |
| SitesPlaced Ecommerce (after early-bird) | ₹999 × 36 | ₹35,964 | Same as above at the post-early-bird price |
Read that honestly. If you need a custom domain from day one and nothing else, WSTORES’s ₹5,999 deal is the cheapest three years on this page: it is a third of ₹17,964. SitesPlaced at ₹499/month costs exactly the same as WSTORES Pro monthly over 36 months, ₹17,964, and the difference is what sits inside the price: Meta CAPI, WhatsApp Business API alerts, AI copy and analytics. If you miss the early-bird window, ₹999/month takes SitesPlaced to ₹35,964 over three years, which is six times the WSTORES one-time deal. And if you do not need a domain, SitesPlaced’s three-year total is ₹0 with shipping, invoices and payments included, which WSTORES cannot match at any tier.
Pick WSTORES if, pick SitesPlaced if
Pick WSTORES if
- You want to pay once and own a domain-equipped store for three years at ₹5,999.
- Staff logins or a Google Sheets sync are part of how you run orders.
- You sell in Mexico, Brazil or the Dominican Republic, or need 50-plus currencies.
- You want Delhivery as a named integration.
- A store QR code for a physical counter is a daily tool.
Pick SitesPlaced if
- You want to publish and take real orders before paying anything.
- You ship physical products and need AWBs, tracking and invoices without a paid tier.
- You will run Meta ads and need Conversions API tracking.
- You want automated WhatsApp order messages from your own number.
- You already have a catalogue on Instagram, a PDF or another store and want it imported.
- You like editing by chatting with ChatGPT or Claude.
Who should stay on WSTORES
A seller who bought the 3-year plan, uses staff logins, has never needed ad tracking and is happy with WhatsApp checkout has no strong reason to move. The same goes for a business whose customers are mainly overseas. Switching platforms costs attention even when the import is one paste, and a store that is quietly working is worth more than a feature list. Move when a specific line in the table above is costing you money or orders, not because a blog told you to.
How to start on SitesPlaced
- Go to /import and paste your Instagram handle, existing store URL or PDF catalogue. Or pick a blank theme from /templates.
- Add Razorpay keys, enable COD and WhatsApp checkout, connect Shiprocket or Shipmozo. All free.
- Publish on your sitesplaced.com URL and put the link in your bio.
- When you want a domain, ads tracking or WhatsApp Business API alerts, upgrade to ₹499/month while the early-bird rate is still open.
Questions before you start? Message us on WhatsApp, or see how The House of Urmila runs a jewellery store on SitesPlaced.
FAQs
WSTORES or SitesPlaced: which is cheaper?
SitesPlaced is cheaper to start because it is free to publish with unlimited products, payments, shipping and invoices. Over three years on paid plans, the WSTORES ₹5,999 one-time deal is cheaper than SitesPlaced at ₹499/month (₹17,964), but WSTORES does not list Meta Conversions API or WhatsApp Business API alerts on any plan. If you never need a custom domain, SitesPlaced costs ₹0 for all three years.
Does WSTORES have a free plan?
No. As listed on its pricing page in August 2026, WSTORES offers Basic at ₹399/month, Pro at ₹499/month and a ₹5,999 3-year plan, with a 7-day trial on monthly plans that requires a UPI AutoPay mandate. SitesPlaced has a permanent ₹0 plan with no trial.
Which one is better for WhatsApp orders?
Both offer WhatsApp checkout, where the customer sends the order to you on chat. SitesPlaced also offers, on the ₹499 plan, automated owner alerts and customer confirmations sent from your own WhatsApp Business number via the Meta Cloud API. WSTORES does not list that on its pricing page.
Can I run Meta ads properly on either platform?
SitesPlaced includes Meta Pixel plus Conversions API on the ₹499 plan, with server-side Purchase events that are deduplicated against the browser pixel. WSTORES does not list Pixel or Conversions API support on its pricing page, so you would need to check with them or add tracking another way.
Is the ₹499 SitesPlaced price permanent?
₹499/month is the early-bird rate, locked for the first 30 stores that take it. After that the Ecommerce plan is ₹999/month. The free plan has no time limit.
Does SitesPlaced have a mobile app like WSTORES?
SitesPlaced has an Android app on Google Play for managing orders and products. There is no iOS app yet. WSTORES lists a store management mobile app.
Start free. Decide later.
Publish a real store with payments, shipping and invoices for ₹0. Upgrade to ₹499/month only when your own domain, Meta CAPI or WhatsApp Business API alerts start paying for themselves.
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