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Stripe vs Razorpay vs PayU vs Cashfree – Which Payment Gateway Should Indian Businesses Choose in 2025?



Short: A practical, data-driven comparison of Stripe, Razorpay, PayU and Cashfree for Indian businesses — features, pricing signals, ideal use cases and my recommendation.

Introduction

In today’s rapidly evolving Indian digital economy, selecting the right payment gateway is a strategic choice that affects conversion, cash flow and international expansion. This article compares four major players — Stripe, Razorpay, PayU and Cashfree — and provides a pragmatic recommendation for Indian startups, SaaS companies, e-commerce stores and marketplaces (updated Oct 29, 2025).

Comparison Table — At a Glance

Gateway Typical Domestic TDR* International Fee Notable Features Ideal For
Razorpay ~2% + GST ~3% + GST Indian-first (UPI, wallets), plugins, excellent dev APIs Indian e-commerce & startups
PayU ~2% + GST ~3% + GST Established merchant base, analytics, fraud tools Mid/large businesses with domestic + global needs
Cashfree UPI ~0.40% (varies); Cards ~1.90% ~3.5% Best-in-class payouts & disbursements, marketplace tooling Marketplaces, gig platforms, high-volume payouts
Stripe ~2% (domestic signals vary) ~3.5% + currency conversion Global scale, subscriptions, multi-currency, superb dev UX Indian companies with global/SaaS customers

*TDR = Transaction Discount Rate. GST (18%) applies in India on fees where relevant. Exact fees vary by contract, monthly volume and payment method.

Deeper Dive — Individual Gateways

1. Razorpay

Strengths: Tailored for India — UPI, wallets, netbanking, cards; strong developer SDKs and quick onboarding. Competitive for domestic transaction flows.

Weaknesses: International card fees higher; if global reach is primary you may need a secondary provider.

Best for: Indian SMEs, e-commerce stores, early stage SaaS focused on India.

2. PayU

Strengths: Longstanding market presence, robust analytics & fraud prevention, reliable settlement processes.

Weaknesses: Developer experience historically solid but not as 'modern' as Stripe's; fewer niche payout features than Cashfree.

Best for: Stable businesses that want proven infrastructure for mixed domestic/international volumes.

3. Cashfree

Strengths: Exceptional for payouts/disbursements and marketplace flows — bulk vendor payouts, salary/vendor remittances and refunds. API driven.

Weaknesses: Checkout/ecommerce ecosystem slightly less broad than Razorpay/PayU for consumer payment plugins.

Best for: Marketplaces, platforms managing large vendor disbursements or frequent refunds.

4. Stripe

Strengths: World class developer experience, multi-currency billing, subscriptions, international compliance and ease of scaling globally.

Weaknesses: In India, UPI & some local-specific features sometimes better served by Indian gateways; pricing and availability depend on product and onboarding terms.

Best for: SaaS, digital products, startups with international customers or ambitions to scale globally.

Key Decision Criteria (Practical Checklist)

  • Payment modes: Do you need UPI, wallets, EMI, netbanking?
  • Settlement speed: How fast do you need funds in bank?
  • Payouts: Do you need vendor/partner payouts at scale?
  • International support: Multi-currency & foreign cards?
  • Developer ergonomics: SDKs, documentation, test mode & plugins for your stack.
  • Cost: TDR + GST + refund, chargeback & gateway add-on fees.
  • Reliability & support: SLA, dispute handling, merchant risk rules.

Recommendations (By Use Case)

  1. Primarily Indian customers (e-commerce / local SaaS): Razorpay — best balance of features, UPI support and developer tools.
  2. Mixed domestic + international customers: Use Stripe for global flows and Razorpay/PayU for Indian checkout — dual-gateway strategy reduces drop-offs.
  3. Marketplaces / Platforms with payouts: Cashfree — strong disbursement & vendor management tooling.
  4. Large enterprises & legacy merchants: Consider PayU for enterprise support and stability.

How to Choose the Right Payment Gateway for Your Business

  • 1️⃣ Identify your target market: If your customers are mostly in India, prefer gateways with strong UPI and wallet support like Razorpay or PayU.
  • 2️⃣ Check your payment flow: For subscription or SaaS billing, Stripe and Razorpay provide easy recurring payment options.
  • 3️⃣ Evaluate costs vs benefits: Look beyond transaction fees — consider settlement times, support, and analytics dashboards.
  • 4️⃣ Test before finalizing: Integrate two gateways in test mode and analyze transaction success rates for at least 15–30 days.
  • 5️⃣ Negotiate once you scale: When your monthly volume increases, you can request lower TDRs from any provider.

Taking the time to evaluate these aspects ensures you pick a payment partner that aligns perfectly with your product, audience, and future growth goals.

Final Verdict — Which Is Best?

There is no universal "best" — it is use-case dependent. For most India-focused web development and teaching businesses (like TechCognita), Razorpay is the most pragmatic single choice. For global scale, pair Stripe with a local provider. For payout-centric marketplaces, Cashfree shines. PayU is a stable, enterprise-grade option for mixed needs.

Need help implementing payments?

CTA: If you want, TechCognita can prepare a payment integration architecture (checkout + webhook handling + retry/fallback + reconciliation) tailored to your product. Book a consultation or reply here and I’ll draft the integration plan.

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