Quick answer: Choose Shopify if you want a mature store you will grow into: India plans run from Rs 1,499 a month billed yearly, but Shopify itself says it "doesn't create a GST-compliant bill", so budget for an invoicing app. Choose Dukaan if you want a free-to-start store builder with pan-India shipping, COD and WhatsApp tools; its plan prices need a written quote because its own pages disagree. Add a 1-click checkout layer to either only after checking platform support.
How we researched this: We read Shopify's India pricing page, its India GST help page, the Shopify Payments country list, its manual-payments help page and its India home page; Dukaan's home page, pricing page and feature log; and the checkout pages of Razorpay Magic Checkout, GoKwik, Shopflo and Fastrr. Facts are as of October 2026. Dukaan's feature log is dated February 2023, so we treat it as a checklist to test in a trial, not as a current promise.
Two different bets: what each platform is built for
Dukaan's home page calls itself an "Enterprise Ecommerce Platform for Businesses" under the headline "Your Global Commerce Partner, Engineered for Peak Performance", yet it still carries a "Start free" button, and its pricing page repeats "Get your free online store in 30 seconds". Its themes, plugins, a "pan-India hassle-free shipping partner" and iOS and Android apps are all listed on the home page. A Dukaan online store builder India sellers can start free is therefore still the pitch, with a wider enterprise label on top, so ask whether small-seller plans and support levels are unchanged by that repositioning.
Shopify's India page sells the opposite shape: a plan ladder from a single-owner store to Shopify Plus, an app store its page counts at "21,000+ commerce apps" (the vendor's own figure), and checkout tools around Shop Pay. The India region selector offers Hindi, English, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu, though the page does not say what the admin or storefront supports in each language.
Read this as a decision about who builds and maintains your store. Dukaan trades flexibility for built-in basics. Shopify gives flexibility and expects you to assemble apps for gaps, including some India-specific ones covered below.
What you will pay: Shopify in rupees, Dukaan by quote
Shopify India plans (pricing page, October 2026):
| Plan | Pay monthly | Pay yearly (per month) | Fee on third-party gateways | Extra staff accounts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | Rs 1,994 | Rs 1,499 | 2% | None |
| Grow | Rs 7,447 | Rs 5,599 | 1% | 5 |
| Advanced | Rs 30,164 | Rs 22,680 | 0.6% | 15 |
| Plus | From Rs 1,75,000 | Not listed | 0.2% | Unlimited |
The page offers a trial of 3 days free and then Rs 20 a month for 3 months. Shopify Payments does not list India among its supported countries, so Indian stores use a third-party gateway, and the third-party fee in the table then applies to prepaid orders. Manual payments such as cash on delivery are not charged that fee, per Shopify's help centre. Our Shopify vs WooCommerce cost guide works through the break-even between plans.
Dukaan's pricing page has a monthly or yearly toggle with the yearly option labelled "(UPTO 60% OFF)", and an FAQ that asks "Is there a transaction fee with the paid plans?" Plan amounts do not appear in the text we could read, and Dukaan's older blog posts quote its plans in different currencies and different amounts, so none of them is a safe basis for a budget. Ask Dukaan for a written plan sheet in rupees covering: the monthly price on monthly versus yearly billing, any per-order service fee, which payment gateways are supported and their charges, whether a custom domain is included on your plan, and whether web, Android and iOS access come with every plan. Those are the exact topics its own FAQ lists.
For a cross-check on what "free" really means in this market, read free business software in India.
India must-haves: GST invoices, COD and shipping
GST invoices. Shopify's India GST page is blunt: "Shopify doesn't create a GST-compliant bill", and it recommends "a local third-party GST invoicing service or an app from the Shopify App Store". The same page says defaults (9% CGST, 18% IGST for most states, 9% SGST for Karnataka) must be updated to your needs, that "You can't set multiple tax line items in Shopify" (so CGST and SGST are combined into one in-state rate), and that HSN codes go in the HS tariff code field, which needs at least 6 digits. If you price products tax-inclusive, the page warns it might look as if no tax was charged. The cost of an invoicing app is on top of the plan, and each app prices itself on the Shopify App Store. Our GST invoicing software comparison and e-invoicing for small businesses cover what a compliant invoice needs.
Dukaan's feature log lists a GST price setting (mark prices as inclusive or exclusive of GST), extra charges for GST, delivery and packaging, and an invoice generator that creates downloadable sales invoices. Test whether the output carries the GSTIN, HSN and tax split your accountant needs.
COD. Shopify treats COD as a manual payment method that you activate under Payments settings, and "Cash on Delivery (COD)" is a reserved name. Dukaan's log lists auto-accepting COD orders, separate delivery fees for COD and prepaid, payment links on COD orders and auto order verification "to reduce COD return-to-origin orders". For deeper RTO tooling, see cutting RTO and COD losses.
Shipping. Dukaan lists its own Dukaan Delivery in the log with "29,000+ pin codes coverage" at the time of writing that entry, and says on its home page that it provides a pan-India shipping partner. On Shopify, you connect an aggregator such as Shiprocket; see Shiprocket vs Pickrr charges for how courier-aggregator pricing works.
1-click checkout and pre-filled addresses
A shopper on a phone abandons a form with six address fields. If you are shortlisting 1 click checkout software India stores can bolt on, four Indian layers address that.
| Layer | What the vendor says | Platform note |
|---|---|---|
| Razorpay Magic Checkout | "A one-click checkout built on predictive logic": OTP login, saved details autofilled, address checks for gibberish or incomplete entries; disables COD for users with failed delivery history; differential COD fee for medium-risk orders | Docs list Shopify and WooCommerce integrations only |
| GoKwik Kwik Checkout | One-click checkout "to boost conversions by up to 40%"; SSO login via OTP with "85%+ address prefills with 70% faster checkout" (vendor claims) | Confirm platform support with GoKwik |
| Fastrr by Shiprocket | "95% Address pre-fill" and address correction, risk levels for COD | Confirm platform support |
| Shopflo | Checkout with "COD blocking for users and pin codes" and automatic prepaid discounts | Confirm platform support |
The numbers are the vendors' own. The practical point is platform fit: Razorpay's documentation says Magic Checkout is available on Shopify and WooCommerce integrations, and its custom-checkout table marks web, Android, iOS and webview as unsupported, so a Dukaan store should not plan on it. If you are searching for pre-filled address checkout API access for a custom build, note that the Magic Checkout documentation we read describes saved addresses across the Razorpay network but not an address-prefill API. Ask each vendor for the API reference before you commit developers. Shopify's own India page promotes Shop Pay, quoting "up to 50% higher" conversion than guest checkout based on an external study from April 2023, which is also a vendor-cited figure. Customising the checkout itself is a Shopify Plus feature per the pricing page ("fully customizable checkout").
For a store whose buyers mostly order through chat, compare these with the WhatsApp catalogue and shopping tools route before adding a checkout layer.
Three Indian stores and what to pick
A Pune home bakery taking 20 orders a day by phone and WhatsApp. You need a catalogue, COD or UPI links and simple delivery fees. Dukaan's free start fits the experiment; run two weeks of real orders, then read the plan sheet. Shopify's Rs 20-a-month intro period is also a low-risk test if you plan to scale.
A Kolhapur footwear D2C brand at Rs 8 lakh a month, 55% prepaid. Prepaid sales of Rs 4.4 lakh through a third-party gateway on Shopify Basic yearly cost 2% of that, Rs 8,800 a month, plus the Rs 1,499 plan, plus a GST invoice app. On Grow, the fee falls to Rs 4,400 and the plan is Rs 5,599. Here Shopify's app ecosystem and a checkout layer matter, and Dukaan needs a quote that proves it can match the unit cost.
A Delhi multi-category electronics store with an ERP. Shopify's ladder is built for this; Shopify Plus is where a customisable checkout and unlimited staff accounts sit. Check ERP connectors before either choice.
A two-week trial script before you pay anyone
Whichever platform you lean towards, run the same script on both so the comparison is fair.
- Day 1: list 20 real products with variants and photos. Time it. Note whether prices accept GST-inclusive entry and whether HSN fits.
- Day 2: place four test orders: one UPI, one card, one COD and one with an incomplete address. Check what the buyer sees, what you see and what the invoice shows.
- Day 3: connect a courier. On Shopify that is an aggregator such as Shiprocket; on Dukaan test its own delivery option. Book one parcel and compare the quoted charge with what the aggregator panel shows.
- Days 4 to 10: send the store link to 30 repeat customers on WhatsApp and record how many complete an order on a phone, and where they stop.
- Days 11 to 14: ask your accountant to review three invoices and the sales report for fit with your GST return workflow, and ask each vendor for the plan sheet in writing.
If the platform fails step 2 or 5, no feature list will fix it. If both pass, choose on total cost at your own prepaid share and on who will maintain the store.
Moving later and the risks of each path
Dukaan's pricing FAQ lists a question about migrating from Shopify or WooCommerce, which suggests moves in are supported; ask what is imported (products, customers, orders, URLs). For moves out of either platform, ask for a full export of products and customers, and keep your domain with your own registrar. The website builders and hosting guide lists alternatives, and Bikayi Store and Zoho Commerce are also listed under e-commerce platforms.
Risks to weigh: keep a dated copy of your Dukaan plan terms, because its marketing now speaks to enterprises; a Shopify store accumulates monthly app fees; and Dukaan's older documentation is not a safe guide to today's behaviour. Compare notes with the invoicing and GST software you already use.
FAQs
Is Dukaan better than Shopify for small sellers in India?
Dukaan is built to start free and includes COD and WhatsApp tools in its feature log, while Shopify needs a GST invoicing app. Shopify has the clearer published rupee pricing. Judge both on a two-week trial with real orders.
Does Shopify generate GST invoices in India?
No. Shopify's India GST help page says it "doesn't create a GST-compliant bill" and recommends a local third-party GST invoicing service or an app from the Shopify App Store.
Which 1-click checkout software works in India?
Razorpay Magic Checkout, GoKwik Kwik Checkout, Fastrr and Shopflo all describe one-click or prefilled-address checkout for Indian stores. Razorpay's documentation lists Shopify and WooCommerce integrations only, so confirm platform support with each vendor.
Can I use COD on Shopify in India?
Yes, as a manual payment method set up in Payments settings; Shopify's help centre says you are not charged third-party transaction fees for manual payments.
Does Dukaan charge a transaction fee?
Its pricing page FAQ asks whether paid plans carry a transaction fee but the answer was not readable. Ask Dukaan for the per-order service fee and gateway charges in writing.
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