Comparison · Updated September 29, 2026
Razorpay vs Cashfree Payments
Razorpay
B-
Razorpay is the largest online payment aggregator in India, founded in Bengaluru in 2014 by Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar and licensed by the Reserve Bank of India as an online, offline and cross-border payment aggregator. It charges a published flat 2% platform fee plus 18% GST on domestic cards, UPI, netbanking and wallets, with no setup fee, no annual charge and free refunds, and reported operating revenue of ₹3,783 crore for the year to March 2025 on an annualised payment volume it put at $180 billion. The product is genuinely good and the pricing is clear; the reason it does not grade higher is the other side of the ledger: a Trustpilot score of 1.4 from 449 reviews dominated by frozen accounts and held settlements, a year-long RBI ban on onboarding new merchants that ended in December 2023, and a corporate story — a March 2025 reverse flip from the United States to India, a one-time charge that pushed it into loss, and a confidential IPO filing in June 2026 — that is still being written.
Cashfree Payments
B-
Cashfree Payments is a Bengaluru payment aggregator founded in 2015 by Akash Sinha, its chief executive, and Reeju Datta. It sells an online payment gateway covering cards, UPI, netbanking, wallets, EMI and Pay Later, plus payment links and forms, subscriptions, split settlements, instant settlements, bulk payouts, identity verification and a cross-border gateway that lets Indian sellers take cards, Apple Pay and PayPal in more than 140 currencies and settle in rupees. It holds RBI authorisation as an online payment aggregator (final approval announced in December 2023, after a year-long RBI pause on onboarding new merchants) and was reported in July 2024 as the first company to get the cross-border (PA-CB) export-and-import authorisation. It is private: its February 2025 round of US$53 million was led by the video-game publisher KRAFTON with Apis Growth Fund II, at a valuation TechCrunch, citing a source familiar with the terms, put at US$700 million; earlier backers include Y Combinator, Apis and State Bank of India. As of September 2026 the standard platform fee on domestic methods is 1.95% plus 18% GST on the fee, international cards are 2.99%, and instant settlement starts at 0.30%. Standard settlement is T+2 under its terms. In March 2026 the RBI fined it ₹3.10 lakh after finding it had made impermissible debits from its escrow account.
VS
Overview
Razorpay and Cashfree Payments are both Bengaluru payment gateways, and both were authorised by the Reserve Bank of India as online payment aggregators on the same day, 19 December 2023. Their standard pricing is close. Razorpay charges a 2% platform fee on domestic cards, UPI, net banking and wallets. Cashfree charges 1.95%. GST at 18% is added to the fee on both. Razorpay charges 3% on Amex, Diners, EMI and corporate cards; Cashfree charges 2.2% on credit-card EMI but does not clearly publish a domestic Amex, Diners or corporate-card rate. Both settle domestic payments on T+2 working days by default. Cashfree publishes an instant-settlement fee of 0.30% plus GST; Razorpay shows its fee only in the dashboard. Razorpay advertises 24x7 support on its standard plan and prices subscriptions as a percentage add-on. Both are graded B- on Payment Review, and both have poor Trustpilot scores.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Cashfree is slightly cheaper on everyday domestic payments: a 1.95% platform fee against Razorpay's 2%, both plus 18% GST. On ₹10 lakh a month that is about ₹590 less, GST included.
- ✓Cashfree is cheaper on credit-card EMI: 2.2% on its pricing page, where Razorpay charges 3%. Razorpay also charges 3% on Amex, Diners and corporate cards; Cashfree does not clearly publish its domestic rate for those cards, so ask before signing up if they matter to you.
- ✓Settlement is the same by default: T+2 working days on both. Cashfree publishes 0.30% + GST for instant settlement; Razorpay does not publish its fee.
- ✓Both run a new-merchant offer as of September 2026. Razorpay's is 0% on domestic payments for 90 days or the first ₹5 lakh, whichever comes first. Cashfree's is 0% on the first ₹20 lakh of sales until 31 March 2027, with T+1 settlement.
- ✓Both hold an RBI online payment aggregator licence dated 19 December 2023. The RBI fined Cashfree ₹3.10 lakh in March 2026 over a debit from its escrow account.
Razorpay
Razorpay suits Indian businesses that want a subscriptions product priced as a simple percentage add-on and 24x7 support on the standard plan, and that take few Amex, Diners or EMI payments.
Cashfree Payments
Cashfree Payments suits price-sensitive Indian businesses, especially those with many credit-card EMI customers, and those that want a published instant-settlement fee.
The Verdict
It Depends on Your Needs
Why?
Both are graded B-, and the published price gap is smaller than the headline suggests. On ordinary domestic cards, UPI, net banking and wallets, Cashfree's 1.95% beats Razorpay's 2% by 0.05 points before GST. Cashfree's advantage is larger on credit-card EMI, where Razorpay charges 3%, and its new-merchant offer is bigger. Cashfree also publishes its instant-settlement fee. Razorpay offers 24x7 support on the standard plan and a simple percentage price for subscriptions. It also has no RBI penalty on record, where Cashfree was fined in March 2026. Settlement is T+2 on both, and both hold the same RBI licences. Choose on your payment mix and how much you value support, not on the headline rate.
Feature by feature
Detailed Comparison
Filter Options
Domestic payment rates (India, INR, standard plan, + 18% GST on both, September 2026)
| Feature | Razorpay | Cashfree Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic cards, UPI, net banking and wallets | 2% + GST | 1.95% + GST Winner |
| Both are platform fees on the standard self-serve plan. With 18% GST, that is 2.36% on Razorpay and 2.30% on Cashfree: ₹23.60 against ₹23.01 on a ₹1,000 sale. Cashfree's pricing page shows 2.0% struck through beside its 1.95%. Razorpay says UPI and RuPay debit carry zero MDR by RBI mandate and its 2% is a platform fee; Cashfree says its UPI charges are 'as per the applicable law' and lists UPI under the 1.95% fee. | ||
| Amex and Diners cards | 3% + GST | Not disclosed |
| Razorpay's standard plan says Diners and Amex cards 'will be charged at 3%'. Cashfree does not state a domestic Amex or Diners rate in words, and its own pages point different ways: the pricing page shows the Amex and Diners logos in the group above its 1.95% domestic fee; its help-centre rate table lists domestic cards at 1.95% as Visa, Mastercard, RuPay and Maestro only; and its Payment Pages product page lists Diners and Amex under 'Other Cards' at 2.95%. Its offer terms say only that Amex and Diners are always charged the standard rate. Ask Cashfree to confirm before relying on either figure. | ||
| Corporate (business) credit cards | 3% + GST | Not disclosed |
| Cashfree's pricing page lists no separate corporate-card rate. Its festive-offer terms exclude corporate cards from the 0% offer. | ||
| Credit-card EMI | 3% + GST | 2.2% + GST Winner |
| Razorpay's standard-plan footnote puts credit-card, debit-card and cardless EMI at 3%; its pricing blog lists debit-card EMI at 1%, so only the credit-card EMI rate is compared here. Cashfree's pricing page shows 2.2% on credit-card EMI; its help centre describes credit-card EMI as 'Starting at 1.90% platform fee, plus 0.25%'. Either way it is below Razorpay's 3%. Cashfree also lists 1.5% on HDFC debit-card EMI and 1.90% on cardless EMI. | ||
| International cards | 3% + GST | 2.99% + GST (Visa, Mastercard); 2.95% + GST (Amex) |
| The gap on Visa and Mastercard is 0.01 points, so no winner is given. Razorpay's international payments page says 'up to 3%'. Both need international payments to be activated after document checks. | ||
| Setup and annual maintenance fee | ₹0 setup; ₹0 annual maintenance | ₹0 setup; ₹0 standard (paid premium tier available) |
| Razorpay's standard plan lists a ₹0 setup fee and ₹0 annual maintenance fee; its pricing blog mentions a one-time ₹199 + tax KYC processing fee among the conditions of its new-merchant offer. Cashfree says it charges no setup fee or annual maintenance charge, and sells an optional premium service with an annual maintenance charge, which adds a dedicated account manager and a 30-minute priority response. It does not publish the amount. | ||
Domestic cards, UPI, net banking and wallets
Razorpay
2% + GST
Cashfree Payments
1.95% + GST
Winner
Both are platform fees on the standard self-serve plan. With 18% GST, that is 2.36% on Razorpay and 2.30% on Cashfree: ₹23.60 against ₹23.01 on a ₹1,000 sale. Cashfree's pricing page shows 2.0% struck through beside its 1.95%. Razorpay says UPI and RuPay debit carry zero MDR by RBI mandate and its 2% is a platform fee; Cashfree says its UPI charges are 'as per the applicable law' and lists UPI under the 1.95% fee.
Amex and Diners cards
Razorpay
3% + GST
Cashfree Payments
Not disclosed
Razorpay's standard plan says Diners and Amex cards 'will be charged at 3%'. Cashfree does not state a domestic Amex or Diners rate in words, and its own pages point different ways: the pricing page shows the Amex and Diners logos in the group above its 1.95% domestic fee; its help-centre rate table lists domestic cards at 1.95% as Visa, Mastercard, RuPay and Maestro only; and its Payment Pages product page lists Diners and Amex under 'Other Cards' at 2.95%. Its offer terms say only that Amex and Diners are always charged the standard rate. Ask Cashfree to confirm before relying on either figure.
Corporate (business) credit cards
Razorpay
3% + GST
Cashfree Payments
Not disclosed
Cashfree's pricing page lists no separate corporate-card rate. Its festive-offer terms exclude corporate cards from the 0% offer.
Credit-card EMI
Razorpay
3% + GST
Cashfree Payments
2.2% + GST
Winner
Razorpay's standard-plan footnote puts credit-card, debit-card and cardless EMI at 3%; its pricing blog lists debit-card EMI at 1%, so only the credit-card EMI rate is compared here. Cashfree's pricing page shows 2.2% on credit-card EMI; its help centre describes credit-card EMI as 'Starting at 1.90% platform fee, plus 0.25%'. Either way it is below Razorpay's 3%. Cashfree also lists 1.5% on HDFC debit-card EMI and 1.90% on cardless EMI.
International cards
Razorpay
3% + GST
Cashfree Payments
2.99% + GST (Visa, Mastercard); 2.95% + GST (Amex)
The gap on Visa and Mastercard is 0.01 points, so no winner is given. Razorpay's international payments page says 'up to 3%'. Both need international payments to be activated after document checks.
Setup and annual maintenance fee
Razorpay
₹0 setup; ₹0 annual maintenance
Cashfree Payments
₹0 setup; ₹0 standard (paid premium tier available)
Razorpay's standard plan lists a ₹0 setup fee and ₹0 annual maintenance fee; its pricing blog mentions a one-time ₹199 + tax KYC processing fee among the conditions of its new-merchant offer. Cashfree says it charges no setup fee or annual maintenance charge, and sells an optional premium service with an annual maintenance charge, which adds a dedicated account manager and a 30-minute priority response. It does not publish the amount.
Best For Your Business
Recommendations based on your business type
Business with many credit-card EMI customers
Recommended
Cashfree Payments
Cashfree lists credit-card EMI at 2.2% on its pricing page; Razorpay charges 3%. On a ₹50,000 EMI sale that is ₹1,298 against ₹1,770, GST included. If you also take many Amex or Diners cards, ask Cashfree for its rate first: Razorpay charges 3%, and Cashfree does not clearly publish one.
Small online shop selling mostly by UPI and domestic cards
Both. The gap is 1.95% against 2%, about ₹59 on ₹1 lakh of sales with GST. Both settle on T+2 and both have Shopify and WooCommerce plugins. The introductory offers matter more in the first months: Razorpay's is 0% for 90 days or the first ₹5 lakh, Cashfree's is 0% on the first ₹20 lakh until March 2027.
Business that needs cash the same day
Both offer instant settlement. Cashfree publishes its price, 0.30% plus GST, so you can cost it before signing up; Razorpay offers it 24x7 but shows the fee only in the dashboard, so ask for it before you commit.
Subscription business with low monthly amounts
Recommended
Razorpay
Razorpay adds 0.5% per subscription payment on its current offer (0.9% standard), which is ₹1.50 on a ₹300 plan. Cashfree charges ₹7.5 per debit plus ₹7.5 per mandate, or ₹7.5 + ₹5 on UPI AutoPay under ₹1,000. Above roughly ₹1,500 a debit, Cashfree's fixed fee is cheaper.
Business that wants round-the-clock support without paying extra
Recommended
Razorpay
Razorpay includes 24x7 support on its standard plan. Cashfree's faster support tier comes with a paid annual maintenance charge whose amount it does not publish.
Razorpay: Best for 2 use cases
Cashfree Payments: Best for 1 use case
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this comparison
Cashfree, slightly, on published standard pricing. It charges a 1.95% platform fee on domestic cards, UPI, net banking and wallets, against Razorpay's 2%, and GST at 18% is added on both. The difference is larger on credit-card EMI (2.2% against 3%). International Visa and Mastercard cards cost 2.99% on Cashfree and 3% on Razorpay. Razorpay charges 3% on Amex, Diners and corporate cards; Cashfree does not clearly publish its domestic rate for them.
Yes, both. GST at 18% is charged on the platform fee, not on the whole sale. So Razorpay's 2% costs 2.36% in total and Cashfree's 1.95% costs about 2.30%. Cashfree's offer terms say GST is not waived even while its 0% offer applies.
By RBI mandate UPI carries zero MDR, and Razorpay says so explicitly, but both charge a platform fee on UPI payments: 2% on Razorpay and 1.95% on Cashfree, plus GST. Cashfree's FAQ says its UPI charges are 'as per the applicable law' and lists UPI among the methods under its 1.95% fee.
Both settle domestic payments on T+2 working days by default. Razorpay settles international payments on T+7. Both offer instant settlement: Cashfree publishes 0.30% plus GST, and Razorpay shows its fee in the dashboard before you confirm. Cashfree's festive offer gives new merchants T+1 settlement by 8pm IST while it runs.
Yes. The RBI's list of authorised payment system operators shows both as online payment aggregators, both authorised on 19 December 2023, and also lists both for physical and cross-border payment aggregation. According to press reports, the RBI had asked both to pause onboarding new merchants from December 2022 until those licences were granted. In March 2026 the RBI fined Cashfree ₹3.10 lakh over a debit from its escrow account.
No setup fee on either, and no annual maintenance charge on either standard plan. Razorpay's pricing blog lists a one-time ₹199 + tax KYC fee as a condition of its new-merchant offer. Cashfree sells an optional premium tier with an annual maintenance charge for a dedicated account manager and faster support, but does not publish the amount.
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