Cashfree Payments vs Paytm for Business

Updated November 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

Cashfree Payments

Indian payment gateway and payouts platform for collecting and sending money via UPI, cards and bank transfers.

Paid

Visit Cashfree Payments Cashfree Payments profile

Paytm for Business

Paytm's merchant suite: online payment gateway, payment links, UPI QR codes and card machines for Indian businesses.

Paid

Visit Paytm for Business Paytm for Business profile

The short answer

Both are Indian payment providers with no setup fee that accept UPI, cards, netbanking and EMI. Cashfree Payments suits online businesses that need collections plus high-volume payouts and verification APIs, with a flat 1.95% standard fee. Paytm for Business suits merchants who want online and in-store payments from one provider, with QR codes, soundboxes and card machines alongside its gateway.

Cashfree Payments or Paytm for Business: our take

Cashfree Payments is built for online money movement in both directions. Alongside its gateway, hosted checkout, payment links and subscriptions, it offers a payouts API for paying vendors, customers and employees, plus identity and bank-account verification APIs. That combination is why it is popular with marketplaces, lenders, insurers and D2C stores. Paytm for Business covers online and offline sales. Its payment gateway integrates through APIs, SDKs and plugins for Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento, and in shops it provides UPI QR codes, a soundbox for payment alerts and card machines.

Cashfree's pricing is easy to state: a 1.95% platform fee per transaction on the standard plan, 2.99% for international cards, ₹20 per IMPS/NEFT/RTGS payment, and payouts from ₹3 per NEFT payout. Amex and Diners also cost more, and enterprises can negotiate custom rates. Paytm charges a merchant discount rate that varies by payment method and merchant size. UPI and RuPay card transactions are 0%, but card costs are harder to predict. Neither charges a setup fee, and Paytm also has no annual maintenance charge.

Cashfree lists 180+ payment modes and accepts international cards and PayPal across 140+ currencies, settled in INR. Paytm lists 100+ methods, including Paytm Postpaid, and offers T+1, same-day or on-demand settlement. Paytm has Android and iOS apps for merchants, while Cashfree is run from a web dashboard and APIs. Both are for businesses operating in India, and Paytm's hardware comes as separate products with their own terms.

Choose Cashfree if you run an online business that needs bulk payouts, user verification or international collections, and you prefer one predictable standard rate. Choose Paytm for Business if you sell in person as well as online, take mostly UPI payments, or want flexible settlement timing from a brand many customers already recognise.

Choose Cashfree Payments if…

Indian businesses that need both payment collection and high-volume payouts
Standard rate slightly below the common 2% Indian benchmark
Payouts and verification APIs sit alongside the gateway

Choose Paytm for Business if…

Indian businesses that want online and in-store payments from one widely recognised provider
You need Android and iOS, which Cashfree Payments doesn't list
Covers online gateway, payment links, QR codes and card machines
No setup or annual maintenance fee on the payment gateway

What is Cashfree Payments?

Cashfree Payments is an Indian payments company offering a payment gateway, hosted checkout, payment links, subscriptions and a payouts API for sending money to vendors, customers and employees. Merchants can accept UPI, cards, netbanking, wallets, EMI and pay-later options, and can collect international card and PayPal payments that settle in rupees. It is popular with marketplaces, lending and insurance companies and D2C stores that need both collections and bulk payouts, and it has a native Shopify integration for Indian stores. Pricing is a per-transaction platform fee with no setup charge on the standard plan; card networks such as Amex and international cards cost more, and enterprises can negotiate custom pricing. Cashfree also sells identity and bank-account verification APIs, which helps businesses that onboard many users. It is aimed at businesses registered in India and is managed through a web dashboard and APIs.

What is Paytm for Business?

Paytm for Business is the merchant side of Paytm, covering both online and in-store payments in India. Online, businesses integrate the Paytm Payment Gateway through APIs, SDKs or plugins for platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce, and accept UPI, cards, netbanking, EMI and Paytm Postpaid, with payment links and subscriptions for collecting money without a website. In shops, it provides QR codes, a soundbox for payment alerts and card machines. Settlement options include next-day, same-day and on-demand payouts, and there is a dashboard for reports and reconciliation. Pricing is a per-transaction merchant discount rate that varies by payment method and merchant size, with no setup or annual maintenance fee on the gateway. It is used by everything from neighbourhood stores to large Indian online brands, and is only for businesses operating in India.

Side by side

Attribute	Cashfree Payments	Paytm for Business
Pricing	Paid	Paid
Open source	No	No
Self-hostable	No	No
Platforms	Web	Web, Android, iOS
Best for	Indian businesses that need both payment collection and high-volume payouts	Indian businesses that want online and in-store payments from one widely recognised provider
Status	Active	Active

Verified facts, compared

Facts both apps publish, checked on each vendor's own site.

Fact	Cashfree Payments	Paytm for Business
Setup fee	None	None, and no annual maintenance charges
Payment methods	180+ payment modes	100+ including UPI, cards, netbanking, EMI