Cashfree Payments vs Razorpay

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

Razorpay

Indian payment gateway for accepting UPI, cards, netbanking and wallets online, with business banking add-ons.

Paid

Visit Razorpay Razorpay profile

The short answer

Cashfree Payments and Razorpay are both Indian payment gateways for UPI, cards, netbanking and wallets, with no setup fee. Cashfree's standard rate is a little lower and it is strong on bulk payouts and verification APIs. Razorpay is the more widely used all-rounder, with mobile apps, a 90-day zero-fee start and RazorpayX banking. Pick Cashfree for payout-heavy businesses; pick Razorpay for a broad, familiar gateway.

Cashfree Payments or Razorpay: our take

Both serve businesses registered in India and offer a hosted checkout, payment links and subscriptions alongside the gateway. Cashfree lists 180+ payment modes, including EMI and pay-later options, and accepts international cards and PayPal across 140+ currencies, settled in INR. Razorpay covers cards, netbanking, UPI and wallets plus EMI, and adds payment pages, invoices and QR codes. It is an RBI-authorised payment aggregator.

On price, Cashfree's standard fee is 1.95% + taxes per transaction, against Razorpay's 2% + GST per transaction. Cashfree charges 2.99% for international cards and more for Amex and Diners, plus ₹20 per IMPS/NEFT/RTGS payment collected by bank transfer. Razorpay has ₹0 setup and ₹0 maintenance, a 0% gateway fee for the first 90 days, and custom pricing above ₹5,00,000 monthly revenue. Its standard fee applies even to UPI payments, which carry no bank MDR. Both offer custom rates to larger businesses, and Cashfree's promotional zero-fee offers come with detailed eligibility terms.

The bigger difference is what sits next to the gateway. Cashfree is built for collections plus high-volume payouts, with payouts from ₹3 per NEFT transfer up to ₹1,000, and sells identity and bank-account verification APIs useful for onboarding many users. It is popular with marketplaces, lenders, insurers and D2C stores, and has a native Shopify integration. Razorpay pairs its gateway with RazorpayX for payouts, current accounts and corporate cards, and has iOS and Android apps, while Cashfree is managed on the web and via APIs.

Marketplaces and lending or insurance businesses that send money to many people should look closely at Cashfree. Startups, SaaS companies and freelancers that want a well-known gateway with business banking and mobile apps will find Razorpay a simpler default.

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 Razorpay if…

Indian businesses that want a single gateway for UPI, cards and netbanking plus payouts
You need iOS and Android, which Cashfree Payments doesn't list
Covers UPI, cards, netbanking, EMI and wallets in one integration
No setup fee or annual maintenance charge on the standard plan

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 Razorpay?

Razorpay is one of the most widely used payment gateways in India. Businesses add its checkout to a website or app and can then take payments by UPI, credit and debit cards, netbanking, EMI and popular wallets, with settlement to an Indian bank account. Beyond the core gateway it offers payment links, payment pages, subscriptions, invoices and QR codes, plus RazorpayX for payouts, current accounts and corporate cards. Pricing is pay-as-you-go: a percentage fee on each successful transaction, with no setup or annual maintenance charge on the standard plan, and custom rates for larger volumes. It suits Indian startups, D2C brands, SaaS companies and freelancers who want one account for collecting money and paying it out. It is built mainly for businesses registered in India; companies abroad can use it to collect INR from Indian customers, but it is not a global processor in the way Stripe is. Everything is managed from a web dashboard and mobile apps, with APIs and plugins for common store platforms.

Side by side

Attribute	Cashfree Payments	Razorpay
Pricing	Paid	Paid
Open source	No	No
Self-hostable	No	No
Platforms	Web	Web, iOS, Android
Best for	Indian businesses that need both payment collection and high-volume payouts	Indian businesses that want a single gateway for UPI, cards and netbanking plus payouts
Status	Active	Active

Verified facts, compared

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

Fact	Cashfree Payments	Razorpay
Standard fee	1.95% + taxes per transaction	2% + GST per transaction
Setup fee	None	None, and no annual maintenance charge
Payment methods	180+ payment modes	Cards, netbanking, UPI and wallets
Standard pricing	1.95% platform fee per transaction	2% + GST per successful transaction