Razorpay, Cashfree or PayU: Cheaper Ways to Accept Payments Than Stripe in India

Platforms named in the question are shown alongside the 2 highest payouts among the platforms this site covers, ranked by the INR received on a $5,000 invoice. Fees were checked on 30 Sept 2026.

Razorpay, Cashfree and PayU take sign-ups from Indian businesses for international payments, and Stripe accepts registered Indian businesses by invite only. A lower fee only helps if you qualify for the account. Stripe excludes individuals, Cashfree asks for a registered business and Razorpay lists Individual as a business type. For head-to-head detail see Stripe vs Razorpay, Stripe vs Cashfree and Stripe vs PayU.

Each row applies the platform's published fee, FX markup and 18% GST on the fee to the XE mid-market rate for 4 Nov 2026. Platforms without full published pricing are not included.

For example, on a $2,000 invoice Skydo pays about ₹1,87,129 and Stripe about ₹1,75,181 at today's reference rate, a difference of ₹11,947.

The export documents and GST rules stay the same whichever gateway collects the money, so a cheaper gateway does not remove any filing. A service is an export of services under IGST Act s.2(6) when the supplier is in India, the recipient and place of supply are outside India, payment comes in convertible foreign exchange or permitted INR, and the two are not merely establishments of one person. Under RBI PA directions para 11(h), a PA-CB must give your AD bank the documents needed to close EDPMS entries.

The FEMA (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026 came into force on 1 October 2026 for every exporter, whichever gateway collects. A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 20 superseded the Master Direction on Export of Goods and Services and the SOFTEX circulars from the same date. The EDF guide covers the filing steps.

• Regulations: FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB replaced the 2015 export regulations from 1 October 2026 (FEMA Regulations 2026).
• Realisation: Service export proceeds must be realised within nine months of the invoice date, or twelve months if invoiced or settled in INR, and the AD bank may extend this. Amendment FEMA 23(R)/(1)/2026-RB of 22 September 2026 set these periods (Reg 5).
• EDF: Service exporters file an EDF within 30 days from the end of the invoice month, and the AD bank may extend the deadline on request (Reg 3(2)).
• SOFTEX: Circular No. 20 lists the SOFTEX circulars among those superseded from 1 October 2026 (Circular No. 20).
• EDPMS: Entries for invoices up to Rs 10 lakh can be closed on the exporter's declaration (Reg 4(2)).

Every rule is linked to its official source below with the date it was checked. Platform figures come from each platform's own pages; the full method is on the methodology page.

1. RBI Master Direction on Regulation of Payment Aggregator (PA) (RBI/DPSS/2025-26/141, 15 September 2025), Para 4(i)(ii) PA-CB definition and card transaction note; para 11(d) Rs 25 lakh per transaction; para 11(h) documents for EDPMS closure (checked 6 Oct 2026)
2. Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026 (FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB, amended up to 22 September 2026), Reg 1(2) in force 1 October 2026; Reg 3(2) EDF for services; Reg 4(2) EDPMS closure up to Rs 10 lakh; Reg 5 realisation, footnotes 2 to 4 (amendment of 22 September 2026); Reg 18(2) FETERS (checked 6 Oct 2026)
3. RBI A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 20, Export and Import of Goods and Services (16 January 2026), Para 4 supersession including SOFTEX circulars (Annex); para 7 effective 1 October 2026 (checked 6 Oct 2026)
4. RBI A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 84 (29 February 2012): Compilation of R-Returns: Reporting under FETERS (purpose code list) (checked 6 Oct 2026)
5. IGST Act, 2017, Section 2: Definitions, Section 2(6) export of services (checked 6 Oct 2026)
6. IGST Act, 2017, Section 16: Zero rated supply, Section 16(1) and 16(3) (checked 6 Oct 2026)
7. CGST Rules, 2017, Rule 96A: Export under bond or Letter of Undertaking, Rule 96A(1) FORM GST RFD-11 (checked 6 Oct 2026)
8. Stripe docs: Accept international payments from India, Invite only; registered Indian business; cannot be an individual; transaction purpose code (checked 6 Oct 2026)
9. Razorpay docs: International Bank Transfer, Prerequisites; onboarding business types; purpose code step (checked 6 Oct 2026)
10. Cashfree Docs: Global Collections overview (checked 6 Oct 2026)
11. PayU: International payments, International payment gateway for Indian businesses; freelancers and professionals section (checked 6 Oct 2026)
12. Skydo homepage (pricing and fee calculator), Know what you pay; calculator showing GST 18% of transaction fee (checked 6 Oct 2026)
13. Razorpay MoneySaver Export Account (International Bank Transfers) pricing, Standard Plan: 0% FX markup, 1% fee, FlashLinks 2%, GST applicable, flat fee of INR 1,000 on transactions below INR 1,00,000, setup and AMC INR 0 (checked 6 Oct 2026)
14. Kotak Everyday Savings Account fees and charges, Foreign Inward Remittance certificate (Branch Request) INR 100/Request; GST on Foreign Currency Conversion; fees exclusive of GST (checked 6 Oct 2026)
15. Stripe India pricing, International cards with USD/other currency presentment 4.3% + 2% if currency conversion is required; Mastercard and Visa cards issued outside India 3% + 2%; American Express outside India 3.5% + 2%; dispute received INR 1,000.00 (checked 7 Oct 2026)
16. PayU Pricing, 3% for Diners, American Express, EMI, International transactions; 18% GST applicable on all transactions; No set-up fee; standard settlement T+2; custom pricing slabs for higher volumes or enterprise needs, based on payment mode, industry type, risk profile, transaction volume, value-added features and processing requirements; no setup, onboarding or annual fees (checked 7 Oct 2026)