Shopify vs WooCommerce vs custom — the Indian D2C answer

Every D2C founder in India asks the same question. Here is the answer, in numbers, for 2026.

Shopify (India edition)

• Setup: 2–4 weeks with a good designer.
• Cost: ₹2,000 – ₹8,000/month + 0.5–2% txn fee.
• Pros: Razorpay, Shiprocket, Delhivery, COD plugins — all one-click. GST-compliant apps ready. 99.9% uptime.
• Cons: transaction fees, limited backend logic, apps stack up (₹15k+/month easily).
• Best for: ₹0 – ₹5 Cr/year revenue, 1–500 SKUs.

WooCommerce

• Setup: cheap upfront (₹40k – ₹1.5L).
• Cost: ₹1,500 – ₹6,000/month hosting.
• Pros: own the code, no txn fees.
• Cons: you WILL get hacked once. Slow. Plugin conflicts. Not recommended in 2026 unless very low volume.

Custom (Next.js + Shopify Hydrogen / Medusa / Saleor)

• Setup: ₹4L – ₹15L.
• Cost: ₹8k – ₹40k/month infra.
• Pros: infinite flexibility, fastest possible UX, own the stack.
• Cons: you need a real engineering partner. Not for MVPs.
• Best for: ₹5 Cr+ revenue, unique UX requirements, subscription/bundle logic.

My honest recommendation for Indian D2C in 2026

• Just launched? Shopify. Ship in 3 weeks.
• ₹1–5 Cr and scaling? Shopify + custom theme (I do these).
• ₹5 Cr+ with unique flows? Custom headless.

Talk to me about your store.