Softwr

E-Commerce · head to head

Razorpay vs Swell Commerce

Razorpay logo

Razorpay

E-Commerce

Indian payment gateway for domestic and international card, UPI and wallet acceptance

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Swell Commerce logo

Swell Commerce

E-Commerce

Headless ecommerce for modern brands

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Razorpay it requires an Indian legal entity and settles only to Indian bank accounts, so it is not an option for a business incorporated elsewhere no matter how many Indian customers it has.; Swell Commerce each plan carries an annual revenue ceiling, and exceeding it is charged as a percentage of the excess: 2 percent on Starter down to 0.4 percent on Unlimited
  • They diverge on capability: Razorpay covers Domestic payment methods, Swell Commerce covers Headless architecture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Razorpay and Swell Commerce actually diverge.

Attributes where Razorpay and Swell Commerce differ
AttributeRazorpaySwell Commerce
Starting priceOn request$29/month
Pricing modeltransactionsubscription
FoundedUnknown2019

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Razorpay

  • Domestic payment methods
  • International cards
  • Payment links and pages
  • Route
  • RazorpayX
  • Subscriptions
  • Smart Collect
  • Dashboard and reporting

Only in Swell Commerce

  • Headless architecture
  • GraphQL & REST APIs
  • Subscription commerce
  • Multi-currency support
  • Inventory management
  • Custom checkout
  • Webhook integrations
  • Developer-friendly SDK

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Razorpay

  • An Indian D2C brand needing UPI acceptance alongside cards in a single checkoutnot Swell Commerce
  • An Indian SaaS business billing domestic customers on recurring mandatesnot Swell Commerce
  • A marketplace that must split each payment between the platform and its sellersnot Swell Commerce
  • A business that needs to take payment without building a website, using links and pagesnot Swell Commerce

Swell Commerce

  • Running a headless commerce backend with APIs for a custom storefrontnot Razorpay
  • Selling subscription products alongside one off purchasesnot Razorpay
  • Operating multi currency stores from one commerce backendnot Razorpay

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Razorpay

  • It requires an Indian legal entity and settles only to Indian bank accounts, so it is not an option for a business incorporated elsewhere no matter how many Indian customers it has.
  • The transaction percentage applies to the full order value including shipping and tax rather than to the product price, so low margin categories with heavy shipping give up more of their margin than the quoted rate suggests.
  • Payment aggregator authorisation sits with the Reserve Bank of India and has been withheld from aggregators before while applications were reviewed, so a dependency exists that no commercial contract term protects you from.
  • Default settlement runs on a delayed cycle with faster settlement sold as a paid add-on, so a business that buys stock from its takings either waits for cash or pays extra for it, and that cost belongs in the effective rate.
  • International card acceptance is priced higher and requires separate approval rather than being a configuration change, so cross-border revenue takes longer to switch on and earns less per order than a domestic sale.

Swell Commerce

  • Each plan carries an annual revenue ceiling, and exceeding it is charged as a percentage of the excess: 2 percent on Starter down to 0.4 percent on Unlimited
  • Starter at $29 a month allows 2 admin users and includes only 100,000 API requests and 1GB of storage per month
  • Additional API requests cost $5 per 100,000 and extra storage $5 per GB
  • Role based permissions and developer support are restricted to the Unlimited plan at $2,250 a month
  • Advanced reports and priced currencies require the Standard plan or higher
  • Published prices are the billed yearly rates, so monthly billing costs more

Pricing, plan by plan

Razorpay

On request
  • Domestic Payments$undefined/mo
    • 2% platform fee per successful transaction across all payment instruments
    • GST: 18% applies on the platform fee
    • No setup fees, annual maintenance charges, or refund fees
  • Corporate Cards$undefined/mo
    • 2.15% platform fee per transaction
  • International Payments - Cards$undefined/mo
    • Up to 3% per successful transaction
  • International Payments - Bank Transfers$undefined/mo
    • 1% per transaction with zero forex markup

Swell Commerce

$29/month
  • Starter$29/month
    • Up to $50K annual revenue
    • Basic reports
    • Up to 5 admin users
  • Basic$79/month
    • Up to $250K annual revenue
    • Most popular plan
    • Basic reports
  • Standard$299/month
    • Up to $1M annual revenue
    • Advanced reports
    • Up to 15 admin users
  • Unlimited$2250/month
    • Up to $5M annual revenue
    • Unlimited scalability and granular control
    • Unlimited admin users

Which should you pick?

Choose Razorpay if

  • You need domestic payment methods.
  • You also want international cards.
Razorpay review

Choose Swell Commerce if

  • You need headless architecture.
  • You also want graphql & rest apis.
Swell Commerce review

Questions people ask

Is Razorpay or Swell Commerce better?
Neither clearly leads. Razorpay starts at On request and Swell Commerce at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Razorpay or Swell Commerce?
Razorpay starts at On request and Swell Commerce at $29/month.
Does Razorpay or Swell Commerce run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Razorpay best used for?
Razorpay is most often used for an indian d2c brand needing upi acceptance alongside cards in a single checkout, an indian saas business billing domestic customers on recurring mandates, a marketplace that must split each payment between the platform and its sellers, a business that needs to take payment without building a website, using links and pages. Of those, an indian d2c brand needing upi acceptance alongside cards in a single checkout and an indian saas business billing domestic customers on recurring mandates are not what Swell Commerce is typically brought in for.
What can Razorpay do that Swell Commerce cannot?
Razorpay covers Domestic payment methods, International cards, Payment links and pages, Route. Swell Commerce covers Headless architecture, GraphQL & REST APIs, Subscription commerce, Multi-currency support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Razorpay: Can I use Razorpay if my company is not in India?

No. It requires an Indian entity and an Indian bank account for settlement. Overseas businesses selling into India need a different arrangement.

Swell Commerce: How much does Swell Commerce cost?

Swell offers four tiers starting at $29 per month for Starter and going up to $2,250 per month for Unlimited. Annual billing provides a 25% discount compared to monthly billing. All prices are in USD.

Source
Razorpay: What is the real effective rate?

The domestic percentage on the full order value including shipping and tax, plus higher international rates, plus any charge for faster settlement and dispute handling. Compute it from a month of settlement reports, not the pricing page.

Swell Commerce: What are Swell's revenue tier overages?

Each plan includes a revenue ceiling based on 12-month trailing sales. Starter allows up to $50K with 2% overage, Basic allows $250K with 1.5% overage, Standard allows $1M with 1% overage, and Unlimited allows $5M with 0.4% overage. Custom plans are available for merchants exceeding $10M annually.

Source
Razorpay: How quickly do I get paid?

On a delayed settlement cycle by default, with faster settlement available as a paid feature. Plan working capital around the default, not the add-on.

Razorpay: What is the main structural risk?

Regulatory. Indian payment aggregators operate under RBI authorisation and have previously been barred from onboarding new merchants. Keep a second processor integrated if payments are business-critical.

Razorpay: Does it support recurring billing?

Yes, built on India's mandate and e-mandate framework, which has its own rules on authentication and notification that differ from card-on-file recurring elsewhere.

Share

Related pages

More on Razorpay

More on Swell Commerce

Keep looking

Other head to heads