Razorpay vs Stripe

Fees, tax handling, payouts and coverage side by side, plus how many verified RevMRR startups use each.

The short version

Neither is a merchant of record, so with either one you register for and remit sales tax and VAT yourself.
On the standard published rate, Razorpay (2%) is cheaper per transaction than Stripe (2.9% + $0.30).
Pick Razorpay for: indian businesses, from a first online store to an enterprise, that want every domestic payment method through one integration at a flat published rate; SaaS and marketplace operators who need subscriptions, payment links, split settlements (Route) and virtual accounts (Smart Collect) from the same vendor; developers who value documentation and SDKs..
Pick Stripe for: online-first businesses — SaaS, ecommerce, subscriptions, marketplaces — with access to developer talent, and any company selling internationally that needs multi-currency support and rich analytics..

	Razorpay	Stripe
RevMRR Score	B69	B74
Type	Payment Processor	Payment Processor
Standard fee	2%	2.9% + $0.30
Monthly fee	None	None
Merchant of record	No	No
Sales tax / VAT	You handle it	Paid add-on
Subscriptions	Supported	Supported
Payouts	T+2 business days (domestic)	First payout 7-14 days; then a rolling schedule…
Who can sign up	Founded in 2014, based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India	Founded in 2010, based in San Francisco, CA
Payment methods	Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Local Payment Methods	Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Local Payment Methods
Best for	Indian businesses, from a first online store to an enterprise, that want every domestic payment method through one integration at a flat published rate; SaaS and marketplace operators who need subscriptions, payment links, split settlements (Route) and virtual accounts (Smart Collect) from the same vendor; developers who value documentation and SDKs.	Online-first businesses — SaaS, ecommerce, subscriptions, marketplaces — with access to developer talent, and any company selling internationally that needs multi-currency support and rich analytics.
Used on RevMRR	Not connectable yet	0 verified startups

Razorpay

If you sell to Indian customers online, Razorpay is the default choice for a reason: one integration covers cards, UPI, netbanking, wallets, EMI and Pay Later, the fee is a single published number, and the developer tooling is the best in the market. Treat it as an aggregator rather than a merchant account, though. Your funds sit under Razorpay's licence, and the recurring complaint from small merchants is a sudden compliance hold with templated replies and no timeline. Businesses processing more than ₹5 lakh a month should negotiate rather than accept the rate card, and every merchant should keep the KYC file complete before volume spikes, because that is what triggers the reviews.

+ One published number for domestic payments — 2% plus GST across cards, UPI, netbanking and wallets, 3% for premium methods — with no setup fee, no annual charge, no minimum and free refunds, plus a 0% introductory period for merchants activating from July 2026.
+ The broadest domestic method coverage in India through a single integration, including UPI, EMI, Pay Later and every major wallet, with a checkout that Razorpay reports as market-leading on conversion.
+ Developer experience is the strongest in the market: complete documentation, SDKs for every major stack, webhooks, a test mode and plugins for the mainstream e-commerce platforms.
+ Fully licensed: RBI online payment aggregator (December 2023), cross-border (December 2025) and physical POS (January 2026), plus Bank Negara Malaysia authorisation for Curlec in Malaysia.
+ Collections, subscriptions, split settlements, virtual accounts, payouts, corporate cards and payroll on one platform, which removes several vendors for a growing company.
– Support and holds are the recurring complaint: a Trustpilot score of 1.4 from 449 reviews, 73% of them one star, dominated by accounts limited during compliance reviews, settlements held for weeks or months and templated replies.
– It is an aggregator, so the merchant account is Razorpay's, not yours; a hold or termination is decided by its compliance team and there is no acquiring bank to escalate to.
– The Reserve Bank of India barred Razorpay from onboarding new online merchants for a year, from December 2022 until its final aggregator licence in December 2023 — resolved, but a reminder that its ability to sign customers depends on its regulator.
– International acceptance is comparatively expensive at up to 3% plus GST with settlement around a week later, and the business is built for India, with Malaysia (Curlec) and Singapore the only other markets.
– Only the headline rates are public: instant settlement, Route, Smart Collect, UPI AutoPay, e-mandates and POS are all 'contact sales', and the chargeback fee is not published at all.

Razorpay pricing ↗

Stripe

Stripe earns its A grade: transparent flat-rate pricing with no fixed fees, an unmatched developer platform, and product breadth that covers everything from subscriptions to marketplace payouts. The honest caveats are the 7-14 day first payout, the possibility of holds while underwriting catches up with instant onboarding, and pricing that stops being a bargain at serious volume until you negotiate custom rates.

+ Best-in-class developer experience: clean APIs, SDKs, and documentation that set the industry standard
+ Transparent flat-rate pricing with no monthly, setup, PCI, or statement fees
+ Global reach with broad payment-method and multi-currency support
+ Deep feature set — subscriptions, invoicing, marketplace tools, virtual terminal — on one platform
+ No contract or early-termination fee on standard pay-as-you-go service
– First payout takes 7-14 days, and new or unusual accounts can face holds and verification friction
– Flat-rate 2.9% + $0.30 gets expensive at volume compared with negotiated interchange-plus pricing
– Complex for non-technical users — much of the value assumes you will build on the API
– Prohibits many high-risk categories and is not available in every country

Stripe pricing ↗