Three ways to sell online in India
Dukaan, The Storemate, and Shopify all let you run an online store, but they aim at different sellers. Dukaan is built for fast, mobile-first, often WhatsApp-led selling. The Storemate is a full India-first store platform. Shopify is the global heavyweight. Here's an honest look at where each fits.
Speed to first sale
Dukaan is famously quick — a store in minutes, run largely from your phone. The Storemate takes a little more setup but gives you a fuller store: themes, a page builder, and commerce on by default. Shopify is fast for a standard store, slower once you add the apps you'll need. To sell within the hour, Dukaan is hard to beat.
Payments and COD
All three handle Indian payments, but depth differs. For a store where COD is half your orders, look closely at COD controls — restricting by pincode, verifying orders, converting to prepaid. The Storemate treats UPI, cards, and COD as first-class, with those controls built in.
GST and invoicing
An India-first platform should generate GST-correct invoices without a paid app. The Storemate does this at checkout. Check the same on any platform you compare — on global tools it often means installing and paying for one more app.
Depth of features
This is the real split. Dukaan keeps it lean and fast. Shopify goes deep through paid apps. The Storemate bundles more into the plan — page builder, email sequences, loyalty, analytics, multiple stores. If you want breadth without stitching apps together, that bundle matters.
Total cost
Compare plan, plus transaction fee, plus gateway fee, plus apps, at your real volume. The Storemate is priced in rupees from free up, with a fee that falls from 2% to 0% by tier. Line each platform's full bill against your expected sales, not the headline plan price.
Which one for which seller
Selling fast and mobile-first, light on features? Dukaan. Want a full India-first store with GST, marketing, and room to grow? The Storemate. Depend on a specific global app or sell heavily abroad? Shopify. Be honest about which seller you are, then pick the fit — it's free to try The Storemate on your own store first.