Overview

Razorpay is a payment gateway and processing platform primarily serving businesses operating in India. Established in 2014, the company offers a suite of financial tools beyond basic payment acceptance, including subscription management, automated payouts for marketplaces, and business banking solutions. Its design focus is on simplifying online transactions for Indian merchants across various sectors, from e-commerce to SaaS and service providers.

The platform supports a broad spectrum of payment methods common in India, such as credit and debit cards, Netbanking, UPI (Unified Payments Interface), and digital wallets. Developers can integrate Razorpay's functionalities into their applications using a range of SDKs for web and mobile platforms, including PHP, Node.js, Python, Ruby, Java, Android, iOS, React Native, and Flutter. This extensive SDK support aims to reduce the complexity of integrating payment processing into diverse application environments.

Razorpay's core offerings include a Payment Gateway for direct website and app integrations, Payment Links for easy collection without a full integration, and Subscriptions for recurring billing models. For businesses requiring complex payout management, such as marketplaces or on-demand service platforms, Razorpay Route enables automated fund distribution to multiple vendors or beneficiaries. Smart Collect provides virtual accounts for automated reconciliation of incoming bank transfers, while Capital offers financing options for businesses. The X product line focuses on payroll and payout automation, further extending Razorpay's reach into broader financial operations management for its users.

The platform adheres to security standards such as PCI DSS Level 1 compliance, SOC 2 Type II certification, and GDPR guidelines, aiming to ensure secure handling of sensitive payment data. Its developer experience emphasizes clear documentation and API references, alongside test modes and webhook support for streamlined development and debugging processes. The comprehensive suite of services positions Razorpay as a significant player in the Indian digital payments ecosystem, facilitating growth for online businesses by streamlining their financial infrastructure.

Key features

  • Payment Gateway: Enables online businesses to accept payments directly on their websites and mobile applications, supporting various Indian and international payment methods.
  • Payment Links: Allows businesses to generate and share payment links via email, SMS, or chat, simplifying payment collection without requiring a full website integration.
  • Subscriptions: Manages recurring payments and subscription billing cycles, offering features like automated renewals, plan management, and customer notifications.
  • Razorpay Route: Facilitates automated fund distribution for marketplaces and platforms, enabling easy splitting and disbursal of payments to multiple vendors or beneficiaries. Refer to the Razorpay Route developer guide for implementation details.
  • Smart Collect: Provides virtual bank accounts for businesses, allowing automated reconciliation of incoming NEFT, RTGS, and IMPS payments.
  • Razorpay Capital: Offers lending solutions and working capital loans to businesses based on their transaction data within the Razorpay ecosystem.
  • Razorpay X (Payroll & Payouts): Automates payroll processing, vendor payouts, and other business banking operations, integrating with the payment gateway for a unified financial management system.
  • Payment Button: Offers a customizable, embeddable payment button that can be added to any website to quickly start accepting payments.
  • Developer SDKs: Supports a wide array of SDKs across multiple programming languages and platforms, including PHP, Node.js, Python, Ruby, Java, Android, iOS, React Native, and Flutter.
  • Webhooks: Provides real-time notifications for payment events, crucial for managing order statuses, inventory updates, and customer communications. Developers can find webhook setup instructions in the documentation.

Pricing

Razorpay operates on a transaction-based pricing model, without setup or annual maintenance fees for its standard plans. The costs vary depending on the payment method and whether the transaction is domestic or international. As of 2026-05-05, key pricing tiers are:

Transaction Type Fee (Standard Plan) Notes
Indian Debit/Credit Cards (Visa, Mastercard, Rupay) 2% per transaction For transactions ₹2000 and below, fee is 0% for RuPay Debit Cards.
UPI & Netbanking 2% per transaction Standard domestic rate.
International Cards 3% per transaction Includes Amex.
Diners & Amex Cards 3% per transaction Specific higher rate for these card networks.
EMI (Equated Monthly Installments) Varies, typically 2.2% - 2.5% Additional charges may apply for specific banks or EMI schemes.
Corporate/Commercial Cards Varies, typically 2.5% - 3.0% Higher rates due to network fees.

Custom pricing plans are available for high-volume businesses. Razorpay's detailed pricing information is available on their official pricing page, which includes specific rates for various payment instruments and value-added services.

Common integrations

Alternatives

  • Stripe: A global payment processing platform offering a wide range of APIs and tools for online and in-person payments, often used by international businesses. Stripe provides extensive documentation and supports numerous payment methods globally, as detailed in their Payments documentation.
  • PayU India: Another prominent payment gateway in India, offering payment processing solutions, often competing directly with Razorpay for local market share.
  • Cashfree Payments: An Indian payment and banking technology company providing payment gateway services, bulk payouts, and payment links, catering to similar market segments as Razorpay.

Getting started

To begin accepting payments with Razorpay, you typically create an account, set up your business profile, and then integrate the payment gateway using one of their SDKs or API. Below is a basic example demonstrating how to create a Razorpay order using their Python SDK. This order creation is the first step before initiating the client-side payment process.

import razorpay

# Replace with your actual Key Id and Key Secret from the Razorpay Dashboard
key_id = "YOUR_KEY_ID"
key_secret = "YOUR_KEY_SECRET"

client = razorpay.Client(auth=(key_id, key_secret))
client.set_app_details("apispine", "1.0") # Optional: Set app details for analytics

data = {
    "amount": 50000,  # Amount in paisa (e.g., 50000 for ₹500)
    "currency": "INR",
    "receipt": "order_rcptid_11",
    "notes": {
        "key1": "value3",
        "key2": "value2"
    }
}

try:
    order = client.order.create(data=data)
    print(f"Order created successfully: {order}")
    # The 'id' from this order object is used on the client-side to initiate payment.
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error creating order: {e}")

This code snippet initializes the Razorpay client with API keys and then creates an order for ₹500 (50000 paisa). The generated order['id'] is then passed to your frontend application, which uses Razorpay's JavaScript SDK or mobile SDKs to display the payment interface and complete the transaction. For a complete integration flow, including client-side payment processing, consult the Razorpay full integration guide.