Operations
Shopify vs Magento vs Headless for Indian D2C Brands 2026
Model this for your store in the Unit Economics Planner.
TCO by platform
Shopify Basic + apps: ₹1.2–2.5L/year all-in for sub-₹5Cr brands
Shopify Plus: ₹18–30L/year, justified above ₹15Cr ARR
Magento/Adobe Commerce: ₹25–80L/year depending on dev partner
Headless (Next.js + Shopify Storefront API): ₹15–40L initial + maintenance
Decision criteria
If your D2C revenue is below ₹10Cr ARR, Shopify with well-chosen apps is almost always the right answer. Above ₹15Cr, complexity (B2B, multi-region, custom workflows) starts justifying platform investment.
Frequently asked questions
Can Shopify handle Indian payment gateways?↓
Yes — Razorpay, Cashfree, PayU all integrate cleanly. Shopify Payments is not available in India; this is the only meaningful gap.
Is headless faster?↓
Yes for page-load and conversion (5–15% conversion uplift typical). But the engineering investment must be sustained — headless without dedicated engineering decays quickly.
What about Wix or Wix Studio?↓
Generally underpowered for serious D2C. Migrations off Wix to Shopify are common at the ₹2Cr+ ARR band.