Comparison · as of October 2026
Slaby vs WooCommerce for Indian businesses
WooCommerce is a free, open-source ecommerce plugin for WordPress that you host and extend yourself. Slaby is a hosted commerce platform for Indian retailers and wholesalers where COD controls, GST invoices, returns and private wholesale pricing are built in and hosting, security and updates are handled for you.
Side by side
| Question | Slaby | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| How is it priced? | Flat monthly plans in rupees, starting with Lite at ₹299 a month for up to 20 products with a retail + wholesale storefront (Lite ₹299, Starter ₹799, Growth ₹1,999, Pro ₹4,999 per month; annual billing = 2 months free). Start with a 14-day free trial; no card needed. | The plugin is free; you pay for hosting, a domain and any paid themes or extensions. |
| Commission or transaction fee on your sales | 0% on orders from your own storefront, on every plan. Your payment gateway charges its own processing fee. | WooCommerce takes no commission; your payment gateway charges its own fees. |
| Online payments in India | Take UPI straight to your own UPI ID (the buyer sends the UTR or a screenshot and you approve the order), and/or connect your own Razorpay or Cashfree account for UPI, cards, net banking and wallets with automatic confirmation. Money goes directly to you. | Razorpay, Cashfree, PayU and other Indian gateways publish WooCommerce plugins. |
| Cash on delivery (COD) controls | Built in: COD on/off, minimum and maximum order value, pincode limits, a per-buyer cap on undelivered COD, optional RTO risk scoring, partial COD (advance online, balance on delivery) and COD remittance reconciliation. | Cash on delivery is a built-in payment method; order-value, pincode or risk rules usually need extensions. |
| Wholesale / B2B: private prices for approved buyers | Built in: trade prices are only ever sent to buyers you approve. MOQs, pack multiples, quantity breaks, per-buyer negotiated prices, quotes, credit terms and a quick-order pad. | Available through wholesale/B2B extensions, which vary in how they hide prices. |
| GST calculation and invoices | Built in: HSN code and GST rate per product, CGST/SGST or IGST by place of supply, a GST invoice PDF on every order, B2B counter invoices with the buyer's GSTIN, and GSTR-1 / GSTR-3B files for your accountant. | Tax rates are configurable; GST-format invoices are usually produced with a plugin. |
| Returns and exchanges | Built in: return window, optional unboxing-video and photo evidence, exchanges, store credit or refunds, pickup charges. | Usually handled with plugins. |
| Your own domain | A Slaby subdomain is included on every plan; connect your own domain on Starter, Growth and Pro. | Your own domain (you host the site). |
| Hosting, security and updates | Fully hosted and maintained for you — no plugins, servers or updates to manage. | Self-hosted: you or your developer manage hosting, security, backups and updates. |
| Store design | 18 industry templates, each with seeded categories and a live demo store; adjust colours, fonts and home-page sections. | Thousands of WordPress themes, free and paid. |
| Installable mobile app for shoppers | Every storefront installs to the home screen as an app (PWA) with your logo — no app-store listing needed. | Possible with plugins or a separate app build. |
| Hindi storefront | The storefront interface is available in English and Hindi. | Possible with translation plugins. |
WooCommerce details are summarised from public information as of October 2026 and can change — check their current pricing and features before deciding. The Slaby column describes the product today.
About WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an open-source plugin that turns a WordPress site into a store. The plugin itself is free; costs come from hosting, a domain, themes and the extensions you add, and the site owner (or their developer) is responsible for updates, security and backups.
Slaby is likely the better fit if
- You do not want to manage hosting, plugin updates and security yourself.
- You want COD rules, GST invoices, returns and wholesale pricing to work together out of the box.
- You need trade prices that are never sent to unapproved visitors — not just hidden on the page.
WooCommerce may suit you better if
- You want full control of the code and hosting, and have a developer to maintain it.
- Your site is content-heavy and already runs on WordPress.
- You need an unusual customisation that a hosted platform will not allow.
Check WooCommerce's own pages
What do sellers ask when comparing Slaby and WooCommerce?
- Is WooCommerce free?
- The plugin is free and open source, but a working store also needs hosting, a domain and usually some paid themes or extensions, plus someone to keep it updated and secure.
- Why choose a hosted platform over WooCommerce?
- With a hosted platform such as Slaby you do not manage servers, plugin conflicts or security updates, and the India-specific features are part of the product. You give up some low-level control in exchange.
- Can I keep my WordPress blog and use Slaby for the store?
- Yes. Keep the blog on your main domain and run the store on a subdomain such as shop.yourbrand.in connected to Slaby.
Try Slaby on your own catalogue
Every store starts with a 14-day free trial, no card needed. After that, Lite is ₹299/month, with 0% commission on your own store's orders. Upgrade only when you need more.