Short answer: ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) is a government-backed open protocol network in India that lets sellers list once and be discoverable across multiple buyer-facing apps — rather than being locked into a single marketplace like Amazon or Flipkart. Integration is more complex than joining a conventional marketplace, but it removes per-transaction commission dependency and platform lock-in. Whether it makes sense for your business depends on your category, volume, and technical capacity.
What ONDC Actually Is
ONDC is not an app or a marketplace — it is an open network built on an open protocol called Beckn. Think of it the way you think of email: you can use Gmail or Outlook, they use different apps, but they interoperate because they share a common protocol. ONDC does the same for commerce: a seller on one network participant can be discovered and transacted with by a buyer using a completely different app.
The network has three primary participant types:
Buyer apps (BAPs — Buyer Application Providers): apps where consumers browse and buy. Paytm, Meesho, Pincode, Mystore, and several others operate as buyer apps on ONDC. A buyer searches for products, gets results from across the network, and places an order — all within the buyer app they choose.
Seller apps (BSPs — Buyer-Side Platform Providers / Seller Node Providers): the platform that a seller connects to in order to list on the network. You do not connect to ONDC directly as a seller — you connect through a seller app (also called a seller node or network participant). Several companies operate seller apps: eSamudaay, Digiit, SellerApp, and others. Your seller app handles your catalogue, order management, and ONDC protocol compliance.
Gateways: components of the ONDC infrastructure that route search queries from buyer apps to relevant seller apps. You do not interact with the gateway directly; it is part of the network plumbing.
The important implication: when you integrate with ONDC, you are integrating with a seller app, not with ONDC itself. The seller app handles the protocol complexity and surfaces your products to any buyer app connected to the network.
What a Seller Actually Needs to Join
Step 1: Choose a seller app provider. Evaluate them on: categories they support, fees (typically a platform fee or per-transaction fee, lower than traditional marketplace commissions but not zero), integration quality, and geography. Different seller apps have different strengths — some specialise in grocery and hyperlocal delivery, others in fashion or electronics.
Step 2: Onboard your catalogue. ONDC requires standardised product data: category codes, standardised attributes, images meeting spec, and logistics serviceability information. If your existing catalogue is in a non-standard format (an internal ERP, a spreadsheet, a custom database), you will need a catalogue migration and transformation step.
Step 3: Set up logistics. ONDC separates the buyer app, seller app, and logistics layers. You can use ONDC's logistics network (Dunzo, Shiprocket, and others participate as logistics network participants), integrate your own courier, or a hybrid. The logistics integration is often the most technically complex part of a self-built integration.
Step 4: Configure order management. Orders arrive through your seller app. You need a system to receive order notifications, confirm availability, update order status (accepted, packed, shipped, delivered), and handle cancellations and returns. This can be your existing OMS if it supports integration, or a new system.
Step 5: Financial reconciliation. Payments on ONDC go through the buyer app and are settled to sellers through payment settlement processes managed by the network. Understand the settlement timeline and reconciliation process for your seller app before going live.
The Technical Integration Options
| Approach | What it means | Right for |
|---|---|---|
| Use a seller app with a portal/dashboard | Log into a web interface, upload catalogue manually or via template | Small sellers, low SKU count, getting started |
| API integration with a seller app | Your ERP or OMS pushes catalogue and pulls orders via the seller app's API | Medium sellers with existing systems |
| Build your own seller node | Implement the Beckn protocol directly, register as a network participant | Large enterprises, platforms aggregating many sellers |
Most Indian businesses should start with option 1 or 2. Building your own seller node requires significant engineering investment — implementing the Beckn protocol, passing ONDC compliance tests, and maintaining the integration as the spec evolves — and is only justified if you are a large platform aggregating many sellers or have very specific requirements that no seller app can meet.
Catalogue and Order Flow in Practice
Catalogue flow: You maintain your product catalogue in your seller app (or push to it via API). The seller app publishes this to the ONDC network in the standardised format. When a buyer app user searches for products, the ONDC gateway routes the search to relevant seller apps, which return matching results. Your products appear in search results alongside products from other sellers — on the same buyer app interface.
Order flow:
- Buyer selects your product on a buyer app.
- Buyer app sends an order request through the network.
- Your seller app receives it and notifies you (webhook, email, OMS integration).
- You confirm the order and provide a ready-by time.
- Logistics is triggered — either your courier or an ONDC logistics participant.
- You update order status at each stage.
- Delivery confirmation triggers payment settlement.
The key operational difference from a traditional marketplace: there is no central marketplace warehouse or fulfilment service (unless you use a specific logistics participant that offers that). You are responsible for your own inventory and fulfilment, and order communication happens in near-real-time rather than through a centralised portal.
Honest Trade-offs Versus Traditional Marketplaces
| Factor | ONDC | Traditional marketplace (Amazon, Flipkart) |
|---|---|---|
| Commission structure | Lower per-transaction fees (varies by seller app) | Higher commissions, plus advertising spend |
| Discovery | Growing, still lower traffic than large marketplaces | Massive built-in buyer traffic |
| Logistics | Flexible but you manage more | Easier through FBA/FBF but expensive |
| Lock-in | Low — you are on an open network | High — your reviews, history stay on the platform |
| Technical complexity | Higher — more integration work | Lower — seller portal is simple to start |
| Returns and disputes | Process varies by seller app | Standardised but platform-controlled |
| Category breadth | Growing — electronics, food, grocery, fashion, mobility | Comprehensive and mature |
ONDC is not better or worse than traditional marketplaces in absolute terms — it is a different trade-off. The businesses for which ONDC is most compelling are those experiencing high marketplace commission pressure, those selling in categories where ONDC buyer apps are active (grocery, food delivery, fashion in certain geographies), and those with the technical capacity or budget to handle a more complex integration.
What ONDC Does Not Solve
ONDC solves the discovery and interoperability problem — one integration, multiple buyer apps. It does not solve:
Demand generation. Joining ONDC does not instantly generate traffic to your listings. Buyer app traffic varies; some apps have significant user bases in specific cities or categories, others are small. You still need to evaluate which buyer apps have the right audience for your products.
Fulfilment complexity. Self-managed logistics means you bear the cost and operational complexity of last-mile delivery. The ONDC logistics network helps, but it requires its own integration and coordination.
Catalogue quality. ONDC's standardised catalogue requirements are strict. Poor quality images, incomplete attributes, or non-compliant category codes will result in listings that do not rank or display correctly.
Returns management. Returns handling is still evolving in the ONDC ecosystem. Understand your seller app's returns process before committing.
ONDC Integration Costs for Indian Businesses
Integration costs vary significantly by approach:
- Self-onboarding via seller app portal: Low or no technical cost, but significant manual catalogue and operational effort.
- API integration connecting your existing ERP/OMS to a seller app: Typically ₹1.5 lakh–₹3 lakh for a clean, maintained integration, depending on the complexity of your existing systems and catalogue size.
- Custom seller node build or multi-seller platform: ₹4 lakh–₹8 lakh and above, depending on scope.
Beyond integration, factor in ongoing platform fees from your seller app, logistics costs, and the operational overhead of ONDC-specific order management. See how Indian software development costs are structured for context on how to scope and price this kind of work.
For businesses evaluating whether ONDC is right for them now versus in 12 months, the honest advice is: if you have a clean digital catalogue, sell in an active ONDC category, and are feeling margin pressure from marketplace commissions, the integration investment is likely worth it. If your catalogue is messy, your category is not yet active, or you lack operational capacity for more complex fulfilment, the right move is to prepare your catalogue and systems now and integrate when you are ready.
Considering an ONDC integration and want to understand the scope and cost for your specific setup? Contact NexaEx — we assess your existing systems and catalogue before quoting, so there are no surprises.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to register directly with ONDC as a seller?
No. As a seller, you do not register with ONDC directly — you onboard through a seller app (also called a seller node or network participant). The seller app handles ONDC protocol compliance, catalogue publishing to the network, and order routing on your behalf. You interact with your seller app's portal or API, and your products become discoverable across all ONDC buyer apps. Choosing the right seller app for your category is the most important first decision.
How is ONDC different from selling on Amazon or Flipkart?
ONDC is an open network, not a single marketplace. Your listing appears across multiple buyer apps simultaneously through one integration, rather than being exclusive to one platform. Commission rates are generally lower than large marketplaces, and there is less platform lock-in — your transaction history and catalogue belong to you. The trade-off is more integration complexity, more operational responsibility for logistics, and currently lower traffic than the large established marketplaces in most categories.
Which product categories work best on ONDC right now?
Grocery and hyperlocal food delivery, fashion, and electronics have the most active buyer app coverage as of 2026, particularly in Tier 1 Indian cities. B2B and mobility categories are growing. Category activity varies by geography — some buyer apps are strong in specific cities. Before integrating, research which buyer apps are active in your target cities and whether they have significant user bases for your category. The ONDC network is growing but coverage is uneven.
How long does an ONDC integration take?
A portal-based onboarding with manual catalogue upload can be done in days to weeks, depending on catalogue size and how clean your product data is. An API integration connecting your existing ERP or OMS to a seller app typically takes four to eight weeks of engineering work, plus catalogue migration time. Building a custom seller node from scratch is a multi-month project. The catalogue preparation — standardising images, attributes, and category codes — is often the longest step regardless of technical approach.