Why Darshya?
How we compare with Sri Mandir, Utsav, AppsForBharat, AstroSage. We'll be honest about where competitors lead — and where we choose to differ deliberately.
| Feature | Darshya | Sri Mandir | Utsav | AstroSage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Video proof of every puja We refuse to ship a puja without recorded sankalp. Every booking gets a 5-10 min video, and we aim to have it up within 24-48 hours. That is a target, not a money-backed clock: if nothing has arrived 72 hours after your slot, a sweep cancels the booking for manual refund review if it is still waiting on its assigned pandit, and any other status needs an email from you. | ✓ Mandatory, 24-48 hours target | ~ Partial (premium tier) | ~ On request | ✗ |
| NRI-fair pricing NRI devotees see a US-dollar price that is 2.5x the domestic puja price. It is a display conversion: the order is charged in rupees and paid with UPI, an Indian card or net banking. Checkout breaks out the puja fee, the flat platform fee and any prasad delivery, and shows the rupee amount charged next to the dollar total. | ✓ NRI price shown in USD (2.5x domestic), billed in INR, total shown first | ~ Some USD pricing, opaque | ~ Single global price | ~ INR only (devotee converts) |
| Pandit checks before payout A pandit is paid only once Aadhaar-based KYC is on file, which is a payout gate rather than a public credential check — we do not yet run independent credential verification or temple reference checks, and we do not publish a per-pandit trust score. What every booking does carry is mandatory video proof of the ceremony. | ~ Aadhaar KYC only, no trust score | ~ Pandits onboarded by aggregator | ~ Temple-only model | N/A |
| Live darshan (free) Major temples include Kashi Vishwanath, Tirupati, Siddhivinayak, Somnath and Jagannath Puri. The list that is live right now is on /darshan. There is no paid darshan tier — every stream is free. | ✓ Free for everyone, no signup | ✓ Yes | ~ Limited | ✗ |
| Donation receipts Format DR-YYYYMMDD-XXXX, downloadable from your account within 24h. It is proof of payment, not a tax-exemption certificate: Darshya holds no Section 80G registration yet, so a donation made today cannot be claimed as an income-tax deduction. | ✓ Auto-issued, numbered, emailed | ~ Some donations only | ~ Manual on request | ✗ |
| Gaushala seva integration Contribute to cow care at an approved gaushala from anywhere; billed in INR. Photo updates are coming soon. | ✓ Donate to approved gaushalas, with a receipt | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free Vedic content (shlokas, aarti, chalisa, mantras) 100+ shlokas, all major aarti, chalisa for 12 deities, deity-specific mantras with how-to-recite. | ✓ Full Sanskrit + transliteration + meaning, no signup | ~ App-locked | ~ Limited | ~ Article-style |
| Yatra package planning Inquiry-only model — our team responds in 24h with custom itinerary + verified hotels + VIP darshan where available. | ✓ Char Dham, 12 Jyotirlinga, Sapta Puri, custom | ~ Partner-aggregated | ✗ | ✗ |
| Astrology (free birth chart + Vimshottari dasha) AstroSage is strong here; we focus on quality over feature breadth — single-pandit consultation, not chatbot. | ✓ Free chart, paid consultations | ✓ Premium gated | ✗ | ✓ Free chart |
| Gift puja for family in India You book from abroad, recipient in India gets booking number + video proof via WhatsApp + name in sankalp. | ✓ NRI gifts to India, recipient WhatsApp delivery | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Published cancellation ladder Cancel 48h or more before your puja for a full refund, or 24-48h before for 75%. Cancellation is not possible within 24 hours of the scheduled time. Refunds reach your account in 5-7 business days. Inside the cutoff the samagri is procured and the pandit slot is locked; a reschedule is still possible. Refunds settle in 5-7 business days. | ✓ Free cancellation 48h+ before, then 75% refund 24-48h before | ~ Case-by-case | ~ Strict policies | N/A |
| Mobile app + web parity Whether you book on web or mobile, same booking flow, same prices, same video delivery. | ✓ Expo + Next, full feature parity | ✓ App-first | ~ Web-light | ✓ App |
| Multi-language Sri Mandir leads on language breadth; we ship landing pages today, full UI rolling out. | English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi | 11+ languages | ~ Hindi + English | ✓ Multi-lang |
| Pricing transparency (no hidden fees) No phantom charges. The total (listed price + flat platform fee) is shown before you pay, and it is the same from any country. Billing is in INR. | ✓ All-in at checkout | ~ Some upsells | ~ Add-ons during | ~ Pay-per-question |
Our 4 non-negotiables
Devotee-first, not aggregator-first
We refuse partnerships that compromise temple authenticity or pandit livelihoods. A uniform 20% platform commission funds infrastructure, not VC quarterly targets.
Built by one founder
No layer of middle management to dilute decisions. When you message support, your message goes to the person who can fix it.
NRI is a first-class customer
Not a USD pricing experiment bolted onto Indian app. Currency conversion, fair processing fee, gaushala donations, WhatsApp delivery, gift-puja flow — built for diaspora from day one.
Zero VC pressure
Bootstrapped. Means we can refuse upsells, skip dark-pattern flows, and keep free content actually free. Revenue from pujas + premium + yatra commission, not ads to your bereaved family.
Where competitors lead
- Sri Mandir: Larger user base, 11+ language UI, more deity content, stronger app distribution. If you primarily want to read content in your local language with a polished app, they're excellent.
- AstroSage: Most established Vedic astrology platform with deepest calculator library. For pure jyotish reports, hard to beat.
- Utsav: Strong temple-direct relationships with select major temples. Good for specific temple-only flows.
- AppsForBharat: Sister product to Sri Mandir. Multi-app strategy with strong content team.
We're not for everyone. If you want the biggest app — Sri Mandir. If you want deepest astrology — AstroSage. If you want video-proof + NRI-fair + bootstrapped + devotee-first — we're here.
Try us with a small puja
Book a ₹501 puja and judge for yourself. We aim to have your video up within 24-48 hours; if none has arrived 72 hours after your slot, write to us and a person reviews it — where the pandit is at fault you are repaid in full. See the refund policy for the cancellation tiers that apply when you cancel.