Food delivery major Zomato’s move to hike the platform fee last week indicates growing confidence in its pricing power, which will mean slightly higher costs for customers as the business sharpens its focus on profitability, industry executives said. The fee, now Rs 14.90 per order (pre-GST), has risen sharply from Rs 2 in 2023, becoming a key high-margin revenue lever that largely flows to the bottomline.
With around 267 million quarterly orders, even small hikes in these levies are adding meaningful income. The increase comes amid a recovery in demand but also rising competition from zero-fee challengers like Rapido's Ownly, testing how far platforms can push monetisation without impacting user growth.
Small, yet impactful tweak
While the increase appears modest at the consumer level, the financial implications are significant.
Zomato delivered 266.9 million orders in the October-December quarter, according to a Nomura report. At that rate, the incremental Rs 2.40 fee translates to roughly Rs 64-65 crore in additional quarterly revenue.
Crucially, this stream is among the highest-margin components of the business.
“Platform fees are one of the cleanest levers in the model. Unlike delivery or discounts, there’s minimal associated cost, so most of it straightaway contributes to the profit,” said a senior executive at a food tech firm.
Duopoly discipline intact
Rival Swiggy currently charges Rs 14.99 per order (inclusive of GST), maintaining near parity with Zomato — a pattern the two have largely followed over the past few years.
Industry executives say this alignment reflects a tacit discipline in pricing.
“There is no incentive for either player to undercut on platform fees. These are now an accepted part of the consumer bill, much like convenience fees in ticketing,” the executive cited above said.
Consumer lens
Food delivery players introduced the platform fee in August 2023 at just Rs 2 per order. Over the next 18-24 months, this has steadily increased to Rs 3, Rs 4, then Rs 5 in early 2024, before moving into double digits during festive demand periods and eventually stabilising above Rs 10.
By September 2025, the fee had reached Rs 12, and both Zomato and Swiggy have since pushed it closer to the Rs 15 mark, where it sits today.
Therefore, in less than three years, the fee has gone up nearly seven times.
For consumers, the impact is subtle but cumulative.
Individually, a Rs 2-3 increase feels negligible. But layered on top of delivery charges, packaging fees, surge pricing, and GST, the total bill has moved meaningfully higher.
There are early signs of behavioural shifts as well. “In quick commerce, users tend to respond to rising fees by either increasing basket sizes to justify the cost, or cutting down on frequency of orders,” one of the executives cited above said. “The same dynamic is likely to play out in food delivery, especially among price-sensitive users that platforms are currently trying to bring back. Companies are also separately targeting value conscious consumers,” he added.
That said, the absence of meaningful churn so far suggests consumers have largely absorbed these increases.
Profits over growth
For Zomato’s parent Eternal and Swiggy, food delivery remains the primary cash engine even as both companies continue to invest heavily in quick commerce — a segment that is capital-intensive and fiercely competitive.
This makes steady monetisation of the core business critical.
“Quick commerce is still in investment mode. Food delivery has to fund that expansion. Incremental monetisation through platform fees is the least disruptive way to do it,” said an investor tracking the sector.
With around 267 million quarterly orders, even small hikes in these levies are adding meaningful income. The increase comes amid a recovery in demand but also rising competition from zero-fee challengers like Rapido's Ownly, testing how far platforms can push monetisation without impacting user growth.
Small, yet impactful tweak
While the increase appears modest at the consumer level, the financial implications are significant.
Zomato delivered 266.9 million orders in the October-December quarter, according to a Nomura report. At that rate, the incremental Rs 2.40 fee translates to roughly Rs 64-65 crore in additional quarterly revenue.
Crucially, this stream is among the highest-margin components of the business.
“Platform fees are one of the cleanest levers in the model. Unlike delivery or discounts, there’s minimal associated cost, so most of it straightaway contributes to the profit,” said a senior executive at a food tech firm.
Duopoly discipline intact
Rival Swiggy currently charges Rs 14.99 per order (inclusive of GST), maintaining near parity with Zomato — a pattern the two have largely followed over the past few years.
Industry executives say this alignment reflects a tacit discipline in pricing.
“There is no incentive for either player to undercut on platform fees. These are now an accepted part of the consumer bill, much like convenience fees in ticketing,” the executive cited above said.
Consumer lens
Food delivery players introduced the platform fee in August 2023 at just Rs 2 per order. Over the next 18-24 months, this has steadily increased to Rs 3, Rs 4, then Rs 5 in early 2024, before moving into double digits during festive demand periods and eventually stabilising above Rs 10.
By September 2025, the fee had reached Rs 12, and both Zomato and Swiggy have since pushed it closer to the Rs 15 mark, where it sits today.
Therefore, in less than three years, the fee has gone up nearly seven times.
For consumers, the impact is subtle but cumulative.
Individually, a Rs 2-3 increase feels negligible. But layered on top of delivery charges, packaging fees, surge pricing, and GST, the total bill has moved meaningfully higher.
There are early signs of behavioural shifts as well. “In quick commerce, users tend to respond to rising fees by either increasing basket sizes to justify the cost, or cutting down on frequency of orders,” one of the executives cited above said. “The same dynamic is likely to play out in food delivery, especially among price-sensitive users that platforms are currently trying to bring back. Companies are also separately targeting value conscious consumers,” he added.
That said, the absence of meaningful churn so far suggests consumers have largely absorbed these increases.
Profits over growth
For Zomato’s parent Eternal and Swiggy, food delivery remains the primary cash engine even as both companies continue to invest heavily in quick commerce — a segment that is capital-intensive and fiercely competitive.
This makes steady monetisation of the core business critical.
“Quick commerce is still in investment mode. Food delivery has to fund that expansion. Incremental monetisation through platform fees is the least disruptive way to do it,” said an investor tracking the sector.