Food delivery platform Swiggy has increased its platform fee to Rs 17.58 per order from Rs 14.99 earlier, marking another step in the steady rise of charges levied on users, as the company looks to shore up margins in a high-cost business.
This move follows rival Zomato (Eternal) raising its platform fee to Rs 14.90 per order last week.
Platform fees rise as profitability pressures mount
Platform fees, charged on every order over and above delivery charges, GST and menu prices, seem to have become a key lever for food delivery firms.
The increase reflects the mounting pressure on companies as they continue to invest heavily in quick commerce and logistics. Swiggy reported a 33% year-on-year rise in consolidated net loss to Rs 1,065 crore in Q3FY26, even as revenue grew 54% to Rs 6,148 crore. Losses in its quick commerce arm, Instamart, widened sharply, as per the financials.
Zomato’s fee hikes seen supporting margins
Zomato has also been steadily increasing platform fees, from as low as Rs 2 per order in April 2023 to around Rs 14.90 currently.
According to Elara Securities, Zomato’s hikes can meaningfully support margins without impacting the demand as much. The report further added that for a platform that experiences a daily order volume of up to 2.5 million, even small increases translate into significant incremental revenue.
Zomato, however, appears to be in a relatively stronger position. The company reported revenue from operations of Rs 16,315 crore in Q3FY26 and a profit after tax of Rs 102 crore, with both quick commerce and Hyperpure turning EBITDA positive, as per the financials.
Swiggy’s long history of fee hikes
Swiggy introduced platform fees at around Rs 2 in 2023, raising them gradually to Rs 6, Rs 10, Rs 12, Rs 15, and now Rs 17.58.
At the same time, Swiggy recently discontinued Snacc, its 15-minute food delivery app launched to compete with offerings like Blinkit Bistro and Zepto Cafe.
According to internal communication cited in media reports, while Snacc was beginning to show early signs of product-market fit, its unit economics made it difficult to scale sustainably. Employees from the vertical are being absorbed into other parts of the business.
Swiggy’s management has also signalled a shift away from aggressive discounting. In its shareholder communication, CEO Sriharsha Majety said the company is consciously avoiding “deep-discount-driven, purely volume-focused growth” that hurts margins.
Unlike quick commerce for packaged goods, food delivery involves higher operational complexity, including preparation time, quality control, and higher delivery costs, making profitability harder to achieve at scale.
A duopoly passing costs to users
The steady rise in platform fees by both Swiggy and Zomato showcases a broader industry trend, where the duopoly is increasingly passing on costs to consumers.
With commissions on restaurants already high and additional fees stacking up, the cost of ordering food online is rising, prompting some users to reconsider dining out instead.