Zomato Raises Platform Fee to Rs. 12, Swiggy Leads with Rs. 14 Amid Festive Demand Boom

Food delivery giant Zomato has increased its platform fee on delivery orders to Rs 12 from Rs 10, excluding GST, just when the festive season is around the corner, when demand typically rises.

Previous Month Zomato's rival Swiggy hiked its platform fee to Rs. 14, stating rising input costs and higher order volume.

What is the platform fee?

Introduced in 2023 by both Zomato and Swiggy, the platform fee is a per-order charge which the customers had to pay in addition to delivery and food costs. Over the past year, both companies have been raising these few multiple times to balance the margins, combating with the slowing growth in the online food delivery market.

Zomato's growth slows down

Zomato's Q1 FY26 results for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, show a 71% year-on-year increase in consolidated revenue to Rs. 7,167 crore, up from Rs. 4,206 crore in Q1 FY25. This growth reflects strong expansion across multiple business verticals, including food delivery, quick commerce through Blinkit, B2B supplies via Hyperpure, and its Going Out entertainment segment.

However, Zomato's net profit declined sharply to Rs. 25 crore, down 90% from Rs. 253 crore in the same period last year. The company attributes this to heavy investment in Blinkit's rapid dark store expansion and other growth initiatives. Blinkit posted a larger EBITDA loss of Rs. 162 crore in Q1 FY26, higher than the previous year.

Swiggy's Q1 FY26 Results

Swiggy's Q1 FY26 results showed a strong revenue growth of 54% year-on-year to Rs. 4,961 crore, but the net loss widened sharply to Rs. 1,197 crore, nearly doubling from Rs. 611 crore the previous year. The adjusted EBITDA loss also more than doubled to Rs. 813 crore,. Food delivery revenue grew 20% YoY to Rs. 1,800 crore with a profitable segment EBIT of around Rs. 202 crore.

Quick commerce bets and rising competition

Both Zomato and Swiggy are betting big on quick commerce (Zomato via Blinkit, Swiggy via Instamart) even as their food delivery business growth moderates. However, the duopoly may soon face a new challenger, Rapido's food delivery platform Ownly, launched recently in Bengaluru.

For users, the platform fee hike means higher bills on food orders during the festive season, with Zomato at Rs 12 (plus GST) and Swiggy at Rs 14 (inclusive of GST). With quick commerce emerging as the new growth engine, competition could intensify in the food delivery market