Your Food Order Just Got Costlier. Here’s Why.

Hello Ping fam 👋

If your last food order felt slightly more expensive than usual, it probably wasn’t your imagination.

Both Zomato and Swiggy have increased their platform fee - now going up to Rs 14.9 on Zomato and Rs 17.58 on Swiggy, per order, from roughly Rs 12–Rs 15 earlier.

Of course, this isn’t something that’s loudly announced. It quietly sits there in your bill - somewhere between delivery charges, taxes and “other fees”… usually behind that tiny view breakup button most people don’t bother clicking.

And yet, it adds up. So what’s really going on here?

Let’s take a quick look at what’s pushing these platforms to raise prices - and why this might not be the last time you see it.

Food delivery always felt deceptively simple.

You order.
It arrives.
You pay a small fee for convenience. But behind that simplicity sits a model that’s anything but. Every order involves:

- delivery costs

- restaurant commissions

- discounts and offers

- platform operations

And for years, growth was prioritised over profitability. Which meant one thing: the real cost of convenience was being absorbed, not charged. That gap is now slowly being closed.

There was a time when ordering food online felt like a win. Coupons. Free delivery. Extra discounts.

Today, the experience looks very different.

- fewer aggressive offers

- higher delivery thresholds

- rising platform fees

The shift is subtle but clear:

👉 from acquiring users
👉 to monetising them

And platform fee is the easiest, most consistent lever to pull. You may not notice it immediately, but over time, it adds up - quietly increasing the cost per order.

Both Zomato and Swiggy are no longer just chasing growth. They’re being evaluated on: profitability; margins and sustainable business models

Zomato, especially, has been under the spotlight post its profitability push. And once one platform moves, the other isn’t far behind.

Which is exactly what happened here.

👉 Zomato raised the fee
👉 Swiggy followed

Not as a coincidence, but as a response to the same pressure.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth. Food delivery was never this cheap to operate. We were just not paying the full price earlier.

Now, that cost is becoming visible - in small increments:

- Rs 2 here

- Rs 3 there

- a slightly higher platform fee

Individually, it feels negligible. Collectively, it changes how much you pay. And more importantly, it signals a shift: convenience is no longer being subsidised the same way

It’s being priced closer to what it actually costs.

The platform fee isn’t just a number.

It’s a signal.

A signal that the food delivery game is changing - from chasing orders to sustaining them. For users, it shows up as a slightly higher bill. For platforms, it’s a step toward making the model work.

And for brands?

It’s a reminder that even the most habit-driven behaviours eventually have to make economic sense. Because at some point, someone has to pay for convenience. And increasingly, that someone…is you

By Sakshi Sharma

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