Netizens React To Zomato, Swiggy Hiking Platform Fee — 'They Charge 30% From Restaurants Too'

Swiggy and Zomato Ltd. have raised their platform fees across Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore, eliciting strong backlash on social media. Effective immediately, customers ordering through these platforms will have to pay a platform fee of Rs 6 per order, up by 20% from the previous Rs 5.

In Mumbai, for some orders, Swiggy has raised its platform fee by Rs 2 to Rs 7 per order compared to its earlier rate of Rs 5.

The platform fee, different from delivery charges and other fees, applies to all food orders, regardless of customer participation in loyalty programs. This additional charge directly contributes to the operational costs and revenue streams of Swiggy and Zomato.

Criticism of these fee hikes has emerged on social media. Deepak Shenoy, chief executive officer of Capitalmind Financial Services Pvt., highlighted on X (formerly Twitter) that the platforms charge a 30% cut from restaurants as well.

"Massively reduced ordering from Swiggy/Zomato, down to just once maybe on a weekend, like today and noticed their 'platform' charge is now Rs 6. Happy that I weaned myself off the daily ordering. They also take 30% from restaurants, btw," he wrote.

"30% from restaurants and how can the restaurants maintain quality. More tasting powder, more adulterated things gets served to customers," another user wrote.

The 30% cut is only for orders, pointed out one user. They now take much more because now they pit ads (sponsored listings) and promotions etc. which also cost the restaurants or they lose out on a lot of orders, he said.

Swiggy initially introduced a Rs 2 platform fee in April 2023, followed by Zomato in August of the same year. Since then, both companies have steadily increased these fees, indicating that customers have shown a willingness to absorb these costs without a significant reduction in order volumes.