Policy · Commerce & Consumer Brands

Zomato introduces pay on delivery fee for cash orders

By Startup Enthusiast · 12 September 2026

What they do

Zomato introduced a 'Pay on Delivery Fee' of typically Rs 5 for cash-on-delivery orders

The fee is displayed separately and applies only to cash-on-delivery orders, not prepaid ones

It could generate Rs 420-456 crore annually based on daily order volumes

Zomato introduced a 'Pay on Delivery Fee' for cash-on-delivery orders.
The fee is typically Rs 5, varies up to Rs 21 or 2% of order value, and is capped at Rs 30.
The fee is displayed separately from platform fee, packaging charges, and GST.
The fee applies only to cash-on-delivery orders; prepaid orders are not charged.
Zomato displays a message encouraging customers to pay online to avoid the fee.
Zomato processes an estimated 2.3-2.5 million food orders per day.
At Rs 5 per order, the theoretical annual revenue from this fee is Rs 420-456 crore.

Zomato's platform fee is Rs 14.99 per order (pre-GST), raised from Rs 12.50 earlier in 2026.
Zomato began testing a platform fee of Rs 2 per order in 2023.
Competitor Swiggy has not introduced a similar cash-on-delivery fee.
Swiggy's platform fee is Rs 17.58 per order, raised from Rs 14.99.
Zomato laid off around 240-250 employees in August 2026 and shut Hyderabad customer support.

Zomato is an online food ordering and delivery platform and India's #1 food delivery app.
It has 3,00,000+ restaurants in 800+ cities and has delivered 3 billion+ orders.
Zomato Gold offers free delivery within 7 km and up to 30% extra off at 20,000+ partner restaurants.
Zomato subsidiaries include blinkit (30,000+ products delivery), district (events/movies/dining), and hyperpure (supply chain for restaurants).
Zomato acquired Uber Eats India business in an all-stock deal in 2020.
Zomato is experimenting with rapid food delivery via vending machines 'Zomato Now' in Gurugram corporate offices.
Eternal (Zomato) Q1 FY27 consolidated net profit was Rs 92 Cr, up ~3.7X from Rs 25 Cr year-ago.
Eternal Q1 FY27 operating revenue was Rs 20,211 Cr, up 182% YoY.