A man from Coimbatore has triggered a wave of debate online after pointing out that ordering food through Swiggy turned out to be far more expensive than picking it up himself from the same restaurant just a short distance away. The customer, Sunder (@SunderjiJB), posted screenshots on X comparing the bills. He said his Swiggy order came to ₹1,473, but when he went to the outlet—barely two kilometres from his home—the exact same meal cost only ₹810. That’s a difference of ₹663, or nearly 81 percent more.
Sharing the bills, he asked Swiggy directly: “Why is the app charging so much more for the same food? Is this what convenience really costs?” His post has already been seen more than 2.1 million times.
Swiggy hasn’t yet responded to this particular complaint, though the company has previously said that the prices shown on its app are set by restaurants themselves. A representative from Swiggy Cares had earlier explained that menu rates can vary between dine-in and delivery, and the decision lies with the restaurants, not the platform.
The frustration comes at a time when both Swiggy and Zomato have quietly increased their “platform fee” again, hoping to cash in on the festive season surge. Swiggy, headquartered in Bengaluru, has raised its platform fee three times in just three weeks, now charging ₹15 per order (including GST). Meanwhile, Gurugram-based Zomato recently hiked its fee by 20 percent, taking it to ₹12 per order (excluding GST).
Given Swiggy handles around 20 lakh orders daily, it is pulling in close to ₹3 crore a day solely from platform fees. Zomato, which sees 23 to 25 lakh daily orders, earns a similar amount.
Even with these extra earnings, both companies remain under financial pressure. Their quick-commerce arms—Swiggy Instamart and Zomato-owned Blinkit—continue to be capital-heavy and eat into profits.
What exactly is a platform fee?
It’s an additional charge tacked onto your bill, separate from delivery fees, packaging, restaurant charges, surges, and taxes. Companies say it helps cover logistics and operating costs, cushions the burden of running resource-heavy services like quick commerce, and adds to margins. But for many customers, especially now during the festive rush, it’s become a symbol of how expensive “convenience” really is.
