Zomato Platform Fee Hike: Ordering food online becomes more expensive, Zomato again increases platform fees

News India Live, Digital Desk: If you are also fond of ordering food online while sitting at home, then now the burden on your pocket is going to increase a little more. The country’s leading food delivery company Zomato has once again increased its platform fees. The company has quietly updated these rates on its app, due to which the extra charge on every order has now increased compared to before. Let us tell you that this increase has been made at a time when rival companies are also taking similar steps to improve their profits. How much has the platform fee increased? Know the new rate: Zomato has increased its platform fee from Rs 12.50 to Rs 14.90 (without GST). After including taxes (18% GST), customers will now have to pay approximately Rs 17.58 per order as just platform fees. This means that now you will have to pay about Rs 2.40 more every time you order food. These new rates have been implemented across India from March 20, 2026. Interestingly, when Zomato first started this fee in August 2023, it was only Rs 2, which has now increased to more than 7 times. Why are the prices increasing again and again? There is no official statement from the company on this increase, but experts believe that the ongoing tension in West Asia and rising prices of crude oil have increased the delivery cost. Apart from this, there is pressure on the platforms due to LPG shortage and rising operating costs. Zomato aims to make its business model more profitable. Since Zomato delivers lakhs of orders daily, even a small increase of Rs 2 per order can increase the company’s quarterly profit by Rs 60-65 crore. Competition with Swiggy and other companies After this increase, Zomato has now come almost at par with its main rival Swiggy, which is currently charging around Rs 14.99 (including taxes) as platform fee. At the same time, the new player in the market ‘Magicpin’ is currently charging Rs 14.20 and has decided not to increase the price for now. On the other hand, Rapido has also started its service named ‘Ownly’, which is currently claiming not to charge any platform fee. In such a situation, it has to be seen what strategy these companies adopt in the future to attract customers.