Zomato has introduced a separate fee for customers choosing cash on delivery, adding another payment-related charge to food orders as India’s online food-delivery market continues to evolve. The new charge can range from Rs 5 to as much as Rs 20, depending on the order and customer.
The fee appears as a separate “pay on delivery fee” in the order bill when customers select cash as their payment method. Available reports and user screenshots indicate that the charge is commonly around Rs 5, while some orders have reportedly attracted Rs 7 or up to Rs 20.
The cash-on-delivery fee is separate from Zomato’s existing platform fee, restaurant packaging charges and applicable GST. Customers choosing online payment methods are not required to pay this additional COD charge.
Zomato Adds Another Layer to Order Charges
The new fee gives Zomato another way to monetise the transaction beyond its existing platform and delivery-related charges. While the additional amount may appear relatively small on an individual order, it could become more significant for frequent users who prefer paying in cash.
The move also highlights the growing focus on transaction-level monetisation across India’s food-delivery sector. Platforms are increasingly looking at different parts of the customer journey, including payment methods and service convenience, to improve the economics of each order.
Zomato has already increased its platform fee over time. Earlier this year, the platform fee was raised to Rs 14.99 per order from Rs 12.50, with GST charged separately.
Given Zomato’s reported daily food-order volume of around 2.3 million to 2.5 million orders, even relatively small charges can potentially translate into significant revenue when applied at scale.
Food-Delivery Competition Intensifies
The new COD charge comes as competition in India’s food-delivery market continues to expand. Zomato and Swiggy remain the dominant platforms, while newer entrants are attempting to capture a share of the growing online food-ordering market.
Rapido’s Ownly has been expanding its presence in food delivery, while Flipkart has also been testing its food-delivery offering through Eat In.
So far, Swiggy has not introduced a similar cash-on-delivery fee. Whether other platforms adopt comparable charges could depend on customer acceptance, competitive pricing and the impact on order frequency.
For Zomato, the new fee could provide an additional revenue stream without directly increasing the listed price of food or delivery.
Customer Experience and Cost Remain Key
The introduction of a separate COD fee also adds to the broader discussion around the total cost of ordering food online. Customers may already encounter platform fees, delivery charges, packaging charges, taxes and other applicable costs, making the final bill notably higher than the menu price.
Zomato’s latest move therefore puts greater emphasis on payment choice as part of the overall pricing structure. While digital payments remain free of this particular charge, customers opting for cash will now have to factor the additional fee into their final order value.
The development comes amid broader efforts by Zomato to improve operational efficiency. The company reportedly undertook a workforce restructuring exercise involving around 250 employees in August and decided to discontinue its Customer Delight operations in Hyderabad while consolidating remaining in-house operations in Gurgaon.
As competition increases and platforms focus more closely on profitability, the food-delivery business is likely to see continued experimentation with pricing, fees and customer monetisation. For consumers, the key question will be whether such additional charges remain limited or become a more common feature across digital food-ordering platforms.
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