Paying cash for Zomato orders? You may now have to pay a separate fee | All you need to know

Zomato customers paying for their food orders in cash will likely pay more from now on, as the food delivery platform introduces a separate fee for the service.

The charge, noted as a “Pay on Delivery Fee” on the order bill, is levied when customers choose to pay in cash at delivery. The charges vary by user and order value.

The exact basis for determining the fee, and whether it is linked to factors such as order value, location, or other parameters, could not be immediately ascertained.

Zomato did not respond to the queries.

Zomato's rival Swiggy does not currently levy a separate fee on cash-on-delivery orders.

Zomato, Swiggy hike fees as new rivals enter the market

The development comes as food delivery platforms increasingly experiment with different fee structures and monetisation models.

In March, the company raised its platform fee by nearly 20% to ₹14.90 per order, up from ₹12.50 previously. The revised fee was being levied on a pre-GST basis, with the hike implemented pan-India. Following that, Swiggy pushed its platform fee up by more than 17% to ₹17.58 per order from ₹14.99. As per Swiggy, the revised charges would help it operate and maintain its platform.

Unlike the platform fee, which applies regardless of the payment method, Zomato’s new levy is tied to a customer’s decision to pay at the time of delivery. It makes COD orders more expensive, even as the company explicitly encourages customers to switch to online payments to avoid the charge.

The move comes at a time when competition in India’s food delivery market is widening beyond Zomato and Swiggy.

India’s food delivery market is seeing a fresh wave of competition as more players look to challenge the dominance of established platforms with lower commissions, faster delivery and new operating models.

Flipkart is piloting its food delivery service Eat In in Bengaluru, initially among its employees, and is reportedly considering a 10%–11% commission on restaurant orders. The lower commission could give the ecommerce major an edge as it looks to attract restaurants away from incumbent platforms.

Rapido is also expanding its food delivery push through Ownly, which it formally launched in March 2026 after testing the service in parts of Bengaluru. Meanwhile, quick food delivery startup Swish raised $24 million earlier this week in a funding round led by Bertelsmann India Investments to expand its kitchen network and enter new cities.