Zomato and Swiggy commission vs your own website — the maths on a ₹400 order
Restaurant groups say Zomato and Swiggy keep roughly 20–30% of each order as commission, before 18% GST on that commission, payment fees, discounts and ads. On a ₹400 order that can leave you ₹220–₹275. On your own ordering website you keep about ₹390. Use the apps to be found; move regulars to your site.
Key takeaway: the commission is fair on a stranger’s first order, because the app found you that customer. It is not fair on a regular’s twentieth order, because you found them. Keep the apps for discovery and give every repeat customer a faster, cheaper way to order from you directly.
TL;DR
- • What the apps take: roughly 20–30% commission as reported by restaurant bodies, plus GST on it, payment fees, discounts and ads.
- • What your own site costs: your gateway’s fee on online payments (about ₹9 on ₹400), nothing on cash, 0% commission.
- • The gap: about ₹77–₹117 per ₹400 order, depending on who delivers.
- • Keep the apps for new customers and wide-area delivery.
- • Move regulars with a link at the counter, on the bill, on Google and Instagram, and a reason to order direct.
What the apps actually take
Neither app publishes a single commission rate; it is negotiated, and it varies by city, by restaurant and by whether the app’s riders deliver. So here is what restaurant bodies have said on the record, hedged as the claims they are:
- National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), to the Competition Commission of India: commissions “to the tune of 20% to 30%”, as reported by Moneylife in 2022.
- Bruhat Bengaluru Hotels Association, July 2026: commissions from 8% to 28%, plus discounts added without the restaurant’s approval and advertising charges, as reported by The Week. The same report put the payout on a hypothetical ₹400 dish, packaging included, at around ₹220.
On top of the commission come the costs restaurants mention most: 18% GST on the commission itself, a payment-handling fee of around 2%, discounts you co-fund to stay visible, and paid ads to rank higher. A café on the 5% GST rate cannot claim back the GST it pays on the commission, so that 18% is a pure cost. The only figure that matters for you is on your own payout statement: total deductions divided by total order value.
The maths on a ₹400 order
| Example ₹400 order | Through an app | On your own website |
|---|---|---|
| Order value (food) | ₹400 | ₹400 |
| Commission | −₹100 (25%, an example inside the reported range) | ₹0 |
| 18% GST on that commission | −₹18 | ₹0 |
| Payment fee | −₹8 (about 2%) | −₹9.44 (2% UPI fee + 18% GST on the fee) |
| You keep, before food costs | ₹274 | ₹391 |
| …if you also fund a ₹40 discount | ₹234 | Your choice |
| …if you deliver it yourself (say ₹40) | Delivery included | ₹351 |
Example only. App commission, payment fees and how discounts are counted differ by contract. The own-website fee uses Razorpay’s standard 2% platform fee on UPI plus 18% GST on the fee, as listed in October 2026; cash orders carry none. GST on the food is left out of both columns because the customer pays it either way (on app orders the app pays it to the government).
So the same ₹400 order is worth about ₹117 more to you as a pickup from your own website, or about ₹77 more if you pay someone ₹40 to deliver it. Move 200 regular orders a month off the apps and the difference is roughly ₹15,000 to ₹23,000, every month. A SitesPlaced website costs ₹0 to publish, or ₹199 a month on your own domain. Put your own numbers in: your commission rate, your average order, your delivery cost.
What the commission buys, and when the apps still make sense
Be fair to the apps. For that commission you get the app people already open when they are hungry, a delivery rider at your door in minutes, customer support and refunds, and payments handled. For a new café in Koramangala or a cloud kitchen in Gurugram, that is worth a lot. Keep them for:
- Discovery. People searching “biryani near me” inside an app will never find your website first. Treat the commission on a first order as the price of an ad that worked.
- Delivery you cannot do. If you have no rider, or customers are across the city, the app’s fleet is the only way.
- Peak hours. On a Friday night you may not want to answer a single WhatsApp message.
What the apps generally do not give you is the customer. The NRAI’s complaint to the CCI included “data masking”: restaurants do not get diners’ phone numbers. A regular you met through an app stays the app’s customer until you give them a reason to order from you.
How to move regulars to your own website
- Build the ordering website first. Your menu with prices and photos (or upload a photo of your printed menu and the items are created for you), delivery charges, UPI and cards through your own Razorpay, PhonePe or Cashfree account, cash on delivery, and WhatsApp orders. The step-by-step is in how to make a café website.
- Start with the customers who are already yours. Dine-in guests, takeaway customers and people who phone you. A card at the counter and a QR on each table that opens your website, so next time they order from you, not the app. (That QR opens your site and menu; it is not order-at-table.)
- Put the link everywhere you own. Your Google Business Profile (website and order link), Instagram bio, WhatsApp Business profile, and the printed bill.
- Give them a reason. Free delivery above an amount, a coupon for the first direct order, or loyalty stamps: on the Growth plan, an online order with the same phone number adds a stamp to the customer’s card. Read your app agreement before setting lower prices on your site.
- Make ordering faster than the app. No account needed, a short form, UPI in a tap, your best sellers at the top.
- Mind the app bags. Check your agreement before putting your own flyers into app deliveries; your counter, tables and social pages are yours without asking.
- Reply like a person. A regular who sends “usual please” on WhatsApp and gets “20 minutes, Rahul” back has no reason to open an app.
What SitesPlaced does today, and what it does not
SitesPlaced gives a café or restaurant a website with the menu as items with prices and photos, menu from a photo, online orders through its checkout with your own payment account, cash on delivery, WhatsApp orders, delivery charges, coupons, and a switch to pause orders when the kitchen is full. It takes 0% commission on every plan. The Growth plan (₹499 a month) adds the loyalty programme with QR stamp cards and scratch cards, product reviews, and WhatsApp order alerts. Today cafés and restaurants use the existing store templates such as Food Store; dedicated ones are coming.
To be clear about the gaps: there is no QR table ordering, no kitchen display or KOT printing, no delivery riders, and guests cannot book a table on the website yet (you can record table bookings from calls and walk-ins in the dashboard). See the online ordering system for restaurants, the café website builder, or the SitesPlaced Hospitality overview.
The verdict
Do not delete your app listings; they are the shop window on the busiest street in town. But stop paying a quarter of every regular’s order for a customer you already have. Run the apps for strangers and run your own website for everyone who comes back. On SitesPlaced that website is free to publish, takes 0% commission, and puts the money and the phone number with you.
Frequently asked questions
How much commission does Zomato charge restaurants?
Zomato does not publish one rate; it depends on your city, contract and whether it delivers. The National Restaurant Association of India told the Competition Commission that aggregator commissions run at roughly 20% to 30% of order value, and in July 2026 a Bengaluru hotels association put the range at 8% to 28%, plus discounts, advertising and payment charges. Your payout statement is the only number that counts for you.
How much commission does Swiggy take?
The same answer applies: there is no single published rate, and restaurant associations report figures in the same 20% to 30% band, with 18% GST charged on top of the commission. Open a recent weekly payout statement and divide total deductions by total order value; that is your real rate.
Is it cheaper to take orders on my own website?
Per order, yes. On your own website you pay only your payment gateway's fee on online payments (about 2% plus GST on Razorpay's standard plan as listed in October 2026), and nothing on cash orders. On a ₹400 order that is about ₹9 instead of the ₹120 or more an app can take. The trade-off is that you bring the customer and handle delivery yourself.
Should I leave Zomato and Swiggy?
Usually not. The apps are still the best way for strangers to find you and the easiest way to deliver across a city. The better move is to treat them as advertising for first orders and send the people who come back, your regulars, to your own website, where you keep the margin and their phone number.
Can I charge less on my own website than on Zomato or Swiggy?
Read your partner agreement first. When the Competition Commission ordered an investigation in 2022, it said the apps appeared to impose price parity on restaurants, meaning rules against selling for less elsewhere. Many restaurants keep menu prices the same and give direct customers something else instead: free delivery above an amount, a coupon, or loyalty stamps.
How do customers pay on my own ordering website?
On a SitesPlaced website they pay by UPI or card through your own Razorpay, PhonePe or Cashfree account, so the money goes straight to your bank. You can also offer cash on delivery, or let them send the order on WhatsApp and settle in the chat. SitesPlaced takes 0% of any order.
Which is better — Zomato and Swiggy or SitesPlaced?
They do different jobs. Zomato and Swiggy bring new customers and deliver the food, and charge a commission on every order for it. SitesPlaced is an ordering website you own: free to publish, 0% commission, your own domain from ₹199 a month, but you bring the customers and arrange delivery. For most restaurants and cafés the answer is both: the apps for discovery, SitesPlaced for every regular who orders again.
Keep the whole ₹400
Your menu on your own website, orders by UPI, card, cash or WhatsApp, and 0% commission on every order. Free to publish; your own domain from ₹199 a month.
