Restaurant India News: Zepto Scraps Delivery Fees and Cuts Order Minimum to Rs 99 to Outpace Rivals

In a significant move aimed at attracting more customers, quick commerce platform Zepto has removed its handling fee and surge charge, while also reducing the minimum order value for free delivery to Rs 99. The development comes just weeks after the company secured a $450 million funding round.

As part of its newly launched ‘All new Zepto experience,’ the platform is highlighting “zero handling fee,” “zero delivery fee (for orders above Rs 99),” and “zero rain and surge charge” on its app. This overhaul marks a sharp shift from its earlier pricing model, where the company levied a handling charge “towards handling of products in your orders at our stores.” Additional charges like rain fees were previously used to provide incentives for delivery partners.

Addressing these changes, Zepto said, “We will continue to give incentives to our delivery partners". The move places Zepto in direct competition with other major quick commerce players, including Swiggy’s Instamart and Zomato-owned Blinkit. Instamart has also scrapped its handling fee for orders exceeding Rs 299, while Blinkit continues to charge Rs 11 as a handling fee and Rs 30 as a delivery fee for orders below Rs 199. Instamart, on the other hand, imposes a Rs 9.8 handling fee and a Rs 30 delivery charge for smaller orders, along with additional fees such as rain and surge charges during peak hours.

With these adjustments, Zepto has now positioned itself as the lowest-cost platform in India’s competitive quick commerce space. Industry analysts believe this move will further escalate the price war among major players, leading to increased discounting and potentially higher cash burn in the near term.

Zepto’s recent $450 million round—comprising both primary and secondary transactions—boosted its total cash reserves to $900 million. This financial cushion is expected to give the company more room to experiment with pricing and promotional strategies.

Meanwhile, Blinkit’s parent company Eternal (which also owns Zomato) held Rs 18,000 crore in cash as of September 30, while Swiggy’s Instamart had Rs 4,605 crore during the same period. Swiggy is also planning to raise Rs 10,000 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP), underscoring the financial intensity of the ongoing competition.

Industry experts expect discounting across the sector to continue, with platforms focusing on cash accumulation and user acquisition. Over the past few months, most players have been adding various charges—from platform and convenience fees to rain and small-cart levies—ranging between Rs 6 and Rs 30 per order, in an attempt to strengthen their unit economics.

Zepto, however, has recently faced scrutiny from users for allegedly employing dark patterns within its app interface. Despite that, its aggressive pricing strategy signals a clear intent to capture greater market share by removing cost barriers for consumers and positioning itself as a value-driven player in the growing quick commerce ecosystem.