Woman shares ‘hack’ for avoiding Zomato and Swiggy delivery fees: ‘Cheaper than ordering on apps’

A woman has revealed her secret to ordering food from the comfort of her home without paying hefty delivery fees to the country’s two largest delivery platforms – Swiggy and Zomato. Krisha, a recent graduate from Delhi Technological University, has gone old school in her approach to ordering food. A woman reveals why she has stopped using Swiggy and Zomato for food orders. (Representational image) Instead of placing an order on the Swiggy or Zomato app, she now calls the restaurant directly and has them pack her food. She then gets the order picked up through a delivery service like Rapido or Uber Courier, there circumventing the various fees imposed food delivery platforms. Her social media post detailing her ‘hack’ to order food comes at a time when customers are speaking out against the hefty fees levied quick commerce and food delivery companies – including, but not always limited to, delivery fee, platform fee, GST, small order charge, long dance fee, rain surcharge and more. (Also read: Swiggy, Zomato raise platform fee yet again to make the most of festive demand) “Stopped using Zomato, Swiggy”In the post shared on the social media platform X, Krisha declared that she had stopped using Swiggy and Zomato. “Stopped using Zomato/Swiggy. Now I just call my regular spots, they pack the food & I send Uber/Rapido to pick it up,” she said. She further revealed that getting the food delivered through Uber or Rapido costs between ₹50 to 100 – which is still less than what she would have had to pay if ordering through Zomato or Swiggy. “Even after ₹50–100 delivery cost, it’s still cheaper than ordering on apps (thanks to their markups, platform fee, commissions),” she said. Her post has been going steadily viral with more than 2.3 lakh views in one day. Several people in the comments section shared similar stories. “Our regular spot in Mumbai had 2 portion sizes. 1 for Zomato/Swiggy orders and 1 for direct orders. Direct orders saved us money and larger portion sizes as well,” wrote X user Soham Deshpande. Another user said: “Agreed. Zomato and Swiggy are looting customers. Yesterday I analysed and found out that pre GST rate cut food was cheaper than post GST rate cut as they have increased Delivery Partner fee, Packaging fees etc. This was not expected from you.” Some offered arguments against this method of ordering food. “Zomato and Swiggy’s fees are annoying, but at least they handle the mess…your method shifts it all to you,” one X user pointed out. “Smart move, but isn’t convenience part of what you’re paying for with apps?” asked user Hardik Gohil.