Swiggy and Zomato charge 18% to 30% commission on every order, depending on your tier and city. That is a real cost. But aggregators also send you customers you would never have found on your own. The question is not 'should I use aggregators?' It is 'at what volume does my own channel become cheaper?'
Aggregator commissions
Typical commission bands in 2026: Zomato and Swiggy take 18% to 28% on delivery, depending on restaurant tier (regular, Gold, Everyday). Packaging charges, delivery charges paid by the restaurant, and occasional 'ads' costs (priority listing) add another 3–5%. Total effective cost: 21–33% of the order value, before your food cost.
Commission rates are negotiable at volume. If you do more than ₹10L per month on a single platform, request a key account manager and negotiate directly.
Own channel costs
Running your own ordering channel is not free. Typical costs: ordering platform SaaS (₹2,000–₹8,000/month), payment gateway (1.8–2.5% MDR, or 0.2% on UPI), delivery partner if self-delivery (Dunzo, Porter, or own fleet), and marketing to drive the channel (WhatsApp, Instagram, Google Ads).
Customer acquisition cost
The honest number most operators miss: on Swiggy/Zomato, the aggregator acquires the customer. You pay commission forever, but you never own the relationship. On your own channel, you pay CAC once (typically ₹80–200 per new customer via digital ads), and every subsequent order is near-zero marketing cost if you have WhatsApp or a loyalty flow capturing the number.
The math
Take a ₹600 order. On Zomato at 25% commission: restaurant receives ₹450. On your own channel via UPI: restaurant receives ₹589 (0.2% MDR, ₹8 platform fee). The first-order differential is ₹139. The second order from the same guest via your own channel costs you ₹2 in WhatsApp notification. That differential compounds.
The hybrid play
Very few restaurants should abandon aggregators entirely. Aggregators bring new discovery volume that own channels cannot replicate easily. The smart play: use aggregators for acquisition, capture the guest's contact on first order (a delivery note with a QR to your WhatsApp), and migrate repeat orders to your own channel. Your aggregator volume stays roughly flat while your own channel grows.
When to invest in own ordering
- You already have a base of repeat customers who know your brand.
- Your average order value is ₹600+, so the per-order savings are meaningful.
- You have capacity to manage a WhatsApp broadcast or CRM tool.
- You are doing ₹3L+ per month on aggregators and want to protect margin.
10 years building POS and payments for Indian restaurants. Previously at Razorpay & Petpooja.