How to spend less on Swiggy and Zomato without quitting

First, find your real monthly number

Most people guess their food delivery spend low, often by half. Open the order history in both Swiggy and Zomato, add up last month's orders, and write the total down. That one number tells you whether delivery is a treat or a habit, and how much there is to save.

Both apps keep your past orders in the profile section, under your orders. If you also use quick-commerce apps for snacks, count those too, because they often replace a delivery order rather than a grocery run.

Don't judge the number yet. Just notice it, then look at where it goes.

Where the extra money goes

The food is only part of the bill. A platform fee of ₹17.58 is added to every order on both Swiggy and Zomato (March 2026), plus delivery fees, small-order fees, packaging and surge charges at busy times. On ten orders a month, the extras alone can pass ₹700.

Menu prices can be higher in the app than at the restaurant, too. Check one dish you order often against the restaurant's own menu. If it's ₹40 higher, that's another ₹400 on ten orders.

7 ways to spend less and still order

Order fewer, bigger meals rather than many small ones, pick up when the place is close, set a weekly limit, only pay for a membership if the maths works, avoid late-night "just one" orders, mute promo notifications, and keep one easy meal at home for the nights you're tired.

1. 1

   Order for two meals

   One order that covers dinner and tomorrow's lunch pays one set of fees instead of two.

2. 2

   Pick it up yourself

   If the restaurant is on your way, takeaway skips the delivery fee and usually the wait.

3. 3

   Set a weekly limit, not a monthly one

   A weekly number resets every Monday, so one heavy weekend doesn't wreck the month.

4. 4

   Do the membership maths

   Divide the monthly price by the delivery fee it saves you. That's how many orders a month you need just to break even.

5. 5

   Watch the 11 pm order

   Late-night orders are the most impulsive and often carry surge fees. Decide at 7 pm whether tonight is an order night.

6. 6

   Turn off promo notifications

   A "50% off" alert is a reason to order, not a saving. Keep order-status alerts, mute the offers.

7. 7

   Keep a 10-minute fallback

   Maggi, eggs, poha, a frozen paratha. When cooking feels impossible, a fallback beats a ₹400 order.

Is a Swiggy One or Zomato Gold membership worth it?

A delivery membership pays off only if you'd order often enough anyway. Divide its monthly price by the delivery fee it waives per order. If a plan costs ₹150 a month and saves ₹35 an order, you need about five orders a month just to break even.

The trap is the second effect. Once you've paid for free delivery, ordering starts to feel free. If a membership turns four orders a month into ten, it cost you money even though every delivery was "free".

A weekly delivery budget that holds

Take last month's real total, cut it by a quarter, and divide by four. That's your weekly delivery budget. Cutting by a quarter rather than half keeps it realistic, and a weekly number is easy to check before you order: how much is left this week?

If last month was ₹6,000, aim for ₹4,500, which is about ₹1,100 a week. Over a year, that's ₹18,000 back without giving up delivery. For more habits like this, see why UPI makes you spend more.

Cap Swiggy and Zomato with PennyWise AI