Skip Zomato & Swiggy: Save big on your favourite food

Are you craving your favourite chhole-bhature, want to order it online, but finding it unbelievably expensive? A social media user has shared a hack to deal with this, and the internet is impressed. But before we delve into the solution, let’s first understand what the problem really is.

Paying more for online orders

Ordering food online, through apps such as Zomato or Swiggy, is often more expensive than what we usually pay at these restaurants. In many cases, if the prices are not different or just a little higher, then the portion sizes are smaller if we order through online platforms

Food & the fee factor

Food & the fee factor But why does this happen? The reason is simple. When a restaurant sells on online platforms such as Zomato or Swiggy, they have to pay a major chunk of their sales amount to these platforms.

Restaurants: Thin margins

After paying the commissions to the online platform, the restaurants are left with little money on the table. In fact, with commissions running up to 30–35% in most cases, it’s possible for a food business to make almost no money on their sales via these apps. Restaurants: No other option But with more and more people using such online platforms to order in, restaurants have no option but to stay on these platforms. That’s why many of them have been forced to devise new strategies to tackle their almost negligible margins.

The ordering-in hack

Now, a social media user, who goes by the name Kisha, has come up with a hack that could potentially save consumers a lot on their food ordering bills. In a post on X, Kisha explained this very simple hack.

She just calls her regular spots and places the order. Once the food is ready, Kisha sends Uber or Rapido for pickup. She says even after paying ₹50–100 on delivery, her food is still cheaper than ordering on apps.

Stopped using Zomato/Swiggy. Now I just call my regular spots, they pack the food & I send Uber/Rapido to pick it up. Even after ₹50–100 delivery cost, it’s still cheaper than ordering on apps (thanks to their markups, platform fee, commissions). Net profitable ✅

— krisha (@stonksqween) September 22, 2025

When someone asked Kisha if she was putting in so much effort to save just ₹50–100 per order, she responded saying, “No, mostly I end up saving around ₹400–500.” Another X user wrote, "While Zomato and Swiggy’s fees are annoying, but at least they handle the mess... your method shift it all to you.

Netizens agree

However, several netizens agreed with Kisha’s assessment of the situation and her response to it. Soham Deshpande, another X user, wrote, “Our regular spot in Mumbai had 2 potion sizes. 1 for Zomato/Swiggy orders and 1 for direct orders.

Direct orders saved us money and larger portion sizes as well.” Another X user, Dr Arunesh PK, responded to the post saying, “Ordering from restaurant website or app will also save money.”