Several social media users expressed fury over the price difference of the food order on Zomato. The anger sparked following a post by one Nalini Unagar, who claimed she was "blatantly overcharged" as the platform asked her to pay ₹655 for an order worth ₹320.
She claimed in a post on X, “Dear @zomato, the actual price of my order is ₹320, but on Zomato it’s ₹655. Even after applying discounts, I still have to pay ₹550. This price difference is absolutely insane. Customers are being blatantly overcharged.”
The food delivery platform Zomato defended itself in response to the complaint. Zomato Care claimed that the prices on our platform are determined solely by our restaurant partners.
"Hi Nalini, the prices on our platform are determined solely by our restaurant partners, as Zomato acts only as an intermediary between customers and restaurants. That said, we’ll certainly relay your feedback to the restaurant partner and request them to look into it. Feel free to reach out to us for any further queries. We’re here to help," Zomato responded.
"You fraud, if we restaurant start publishing our sales board and the charges you cut from displaying restaurant in thumbnail, then people will stop using such app and will take their bike and go to restaurant directly," a user posted on X.
Many others on X demanded that Zomato make public the percentage it charges restaurants per order.
"If prices are set “solely by restaurant partners,” then transparency matters even more. What % commission + ad fees + payment charges does Zomato take per order?," a comment read.
It added, “Because restaurants don’t inflate prices for fun — they do it to offset platform economics. Calling yourself an 'intermediary' doesn’t remove responsibility when incentives are asymmetric.”
Meanwhile, one user alleged that, "...this happens because you take a cut of 35% on the price so restaurants are forced to add that amount in their pricing."
"The math is simple..The more a restaurant charges, the higher amount Zomato get as percentage.. Zomato may even encourage restaurants to overcharge to increase their profits," said another user.
One person went on to share their ordeal, slamming Zomato over its reply to Nalini Unagar over his post.
"What kind of an absolute shit is reply @zomatocare. Just an eg, i recently ordered a meal for a lunch i dont have enough money on my hand and i was down with fever so getting food by delivery was the only option. The product costed 350,and actualy price of product is 140. Pitty," the comment read.
Another person said, "This is not something new apple pie cost 110 in store whereas on zomato it is 148 and over and above that different kinds of charges this is the business model whatever you order from them is 50 % higher than what is available in the restaurant and additional charges."
In between dozens of comments, there was one complaint by a delivery partner.
The person wrote to Zomato, saying, "I am a delivery partner and I didn't receive my incentive income of 500rs during the period from 23rd Dec to 1st Jan. I have raised multiple tickets regarding this to your support team, yet no response came. I am sharing my FE ID, i.e Zomato ID. Please check...(sic)"
Zomato responded to that complaint as well. "Hey there, we’re here to help! Our team will look into this for you and get back to you with an update," it said.
Curated by Maria Santos
