Zomato and Swiggy Onboarding Fee (2026): What You Pay and What You Get

Both Zomato and Swiggy charge a restaurant a one-time onboarding fee to list, and neither puts the amount on a public page. What they do publish is how they collect it, and that differs. Zomato's partner page says the fee "needs to be paid in full at the time of onboarding". Swiggy's help page says its fee "is deducted from the weekly payouts after you start receiving orders".

Restaurant owners reported in May 2026 that Zomato's fee had gone from ₹1,799 to ₹10,000. Zomato hasn't confirmed that figure. This guide covers what each platform's own terms say you get for the fee, how it's collected, and what to ask before you pay.

Key takeaways

• Zomato: pay in full at onboarding, per its partner FAQ. Its July 2025 plan terms also offered five equal deductions from weekly payouts, so ask which option you're being offered.
• Swiggy: the fee comes out of your weekly payouts once orders start. Swiggy says it covers "system & admin costs".
• Neither platform publishes the amount. Owner reports in May 2026 put Zomato's fee at ₹10,000, up from ₹1,799. Get your figure in writing.
• Zomato's fee buys perks with deadlines. Its plan terms list a photoshoot of up to 30 dishes, to be used within 90 days of going live, and an ads credit of up to ₹1,500, to be used within 30 days.
• Zomato can cancel perks you haven't used if your commission changes. Negotiate the commission before you sign, not after.

Zomato vs Swiggy at a glance

Sources: Zomato's partner page and Swiggy's partner onboarding help, both checked on 5 November 2026. The full document list and sign-up steps are in our guide to registering on Zomato and Swiggy.

How much is the Zomato onboarding fee?

Zomato doesn't say. Its partner FAQ describes what the fee pays for ("administrative, operational, growth enablement, and technical services, including document verification, menu digitisation and support, quality checks, and query resolutions") but gives no number. The amount appears only on the plan you're shown during sign-up.

What owners have shared is a moving figure. In May 2026, a restaurant owner posted on LinkedIn that Zomato had raised the fee from ₹1,799 to ₹10,000. In the Reddit thread on the same post, they said the ₹10,000 package included about ₹7,000 of ad credit and ₹3,000 of discount credit. Short videos since then mention other figures, including ₹999 and ₹3,000 plans. Treat all of these as reports, not a price list. Your onboarding plan sheet is the only number that counts.

Some guides say Zomato deducts the fee from your early payouts rather than charging it upfront. Zomato's own partner FAQ now says the opposite: the fee is paid in full when you onboard.

What Zomato's plan terms say you get

Zomato publishes the terms of its Zomato Partnership Plan, a one-page document dated July 2025. They are more useful than any rumoured price, because they show what the fee buys and where the catches are.

A photoshoot, with a deadline. Up to 30 images of your menu dishes, shot by a third-party photographer. You must use it within 90 days of going live, the photographer stays for at most three hours, and you can reschedule only once. Have every dish ready before they arrive, or you lose the shots.

A small ads credit, with a shorter deadline. A one-time ads credit "worth up to INR 1,500", subject to eligibility criteria Zomato sets, which must be used within 30 days of going live. If you were expecting a large ad budget, this term is why to read your own plan sheet closely. How the ad auction works once the credit runs out is covered in Zomato ads for restaurants.

Two ways to pay. These terms let you pay upfront or have the fee taken from your weekly payouts "in five (5) equal installments". The partner FAQ now says full payment at onboarding, so ask your onboarding contact which option applies to you. If it's deducted, the terms say it will appear as a separate line in your statement of account; our guide to Zomato payout deductions shows where to look.

A refund if Zomato is slow. If you pay upfront and your restaurant isn't onboarded within 15 days "due to reasons not attributable to you", the fee is refunded. A failed payment is refunded within three business days.

A GST invoice, and TDS is your job. Zomato raises a GST tax invoice for the fee. If you're required to deduct TDS on it, the terms say you deposit it yourself and then claim a refund from Zomato with the TDS certificate.

Less for a second outlet. If you already have a restaurant on Zomato and are adding another, "a reduced onboarding fee will be applicable".

The clause most owners miss

Term (f) says that if your service fee, meaning your commission, "is revised or reduced from the agreed service fee", Zomato "reserves the right to void the unclaimed benefits". In plain terms: if you sign, then push for a lower commission a month later, you can lose the photoshoot and ad credit you haven't used yet. Negotiate the commission before you accept the plan. Our breakdown of what Zomato and Swiggy commission really costs shows what a few points of commission are worth on a typical order.

Zomato's earlier onboarding terms, from 2023, ran a Basic Plan and a Premium Plan. Basic offered visibility up to 3 km by road and Premium up to 12 km, with the photoshoot and ad benefits on Premium. That document may no longer reflect the current plans, but it explains why plans differ by more than price: ask what delivery radius your plan gives you, because that limits how many customers can find you.

How much is the Swiggy onboarding fee?

Swiggy doesn't publish it either. Its partner help page describes the fee as "a one-time fee charged towards the system & admin costs incurred during the onboarding process" and says it "is deducted from the weekly payouts after you start receiving orders from Swiggy". So you don't pay anything when you sign up. The fee shows up on your first payout statements instead, which is why a new restaurant's first payout often looks lower than its orders. When the money arrives explains the weekly cycle.

Don't confuse it with the rider fee. Search "Swiggy onboarding fee" and most results are about delivery partners. Swiggy's rider sign-up page says that fee is "around ₹1500", varies by city, and is deducted in instalments. That fee applies to people delivering for Swiggy. It has nothing to do with listing a restaurant.

A worked example

Take a new cloud kitchen in Pune that's quoted ₹10,000 by Zomato, the figure owners reported in May 2026. If the five-instalment option from Zomato's July 2025 terms applies, the fee comes out as ₹2,000 a week for five weeks. In those same weeks, the kitchen has to use its ₹1,500 ad credit within 30 days of going live, and book and finish the photoshoot within 90. Owners who knew about both deadlines from day one get the most out of the fee.

The fee is the smaller cost, though. Say the kitchen does ₹60,000 of app orders a week at an assumed 25% commission: it pays ₹15,000 a week, plus GST on that commission, every week it stays listed. Commission, not the joining fee, decides whether the app channel makes you money.

What to ask before you pay

1. What is the exact fee, and is it inclusive of GST? Ask for the plan sheet as a PDF or an email.
2. Upfront, or from payouts? On Zomato, ask whether instalments are offered. On Swiggy, ask how many weeks the deduction spans.
3. What commission does this plan lock in? Settle it now, because Zomato can cancel perks you haven't used if the commission changes later.
4. What delivery radius does the plan give? A wider radius means more customers can see you.
5. What are the deadlines on the photoshoot and ad credit? Put them in your calendar the day you go live.
6. Is there a reduced fee for a second outlet or a launch waiver in your area? It's worth asking, especially in a locality the platform wants to fill.

Make sure your FSSAI and GST papers are ready before you start, because a rejected document delays go-live; see FSSAI license fee and do you need GST to sell on Zomato and Swiggy.

FAQ

How much is the Zomato onboarding fee for restaurants?

Zomato doesn't publish the amount; it appears on the plan you're shown during sign-up. Restaurant owners reported in May 2026 that it had risen from ₹1,799 to ₹10,000, with ad and discount credits included. Treat that as a report and get your own figure in writing before you pay.

Do I pay the Zomato onboarding fee upfront?

Zomato's partner FAQ says the fee "needs to be paid in full at the time of onboarding". Its July 2025 Partnership Plan terms also allowed five equal deductions from weekly payouts. Ask your onboarding contact which option your plan offers, and check that any deduction appears as its own line in your statement.

What is the onboarding fee on Swiggy?

It's a one-time fee Swiggy says covers the "system & admin costs" of onboarding your restaurant. Swiggy doesn't publish the amount. Instead of charging it at sign-up, Swiggy deducts it from your weekly payouts once you start receiving orders, so expect your first few payouts to be lower.

Is the Zomato onboarding fee refundable?

Partly. Under Zomato's July 2025 plan terms, if you pay upfront and your restaurant isn't onboarded within 15 days for reasons that aren't your fault, the fee is refunded. A failed payment is refunded within three business days. Otherwise, treat the fee as a non-refundable cost of listing.

Is the Swiggy rider onboarding fee the same as the restaurant fee?

No. Swiggy's rider page says delivery partners pay an onboarding fee of around ₹1,500, varying by city and deducted in instalments. That's for people who deliver for Swiggy. A restaurant's onboarding fee is separate, isn't published, and is deducted from the restaurant's own weekly payouts.

What to do next

Before you sign either platform's contract, get three numbers in writing: the onboarding fee, the commission and the delivery radius. Then plan around the perk deadlines from your first day live.

The apps are good for reaching customers who don't know you yet. Once they're at your table, there's no reason to pay commission on their next order. dineomAI takes dine-in orders directly from a QR code at the table, in the guest's own language, for a flat monthly fee. Book a short demo to see it in action.