Rapido is Ready to Enter Food Delivery Battle, Promises Cheaper, Fairer Model

09 June, 2025:

The food delivery battlefield just got spicier — popular ride-hailing app Rapido is shifting gears to serve your meals faster, better, and a little cheaper too. After month of speculation Rapido, known for its success in the ride-hailing business, is finally revealing its food delivery platform “Ownly”. 

Though Rapido has been quietly delivering food behind the scenes, its tie-up with the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) signals a bold, official entry into the food delivery arena — with its own ordering platform launching in Bengaluru by late June or early July, and plans to roll out across cities in a phased manner.

The main USP of Rapido’s entry into the food delivery space lies in its pricing model. As per the agreed terms, restaurant partners will bear the delivery fee for all orders within a standard radius of 4 km. For orders valued at ₹100 or less, the delivery cost will be ₹10, of which the customer will pay ₹20. Unlike existing players, Rapido—through its partnership with the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI)—will charge a flat commission of ₹25 for orders below ₹400 and ₹50 for orders above that. This translates to just 8–15% commission for restaurants, compared to the 16–30% charged by Zomato and Swiggy, making Rapido a more cost-effective and restaurant-friendly alternative.

“Our basic belief is that, online food as an experience and from a consumer expectation standpoint, is a completely different product. We want to find solutions that apply to this differentiated product. We also believe that growth in this market will be driven by structural change – either in the cost structures that govern this activity or in the offerings that drive demand,” Rapido explains in the note about “Ownly” circulated to NRAI members. 

According to reports the new platform will operate on a zero-commission model, charging restaurants a flat subscription fee. Under the agreement, restaurants will not be permitted to add packaging charges separately, and pricing across online and offline channels will be kept uniform. This means customers will pay only the listed price plus GST—no platform or restaurant mark-ups.  

After this news came out, shares of Zomato and Swiggy fell by more than 2%. Though Rapido has quietly been delivering food for some time, its new partnership with the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) marks a formal entry into the space with its own ordering platform.