Zepto vs Swiggy Instamart
Updated October 2026
In the big cities Zepto usually wins, with a lower free-delivery minimum and no handling fee. Instamart reaches more cities and suits Swiggy One members.
The two are close in size: 1,392 Zepto stores against 1,296 for Instamart. Where both deliver, Zepto has more stores in 51 of 100 cities and Instamart in 29, including Kolkata, Navi Mumbai and Thane. Instamart is in 133 cities (30 Sep 2026), against 66 cities (31 Mar 2026) for Zepto, so in many smaller cities it is the only one of the two.
Zepto vs Instamart: stores, fees, food and medicines compared
| Measure | Zepto | Swiggy Instamart |
|---|---|---|
| Dark stores (company figure) | 1,139 (31 Mar 2026) | 1,240 (30 Sep 2026) |
| Dark stores now | 1,392 | 1,296 |
| Cities served | 66 cities (31 Mar 2026) | 133 cities (30 Sep 2026) |
| Free delivery above | ₹199 (up to ₹299 at peak hours) | ₹299 |
| Membership | Zepto Club (invite-only) | Swiggy One |
| Food and coffee | Zepto Cafe inside the app, with at least 281 cafes in 27 cities | Restaurant food is in the same Swiggy app; Swiggy shut its Snacc quick-food app in Feb 2026 |
| Medicines | Prescription medicines in selected areas of four metros (Aug 2025) | Medicine pilot with PharmEasy in Bengaluru (Oct 2024) |
| Categories | Groceries, Zepto Cafe food and coffee, Electronics, Beauty, Pharmacy | Groceries, Maxxsaver bulk carts, Electronics, Beauty, Gifting |
| Owner | Zepto Ltd (formerly Kiranakart Technologies), privately held | Swiggy Ltd, listed on NSE and BSE (Swiggy Instamart Pvt Ltd from 1 Apr 2026) |
| Launched | 2021 | 2020 |
Where Zepto wins and where Instamart wins
Pick Zepto for
- Cheaper small orders. Free delivery from ₹199 outside peak hours (₹299 at peak), against ₹299 on Instamart, and no handling fee since 3 Nov 2025.
- Zepto Cafe coffee and snacks in the same app as your groceries.
- More stores in Bengaluru, Delhi and Hyderabad.
Pick Swiggy Instamart for
- More cities. Stores in 197 places against 129 for Zepto.
- Swiggy One covers food and Instamart in one plan, with free Instamart delivery above ₹199 (plans from ₹149 a month). Zepto Club needs an invite.
- Restaurant food in the same app. Instamart lives inside Swiggy, next to full restaurant delivery.
- Maxxsaver bulk carts for stock-up orders.
Which is faster, Zepto or Instamart?
Zepto and Instamart both dropped the 10-minute claim in January 2026, after the Labour Ministry asked quick delivery apps to stop using it. Real delivery time depends mostly on how far the nearest store is from your door, so the app with more stores in your area is usually the quicker one.
Zepto vs Instamart orders per store and users
| Measure | Zepto | Instamart |
|---|---|---|
| Orders per store per day (Jan–Mar 2026, estimate) | 2,140 | 1,093 |
| Stores added in FY26 (estimate) | 110 | 122 |
| Orders in FY26 | 640.2 million | 412.2 million |
| Weekly active users (May 2025) | Not published | 8.2 million (Instamart app only; the Swiggy app had 24.7 million) |
Zepto’s stores were the busier of the two in early 2026, on estimated orders per store. User numbers are from May 2025, so they are more than a year old.
Zepto and Instamart delivery charges and memberships
National figures, each with its date. Your checkout shows the final amount.
| App | Free delivery above | Other charges | Membership |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zepto | ₹199 (up to ₹299 at peak hours) |
| Zepto Club (invite-only) |
| Swiggy Instamart | ₹299 |
| Swiggy One |
Apps change charges often and can vary them by time of day, weather and cart size, so check the bill at checkout before you pay. Delivery charges compared has the full history.
Is Zepto or Instamart cheaper?
Outside peak hours a ₹250 cart delivers free on Zepto with no handling fee, while Instamart charges ₹16 for delivery plus a handling fee (₹9.8 in Nov 2025). At peak hours Zepto’s minimum rises to ₹299, the same as Instamart’s, so the gap narrows. Above ₹299 both deliver free.
On item prices, neither is reliably cheaper. When 13 grocery items were priced on Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru from December 2024 to January 2025, Blinkit and Zepto were generally cheaper on Android than on iPhone, logged-out prices were often lower, and people who ordered rarely tended to see higher prices than daily users. That sample was small and is now dated, so it does not show that one app is cheaper today.
Zepto or Instamart: which suits how you shop
| If you… | Pick |
|---|---|
| Place small top-up orders | Zepto: free delivery starts at ₹199 (up to ₹299 at peak hours), against ₹299. |
| Already pay for a membership | Zepto if you have Zepto Club (invite-only); Swiggy Instamart if you have Swiggy One. |
| Need medicines | Zepto: Prescription medicines in selected areas of four metros (Aug 2025). Swiggy Instamart: Medicine pilot with PharmEasy in Bengaluru (Oct 2024). |
| Live in a smaller town | Swiggy Instamart: it has stores in 197 places against 129 for Zepto. |
Zepto vs Instamart store count in each city
The 20 biggest cities where both Zepto and Instamart have stores. A head-to-head leaves out the other apps, which the app rankings for Bengaluru, Delhi and Hyderabad include.
| City | Zepto | Instamart | More stores |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru | 183 | 171 | Zepto |
| Delhi | 117 | 75 | Zepto |
| Hyderabad | 135 | 103 | Zepto |
| Chennai | 96 | 89 | Zepto |
| Mumbai | 85 | 65 | Zepto |
| Pune | 62 | 52 | Zepto |
| Gurugram | 59 | 34 | Zepto |
| Kolkata | 35 | 37 | Instamart |
| Ahmedabad | 32 | 18 | Zepto |
| Lucknow | 36 | 18 | Zepto |
| Noida | 36 | 23 | Zepto |
| Ghaziabad | 33 | 17 | Zepto |
| Jaipur | 28 | 16 | Zepto |
| Navi Mumbai | 19 | 24 | Instamart |
| Thane | 20 | 23 | Instamart |
| Greater Noida | 24 | 10 | Zepto |
| Faridabad | 16 | 7 | Zepto |
| Kanpur | 11 | 4 | Zepto |
| Visakhapatnam | 1 | 13 | Instamart |
| Nagpur | 10 | 7 | Zepto |
More Zepto vs Instamart city comparisons
- Zepto vs Instamart in Agra
- Zepto vs Instamart in Ajmer
- Zepto vs Instamart in Aligarh
- Zepto vs Instamart in Aluva
- Zepto vs Instamart in Ambala
- Zepto vs Instamart in Amritsar
- Zepto vs Instamart in Anand
- Zepto vs Instamart in Badlapur
- Zepto vs Instamart in Barasat
- Zepto vs Instamart in Bareilly
- Zepto vs Instamart in Belagavi
- Zepto vs Instamart in Bhopal
- Zepto vs Instamart in Bidhan Nagar
- Zepto vs Instamart in Chandigarh
- Zepto vs Instamart in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
- Zepto vs Instamart in Coimbatore
- Zepto vs Instamart in Cuttack
- Zepto vs Instamart in Davanagere
- Zepto vs Instamart in Dehradun
- Zepto vs Instamart in Devanahalli
- Zepto vs Instamart in Dombivli
- Zepto vs Instamart in Gandhinagar
- Zepto vs Instamart in Gorakhpur
- Zepto vs Instamart in Guntur
- Zepto vs Instamart in Hosur
- Zepto vs Instamart in Howrah
- Zepto vs Instamart in Hubballi
- Zepto vs Instamart in Indore
- Zepto vs Instamart in Jabalpur
- Zepto vs Instamart in Jalandhar
- Zepto vs Instamart in Jamshedpur
- Zepto vs Instamart in Jodhpur
- Zepto vs Instamart in Kalamassery
- Zepto vs Instamart in Kalyan
- Zepto vs Instamart in Kalyani
- Zepto vs Instamart in Karimnagar
- Zepto vs Instamart in Karnal
- Zepto vs Instamart in Kharar
- Zepto vs Instamart in Kochi
- Zepto vs Instamart in Kolhapur
- Zepto vs Instamart in Kota
- Zepto vs Instamart in Ludhiana
- Zepto vs Instamart in Madhyamgram
- Zepto vs Instamart in Madurai
- Zepto vs Instamart in Mahindra World City
- Zepto vs Instamart in Mathura
- Zepto vs Instamart in Meerut
- Zepto vs Instamart in Mohali
- Zepto vs Instamart in Moradabad
- Zepto vs Instamart in Mysuru
- Zepto vs Instamart in Nandivaram Guduvancheri
- Zepto vs Instamart in Nashik
- Zepto vs Instamart in New Town
- Zepto vs Instamart in Palakkad
- Zepto vs Instamart in Panchkula
- Zepto vs Instamart in Panipat
- Zepto vs Instamart in Patiala
- Zepto vs Instamart in Prayagraj
- Zepto vs Instamart in Puducherry
- Zepto vs Instamart in Raipur
- Zepto vs Instamart in Rajkot
- Zepto vs Instamart in Rohtak
- Zepto vs Instamart in Roorkee
- Zepto vs Instamart in Rudrapur
- Zepto vs Instamart in Saharanpur
- Zepto vs Instamart in Salem
- Zepto vs Instamart in Secunderabad
- Zepto vs Instamart in Sonipat
- Zepto vs Instamart in Surat
- Zepto vs Instamart in Talegaon Dabhade
- Zepto vs Instamart in Tiruchirappalli
- Zepto vs Instamart in Tiruppur
- Zepto vs Instamart in Tumakuru
- Zepto vs Instamart in Udaipur
- Zepto vs Instamart in Ulhasnagar
- Zepto vs Instamart in Vadodara
- Zepto vs Instamart in Varanasi
- Zepto vs Instamart in Vasai Virar
- Zepto vs Instamart in Vellore
- Zepto vs Instamart in Vijayawada
- Zepto vs Instamart in Warangal
- Zepto vs Instamart in Zirakpur
Cities where only Zepto or only Instamart delivers
Only Zepto (29): Jammu, Asansol, Haridwar, Manesar, Loni, Bahadurgarh, Dharwad, Jhansi, Burdwan, Hisar, Uttarpara, Barrackpore, Bhiwadi, Serampore, Yamunanagar, Bhiwandi, Kurukshetra, Rae Bareli, Rewari, Alwar, Dao Majra, Palwal, Vrindavan, Dera Bassi, Hapur and 4 more.
Only Swiggy Instamart (95): Patna, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Thiruvananthapuram, Ranchi, Mangaluru, Siliguri, Gwalior, Kozhikode, Tirupati, Muzaffarpur, Nellore, Kakinada, Thrissur, Bhilai, Bilaspur, Khammam, Rajahmundry, Anantapur, Changanacherry, Kurnool, Panihati, Kottayam, Udupi, Ujjain and 70 more.
Zepto or Instamart? Frequently asked questions
Which has more stores in my city, Zepto or Swiggy Instamart?
In most cities where both deliver, Zepto has more (51 of 100). Among the big cities, Instamart leads in Kolkata, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Visakhapatnam. Search for your city to see every app’s store count there.
Zepto Club or Swiggy One: which plan is better?
Zepto Club (invite-only) costs ₹99/month (intro price) and gives free delivery above ₹99, but only by invite. Swiggy One is open to anyone, starts at ₹149 a month and also covers Swiggy food orders, so it is the easier of the two quick delivery memberships to get.