Only around two out of every 100 orders placed on Swiggy include a tip for the delivery partner, highlighting how uncommon tipping has become in India’s online food delivery market. According to UBS analysis, the proportion of orders receiving tips has fallen from approximately 5% four years ago to around 2% currently. Even when customers choose to tip, the average amount is only about ₹20.
The findings highlight the limited contribution of customer gratuities to delivery partners’ earnings, despite food delivery platforms offering tipping options during checkout. The decline also comes at a time when gig worker compensation, incentives and working conditions are receiving greater attention across India’s food delivery and quick-commerce industries. For delivery partners, tips remain an occasional additional payment rather than a dependable source of income.
Swiggy Tipping Rate Falls From 5% to 2%
The UBS analysis points to a significant decline in the frequency of tipping on Swiggy over the past four years.
Previously, approximately five out of every 100 orders included a tip. The latest figure suggests that only two orders in every 100 now attract an additional payment for delivery partners.
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| Tipping indicator | Earlier | Current |
|---|---|---|
| Share of orders receiving tips | Around 5% | Around 2% |
| Average tip when customers tip | — | Approximately ₹20 |
| Orders without tips | Around 95% | Around 98% |
The change represents a decline of approximately 60% in the share of orders receiving tips.
In practical terms, if a delivery partner completes 100 orders, only around two would include a customer tip under the latest estimate. At an average of ₹20 per tipped order, that would generate approximately ₹40 in tips across those 100 deliveries.
The figures illustrate why gratuities have a limited impact on overall delivery earnings, even when customers appreciate the service.
Average Tip Remains Around ₹20
The average tip of approximately ₹20 indicates that customers who choose to reward delivery partners generally contribute a relatively small amount.
This is consistent with wider industry reporting. A January 2026 Moneycontrol report, citing industry sources, found that tips across food delivery and quick-commerce platforms typically ranged between ₹15 and ₹25 per order.
The report also noted that delivery partners who receive tips regularly may earn an additional ₹800–₹1,000 per month, although the amount varies depending on working hours, order volumes and customer behaviour.
The distinction between the average tip amount and the frequency of tipping is important. Even if the amount remains unchanged, a decline in the number of tipped orders reduces the total gratuity income available to delivery partners.
For workers completing large numbers of deliveries, the difference can become meaningful over time.
Why Are Fewer Swiggy Customers Tipping?
Several factors could explain why tipping remains uncommon in India’s online food delivery market.
1. Customers already pay multiple charges
Food delivery customers often pay delivery fees, platform fees, packaging charges and other applicable costs. These additional expenses can make some users reluctant to pay more at checkout.
Customers may also compare online food prices with restaurant prices and feel that the overall bill is already expensive.
2. Tipping is not deeply embedded in Indian consumer behaviour
Unlike markets such as the United States, where tipping is a more established part of service transactions, India does not have a similarly widespread tipping culture.
A Mint report published in August 2024 highlighted that tipping among food delivery customers remained inconsistent, particularly outside major metropolitan areas.
3. Limited interaction with delivery partners
Food delivery transactions involve relatively brief interactions between customers and delivery workers.
Unlike restaurant dining, where customers spend considerable time interacting with service staff, online delivery usually involves a short handover at the doorstep. This can reduce opportunities for customers to consider or offer a gratuity.
4. Customers may not understand how tips are distributed
Some customers have also questioned whether the entire tip reaches the delivery partner.
Platforms have attempted to address this concern by explaining their tip-payout policies and assuring customers that gratuities are passed on to workers.
Tips Form Only a Small Part of Delivery Partners’ Earnings
The decline in tipping matters because delivery partners depend primarily on base payments and incentives rather than customer gratuities.
A January 2026 Moneycontrol analysis found that delivery partners typically receive base payments of ₹20–₹50 for orders within a specified delivery distance, depending on the platform, city and category.
Additional payments may be available for longer deliveries, peak-hour demand and completing specified order targets.
The same report highlighted that incentive structures can significantly influence daily earnings. Workers may need to complete a certain number of deliveries to qualify for additional payouts.
Tips are therefore an additional component of an earnings structure dominated by platform payments and incentives.
For context, Eternal CEO Deepinder Goyal said in January 2026 that Zomato delivery partners received an average of ₹2.60 per hour in tips during 2025, compared with average hourly earnings of ₹102 excluding tips.
He also said approximately 5% of Zomato orders received tips, while the figure for Blinkit was around 2.5%.
These figures are platform-specific and should not be directly treated as Swiggy’s tipping rate. However, they demonstrate how limited gratuities can be across India’s delivery economy.
Delivery Worker Compensation Debate Gains Attention
The UBS findings arrive amid wider discussions about the earnings and working conditions of India’s gig workforce.
Delivery partners have raised concerns about base payments, incentive structures, fuel expenses and the predictability of their earnings.
The issue gained renewed attention following delivery-worker strike calls around the end of 2025, when workers demanded better compensation and improved working conditions.
For platforms, the challenge is balancing competitive delivery costs with the need to maintain an adequate supply of delivery partners.
For workers, the key concern is whether payments remain sufficient after accounting for fuel, vehicle maintenance, insurance and other expenses.
In this context, tips can provide some additional support, but they cannot replace a sustainable compensation structure.
What the Declining Tipping Trend Means for Swiggy
For Swiggy, the decline in tipping highlights a broader characteristic of India’s food delivery market: customers are generally reluctant to pay additional amounts beyond the order bill.
The company can make tipping easier through checkout prompts and suggested amounts, but the final decision remains with customers.
A lower tipping rate does not necessarily indicate declining customer satisfaction. Customers may appreciate delivery services without choosing to make an additional payment.
However, the trend means delivery partners cannot reasonably depend on gratuities when estimating their monthly income.
It also places greater importance on the transparency of platform payments, incentive calculations and other components of worker compensation.
The Bigger Picture
The decline in Swiggy’s tipping rate reflects the limited role gratuities play in India’s digital delivery economy. UBS estimates that only around 2% of orders now include tips, compared with approximately 5% four years ago. With the average tip at roughly ₹20, the contribution to delivery partners’ total earnings remains modest. The trend also reflects broader consumer behaviour, where additional charges and limited tipping habits can discourage customers from paying beyond the order amount.
For delivery partners, the larger issue is the structure of their overall compensation. Base payments, incentives, working hours and operating expenses have a much greater influence on take-home earnings than occasional tips. As the gig economy expands, platforms will face increasing pressure to make worker payments more predictable and transparent rather than relying on customer generosity to supplement income.
Looking Ahead
Swiggy’s tipping rate will remain an important indicator of how customers respond to checkout prompts and additional payment requests. However, a recovery in tipping alone is unlikely to materially change delivery partners’ financial position. The more significant factors will be order-level payments, incentive structures, fuel costs and the availability of consistent delivery demand.
The wider food delivery industry will also need to address questions about the sustainability of gig work as millions of people participate in platform-based services. While tipping can provide a welcome additional payment, it is unlikely to become a dependable income source in India. Long-term improvements in delivery partner earnings will depend more heavily on the compensation models operated by the platforms themselves.
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