Gig workers all over India tried to hold organised protests as December 31 approached midnight, one of the best nights for quick business and food delivery. They wanted changes to pay, rewards, and social security. Deliveries mostly went on as usual, but the calls for a strike did do one other thing: they brought up the economy of gig delivery work in the national conversation.
These days, delivery sites are a puzzle. At the beginning, making cash can look good, especially in big towns. But those big numbers hide a system where earning more rests less on moving up in your job and more on working longer hours, getting more orders, and meeting reward levels.
How much do delivery people make now
TeamLease Services, a staffing tool, says that a full-time delivery partner in a major city can make up to Rs 30,000 a month before costs, though this depends on a number of factors. “A full-time delivery partner in a metro city makes between Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000 a month, and sometimes even more,” said Balasubramanian A, Senior Vice President, TeamLease Services. A story says that he said, “The wages depend on the platform, location or locality, hours worked, and incentives earned.”
These numbers are mostly in line with what Eternal founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal has said. He has shared platform data that shows partners working about 10 hours a day for most of the month can make around Rs 26,500, with net earnings closer to Rs 21,000 after costs.
How the pay scale works in real life
A lot of transport partners can pick between set full-time jobs and open part-time log-ins. The algorithms decide which orders to give out, and while riders can refuse some, doing so more than once costs them. A rider in Delhi who works for Zomato told the news source, “You can reject one or two orders, but if you keep doing it, the app just stops sending work to that person.”
Divided earnings are base pay per order and bonuses. Pay starts at Rs 20 to Rs 50 for short routes, and goes up by Rs 5 per kilometre after a certain radius. But incentives can make or break the day.
A delivery partner for Swiggy told Moneycontrol, “The system forces you to stay logged in longer and chase the next slab.” “The day’s earnings drop sharply if you don’t reach the goal.”
Payouts can go up during times of high demand. The story says that on New Year’s Eve, riders said they made Rs 120–150 per order during busy times.
Why People Who Work for Swiggy, Zomato, and Blinkit Are Protesting in India
What Platform Data Shows
After the walkout, Goyal said that Zomato service partners made an average of Rs 102 an hour in 2025, not counting tips. “Most delivery partners only work a few days a month for a few hours.” On the other hand, if someone worked 10 hours a day, 26 days a month, they would make ~Rs 26,500 a month. “The partner makes about Rs 21,000 a month after paying for fuel and repairs, which add up to about 20% of the income,” Goyal said.
Longer term numbers show that growth has stopped rising. Earnings went up a lot from 2021 to 2023, but they have stopped going up even though the number of orders has gone up. “Only 2.3% of partners worked more than 250 days a year.” “It doesn’t fit with what the model is meant for to demand full-time employee benefits like PF or guaranteed salaries for gig jobs,” Goyal said.
Over 15 lakh supply partners work on major sites every month, so even small changes have a big effect. The study says that workers say that rewards are necessary because base pay has been going down. “Earlier, even without incentives, the base made the day possible,” a transport partner said in the report. “Now, your pay drops quickly if you don’t hit the slabs.”
Strike alert for New Year Eve: Swiggy, Zomato, Amazon deliveries may face big delays on Dec 31
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