Zomato, Swiggy Near Meituan-Level Unit Economics Despite 22X Smaller Market

India’s food delivery market remains a fraction of China’s size, but Zomato and Swiggy are already approaching the per-order economics of Chinese giant Meituan. According to a Bernstein report cited by Entrackr, China’s food delivery market was worth around $230 billion in CY25, compared with just over $10 billion in India in FY26 — a gap of nearly 22X. The difference narrows sharply at the order level. At its peak profitability in Q2 2024, Meituan generated roughly $0.30 in operating profit per food-delivery order. Zomato and Swiggy each generated around $0.20 in adjusted EBITDA per order in Q1 FY27, despite operating in a much smaller and lower-income market.

Average order values also show a surprisingly narrow gap. Meituan’s AOV was around $7.2 at peak profitability, while Zomato and Swiggy recorded GOV per order of about $5.2 and $5.4, respectively. That suggests Indian platforms have built relatively efficient delivery economics even without the enormous order volumes available in China. The scale difference, however, is still substantial. Meituan’s food-delivery GTV was running at.

an annualised $164 billion in the March 2026 quarter, roughly 29X Zomato’s annualised $6 billion GOV in Q1 FY27. Food delivery also represents only about 15% of India’s food-services market, compared with roughly 27% penetration in China.

That leaves Indian platforms with both opportunity and risk. Current economics benefit from a relatively affluent digital consumer base that supports stronger order values. As Zomato, Swiggy and newer challengers expand deeper into lower-income segments, AOVs could fall andmargins may come under pressure. The achievement is therefore significant: India has built near-Meituan per-order economics before reaching anything close to Meituan’s scale. Whether those margins survive the next phase of mass-market expansion will be the bigger test.