Zepto Seller Fees Explained (2026): Margins, Commission, Ads, Storage and Payouts

Zepto does not list a commission anywhere on its brand portal, and you cannot self-list there either. A Category Manager decides whether to onboard you, negotiates a margin on MRP, and then Zepto buys your stock on purchase orders. On top of that margin, brands pay for ads, promotions and a set of operational charges. As of September 2026 the only hard numbers Zepto has put in writing are in its IPO prospectus, and they describe Zepto's business, not your rate card. This guide separates what is published from what brands report. For the onboarding steps themselves, see our Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart guide.

How does Zepto pay brands?

Zepto runs an inventory-led, purchase-order model. Brands "ship to Zepto's central warehouses, not to individual dark stores". Zepto raises a PO, you deliver against it, the inwarding team checks quantity, barcodes and shelf life, and stock is dispersed to dark stores. You invoice Zepto for the accepted units at MRP minus the agreed margin. The customer pays Zepto; you never see that money directly.

Money then moves in three streams:

• PO payments for accepted stock, on the credit terms in your agreement.
• Deductions for shortfalls at inwarding, returned or expired stock, brand-funded discounts and any per-unit handling or storage charges.
• Advertising and visibility, run through Zepto's brand ad platform and billed or netted off.

Some new brands are reportedly asked for a refundable deposit of about ₹25,000, and some are offered a bundled launch package that is mostly prepaid advertising. Neither is published by Zepto, and one guide is blunt: "do not assume a public third-party number applies to your brand".

What margin or commission does Zepto take?

The price-band and category tables contradict each other, which tells you they describe different arrangements or different years. The consistent brand-side view is that packaged FMCG lands somewhere in the mid-teens on MRP, that premium beauty and nutrition sit higher, and that the number is negotiable on volume and exclusivity. Agencies also note that Zepto's dashboards report sales on MRP rather than net selling price, which flatters ad returns by a wide margin, so model on MRP throughout.

What other charges come off the payout?

Reported by brand-side and agency sources, not published by Zepto:

• Inbound logistics: getting stock to Zepto's warehouse is on you; one brand guide budgets ₹8 to ₹15 a unit including cluster transfers.
• Handling and storage: per-unit warehouse charges where stock ages; fast-moving SKUs may see none.
• Returns and damage: one guide provisions ₹10 to ₹15 a unit for damage, expiry and returns.
• Promotions: coupons and price drops you fund are netted off; Zepto sometimes co-funds.
• Packaging: if Zepto supplies materials, a small charge may apply.
• GST at 18% on Zepto's services, claimable as input credit by a registered brand.

Guides that add everything up put the all-in cost of selling on Zepto at 30% to 35% of MRP once ads are included. That is before your own cost of goods, so a brand with under 50% gross margin on MRP has very little room.

What do Zepto ads cost?

This is the one area with an official anchor. Zepto's DRHP reports advertising revenue of ₹1,635.7 crore in FY26, up 151% from ₹651.2 crore in FY25, from 2,468 brand partners, with Q4 FY26 alone at ₹542.9 crore. The Redseer research cited in the same filing says brands on quick commerce see a return on ad spend of 5x to 8x. Divide the revenue by the brand count and the average brand spent about ₹66 lakh in the year, heavily skewed by large FMCG houses, but it shows that ads are a core cost, not an extra.

Formats reported by agencies: search ads (₹3 to ₹20 a click), category or browse ads (₹2 to ₹10 a click), homepage banners on a CPM basis with a minimum of about ₹1 lakh, and "Swap and Save" placements that intercept a competitor's add-to-cart. Recommended minimums are ₹50,000 a month for performance campaigns, with an initial test of ₹1,500 to ₹3,000 a day. Zepto Atom, the neighbourhood-level sales and share data tool launched in May 2025, is quoted at about ₹30,000 a month. Some new brands are quoted a bundled entry package of ₹5 lakh to ₹6 lakh covering banners and in-feed placement. None of the click prices or packages are published by Zepto; the DRHP figures are.

When does Zepto pay?

Zepto has not published payment terms. A brand-side onboarding guide describes settlement "15 to 30 days" after acceptance, and the general quick commerce pattern is payment twice a month against accepted PO invoices. Expect the first payout to take longer while the vendor account is set up, and expect deductions to be listed with reason codes on a settlement statement. Reconcile every statement to the goods receipt notes, because quantity accepted at inwarding, not quantity shipped, is what you are paid for.

What happens when fill rate or velocity slips?

Zepto's category team watches two numbers. Fill rate: brand guides put the working target at 95% of PO quantity delivered on time. Velocity: one guide reports a threshold of "30 to 50 units sold per dark store per month" to stay listed, and delisting risk after "three consecutive days" out of stock. Low fill rate costs you the next PO; low velocity costs you the shelf. Zepto does not publish a rupee penalty schedule; if a service-level or shortfall clause exists, it is in your vendor agreement. The operational defence is boring and effective: dedicated quick commerce stock, 15 to 20 days of buffer at the warehouse, and a small hero range you can keep in stock everywhere rather than a long tail you cannot.

Worked example: an MRP ₹100 FMCG pack

Assumptions, clearly labelled. A packaged beverage with MRP ₹100 and landed cost of goods ₹45. Zepto margin 17% on MRP, inside the third-party packaged food and beverage range. Ads at 10% of MRP sales, the low end of what a 5x return on ad spend implies. Inbound logistics ₹3 a unit. A ₹2 provision for returns and damage. GST at 18% on services, treated as recoverable. Zepto publishes none of these rates.

At a 22% margin and 15% ad load the same pack contributes ₹15. At a 25% margin with a ₹25,000 deposit still tied up in ad credit, a slow SKU can run negative for its first quarter. The lever that matters most is the margin line, and the second is ad efficiency, which is why velocity, not listing count, is what to optimise. Our onboarding guide explains why Category Managers prefer a short hero range.

How do you negotiate better Zepto terms?

Because nothing is published, the first offer you receive is the anchor for every renewal, so it is worth preparing for it. Category Managers act as buyers and are judged on the margin and velocity of the shelf they run, which means they trade on a few predictable things:

• Proof of sell-through elsewhere. Sales data from Amazon, Flipkart, modern trade or a competing quick commerce app is the strongest argument for a lower margin, because it lowers the risk of dead stock.
• A short hero range. Five to ten SKUs that you can keep in stock in every cluster get better terms than thirty that you cannot, and cost less to inward and advertise.
• Impulse price points. Sub-₹500 packs are reported to work best on Zepto; a pack that fits a ten-minute basket needs less ad support.
• Volume commitments. Brands report margin cuts of a point or two for guaranteed monthly purchase values, which are only worth signing if your fill rate can hold.
• Ad commitments. A brand that funds visibility is worth more to the platform; use a fixed ad budget as a bargaining chip against margin, not as an extra.

Ask for the full list of deductions in writing, the settlement cycle in days, the dispute window for inwarding shortfalls, and the shelf-life rule at inwarding, and get each of them into the agreement rather than an email. Renewal conversations usually start with the platform asking for more margin; the counter is velocity data, not goodwill.

How do you keep your Zepto settlement honest?

1. Reconcile POs to goods receipt notes and dispute inwarding shortfalls within the window your agreement gives you.
2. Reconcile each payout to invoices and list every deduction by type: promotion, RTV, damage, storage, ads.
3. Pull ad reports on net selling price, not MRP, before judging return on ad spend.
4. Track fill rate and per-store velocity weekly, because those decide the next PO.
5. Recompute effective take rate monthly and compare it to the model you priced on.

Blooprint's Zepto account management service runs this cycle for brands, along with NPI, PO servicing and ads.

FAQ

What commission does Zepto charge sellers? Zepto publishes no rate. Brands are bought on purchase orders at a margin below MRP; third-party estimates run from about 8% to 25% by category, with packaged FMCG mostly in the mid-teens.

Is there a fee to register on Zepto? Registration at brands.zepto.co.in is free. Some new brands report a refundable deposit of about ₹25,000 and bundled ad packages; Zepto has not published either.

How much should I budget for Zepto ads? Agencies suggest ₹50,000 a month for performance campaigns and a ₹1,500 to ₹3,000 a day test. Zepto's DRHP shows 2,468 brands spent ₹1,635.7 crore on Zepto ads in FY26, so plan for ads from day one.

When does Zepto pay brands? Not published. Brand-side guides report 15 to 30 days after acceptance, with deductions itemised on a settlement statement. Your agreement is the binding source.

What fill rate does Zepto expect? Guides put the target at 95%, and report delisting risk after three consecutive days out of stock or velocity under 30 to 50 units a store a month.

Is GST charged on Zepto's fees? Yes, 18% on services such as ads and handling, recoverable as input tax credit by a GST-registered brand.

Getting your Zepto economics right

Zepto's brand portal gives you a form, and its prospectus gives you the scale of its ad business. The rate that matters is in your own agreement, and the leakage is in your settlement statements. If you want an ex-Flipkart team to model margin by SKU before you negotiate, keep fill rate and velocity on target, and reconcile every payout, see our Zepto account management service.