Zepto franchise: cost, how to apply and fake offers
Updated October 2026
Not one you can apply for. Zepto runs about a third of its stores through franchise-style Growth Partners (36.6% at the end of FY26), but it has no public application page and publishes no fee. Fake Zepto franchise sites are common, and a court and the police have both acted against them.
Anyone selling a Zepto franchise for a fee through ads, calls or WhatsApp is not from Zepto.
Can you get a Zepto franchise? What to do instead
- Look for a partner or careers page on Zepto’s own website and app. There is none for Zepto store partners.
- Ignore ads, WhatsApp messages and “franchise consultants” that ask for money upfront.
- If you own a large ground-floor space, rent it to a dark-store operator instead. Renting your property to a dark store covers what operators look for.
Zepto franchise cost: blog claims and the facts
| Common claim | The facts |
|---|---|
| A franchise costs a fixed amount, often quoted in lakhs | Blogs quote investment figures with no company source. |
| You can expect a fixed profit or ROI each month | No quick delivery app publishes partner profits or a guaranteed return. Store sales rise and fall with local orders, rent and competition, so a promised profit for each month is a sales pitch, not a fact. |
| An agent can get you approved faster for a fee | Zepto has no official franchise route at all, so any paid “approval” offer is a warning sign. |
Fake Zepto franchise sites and scams
- In October 2025, Varanasi cyber police arrested two men from Jharkhand and Bihar who ran fake Zepto and Blinkit “franchise” websites. They pushed the sites with paid search and social media ads, then took “registration” and “security deposit” money by UPI. One victim lost ₹20.16 lakh.
- On 26 August 2025 the Delhi High Court ordered fake Zepto job and franchise sites, such as zeptojob.com and zeptojobs.in, to be taken down. Banks had to freeze the linked accounts, and the phone numbers used were blocked.
How to check if a Zepto franchise offer is real
- The website. Zepto has no franchise page at all, so any site offering one is fake, however official it looks.
- The contact. Genuine emails come from the company’s own domain, never from Gmail or another free address. Phone numbers in an ad prove nothing.
- The money. Never pay a “registration fee”, “security deposit” or “approval charge” before a signed agreement, and never to a personal UPI ID or an individual’s bank account.
- The promise. “Only two slots left today” and other deadlines are sales tactics, not company terms.
- The check. Contact Zepto through its own app or website, not through anything the offer gives you, and ask whether the offer is genuine.
Frequently asked questions about the Zepto franchise
How much does a Zepto franchise cost?
Analyst estimates of what a dark store costs to set up, in the dark store franchise guide, are company spending, not a price for partners.
I already paid for a Zepto franchise. What should I do?
Call 1930, the national cyber-fraud helpline, as soon as possible, and file a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in. Tell your bank the same day so it can try to hold the money. Keep the website address, payment receipts, UPI IDs, phone numbers and chats as evidence, and stop paying any further “fees”, however they are explained.
Other ways to earn with Zepto: delivery, selling
Zepto offers no public franchise route. Instead, you can become a Zepto delivery partner or sell your products on Zepto.