This Zepto Delivery Driver Earned Rs 21K In A Week, Explains How He Did It

Being a delivery driver in India is no easy job. Beating traffic on dangerous roads, over-reliance on tips, unstable pay, and gruelling, long hours of work. The race among quick commerce companies to deliver groceries at lightning-fast speeds often overshadows critical issues, such as labour laws and the treatment of delivery personnel, which remain unaddressed and underacknowledged amidst the massive volume of daily orders placed on these apps.

A delivery driver, perhaps overcoming or adapting to all the challenges that come with the job, recently emerged on Reddit where he claimed to have generated an impressive Rs 21,000 in a week.

Shared on r/SideHustlePaglu, the user posted a screenshot of his alleged earnings and explained how he managed

to be in the higher bracket of the reportedly low-income, less-incentive job.

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“10 AM TO 10 PM”

The delivery person revealed that the net profit he made that week was approximately Rs 18,900. He spent Rs 2100 on petrol in a week, with an average of Rs 300 spent per day. The user also revealed that he rode a TVS Jupiter.

When a curious user made rough calculations and asked if the man was receiving five orders an hour, noting that he had to fulfill 60 deliveries a day, the man responded by saying that while he did receive approximately five orders an hour, sometimes he had “double orders” beeped on his app. Double order, according to the OP, was orders that fell in proximity to each other.

Also Read: Zepto’s ‘Dark Patterns’ Go Viral. Why This Quick-commerce Company Keeps Making News

He further explained that delivery personnel were assigned orders within a maximum radius of 3 km. His familiarity with the local area and roads helped him complete deliveries swiftly. Additionally, during periods with fewer orders, he shifted his work hours to late nights and early mornings, when fewer riders were available, allowing him to handle more deliveries.
The rain surge also boosted his earnings.

“Don’t Want To Be Stuck”

The man asserted that he did not want to be stuck in this, despite the good money he was making. He maintained that the long working hours and accepting several orders were to fulfil his future dreams, a hustle he happily embraced.

“I’ll use the money I make in this as a start-up fund for my own business,” he wrote before adding that he would use the capital and invest into either farming or setting up a factory.

“You Are Upskilling For A Job”

As is the case with everything on the Internet, the viral Reddit post caught the attention of an X user who focused on the earnings instead of the laborious work put in place.

Zepto driver making 20k a week,and you are upskilling for a job😂 pic.twitter.com/1ofxclUnWj

— Mujahid Of Maitreya🕉️ (@DiaryOfNoir) October 16, 2025

Users on X were quick to join the conversation and stated that it was the man’s excessive and relentless work that made him earn what he earned.

“You better start delivering 50-55 orders a day. Working at least 14 hours with no real break for food and no break ever if it rains and pours,” wrote on X user in response.

“That’s after delivering 50+ orders a day, which is like one order every 15 minutes for 12 hours straight, seven days a week, without a break. If anyone saw this tweet & thought this is a good gig, it’s kinda obvious why you don’t have a better career, gang, (sic)” a second user voiced.

The Reddit post invariably turned into an AMA of sorts. You can find all the questions OP answered here.