Seasons and festivals
Diwali part-time delivery work in Delhi NCR: evening and weekend slots (2026)
Want extra money in the evenings or at weekends before Diwali? Which delivery companies let you pick your hours, what joining involves, and why you should start now.
By Editorial team Published
Diwali falls on Sunday, 8 November 2026 (central government holiday list for 2026, DoPT office memorandum of 3 July 2025, copy on Gconnect). If you want to earn in the evenings or at weekends during the festive weeks, start now. Joining a delivery company has several steps, and you want to be riding before the rush, not still waiting for a background check.
Is there more work this festive season?
Staffing firms expect more short-term work. TeamLease's Festive Season Workforce Report 2026 expects temporary hiring to grow 15–20% year on year in sectors including retail, e-commerce, quick commerce and logistics (People Matters, 14 August 2026). Flipkart said on 15 September 2026 that it had created over 2.5 lakh direct and indirect jobs across India ahead of the festive season (UNI, 15 September 2026).
Keep in mind that these are all-India figures. They include warehouse and store jobs, not only riders. For openings and pay near you this Diwali, ask our team when they call.
Which companies let you pick your hours
This is what each company says on its own partner page or rider terms. We checked them on 13 October 2026. We don't link to those pages; to join, tap Apply at the end of this post.
| Company | What it says about hours |
|---|---|
| Zomato | Login hours are flexible. You can log in any time, depending on when you are free. |
| Swiggy | You choose your shifts and can work part-time or full-time. |
| Swiggy Instamart | You choose your shifts, part-time or full-time. |
| Blinkit | Flexible schedule: you choose your own work hours. |
| Zepto | You choose the time and days from the shifts on offer. You are not paid when you are not logged in, and Zepto asks riders not to log off often once they log in. |
| Rapido | No fixed shift, but you can be online for at most 12 hours a day. |
So part-time work is possible with all of them. What none of them tells you is how many orders you will get in your area at your hours. That decides your pay.
What an evening or weekend shift can pay
There is no fixed hourly rate. Most companies pay for each delivery you complete (our pay and incentives guide explains how). Time online with few orders pays little.
Two real examples, both one-off:
- One six-hour shift: an Indian Express reporter earned ₹313.27 for 11 Blinkit deliveries between 1 pm and 7 pm on 10 January 2026 (Indian Express, January 2026). That is what one reporter earned in one shift, not a rate.
- Peak-night incentives: on New Year's Eve 2025, Zomato said it was paying ₹120–150 per order between 6 pm and 12 am, and Swiggy advertised peak-hour earnings of up to ₹2,000 for the same six hours (The Week, 31 December 2025). A spokesperson for Eternal, Zomato's parent company, called this "part of our standard annual operating protocol during festive periods". That was New Year's Eve, not Diwali. Check the incentives your app shows each day.
More reported examples are on our delivery pay page.
Start now: joining has several steps
The companies' own pages describe these steps:
- Sign up and upload documents. Most companies ask for a driving licence, PAN card, Aadhaar (or another address proof) and bank details. Zomato and Blinkit also list your RC and insurance. See our documents guide.
- Background check. Zomato and Blinkit both run one before your first order.
- Training and kit. Blinkit has onboarding training before your first order. Zomato asks you to collect your delivery kit from an asset collection centre; Swiggy says your bag and T-shirt are sent to your home.
- Onboarding fee. The Indian Express reporter paid ₹1,201 to join Swiggy and ₹1,799 to join Zomato in January 2026. Both offered to take the fee in instalments from his earnings (Indian Express, linked above). Swiggy says its fee varies from city to city; Blinkit charges a one-time joining fee and explains it at the interview. Read our joining fees guide first.
Starting in mid-October gives you room to fix a missing document before the busy weeks.
No bike yet? Read delivery jobs without a bike and EV rental for delivery work.
Watch out for fake "part-time job" offers
Festive months bring more job scams. Real onboarding fees are shown in the company's own app or cut from your payouts (that is what Swiggy, Swiggy Instamart and Zomato say). Don't pay a stranger on WhatsApp or Telegram who promises a delivery job. Our fake job scams guide shows the common tricks.
Quick answers
Is Swiggy good for part-time work? Swiggy says you choose your shifts and can work part-time or full-time. You are paid per delivery, weekly, into your bank account. Whether it pays well enough depends on how many orders come in your area at your hours.
Can I work only 2 hours in Swiggy? Swiggy says there are no fixed hours and you choose your shifts. For the shortest slot you can pick in your area, ask our team when they call. Keep in mind that turning down orders can cost money: the Indian Express reporter had ₹30 cut for each of three refused Swiggy orders, and after a fourth refusal the app blocked his account until the next day (Indian Express, January 2026).
Can I do Rapido part-time? Yes. Rapido says there is no fixed shift, with a limit of 12 hours online a day. More in our Rapido guide.
Can I do part-time in Blinkit? Yes. Blinkit says you choose your own work hours. Which slots are open at your nearest store: ask our team when they call. See our Blinkit guide.
How much does a part-time delivery job pay? There is no fixed rate. One reporter earned ₹313.27 in a six-hour Blinkit shift in January 2026 (Indian Express, linked above). Zomato's founder Deepinder Goyal says Zomato delivery partners earned ₹102 an hour on average in 2025, not counting tips; that hour includes waiting time between orders, and it is Zomato's own figure (Business Today, 2 January 2026).
Ready before the rush?
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