For decades, home services in India—like cleaning, dishwashing, and laundry—have run on an informal, word-of-mouth model. This lack of structure often leads to unreliable service for customers and job insecurity for workers. But a new wave of startups is now stepping in to professionalize the sector, and Snabbit is leading the charge with its tech-powered, ultra-fast platform.
Founded just 15 months ago, Snabbit offers high-frequency home services via an app, promising delivery in as little as 10 minutes. From its headquarters in Mumbai, the startup began with a single neighborhood pilot before scaling across seven areas in Mumbai and into Bengaluru. It recently secured $19 million in Series B funding led by Lightspeed, with Elevation Capital and Nexus Venture Partners also backing the round. The company is now valued at $80 million.
Snabbit’s founder and CEO Aayush Agarwal was inspired by his own frustrating experience trying to hire a reliable domestic worker in Mumbai—a task so difficult, his mother flew in from Kolkata to help. That pain point led to the idea: if groceries, taxis, and even dates are available at the push of a button, why not home help?
Snabbit uses a full-stack model: it sources, screens, trains, and manages its workers—referred to as “experts”—in-house. Once onboarded, these workers relocate near demand hubs, allowing Snabbit to fulfill jobs within 10 minutes. The platform currently has over 600 workers and more than 25,000 customers. Each worker covers a median distance of 300 meters between jobs, while women workers equipped with Yulu e-bikes travel around 800 meters.
Fast Growth, Strong Retention but Tough Terrain Ahead
Snabbit’s growth has been impressive. Over the last four months, the platform has grown 5x and is currently seeing week-over-week growth of around 20%. Its average ticket size ranges between ₹250–₹270 ($3), and workers completing full 12-hour shifts earn over ₹40,000 ($470) per month. Those working four-hour shifts make over ₹10,000 ($120), significantly above the ₹9,000 median for domestic workers in Indian cities.
To support its workforce, Snabbit offers health, life, and accidental insurance, with family coverage for longer-term employees. The platform also includes an SOS safety feature for workers, enabling rapid response from field teams in just five to seven minutes—an important safeguard in a country where domestic worker abuse remains a concern.
Still, Snabbit isn’t alone. Urban Company, backed by investors like Tiger Global and Accel, recently rolled out its own quick-service feature (now rebranded from “Insta Maids” to “Insta Help”) and faced pushback from gig worker unions. Meanwhile, new startups like Broomees and Pronto are also entering the space, with Pronto recently attracting Bain Capital Ventures.
Snabbit’s pricing, ranging from ₹169 to ₹499 per job (up to 240 minutes), is higher than competitors, but Agarwal remains confident. He believes their superior user experience and in-house tech stack—featuring an internal CRM, smart sourcing pipelines, and eKYC for compliance—will give them the edge. “New players getting funded is great for the category. It keeps us focused,” he said.
However, challenges remain. Instant service startups globally have struggled to sustain growth. In India, platforms like Zomato and Zepto pulled back from 10–15-minute food delivery models due to high costs and low demand. Snabbit faces similar headwinds, especially with customer acquisition costing ₹700 ($8) against an average $3 ticket size.
Retention, however, offers hope. According to Agarwal, customers transact on Snabbit at least three times a month, with retention rates comparable to top consumer internet platforms like Zepto and Swiggy. As Snabbit sets its sights on 200 micro markets in metro cities over the next nine months, the startup will also expand its nearly 100-person team.
Whether Snabbit can maintain its pace, lower unit costs, and fend off competition remains to be seen. But for now, the startup is making a compelling case that India’s domestic services market is ready for a digital upgrade.
