India's house-help apps hit 100,000 jobs as hourly rates tumble to Rs 29

Snabbit and Urban Company’s InstaHelp on-demand house-help services each recorded over 100,000 completed jobs on Sunday, marking a significant milestone for the fast-growing sector. Snabbit logged more than 115,000 jobs by late afternoon, while Urban Company announced its InstaHelp platform reached the same threshold earlier in the day. Aggressive promotional pricing has driven hourly rates for chores such as sweeping, mopping and laundry down to Rs 29 in certain markets, with Urban Company advertising a 30-minute slot for Rs 19.

By evening, Urban Company’s app indicated no instant service was available at the checked location, with the earliest slot pushed to the next morning. InstaHelp promises a worker within 10-15 minutes and has expanded from a Mumbai pilot launched in March 2023 to multiple metro neighborhoods. Snabbit has grown from roughly 400 daily jobs to over 100,000 in under two years, completing four million jobs in the April-June quarter, while its cash burn per job fell below Rs 250.