Indian app face-off: here are 5 winners that deserve your time (and money)

Photo credit: Wikimedia.

‘Tis the time to start on your resolutions, put the house in order, and wrap up the last few lingering parties! To help plan your year better, we bring to you the mega face-off of the season – the duel of the Indian apps.

Why? Because not all apps are created equal, and it’s important to put your trust (and money) in a service that gives you the best returns. When you are hungry, who should get your order? When you forget your mom’s birthday this year, which app is likely to best deliver your gift in crunch time?

We arranged five duels, pitting Amazon India against Flipkart, Zomato against Swiggy, Big Basket against Grofers, Urban Ladder against Pepperfry, and lastly, Ola against Uber. For the test, we used only mobile apps, not the websites.

They were judged on ease of ordering, product availability, overall service, product quality and delivery timings.

We’ve been as fair as possible while conducting the tests: for example, we ordered the same product from Amazon India and Flipkart, at the same time. For Zomato and Swiggy, we went for restaurants with the same delivery time slots and ordered at the same time.

We called for Ola and Uber cabs from the same place and took them down the same route. We then rated each service on five aspects. For Big Basket and Grofers, we checked on product availability, and checked how often they stuck to their own delivery schedules.

For Pepperfry and Urban Ladder, we ordered various furniture around the same time and applied the same five parameters for judgment.

Here are the five winners – and explainers of why they won. Infographics are by Tech in Asia’s Andre Gunawan.

Infographics by Tech in Asia’s Andre Gunawan