UrbanClap (Now Urban Company) Business/Revenue Model Explained

Urban Company, formerly known as UrbanClap, continues to solidify its position as a leading home services marketplace in 2024. In response to the surging demand for various services post-lockdown, the platform onboarded over 20,000 professionals in 2021. As of now, Urban Company boasts an impressive network of more than 50,000 gig workers, with over 35,000 of them actively serving in India.

What’s noteworthy is that within this workforce, more than one-third comprises women, contributing significantly as beauticians and massage therapists. This emphasis on gender inclusivity reflects Urban Company’s commitment to providing diverse opportunities within its growing community.

Home services were previously one of those sectors that failed to witness many transformations. While services such as Sulekha, Yellow Pages, and Just Dial were common, professional services were not beneficial. These companies used to hire an aggregator who would transfer the job to a professional individual, and in doing so, a large part of the money would be spent to fill the aggregator’s pockets.

On the other hand, UrbanClap directly connects users with professionals who emerge to be the best of their kind. The team has had a lot of challenges but they’re still paddling them all. From its humble beginnings in 2014, the platform has come a long way, overcoming challenges and evolving to meet the changing landscape of home services.

Join us as we explore the latest numbers and insights into Urban Company’s thriving ecosystem and how it continues to shape the future of service provision.

What Does UrbanClap Do?

Imagine that your AC unexpectedly stops working in the summer as the clock ticks at 10 p.m. Now that you feel hot that you need a person to fix your AC, you’ll ask your relatives if they know someone who can fix them. Do all reject what to do next as his night? Now, if an agency comes into motion from where I will ask the individual and boom for AC repair! Now they’re sending someone to fix and save you from hot summer nights. Okay, “UrbanCompany” does just that. 

The business works closely with Service Providers for Individuals (ISPs) and turns them into micro-entrepreneurs. UrbanClap does so by offering market access, credit, insurance, training, inventory, acquisition, payment, and a host of other services to ISPs. We give their job-seekers “leads.” Through standardizing the end-user experience, pricing, and distributing the service under the brand name of UrbanClap, they drive their entire business.

 

Major Milestones Of UrbanClap

Launch Date: October 2014
Founders: Abhiraj Bhal, Varun Khaitan, and Raghav Chandra
Headquarters: Gurugram, India

Key Highlights

• Total Funding Raised: $646 million across 13 rounds

• Valuation: Estimated at $2.2–$2.5 billion, following internal buybacks and pre-IPO restructuring activities in 2024.

• Active Cities: As of 2025, Urban Company operates in over 45 cities across India, including major metropolitan areas like Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Chandigarh, along with several Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Additionally, the company has expanded its presence internationally, now operating in key markets such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Sydney, and select cities in the United States.

• Monthly Orders: Over 2.2 million orders/month in 2025

• Partner Network: 32,000+ verified service professionals

• FY24 Revenue: ₹827 crore (~$100M)

• Q1 FY25 Profit: ₹12 crore – first profitable quarter

• IPO Status: Became a public limited company in March 2025; IPO expected soon.

Brief History Of The Company

Since its inception just over five years ago, the startup has steadily diversified its offers portfolio and expanded its business model to serve a broad customer base across India. Their approach to service design has undergone adjustments based on market dynamics and their own goals, and it has been carefully designed to drive them to the forefront of our fast-growing startup ecosystem.

As UrbanClap launched in November 2014, co-founders Varun Khaitan, Abhiraj Bhal, and Raghav Chandra started with the concept of linking customers to the local services industry through a marketplace for mobile apps. The idea was designed to overcome the challenges inherent in India’s unorganized local services market and to link freelancing professionals to customers seeking convenience and cost-saving from home comfort.

In the beginning, the co-founders were all about going big, rather than going home, particularly as the investors started showing interest and funds started flowing in. The business raised 10 crores having begun with only 10 lakh rupees.

In 2015 the founders of SAIF Partners, Accel Partners, and Snapdeal Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal were amongst others. In this phase of its growth, the management of UrbanClap decided to offer listings and service offerings in a plethora of fields: from at-home salon services to wedding photography. A long list of urban needs included the bouquet of services, be it yoga, interior design, laundry, or repair services.

In the early stages of the startup, the co-founders and their team were mainly targeted at growing their value proposition, rather than focusing on simplistic metrics such as several listed professionals or several regular active users. The business plan at this point was to diversify offerings, link users to a broad range of professionals, market the app to the right demographics (ideally millennials relying on technology for conveniences), and build market recognizability to be the go-to startup for all kinds of services needed for a smooth urban life.

This business model served the economy’s dual purpose: to address the problems of potential consumers and help them derive more value from daily needs, and to enable local service workers (or “micro-franchisees”) to get more work than ever before. Before such demand existed, these workers had jobs dependent either on word-of-mouth or on various intermediaries, such as shops and local brokers.

The introduction of an app-based platform like this also helped them gain more exposure and draw more consumers than they would otherwise have had.

As the platform matured and grew, UrbanClap rebranded itself in 2020 as Urban Company, a strategic move that aligned with its global aspirations and reflected its broadened vision across international markets and expanded service verticals.

When the company picked up speed, more and more users came to access the services bouquet listed in the app. As a result, the company became the blue-eyed investor boy, raising as much as $185 million by August 2019 from leading investors including Tiger Global and Steadview Capital, and even celebrated industrialist Ratan Tata as well.

By 2025, Urban Company had reached a significant milestone by filing for a ₹1,900 crore (approximately $225 million) IPO, a clear signal of its readiness to enter the public market and reinforce its leadership in the on-demand home services space. Over the years, Urban Company has not just evolved in name but also in scale, sophistication, and global ambition.

Key Components Of UrbanClap’s Business Model

Brand Statement

To provide instant access to reliable certifications and affordable services to the customers.

Key Resources

• A reliable mobile application
• A super engaging website.

Key Activities

• Simplifying the complex user journey with the help of technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning.
• Personalizing the user experience on both the platforms, the application, and the website.
• Pricing controls the scheduling.
• Reaching out to Tier 2 cities.
• A reliable marketing strategy for the company.

Cost Structure

• Technological infrastructure.
• Salaries of the employees.
• Expenditure on the marketing efforts of the company.

Key Revenue Sources

• Commissions from the service providers.
• Reverse auction.
• Lead Generation
• Advertisements on the platform.

Customer Relationship Management

• With the help of social media.
• Customer support.
• Review and rating by the customers.

UrbanClap Business Model

Being an online platform, UrbanClap connects internet users with offline workers. UrbanClap was essentially a search-and-find tool during the initial stages.

Today, however, it has a model that lists professionals, trains them if necessary, and then connects them to the users in real time. On the site, users can effectively book regular services.

We just need to check the app, select the services we need, and then schedule service according to their convenience. Whereas one location UrbanClap promotes the process of identifying trained local business professionals; it also supports service providers by removing intermediaries and allowing them direct access to consumers.

Related Read: How to Develop an On-Demand Home Services App?

The Business Model Of UrbanClap Works In Two Ways

1. Fixed Charged Services

For plumbing, and electrical work for home maintenance, the organization accepts the money from the app and then charges its dues to the hired assistance.

They cut a different fee off the collected funds.

2. Services Without Any Fixed Charges

The company is paying lead generation and funding listing to the experts.

The customers are not charged right away. They know the operation. The specialist shall pay a fee for approving the order. If the expert can persuade the customer to purchase the service, then monetizing is a success.

Five options are given to the user from which to choose the most comfortable choice. If the service provider’s profile is not shown, he earns payable credit. If the algorithm is successful, then less work must be performed by the user.

Working On UrbanClap’s Business Model

Service Receiver’s End

• Using the app, users can go using a list of resources and select the correct one, based on their requirements.
• UrbanClap’s business model allows the customer to select a specific service; they can choose from a range of choices for one product. The option is usually based on a user’s budget.
• After purchasing the kit, the customer must pick a date and time for the appointment.
• The application enables users to test the service provider and its assets. The presence can be assured by visiting the visitor’s page.
• Payments are made using advance or COD (Cash On Delivery).
• Users rate the app and review it.

Service Provider’s End

• The app has a dual purpose for the individual and one for the specialist
• The practitioners in that field provide a notice when a service is requested. Whether they embrace or reject it.
• UrbanClap’s business model is structured to allow professionals to evaluate their job obligations and to approve or reject service requests accordingly.
• When the request is approved, alerts are received from the customer and provider to validate the booking.
• The service providers are fined if they back out.

Expansion Of UrbanClap’s  Business Model

The UrbanClap model has been very popular in the ten Indian cities in which it operates, and some 20,000 service professionals have been onboarded so far. In addition to the current source of commissions from hired service staff, it also launched a new revenue channel in the first few years. This second revenue source came from lead generation and funded expert listings. The company paid a fee for enhanced freelancers’ exposure should their services be viewed and monetized through the platform. Through widening its activities, it has succeeded in gradually raising its sales to 116 crores in the fiscal year of 2019.

Notwithstanding these high sales, however, the company has yet to hit the break-even, as they made 72 crores of operating losses last year.

Such an unreflective development and thirst for success, as I’ve written before, can potentially undermine sustainable startup success. It is a problem many Indian businesses are grappling with and trying to figure out the right strategy for foreign expansion to compensate for the losses. While it can be difficult to formulate the best combination of foreign activities, UrbanClap seems to have struck the nail on the head in preparing the expansion overseas. The business launched on-demand services in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates in 2018 and the following year it followed up with the establishment of a shop in Abu Dhabi.

It has launched services recently in Australia, too. The decision to move to the UAE was an important one, given the demographics available in the region. The region’s large Indian population was a strong reason for launching operations there, though cost considerations made it a viable move too. Customers in the UAE are less price-sensitive, so services are priced at 3 or 4 times the Indian prices, with more or less the same costs. Motivated by a similar idea was the switch to Australia too.

Though it has increased the field of activities and the size of the population served, however, the company has opted to cut back on the broad variety of deals it has put out on its website so far. In October 2019, UrbanClap was confirmed to be cutting back on non-core services including wedding photography and event management, while concentrating on home and beauty offerings that make up the largest portion of its revenue. The company also launched masculine grooming services in November 2019, delivering men’s salon products in the comfort of their homes.

Revenue Model Of UrbanClap

UrbanClap uses a four-way approach when it comes to earning money. This lists two categories of options, one being the booking section and the fixed pricing services accounts, and the other being the non-booking or variable pricing services.

The business takes two strategies focused on the same, to bring capital to the table.

• Commission Model

UrbanClap generates 85 percent of its overall revenue by subscription. They charge some percentage of the total price of the service to the business owner in the commission-based process.

In this way, they support all customers by providing them with fast and reliable service.

Depending on their job, they demand specific commissions from each vendor or serviceman. Therefore, the more work they have done, the more reward they get from providing home services.

• Reverse Auction

UrbanClap has supported the strategy of charging the specialist for lead generation and listing for the second group (photographers, interior designers, or yoga instructors). It’s sort of like a reverse auction. Through this method, the customers are not specifically booking the service. Instead, they spend time in their awareness of the operation. To approve the request a specialist must pay a fee.

Monetization here is based entirely on the ability of the specialist to convince the customer to book the service. UrbanClap introduces the user to five experts, who may vote for one after their assessment. When a professional’s profile isn’t presented, the professional gets his credit paid back. Here’s where the algorithm for matchmaking comes in. The better the algorithm here the lesser is the work to be done by the customers.

• Lead Generation

Lead generation also offers a good way to generate income. However the key source of revenue generation for UrbanClap is by commissioning charging. The customer defines the requirement in lead generation. Accordingly, either the client can contact the aforementioned experts or they can contact the client.

In this way, UrbanClap is giving rise to serviceman customers looking for a specific service. With this, UrbanClap charges to the lead generation from professionals and servicemen.

• Advertisement

Besides all the above-listed ways of earning money, there is another way of earning more money which is – advertisement. Businesses, suppliers, and providers use the UrbanClap platform to display their advertisements in return for the company’s advertisement fees.

Marketing Methods Used By UrbanClap

To look different from other companies, Clap hires various styles of marketing skills based on their urban services. This way, getting their focus makes way for the mind of the consumer. Many of the approaches used for the advertisement are:

• Basic PPC or Search Ads

The main purpose of an advertisement is to lead you or your potential customers to wherever you or they want to or need to go.  And  Google search ads allow you to do just that.  You can see their search ads on the browser if you enter some keywords related to their website.

• Social Media Advertisement

Quick every user of the Internet is on social media sites. It’s a very good way to reach out to the public. They’re trying to hit every potential customer they can by using social media ads on Facebook and Instagram.

• Video Advertisement On Platforms Like YouTube

UrbanClap has been posting very touching and interesting videos to catch the audience’s interest in soothing their lifestyle through UrbanClap. Thus, this is another way how they can increase their customer base manifolds using YouTube advertisements.

• Paid Marketing via Social Media Influencers

Well, the thing about social media influencers is that they have a massive following who genuinely trust them. So collaborating with all the social media influencers and asking them to promote your service is a very brilliant move that UrbanClap has been doing well.

Rebranding And Their Way Forward

UrbanClap recently rebranded itself as the Urban Company in a move to help its global aspirations and create itself as a recognized name worldwide. The rebranding was done to give the startup a clear, easy-to-remember name, that works across demographics and geographic borders. When the company goes global, having a simple name that is widely appealing would help it draw customers and get the company’s mission across. This is a startup to make urban life simpler, and that is the meaning that the new brand name captures.

The effort by UrbanClap to go global comes at an opportune moment as a platform for horizontal gigs. These gig marketplaces are going to become the flavor of the decade as freelancing takes hold, and Urban Company is filled with the ability to make the most of it.

Urban Clap is rising higher and higher at a rapid rate. In providing services at home in India it is one of the most popular startups. To several other cities too, they are extending their facilities. In addition, they have also been working recently in Dubai to make their services available efficiently.

There’s no question that Urban Clap is rising, so fast rather than intense competition from other related on-demand services startups. Regularly they change to provide better services to their customers. They have also provided an option for chatting so that users can chat with ease with their selected servants if they can not call.

Final Words

While Urban Clap has seen considerable success in recent years, it is just the beginning. Recently, the App has been using AI-enabled data to better evaluate a user’s demands. That’s how UrbanClap works, and how the toady industry is evolving.

Capturing user needs, allocating manpower, and then monitoring everything under a single roof was a difficult challenge. But with the help of technology, the creative minds were working on their loopholes. They’ve now fused methods backed by Machine Learning and AI to codify the way decisions are made. The right distribution of resources, evaluating who is available and where intensive processing is needed at the rear end, and running it pretty well thanks to the tech team. With those moderations and improvements, the startup is expected to have a long way to go.

Frequently Asked Questions for UrbanClap Business Model (FAQs)

Q. How does UrbanClap manage its services?
Urban Clap provides easy access to its home services through an online website and mobile app. The company has built a platform that is collaborative and easy to understand. Everyone can easily use it and book its services. Any user, or expert, effectively accesses the features.

Q. What is the vision of the company?
Urban Clap’s main focus is to satisfy every customer with its reliable and easy-to-get services. Urban Clap focuses on addressing the issue of recruiting experts for various occupations. They want to shift the chaos in the way services are available in India according to the founders of Urban Clap. They want to have facilities readily accessible without leaving home.

Q. How to search for the most suitable developers for my app?
You should start by looking for trusted and experienced app development experts in your local area. You’re looking for people who can understand your vision are willing to work as per your needs and have a good record. You can also reach out to developers online, discuss your idea, and get a quote!

Q. How can I develop an on-demand home service app similar to Urban Company?
Building a successful on-demand home service app involves various steps, from conceptualization to execution. You’ll need a reliable and experienced development partner to guide you through the process.