New Delhi, Aug. 3 -- Instant-help providers such as Snabbit, Pronto and Urban Company's InstaHelp may have to nearly double prices to achieve profitability as they expand into lower- and medium-density neighbourhoods, where thinner order volumes limit the number of jobs per professional and hurt unit economics.

High worker utilization is critical for the business model to remain sustainable because the more jobs they complete, the lower the cost of each job and the better the platform's unit economics. Currently, each worker completes 8-10 jobs over about 9.5 working hours a day, keeping the all-in servicing cost at Rs.95-100 per hour, according to industry estimates-close to prevailing customer prices in many cases.

However, this effic...