Best online ordering system for restaurants: how to choose and what each costs
The best online ordering system for a restaurant is the one that fits what you already run: if you use Square, Toast or Clover at the counter, start with that company's ordering; if you want the lowest bill and just need pickup orders, a free flat-fee tool such as Full Room, Menuthere or Square Online's free plan; if you have a big team and want marketing included, a flat-fee platform such as Owner.com or ChowNow. The delivery apps are a way to be found, not a system to run your own orders.
Most "best of" lists are written by the companies on them, and each puts its own product first. This guide does the reverse: it starts with your situation, then puts every option's price on the same order so you can compare them.
Which system fits which restaurant
Start with a short match before you read prices. Find the row that sounds like you.
| You are… | Look first at | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A small takeout place, café, bakery or food truck that wants a website and pickup orders | Full Room, Menuthere, Menubly, Square Online Free | $0 a month or close to it, no commission, set up from a menu in an afternoon |
| Already on Square at the counter | Square Online | Orders land in the same account, menu and stock as the till |
| Already on Clover | Clover online ordering | One menu, one set of reports, no second system to learn |
| Already on Toast, full-service, several staff | Toast online ordering | Orders print in the kitchen like any other ticket |
| On GloriaFood today | Anything on this list, soon | GloriaFood closes April 30, 2027; see what to do |
| A busy restaurant that wants marketing, loyalty and a site handled for you | ChowNow, Owner.com | Higher monthly price, more done for you |
| A WordPress site already | Orderable plugin | Ordering inside the site you have |
| Want delivery and have nobody to deliver | A delivery app for delivery only, your own system for pickup | Keeps the commission to the orders that need drivers |
What "best" should mean: seven things to compare
- What you pay every month. $0, a few dozen dollars, or a few hundred. Check the pricing page for the word "forever": "start free" with plans from $49 is a trial.
- What you pay per order. Card processing is the same almost everywhere, around 2.9% + 30¢; some systems add their own percentage, and some add a fee for your guest. See what commission-free really costs.
- Whether diners can pay at pickup. A pay-at-pickup option means no card fee online at all, at the cost of some no-shows.
- How the order reaches the kitchen. A phone alert, a tablet, a printer or your POS screen. If staff won't notice it, the system fails on the first Friday night.
- Who owns the customer. On your own page you get the name, number and email. On a marketplace the app keeps most of that.
- Your menu and your address. Can you use your own .com, edit prices yourself in a minute, and set item-level hours (no brunch items at dinner)?
- Leaving. Can you export your menu and customers? A long contract is a warning sign for a place that does a few orders a day.
The options, side by side, on the same order
These are list prices we've checked on the vendors' own pages. Prices change, so confirm before you sign.
| System | Monthly | Per online card order | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Room (us) | $0; Pro $149 a year | 0%; diners pay at pickup | Pickup orders from a menu photo; up to 50 orders a month free |
| Menuthere | $0 up to 50 orders; Lite $17; Pro $39 | 0%, plus payment fees if you take cards | Small menus and QR codes |
| Menubly | $0; Pro $9.99 | 0% | A menu mini-site and QR menu |
| Square Online | $0; Plus $49; Premium $149 | 3.3% + 30¢ (Free), 2.9% + 30¢ (Plus) | Restaurants already on Square |
| DoorDash Storefront | $0 on Starter | 2.9% + 30¢ | An ordering page that can use DoorDash drivers |
| ChowNow | $249 to $449; setup $119 to $499 | 2.95% + 29¢ | Ordering site, app, and a marketplace listing |
| Owner.com | $249 (Flex) or $499 (Flat) | Flex: 5% to the restaurant; both: 5% to guests | Website, app, loyalty and marketing done for you |
| Toast Online Ordering | Add-on to a Toast plan | 3.5% + 15¢ on cards | Full-service places on Toast |
| GloriaFood | Free; card payments $29 | 0% | Closing April 30, 2027; no new sign-ups |
Marketplaces for comparison: DoorDash takes 15%, 25% or 30% by plan and 6% on pickup, Uber Eats 20%, 25% or 30%, Grubhub 5%, 15% or 20% plus 10% for delivery. Details are in DoorDash commission fee, Uber Eats commission and Grubhub commission.
One $25 order, all the way through
Take a $25 pickup order paid by card online, and see what the restaurant keeps (the guest's fees are extra and not counted here).
| Way to order | Fee on $25 | Kept |
|---|---|---|
| Pay at pickup on your own page | $0.00 | $25.00 |
| Own page, card paid online at 2.9% + 30¢ | $1.03 | $23.97 |
| Square Online Free (3.3% + 30¢) | $1.13 | $23.87 |
| ChowNow (2.95% + 29¢) | $1.03 | $23.97 |
| Toast (3.5% + 15¢) | $1.03 | $23.97 |
| DoorDash pickup (6%) | $1.50 | $23.50 |
| DoorDash delivery on a 25% plan | $6.25 | $18.75 |
The gap between systems that charge about the same card rate is small; the gap between your own page and a delivery app is large. That's why the choice among own-page tools should come down to fit and ease, not a few cents.
A month at 300 orders
An example, not your numbers: 300 online orders at $25 is $7,500 in sales, all paid by card.
| Option | Monthly plan | Order fees | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Room Pro, pay at pickup | $12.42 ($149 a year) | $0 | $12.42 |
| Square Online Free | $0 | $247.50 + $90 = $337.50 | $337.50 |
| Square Online Plus | $49 | $217.50 + $90 = $307.50 | $356.50 |
| ChowNow, lowest plan | $249 | 2.95% = $221.25 + $87 = $308.25 | $557.25 |
| DoorDash pickup at 6% | $0 | $450 | $450 |
Pay-at-pickup is the cheapest because there's no card fee online, but your register still pays its normal card fee when the guest taps at the counter. If you want diners to pay online (fewer no-shows, tips collected, big orders prepaid), the card fee is the price of that, and it is about the same everywhere.
Questions to ask before you sign
- What is the full price in a month with 300 orders, including processing, add-ons and any fee charged to my guests?
- Is there a contract length or cancellation fee?
- Whose name is on the domain and the customer list?
- Can I edit the menu, prices and hours myself, and how fast does it go live?
- How does an order reach my kitchen, and what happens if the internet drops?
- If I leave, can I export my menu and customer list?
- Is the listing in their marketplace (if any) included in the price, or is it where the commission is charged?
How to test a system in one week
- Pick two finalists from the table. Don't compare five.
- Build your real menu in each, with real prices, item options and hours. A system that makes a 40-item menu painful will be painful forever.
- Place five test orders: a simple one, one with options, one with a special request, one for later in the day, one on a phone. See how each reaches the kitchen and how long it takes to be seen.
- Time a menu change: raise one price and sell out one item. It should take under a minute.
- Pick the one your slowest staff member can use without help. How to set up online ordering has the kitchen settings and test orders in detail.
Mistakes that make the "best" system the wrong one
- Picking by the list's rank. The top of a vendor's list is the vendor.
- Paying a monthly fee for orders you don't have yet. If you take under 50 online orders a month today, start on a free plan and move up when the numbers justify it.
- Using a delivery app as your ordering system. It's a marketplace with someone else's customers. DoorDash vs Uber Eats helps you pick one if you need it, but keep your regulars on your own page.
- Forgetting that nobody finds a page that isn't linked. Put the ordering link on your Google profile, Instagram and the QR code at the counter. See how the Google Order button works now.
- Choosing a tool that's closing. GloriaFood ends April 30, 2027; anything you build on it has to be rebuilt.
Questions
What is the cheapest online ordering system for a restaurant?
Free plans cost $0 a month: Full Room, Menuthere, Menubly and Square Online's free plan. What you pay per order differs: 0% on the first three with pay-at-pickup, and about 3.3% + 30¢ on Square's free plan for card orders. See free online ordering systems.
Is online ordering with no commission real?
Yes, but the card processor still charges its fee, usually around 2.9% + 30¢, and some platforms charge your guest a fee on top. It's cheaper than a 15% to 30% delivery commission by a wide margin.
Do I need to use the same company as my POS?
No, but it's simpler. A POS-linked system sends orders straight to the kitchen and keeps one menu. A separate system works fine for a small place if orders ring a phone or tablet reliably.
Which system is best for a food truck or café?
One that's quick to set up, shows today's menu and hours, and has no monthly cost until you're busy. See food truck websites and café websites.
How much does online ordering cost a restaurant per month?
From about $0 to about $500 in plans, plus card processing of around 3% of online card sales. At 300 orders of $25 the all-in range in our table is $12 to $557.
Can I take orders on my own website without a delivery app?
Yes. Pickup needs only a menu page and an order form that alerts you. Delivery needs drivers; you can hire a delivery service per trip or keep delivery on an app and everything else on your page.
Want the lowest-cost route? Put your menu online free from a photo: a text menu with pickup orders that ring your phone. More answers are in all our guides.
Sources
- Square for Restaurants — Square, pricing pages checked 2026-11.
- Stripe pricing — Stripe, 2.9% + 30¢ US cards.
- Toast online ordering — Toast.
- DoorDash merchants blog — DoorDash, 2026.
- Vendor pricing pages for Menuthere, Menubly, ChowNow, Owner.com and GloriaFood, as recorded in our commission-free guide, 2026-11.