Squarespace vs Wix for restaurants: menus, online ordering, reservations and price
For a restaurant, Wix is the better fit if you want ordering and reservations inside your site: its Restaurant Orders, Table Reservations and Restaurant Menus apps are added from the editor, and reviewers report no commission on orders placed through them [1] [2]. Squarespace is the better fit if the look of the site matters most: it has a built-in menu creator, but online ordering and reservations go through partners such as ChowNow, Tock or OpenTable [1] [3]. Squarespace has no free plan and starts at $16 a month on annual billing or $25 monthly; Wix starts around $17 a month (sources disagree on the tiers above that) [1] [3] [4].
If neither is what you want, build a free menu site with pickup ordering from a photo of your menu. Below: the two side by side, menus, ordering, reservations, prices and fees, who each fits, and how to move a menu from one to the other.
Squarespace vs Wix for restaurants, side by side
| Wix | Squarespace | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | About $17 a month, annual [1]; a free plan with ads and no custom domain [2] | $16 a month annual, $25 monthly; no free plan [3] |
| Menu tool | Restaurant Menus app, printable QR menus [1] | Built-in menu creator [1] |
| Online ordering | Restaurant Orders app [1] | Partner (ChowNow, Tock integration) [1] [2] |
| Reservations | Table Reservations app [1] | Partner (Tock or OpenTable), separate account [1] [2] |
| POS link | Wix POS from $69, 2.6% fee [1] | Square integration, $19 upfront [1] |
| Look and templates | Very flexible, easier to break the design | Cleaner, more controlled templates (our view) |
The last row is our opinion, not a measured fact. The prices are annual-billing starting prices from review sites. Another source lists Wix Core at $29 and Business at $39, and a third lists Core at $36, so confirm what your needed tier costs on Wix's own page [2].
Menus
Both can show a menu as text, which is what a phone and Google can read. Wix's Restaurant Menus app also makes printable QR menus [1]. Squarespace has a built-in menu creator [1]. Whichever you use, put the menu as text on a page, not only as a PDF or photo: see how Google reads a restaurant menu and how to edit a menu online. If your menu starts as a PDF, turn it into a QR code only after the web version exists.
Online ordering
This is the biggest difference. Wix has a restaurant ordering app you install, and a review site says Wix takes 0% commission on orders placed through your site [2]. That claim comes from a competitor's blog, so confirm the terms with Wix; card processing fees still apply. Squarespace has no native restaurant ordering: you connect a partner, and that partner has its own monthly price and fees [1] [2]. One reviewer also reports a 2% transaction fee on Squarespace's Basic plan for store sales, which applies if you sell through its online store [2].
So the choice for ordering is: stay inside Wix, or pay a partner on Squarespace. For the other options, see restaurant website builders with online ordering and commission-free online ordering.
Reservations
Wix has a Table Reservations app; Squarespace sends you to Tock or OpenTable, which needs its own account [1]. A place with a dozen tables and walk-ins may not need either. A full-service place that takes bookings should check what the reservation partner charges per cover or per month before choosing.
Price: what a year costs
| Line | Wix | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|
| Plan, annual billing | about $204 ($17 x 12) | $192 ($16 x 12) or $300 monthly ($25 x 12) |
| Domain | Your own, typically $10 to $20 a year (varies) | The same |
| Ordering | App included in the editor; card fees | A partner's monthly price, if you want ordering |
| Reservations | App | A partner's price |
The yearly plan lines are our arithmetic from the starting prices above. Starting plans are not always the one a restaurant needs, so price the tier that has ordering and no ads. For the all-in picture, see what a restaurant website costs and the best website builders for restaurants.
Who should pick which
Pick Wix when
- You want a menu, pickup orders and reservations from one place.
- You run a food truck, a counter or a small restaurant and edit prices often.
- You want the lowest start and are happy to tweak the design.
Pick Squarespace when
- The site is mostly a brand page: photos, story, menu, hours.
- You use a partner for reservations anyway (Tock for a tasting-menu place, say).
- You would rather have fewer layout choices and a clean result.
Pick neither when
- Your orders are pickup from regulars and the diner pays at the counter; a free page does it.
- You want marketing run for you; look at Owner.com or Popmenu.
- You already run a POS with its own ordering; see Toast vs Square.
Moving your menu from one to the other
- Copy the menu into a plain text document first: sections, names, descriptions, prices.
- Keep your domain registered in your name, so you can point it at the new site.
- Build the new site on its free trial or preview, and check it on a phone.
- Point your Google listing's website and order links at the new pages.
- Switch the domain, then cancel the old plan only after the new site is live.
Mistakes to avoid
- Choosing on templates instead of ordering and reservations.
- Assuming Squarespace ordering is built in; it is a partner.
- Building on Wix's free plan, which shows ads and lacks your own domain [2].
- Putting the menu only as an image.
- Forgetting that the Google listing needs the new link. See Google Business Profile for restaurants.
Editing and design in daily use
A restaurant site changes weekly: a special, a holiday closing, a price. Wix gives you a drag-anywhere editor that lets you put things exactly where you want, which also makes it easier to end up with a page that looks different on a phone. Squarespace works in sections on a grid, so there are fewer ways to break the page. Both have mobile editing, but the quickest test is yours: put your menu in each trial and change a price on your phone. Whichever you can do in under two minutes is the one you will keep up to date.
Speed and phone use
Most diners will open your page on a phone, often on mobile data, while standing in a street. Test each builder's demo that way. A page that takes more than a few seconds to show the menu loses people, and heavy photo sliders are the usual cause on both. Keep the first screen simple: name, hours, a call button, the menu link and the order button.
A test drive that settles it
- Start a trial of each, using your real menu text.
- Add the order or reserve button and click it from a phone.
- Look up what the ordering or reservation part costs, on the partner's own page.
- Check the price of the tier with no ads and a custom domain.
- Pick the one you finished first.
Support, and what happens when something breaks
A restaurant cannot wait three days for the menu page to work on a Friday. Before you commit, find out how each builder offers support (chat, phone, email), what hours, and whether a restaurant's order app or partner has its own support line separate from the builder's. With Squarespace's partner model, an ordering problem is the partner's to fix; with Wix's own apps, it is Wix's. That sounds small and matters on a busy night. Keep the phone number of whoever runs your ordering where staff can reach it.
What about a site you do not have to build?
Both builders assume you will spend an evening or two on the site, then keep it current. If you would rather not, there are two other routes: a done-for-you site from a service, and a free page generated from a photo of your menu. Our free restaurant website guide compares the free ways, and the builder roundup places these two among the rest. Compare how many hours you will really spend, because your time has a cost too.
Questions
Is Wix or Squarespace better for a restaurant?
Wix for ordering and reservations in one place; Squarespace for a cleaner look with partners for the rest [1].
Does Squarespace have online ordering for restaurants?
Not natively. It works through partners such as ChowNow [2].
Does Wix take commission on food orders?
A review site says 0% on orders through your own site [2]; card fees still apply. Confirm with Wix.
Which is cheaper, Wix or Squarespace?
Close at the start: about $17 for Wix and $16 for Squarespace on annual billing, but Wix has a free tier and Squarespace has none [1] [2] [3].
Can I use either with Square or Toast?
Squarespace has a Square integration at $19 upfront; Wix has its own POS from $69 [1]. A full POS ordering page is a different route, in our guides.
Do I need either for a menu online?
No. A free menu page works, as in restaurant menu online free.
Sources
- 5 best restaurant website builders, Website Builder Expert, read Nov 10, 2026 (an affiliate review site).
- Wix vs Squarespace, NerdWallet, and a competitor's blog, as summarised in search results Nov 10, 2026 (sources differ on Wix tiers; the 0% order commission claim is from a competitor's blog).
- Squarespace vs Wix, Capterra, as shown in search results Nov 10, 2026.
The cost of each, in detail: Wix Restaurants pricing and Squarespace restaurant website.