The best restaurant online ordering system depends on your direct sales

We make one of these, so here are the rules

Appetier is one of the nine systems below, and we wrote this page. Every competitor figure comes from that vendor's own public page, read on October 19, 2026. Where a page shows no price, we write "not listed" and leave the guess out, since a guess is how roundups get things wrong. We don't use ratings or testimonials, because Appetier has none yet and the other vendors' claims about themselves are theirs to make. Our own prices come from our pricing page.

• Every figure has the page it came from and the date we read it.
• A price a vendor doesn't publish stays "not listed", never an estimate.
• Each entry names the kind of restaurant it suits, including cases where it beats us.

Compare three costs, because pricing pages hide two of them

Most roundups compare the monthly fee. That is the smallest number on some plans. A restaurant paying a percentage of each order or a card rate on every payment finds the bigger cost there. We compare all three.

• The monthly fee, per location.
• A per-order cost: a restaurant commission, or a fee the guest pays at checkout.
• Card processing: your own processor, or the rate the vendor sets.

What a month costs at three levels of direct sales

Other roundups skip the arithmetic. Take one location with a $25 average order and look only at the monthly software fee on each vendor's lowest ordering plan with a published price. At $1,000 a month that is 40 orders, at $10,000 it is 400, and at $50,000 it is 2,000.

• Appetier: $29 at $1,000, then $199 at $10,000 and $199 at $50,000. A flat fee set by the month's direct sales, never a share of an order.
• Owner: $299 at $1,000 and $749 at $10,000 on the $249 plan with a 5% restaurant fee. The $499 flat plan costs $499 at every volume. Guests pay a 5% order support fee on both.
• ChowNow: from $229 a month on its lowest plan billed annually at every volume, plus a $119 to $499 setup fee. Card processing is 2.95% + $0.29.
• Menufy: $149 a month on a 12-month agreement or $179 month to month, at every volume.
• UpMenu, web ordering only: $49 at 75 orders, $89 up to 210, and $169 unlimited. That is $49 at $1,000, then $169 at $10,000 and $50,000.
• DoorDash, Square's free plan, and GloriaFood: $0 a month at every volume. Their card costs and add-ons are below.
• Toast and Chowly: not listed on the pages we read.

The card fee decides more than the monthly fee at $10,000

At $10,000 in 400 orders, card processing runs $400 or more wherever a rate is published. That beats most monthly fees above. A $0 plan with a higher rate can cost more. Square's free plan lists 3.3% + 30¢ online, which is $450 on those 400 orders. Its $49 plan lists 2.9% + 30¢, which is $410 plus the $49. A restaurant on Appetier keeps its own processor, or takes cards at 2.9% + 30¢ with no markup from us. On 400 orders that is $410. ChowNow lists 2.95% + $0.29, which is about $411.

• Toast, Chowly, Menufy, DoorDash, and UpMenu: card rates are not on the pages we read, so confirm them before you compare.
• Owner's guest fee is paid by guests, so it never shows on your statement. It is still part of what a guest pays at checkout.

Ordering and marketing companies: Owner, ChowNow, Chowly, Menufy

These four sell online ordering with marketing attached. They connect to a POS rather than replace it.

• Owner: $249 a month plus 5% of each order, or $499 flat. Guests pay a 5% order support fee on both plans. Both plans include a website, branded app, loyalty, email and text marketing, setup, and 24/7 support. It suits a restaurant that wants one company to build and market everything, and it fits better than we do if you want a named setup specialist.
• ChowNow: three plans from $229, $319, and $409 a month billed annually, a $119 to $499 setup fee, and 2.95% + $0.29 card processing. It also runs a commission-free marketplace listing. It suits a restaurant that wants a consumer app sending it orders on top of its own site.
• Chowly: pricing not listed, with a free demo instead. Its page describes moving orders off delivery apps, plus a website, ordering, and Google tools, and lists 50-plus POS integrations. It suits a restaurant with heavy delivery-app volume that wants a managed service and will take a quote.
• Menufy: $149 a month on a 12-month agreement or $179 month to month, no tiers, with the full platform on both. Its page names no per-order commission. It suits a restaurant that wants the lowest flat price from this group, and it is cheaper than Appetier at $10,000.

POS companies with ordering: Toast and Square

If your register already runs on one of these, its own ordering is the shortest path. The cost is that ordering follows the POS vendor's rates and rules.

• Toast: its pricing page lists the POS from $0 a month with a hardware kit, and from $69 a month with your own hardware. Its online ordering page says no commissions and no hidden fees, but lists no ordering price and no card rate. Its page says Toast services run only on approved Toast hardware. It suits a restaurant already on Toast.
• Square: $0 a month per location on the free plan, $49 on Plus, and $149 on Premium. The free plan includes a branded online ordering page. Online card rates are 3.3% + 30¢ free, 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus, and 2.9% + 30¢ on Premium. It suits a Square shop that wants ordering with no new vendor, and it costs less than we do under $1,000 a month.

Free and pay-as-you-add tools: DoorDash, GloriaFood, UpMenu

These three start at or near $0 and charge for what you switch on.

• Online Ordering by DoorDash, the page that the Storefront address now opens: no monthly fee and no commission on orders from your own site, social, or Google. You pay standard card processing. Guests pay delivery. Dashers deliver, and you need an active DoorDash store. It suits a restaurant already on DoorDash that wants delivery without hiring drivers.
• GloriaFood: $0 a month with no commission. Online card payments are a $29 a month add-on, and its POS is $49 a month per location on a two-year commitment. Oracle shuts it down on April 30, 2027, so it only suits a stopgap. See what to do before then.
• UpMenu: no commission and no setup fee, sold as modules per location. Web ordering is $49 for 75 orders, $89 for 210, or $169 unlimited, and each extra order costs $1.90 past your limit if you allow it. Its mobile app is another $49. It suits a restaurant that wants to buy only the pieces it uses.

Where Appetier fits, and where it doesn't

Appetier charges a flat monthly fee set by that month's direct sales. It is $0 under $500, then $29 up to $1,000, $79 up to $2,000, $129 up to $3,000, and $199 at most. There is no commission and no guest fee. A first location goes live in minutes from a logo and a photo of the menu, on your own domain.

• It fits a restaurant with growing direct sales that wants the cap, no fee on DoorDash and Uber Eats orders, and the menu synced to its POS. See marketplace orders and POS sync.
• It fits worse under $1,000 a month in sales if a $0 plan is the whole goal. DoorDash, Square's free plan, and GloriaFood cost less there.
• It fits worse if you want a named setup specialist, a consumer marketplace app, or a flat price under $199 at $10,000. Menufy is lower there.

How to pick one from this list

Start with your own number: last month's direct online sales. Then ask each shortlisted vendor to write down the monthly fee, any fee per order or guest fee, and the card rate at that figure. Run the same sums we ran above. If your restaurant is below $1,000 in direct sales, take a $0 plan and move later. Between $1,000 and $10,000, compare flat plans. Above that, the card rate and the guest fee matter more than the monthly fee. For a deeper vendor check, use the buying guide and its 20 scorecard checks.

• Ask whether the order button keeps the guest on your own domain.
• Ask what happens to your guest list and menu if you leave.
• Ask for the fee at your sales figure in writing, not the starting price.

Restaurant online ordering system FAQs

• What is the best restaurant online ordering system?: The one with the lowest published fee at your direct sales that also fits your POS. Under $1,000 a month that is a $0 plan such as DoorDash or Square's free plan. Past $10,000 a month, flat plans such as Appetier, Menufy, and ChowNow cost less than a percentage plan.
• Is there a commission-free online ordering system?: Yes. Appetier, DoorDash's online ordering, GloriaFood, UpMenu, Toast, Menufy, and ChowNow all state no commission on direct orders. Owner's $499 flat plan carries no restaurant fee, though guests pay a 5% fee.
• Which restaurant online ordering system has no monthly fee?: DoorDash's online ordering, Square's free plan, and GloriaFood list $0 a month. Appetier is $0 under $500 of direct sales in a month. Each charges for card processing or add-ons.
• Does online ordering work with my POS?: Most of these connect to Toast, Square, or Clover. Appetier connects to any system that gives you API access, and connecting a POS is optional.
• How do I compare prices fairly?: Use the same sales and order count for every vendor, then add the monthly fee, any per-order or guest fee, and card processing. Our $1,000, $10,000, and $50,000 example is one way to do it.

Next steps

Put Appetier next to any vendor here on the compare page. Or read the head-to-head pages for Owner, ChowNow, Menufy, and Chowly. Looking to leave Owner? See Owner alternatives. To see how your own site scores before you switch, run the free audit, or read about online ordering.