What's the best online ordering system for your restaurant in 2026?

Owner sells more than an ordering page. Every plan includes a website built for search, online ordering, a branded app, loyalty, automated email and text marketing, catering orders and setup with a specialist. There's no long contract and no cancellation fee.

Pick the plan by volume. At 300 orders of $25, Flex costs about $624 a month and Flat costs $499. At 1,000 orders, Flex climbs to about $1,499 while Flat stays at $499. One thing to tell your guests: they pay a 5% order support fee on both plans.

Our tip: start on Flex if you're under 200 orders a month, then switch to Flat the month you pass it. There's no contract, so the switch costs nothing. Tell guests up front about the 5% order support fee and compare it with the markup they pay on the apps.

Square Online is the only tool here that really starts at $0. The free plan gives you an ordering site for pickup, local delivery and shipping, with a website builder. You pay card processing on each sale. If you run Square for Restaurants, online orders land in the same dashboard as your dining room.

Restaurant owners in Square's own community flag the rough edges: menu changes that take too long, guests who couldn't check out, and rising payment disputes on online orders.

Our tip: if your ticket is small (coffee, pastries), set a minimum order online. Fixed per-transaction fees hurt most on a $5 order. And keep online orders on pickup at first: local delivery means drivers, and drivers mean another cost to plan.

ChowNow has done commission-free ordering for restaurants for years, and its higher plans add a branded mobile app. Orders through your own channels carry no commission. You pay the plan, a one-time setup fee, and 2.95% + $0.29 per card payment.

At 300 orders of $25, Launch comes to about $537 a month with card fees. At 1,000 orders, about $1,256. Budget a $99 yearly Apple developer fee if you take the app.

Our tip: compare the two prices shown for each plan before signing, and ask which one applies to a yearly commitment. Skip the branded app on day one: start with Launch, see if guests order direct, then move up to a plan with the app once regulars ask for it.

Menufy is the simplest flat fee here: $149 a month on a yearly plan, $179 month to month, and no per-order commission or add-ons. For a takeout shop doing steady volume, that's the cheapest way to own the ordering channel.

The pricing page doesn't say who pays card processing or convenience fees. Ask Menufy for that in writing before you sign.

Our tip: take the $179 monthly plan for the first three months, then switch to the yearly plan at $149 once you know guests use it. That's $360 saved over a year. Ask Menufy in writing who pays the card fees before you sign anything.

Uber Eats Webshop is the direct ordering page Uber gives its restaurants: your menu, your link, 2.5% + $0.29 per order instead of the marketplace's 20 to 30 percent. You can send delivery through Uber Direct from $7.99 a run.

The catch: the guest relationship stays inside Uber's world, and loyalty tools are thin. At 300 orders of $25 you pay about $275 a month, at 1,000 about $915.

Our tip: use Webshop as a bridge, not a destination. Put the Webshop link on your Google profile and bag inserts, and track how many orders come through it. If it passes about 163 orders a month, a flat-fee system like Menufy starts costing less.