What is the best website builder for restaurants in 2026?
Menu, reservations, online ordering: what each builder really includes, and what it costs
For most independent restaurants, the best website builder in 2026 is Wix: its free plan already shows your menu, and official apps add online ordering and table reservations when you move to a premium plan. If you want a done-for-you ordering site with an app and marketing built in, Owner is the strongest restaurant-specific platform, from $249 a month plus 5% per order. And if you want full control, WordPress with the free RestroPress plugin takes orders without commission, as long as someone handles the upkeep.
Picking a builder by its templates is the classic mistake. A restaurant site has three jobs: show the menu, fill tables, sell takeout. Ordering and reservations are not included everywhere, and not on the same plan. We compared the official pricing and help pages of eight tools, public feedback from restaurant owners, and the real cost over several years. Building a site for another kind of business? Our general website builder ranking covers the all-rounders.
The ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
Best restaurant website builder by situation
5 website builders for an independent restaurant
Rank follows the needs of an independent restaurant without a tech team: show the menu, take reservations and takeout orders, and keep commissions low. Each tool's overall score is the same on every page of our site, which is why WordPress has the highest score and the last rank: it's the most capable CMS, and the one that asks the most of you.
| Best for | What it does best | Free plan | Team size | Visit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wix | Best overall restaurant website builder | Free menu, paid ordering and reservations | 4.1/5 | Free, then Light $17.77/mo billed yearly | ✓ | Owners who build their own site | Visit → |
| 2 | Owner | Best done-for-you ordering site | Site, ordering, branded app, SEO pages | 4.1/5 | $249/mo + 5% per order | — | Restaurants with steady takeout volume | Visit → |
| 3 | Squarespace | Best design for a fine-dining room | Menu and OpenTable blocks on every plan | 4.0/5 | Basic $19/mo billed yearly | — | Fine dining, wine bars | Visit → |
| 4 | Hostinger | Cheapest menu-and-hours site | Digital menu with a QR code | 3.8/5 | $2.49/mo over 48 months ($119.52) | — | Cafes, food trucks, tight budgets | Visit → |
| 5 | WordPress | Best for full control | Free ordering and booking plugins | 4.2/5 | Free software; shared hosting from about €3/mo | ✓ | Restaurants with a tech-savvy helper | Visit → |
Prices read on official pages in 2026, in US dollars except WordPress.com and shared hosting, shown in euros as on our WordPress review. Hostinger promotional prices change often.
Is your tool missing from this page? Email us: hello@hackceleration.com
How we compared and ranked
A restaurant owner isn't buying a website, they're buying covers and orders. So we asked three questions of every tool: does the menu read well on a phone, are reservations and ordering included and on which plan, and what do you pay after two or four years once the promo ends and the domain renews. We compared official pricing and help pages, contract terms and public reviews from restaurant owners. Each tool's overall score comes from its card or review page and stays the same everywhere on the site; the rank follows what an independent restaurant needs.
- Restaurant featuresText menu, reservations, ordering, payments.30%
- Real costPost-promo price, per-order fees, domain, add-ons.25%
- Ease of useGoing live without a developer, updating the menu.20%
- IntegrationsGoogle profile, POS, reservation tools.15%
- SupportResponsiveness reported by customers.10%
The ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
Menu, reservations, ordering: which plan unlocks what
Most roundups treat every builder the same. In practice, the menu is often free and selling is not. Here's what each official page says.
| Menu and reservations | Online ordering and payments | |
|---|---|---|
| Wix | Menus app on the free plan; online reservations need a premium plan | Orders app needs a premium plan; optional service fee paid by guests |
| Owner | Website and SEO pages included | Ordering, branded app, loyalty, email and SMS included |
| Squarespace | Menu block and OpenTable block on every plan | ChowNow ordering from Core up, not on Basic |
| WordPress | Your reservation tool's widget, via a plugin | RestroPress plugin, free and commission-free |
| Hostinger | Digital menu and QR code; a request form, not a booking engine | No ordering or payments described for restaurants |
Squarespace store fees: 2% on Basic, 0% on higher plans. Card processing from 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic and Core to 2.5% + $0.30.
Wix
Wix is the only general-purpose builder with three official restaurant apps: Menus, Restaurant Orders and Table Reservations. Your menu can go live on the free plan. You only pay once you want to take an order or accept an online booking, both of which need a premium plan.
The Menus app imports your current menu with AI from a PDF of up to 100 pages, a CSV or an Excel sheet, so you don't retype forty dishes. For orders, you can add a service fee paid by guests, and Wix mentions no commission of its own. One trap: two versions of the Orders app exist side by side, so check which one your site runs before following a tutorial.
- Menu online on the free plan
- AI menu import from PDF, CSV or Excel
- Official ordering and reservation apps
- ✓Easiest way to do it yourself
- ✓Site and sales in one dashboard
- ✓Free plan to start with the menu
- ✗Ordering and reservations locked to premium plans
- ✗Menu exports only as a PDF
- ✗Auto-renewal complaints in public reviews
The best starting point if you want a site you can edit yourself after close. Turn off auto-renew in your account if you're not sure you'll keep the plan: surprise renewals are the top complaint.
Owner
Owner isn't a builder you design yourself. It's a restaurant platform that builds and runs the site for you: website, online ordering, a branded app, SEO pages, loyalty, email and SMS. Setup and migration are included and there's no long contract, which is rare in this category.
Do the math on your volume before choosing a plan. Flex costs $249 a month plus 5% per order; Flat Rate costs $499 a month with no per-order fee to you. At $5,000 of monthly online orders, Flex adds $250 in fees and costs about the same as Flat. Above that, Flat wins. In both cases your guests pay a 5% order support fee, which is worth telling them about.
- Website, ordering and branded app in one
- Setup and migration included
- Loyalty, email and SMS built in
- ✓Nothing to build yourself
- ✓Month to month
- ✓Strong customer marketing
- ✗Expensive for a menu-only site
- ✗Guests pay a 5% fee on every order
- ✗Pushy outreach mentioned in public reviews
Worth it once online orders are a real revenue line. For a restaurant that mostly needs a menu and a booking button, it's several times the cost of a Wix premium plan with the Orders app.
Squarespace
Squarespace has the most polished templates around, which matters when guests pick you for the room as much as the food. The Menu block is on every plan and shows your menu as tabbed text: lunch, dinner, wine. The OpenTable block adds reservations and a waitlist without upgrading.
Ordering is where plans matter. Online food ordering runs through ChowNow, available from the Core plan up, not on Basic. Store transactions carry a 2% fee on Basic and none above it. The yearly plans save up to 36% and include a free domain for the first year.
- Menu block on every plan
- OpenTable reservations and waitlist
- Free domain for year one on annual plans
- ✓Best-looking templates
- ✓14-day trial without a card
- ✓Up to 36% off on annual billing
- ✗Ordering needs Core and a ChowNow account
- ✗2% store fee on Basic
- ✗Fewer restaurant tools than Wix
The pick when your website has to sell the experience first. If takeout is a big share of revenue, check the ChowNow setup before committing to a plan.
Hostinger
Hostinger sells an AI-assisted website builder with hosting and a first-year domain included. Its restaurant page describes a digital menu with photos, descriptions and prices, plus a QR code for your tables. If you only need to be found and show the menu, it's the lowest price in this ranking.
Read the fine print. The $2.49 rate assumes 48 months paid upfront, then the plan renews at $10.99 a month. Reservations are a request form you confirm by hand, and the restaurant page describes no online ordering or payments.
- Digital menu with photos and QR code
- AI-assisted builder
- Free domain for year one
- ✓Lowest cost over four years
- ✓Hosting and site in one account
- ✓Quick to publish
- ✗Renewal price more than four times higher
- ✗No real booking engine
- ✗No ordering or payments for restaurants
Hard to beat for a menu site. When you're ready to sell, link a direct-ordering tool from it rather than rebuilding elsewhere: our online ordering ranking sorts them by real cost.
WordPress
WordPress scores highest on this page because, as a content management system, it has no ceiling: any layout, any feature, any host. For a restaurant, the RestroPress plugin adds online ordering for free and without commission, and most reservation systems hand you a widget to paste into a page.
It sits last for one reason: upkeep. Updates, security and backups are on you, and support is split between your host and each plugin's developer. If someone handles that, it's the most flexible option here and you can move hosts whenever you like. If you run the pass alone between lunch and dinner, a hosted builder like Wix will cost you fewer late nights. Our full WordPress review breaks down hosting costs.
- Free RestroPress ordering plugin, no commission
- No design or feature limits
- Move hosts whenever you want
- ✓Free software
- ✓Full control over your site and data
- ✓Most reservation tools offer a widget
- ✗Upkeep is your job
- ✗Steeper learning curve
- ✗Support split between host and plugins
The most capable choice, not the most comfortable. Pick it if someone will look after it; otherwise start on Wix and revisit WordPress when you open a second location.
What your site costs in year one, then every year
Teaser prices hide two increases: the end of the promo and the domain, free for the first year only. Here's the yearly cost for a restaurant, worked out from official price lists.
| Year one | After that | |
|---|---|---|
| Hostinger Premium | $119.52 paid for 48 months | $131.88 a year after four years ($10.99/mo) |
| Wix Core | $357.24 ($29.77/mo billed yearly) | Same plan, plus domain renewal |
| Squarespace Core | $348 ($29/mo billed yearly), domain included | $348 plus the domain |
| WordPress self-hosted | About €36 to €72 of shared hosting | Same, plus your upkeep time |
| Owner Flex | $2,988 + 5% of online orders | Same, month to month |
| Owner Flat Rate | $5,988, no per-order fee to you | Same, month to month |
Worked out from official prices in 2026, before taxes and limited-time promos.
Other options we looked at
These tools fit some cases, but aren't the best start for an independent restaurant. Here's why, and when to prefer them.
BentoBox: now for Clover customers only
CloverBentoBox still shows up in most US roundups of restaurant website builders. It is now reserved for restaurants using the Clover point of sale, and publishes no price. If you're already on Clover, ask for a quote and compare it to Owner. If you're not, it isn't an option without changing your POS.
- Access
- Clover POS customers
- Price
- Quote only
Squarespace plus ChowNow: the design-first combo
ComboIf you love a Squarespace template but need takeout, the built-in ChowNow integration is the official path, from the Core plan at $29 a month billed yearly. Check ChowNow's own fees before you commit. Our online ordering ranking compares ChowNow with the other direct-ordering systems.
- Squarespace plan
- Core or higher
GloriaFood: don't build on it now
Shutting downLong the go-to free, commission-free ordering widget, GloriaFood has announced it will shut down in 2027 and no longer takes new restaurants, so pick one of the tools in our online ordering ranking instead.
- Status
- End of service in 2027
Choose your builder by how you sell
A 90-seat dining room doesn't need what a pizza place living on takeout needs. Start from how your money comes in, not from template galleries.
Mostly dine-in
Your site has to show the menu and fill tables. Wix, Squarespace or Hostinger is enough, with a booking button that links to your reservation system. What matters: a text menu, accurate hours and a link from your Google profile. To pick the reservation tool itself, see our restaurant reservation software ranking.
Takeout and delivery
Now the site works like a register. Look at cost per order before the price of the site. Owner charges either 5% per order or a flat $499 a month. A Wix premium plan adds the Orders app with no commission announced by Wix, and on WordPress the RestroPress plugin is free. Our online ordering ranking goes deeper on kitchen and delivery.
Where costs creep up
Four traps come up again and again. Renewal: Hostinger renews at more than four times the promo rate. The domain, free for year one only. Paid add-ons: ordering and reservations on Wix, ChowNow on Squarespace, premium plugins on WordPress. And the POS: make sure your register talks to your ordering tool. Our restaurant POS ranking helps there.
- List what the site must do: menu, reservations, ordering, payments, gift cards.
- Check on the official price page which plan unlocks each feature.
- Work out the four-year cost, renewal and domain included.
- Publish the menu as text, not only as a PDF.
- Put a QR code for direct ordering on every takeout bag.
- Register the domain in your own name so you can move later.
Launch your site in six steps
Tips pulled from vendors' help pages and restaurant owners' feedback, rarely found in roundups.
Import your menu, don't retype it
Time saverOn Wix, the Menus app reads a PDF of up to 100 pages, a CSV or an Excel file with AI. Elsewhere, build a spreadsheet with one dish per row: name, short description, price, allergens. You'll reuse it on Google, delivery apps and your printed menu. Keep the PDF as a secondary link for people who want to print it.
- Format
- Text, one dish per row
Show allergens before the order button
Good practiceGuests with allergies decide in the dish card, not on a separate page. Add a short allergen line to each item. If you also sell in the EU, it's a legal duty: the 14 major allergens must be shown in writing, and for distance selling the information has to be available before the order is confirmed.
- EU rule
- 14 major allergens
Connect your Google profile to your site
VisibilityIn your Google Business Profile, the menu can come from your profile, a partner or customer photos. Choose your preferred source and point it to your site's menu. Add your booking link too: when your reservation tool is a Google partner, a Reserve a table button appears right in search results.
- To set
- Menu source, booking link
Add ordering without rebuilding
No commissionAlready on Wix? Move to a premium plan and switch on the Restaurant Orders app: your existing menu becomes your ordering menu. On WordPress, RestroPress does the same for free. On a builder with no ordering module, like Hostinger, link to a direct-ordering tool and track order counts for two months before paying for anything bigger.
- On Wix
- Orders app, premium plan
Put QR codes on tables and bags
TipA QR code on the table opens the menu; the same on a takeout bag opens your direct ordering page. That's how you bring back the guest who first found you on a delivery app, the one who costs you the most. Hostinger generates the menu QR code; for ordering, any QR code pointing at your order page will do.
- Where
- Tables, bags, receipts
Keep the domain in your name
Exit planThe free first-year domain is registered through your builder. Check that it's in your name and transferable, and note the renewal date. Owning the domain means you can switch builders later without losing your regulars or your search rankings. If you're leaving Wix, our Wix switching guide walks through it.
- Check
- Owner name, transfer lock
Where to go from here
These pages cover the rest of your restaurant's software.
No-shows, deposits, Google.
You want to sell takeoutOnline ordering systemsReal cost per order.
You're changing your registerRestaurant POSWhat connects to your site.
Your site isn't for a restaurantWebsite buildersThe general ranking.
You're leaving WixSwitch from WixAlternatives and migration.
You're weighing WordPressOur WordPress reviewCosts, plugins, upkeep.
Restaurant websites · FAQ
How much does a restaurant website cost per year?
Anywhere from about $30 to $6,000 a year, depending on whether the site only shows your menu or also takes orders. A menu-and-hours site on Hostinger Premium costs $119.52 for four years upfront, then $10.99 a month. Wix Core runs $357.24 a year billed annually. A full ordering platform like Owner starts at $249 a month plus 5% per order. Budget for your domain from year two: builders only include it for the first year.Can I build a restaurant website for free?
You can publish your menu for free, but not sell. Wix shows your menu on its free plan; online ordering and table reservations need a premium plan. WordPress is free software, and its RestroPress plugin adds commission-free ordering at no cost, but you still pay for hosting. A free site keeps the builder's ads and subdomain, so buy your own domain at minimum.Do I need a website if I'm already on Google and DoorDash?
Yes, because your Google profile points to it and delivery apps take a cut of every order. On Google, the menu can come from your profile, a partner or customer photos, and you pick the preferred source. Point it at your own site's menu. Then use your site for direct orders, where you pay a flat fee instead of a percentage.Wix or Squarespace for a restaurant?
Wix if you want ordering and reservations from the same builder: it has official Menus, Orders and Table Reservations apps. Squarespace if looks come first: its Menu block and OpenTable block are on every plan, but online ordering runs through ChowNow and only from the Core plan up. Both price in dollars and bill best yearly.How do I add online ordering without paying commission?
Plug a direct-ordering tool into your site. The Wix Orders app announces no commission from Wix, and the WordPress plugin RestroPress is free. Owner charges a flat $499 a month on its Flat Rate plan with no per-order fee to the restaurant, though guests pay a 5% order support fee on both Owner plans.Can I put my menu online without a PDF?
Yes, and you should. A PDF is hard to read on a phone and gives search engines little to work with. Use your builder's menu feature: Wix Menus and the Squarespace Menu block both show it as text. Wix can even import an existing menu with AI from a PDF of up to 100 pages, a CSV or an Excel file.What pages does a restaurant website need?
Start with four: a home page with hours and address, the menu in text, a reservations or ordering page, and contact with a map. Add a private events or catering page if you offer them, since large-party bookings are often the highest tickets your site will bring in.