If you're researching the ChowNow app for restaurants, you're probably trying to solve a familiar problem: how to take online orders directly, keep your customer relationships, and stop handing a cut of every sale to third-party marketplaces. That's a smart instinct. But before you commit to any pla
If you're researching the ChowNow app for restaurants, you're probably trying to solve a familiar problem: how to take online orders directly, keep your customer relationships, and stop handing a cut of every sale to third-party marketplaces. That's a smart instinct. But before you commit to any platform, it pays to understand exactly what you're getting — and what you might still be missing.
This guide walks through what a direct ordering app should do for your restaurant, what to compare when evaluating ChowNow online ordering against alternatives, and how AIOrders approaches the same problem as a full restaurant growth platform for independent restaurants across Canada and the USA.
ChowNow for restaurants is built around one core idea: giving your restaurant its own branded online ordering channel. Guests order through your website or app instead of a marketplace, and you avoid the steep commissions associated with third-party delivery apps. For many independent restaurants, that's a meaningful improvement over marketplace-only ordering.
That said, an ordering interface is only one piece of the puzzle. Once the order arrives, you still need to get it to the kitchen cleanly, capture the customer's data, bring that guest back, manage your reviews, and stay visible on Google. If your ordering tool only handles the transaction, the rest of that work still lands on your plate. When comparing vendors, always check each provider's official site for current features, terms and pricing, since plans and offerings change.
Before signing up for any direct ordering platform, run through this checklist:
| What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Pricing structure | Is it flat monthly, per-order, or commission-based? Flat monthly with no commission keeps costs predictable. |
| Order channels | Can guests order from your website, Google, social media and messaging apps — or just one branded page? |
| Customer data ownership | Do you get the guest's contact info with every order so you can market to them directly? |
| Kitchen workflow | Do orders flow into a kitchen display or POS, or does staff re-enter tickets by hand? |
| Marketing tools | Does the platform help with reviews, loyalty, win-backs and repeat orders, or is that on you? |
| Delivery fulfillment | Can you offer delivery without marketplace commissions inflating your costs? |
| Setup and support | How fast can you launch, and is real human help available? |
Use this table when reviewing ChowNow online ordering or any competitor — and verify the answers on each vendor's official website.
AIOrders gives your restaurant its own ordering page and smart QR menu, and every order through it is commission-free — every customer is yours. Guests can order from your website, mobile app, WhatsApp, Facebook and Google, all managed from one unified dashboard with real-time notifications.
Pricing is flat monthly, no commission — you can see the details on our pricing page. There are no per-order percentages eating into your margins, and you set your own delivery fees, minimum orders and menu pricing without inflating prices to cover commission costs.
For delivery, AIOrders integrates with Uber Direct for fulfillment, so you only pay for actual delivery when your customers order — no monthly delivery fees and no per-order charges from the platform.
Where AIOrders differs from a pure ordering app is everything that happens around the order:
The goal isn't just to take the order — it's to turn a one-time guest into a regular.
Many restaurants evaluating the ChowNow app for restaurants are also juggling DoorDash, UberEats, SkipTheDishes and Grubhub tablets on the counter. AIOrders' Order Hub consolidates every one of those order sources — plus your own website orders — into a single POS integration, one printer and one kitchen display system. It works with Square, Clover, Toast and more, so orders stop getting lost during rush hours and staff stop switching between devices. You keep the marketplace exposure while eliminating the tablet chaos.
If all you need is a basic branded ordering page, a simple ordering app may be enough. But if you want commission-free ordering plus the tools to actually grow — marketing automation, review management, kitchen workflow, phone answering and delivery app consolidation — a full platform like AIOrders is worth a close look. Either way, compare features carefully, confirm current pricing on each vendor's official site, and choose the option that keeps more of every dollar in your restaurant.
For a deeper side-by-side breakdown, read our guide to choosing a ChowNow alternative.
Is the ChowNow app for restaurants commission-free? ChowNow positions itself as a direct ordering alternative to marketplaces. For current pricing and fee structures, check ChowNow's official website, and compare it against flat monthly, no-commission options like AIOrders.
Can I keep my customer data with direct ordering? With AIOrders, yes — every order builds your own customer database, which you can use for personalized offers, loyalty rewards and win-back campaigns. Always confirm data ownership terms with any vendor you evaluate.
Does AIOrders work alongside DoorDash and UberEats? Yes. Order Hub aggregates DoorDash, UberEats, SkipTheDishes, Grubhub and your website orders into one POS, one printer and one kitchen display, so you don't have to choose between marketplace reach and direct ordering.
How much does AIOrders cost? AIOrders is flat monthly with no commission — no per-order percentages. Visit our pricing page for current plan details.
Thirty minutes, your menu, your numbers — see exactly what AIOrders would do for your restaurant before you spend a dollar. See pricing and get started — or start free, no card needed.