Ask five vendors what online ordering costs and you'll get five pricing models. Some are free, some charge a flat monthly fee, some take a small cut of every order, and many mix all three. This guide sorts real 2026 prices into three models and shows you how to find the cheapest one for your order volume.
All prices are from vendor pricing pages as of Oct 2026, in USD unless noted. They change often, so confirm before you sign.
Free plans have no monthly fee. The vendor earns from card processing, a per-order fee, or upsells.
| Platform | Monthly fee | What you pay instead |
|---|---|---|
| Square Online (US) Free | $0 | 3.3% + 30¢ per online transaction (Square) |
| Online Ordering by DoorDash | $0 | Commission-free, but "do carry a payment processing fee" (DoorDash) |
| Uber Eats Webshop (Canada) | $0 listed | "2.9% order processing fee" (Uber Eats Canada) |
| GloriaFood | $0 | Being retired: end of life April 30, 2027 (GloriaFood) |
Best for: new restaurants, low volume, testing demand. Watch out for: percentage fees that grow with every order, limited branding, and less control over customer data. If you're on GloriaFood, see our GloriaFood migration guide.
You pay the same subscription whatever your volume, plus card processing.
| Platform | Listed price |
|---|---|
| Menufy | $149/mo annual, $179/mo monthly (Menufy) |
| ChowNow | $229, $319 or $409/mo on annual plans; $249/$349/$449 monthly; plus 2.95% + $0.29 per transaction (ChowNow) |
| Owner.com Flat Rate | $499/mo; guests pay a 5% order support fee (Owner) |
| Toast | Online ordering bundled with POS; Point of Sale plan $69/mo (Toast) |
| AIOrders | flat-monthly plan with 0% order fees |
Best for: restaurants with steady volume, because the cost per order falls as orders grow. Watch out for: setup fees (ChowNow lists $119–$499), annual contracts, hardware requirements and add-ons sold separately.
Lower subscription, plus a fee on each order.
| Platform | Listed price |
|---|---|
| Owner.com Flexible | $249/mo + 5% restaurant fee per order (Owner) |
| Popmenu | Starter $159/mo annual ($179 monthly), plus "a flat $1.00 per online order" that can be passed to the guest (Popmenu) |
| Delivery marketplaces | Commission: Uber Eats Canada 20–30% on delivery, DoorDash US 15–30% (Uber Eats, DoorDash) |
Best for: restaurants with very uneven volume. Watch out for: percentage fees. A 5% fee on $20,000 of monthly sales is $1,000 a month, more than most flat plans.
Use this formula for each option:
Total monthly cost = subscription + (percentage fees × monthly online sales) + (per-order fee × orders)
Worked example (your numbers will differ): 400 online orders a month at a $30 average, or $12,000 in sales. Card processing is left out because you pay it on every model.
At low volume (say 50 orders a month), the free and hybrid plans win. Somewhere between 100 and 300 orders a month, flat fees usually take over. Plug in your own numbers with our restaurant cost calculator. For a $30k/month restaurant, AIOrders' calculator estimates delivery commissions alone cost $2,700/month (aiorders.io/calculator, as of Oct 2026).
Price only matters next to what's included. Before comparing totals, line up the features that actually bring in orders:
A $149 plan that only takes orders can cost more in practice than a pricier plan that also brings customers back.
Weighing a specific vendor? Our Toast alternatives, ChowNow alternatives and Owner.com alternatives pages break down each one. AIOrders includes a money-back guarantee (pricing).
About AIOrders: a commission-free online ordering and restaurant marketing platform based in Vancouver, BC, serving restaurants in Canada and the USA. Pricing: a flat-monthly plan with 0% order fees, or a lower-cost entry plan with a per-order fee.
From $0/month (free plans that charge processing or per-order fees) to around $150–$500/month for flat-fee platforms, as of Oct 2026. Hybrid plans add a per-order fee or percentage on top of a lower subscription.
For low volume, yes. As orders grow, percentage-based fees often cost more than a flat subscription. Calculate your total monthly cost on each model.
Commission is a cut kept by the platform as its fee. Processing pays for moving card payments and applies on almost every platform, including commission-free ones.
When your percentage or per-order fees add up to more than the flat subscription. With a 5% fee, that happens at about $5,000 a month in online sales for every $250 of subscription difference.
Usually yes. Check the processing rate on every plan you compare.