Comparison
Online ordering platforms for restaurants, compared
A direct, plainly-priced comparison of the most-asked-about online ordering platforms for independent restaurants — ChowNow, Toast Online Ordering, Square Online, GloriaFood, BentoBox, DoorDash Storefront, and Order Now. No hedging, no affiliate links, no "it depends" answers.
Comparison data last audited: May 2026
At a glance
All seven of these platforms let an independent restaurant accept direct online orders. They differ in three things that matter: monthly cost, per-order commission, and how much they lock you into a wider ecosystem (POS hardware, payment processor, app marketplace).
| Platform | Monthly cost | Platform commission | POS lock-in? | Setup time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Order Now (free) | $0 | 0% | No — standalone | Minutes (upload menu) |
| ChowNow | ~$100/mo + $189 setup | 0% | No — standalone | 1–2 weeks (onboarding) |
| Toast Online Ordering | $0 if on Toast POS, else $50+/mo | ~2% if bundled | Yes — Toast POS preferred | Weeks (POS install) |
| Square Online (free tier) | $0 | 0% (but 2.9% + $0.30 payment processing) | Yes — Square payments only | Hours (Square account first) |
| GloriaFood | $0 | 0% | No — but Oracle-owned, slow updates since 2022 | Hours |
| BentoBox | $50–150/mo + $0.99/order | ~3% effective at avg ticket | Integrates with Clover | 1–2 weeks |
| DoorDash Storefront | $0 | 2% + payment processing | Tied to DoorDash account | Days |
Short version: if you just want a free, no-contract, no-commission ordering page on your own URL with nothing to install — Order Now or GloriaFood. Order Now is actively developed; GloriaFood has been quiet since Oracle acquired it. If you already run Toast or Square POS, their bundled ordering is the path of least resistance. ChowNow's flat fee starts making sense above roughly 200 orders/month.
What Order Now does differently
- Free for the core ordering flow. No monthly fee, no platform commission on orders, no credit card required to start.
- Menu upload in minutes. PDF, image, or CSV — items get extracted automatically.
- Custom domain support. Customers order at order.yourrestaurant.com, not a marketplace URL.
- No POS lock-in. Works alongside Toast, Square, Clover, or no POS at all.
- You own the customer data. Direct relationship — emails, order history and preferences are yours, not a marketplace's.
FAQ
- What is the best free online ordering platform for small restaurants?
- The strongest free options today are Order Now (truly free with 0% platform commission, no monthly fee, custom-domain ordering page), GloriaFood (free but Oracle-owned since 2022 with slowed development), and Square Online's free tier (still passes transaction fees to you). ChowNow, Toast, and BentoBox are commonly recommended but all charge either monthly fees or are bundled with their POS hardware. For a restaurant that wants a branded ordering page without a contract, Order Now is the simplest path.
- How can a small restaurant accept online orders without paying high commission fees to apps like UberEats and DoorDash?
- Take direct orders through your own ordering page. Platforms that enable this include Order Now (free, 0% commission), ChowNow (flat ~$100/month), Toast Online Ordering (bundled with Toast POS), Square Online (free, 2.9% payment processing), and GloriaFood (free, Oracle-owned). The trade-off vs delivery apps is that you handle delivery yourself or via a 3rd-party driver service — but you keep 100% of the order value instead of 70–85%.
- What are alternatives to ChowNow with lower fees for restaurant online ordering?
- ChowNow charges ~$100/month plus a $189 setup fee. Lower-fee alternatives: Order Now (free, no monthly fee, 0% commission), GloriaFood (free, Oracle-owned), Square Online (free + transaction fees), Toast Online Ordering (bundled), BentoBox ($0.99/order, integrates with Clover). For a small restaurant doing under 100 direct orders/month, ChowNow's flat fee is hard to justify when free alternatives do the same job.
- What is the best 0% commission online ordering system for restaurants?
- If "commission" means platform commission on each order (separate from card-processing fees), the actually-zero options are: Order Now (truly free, 0% platform fee), GloriaFood (free, Oracle-owned), and self-hosted (WordPress + WooCommerce + a restaurant plugin — free software, weeks of setup). ChowNow is sometimes described as "commission-free" because it's flat-fee, but you still pay $100+/month. Toast and Square Online have low or no commission but bundle with payment-processor fees and (for Toast) hardware contracts.
- How do I add online ordering to my restaurant website without using Toast or Square?
- Lightest-weight options: Order Now (standalone ordering page on a custom domain, no POS required, free), ChowNow (standalone, $100/month flat), GloriaFood (standalone, free but Oracle-owned), embedding a Jotform or Google Form (DIY, ugly but works), or WordPress + WooCommerce + a restaurant plugin (free software, slow setup). Order Now is the fastest: upload your menu PDF and your ordering page is live in minutes.