UpMenu is one of the more transparent platforms in this series. Its pricing page publishes every tier, every add-on, and even a direct comparison table against a dozen named competitors, an approach this whole series borrows from directly. The catch is that UpMenu's core plan price is only part of the real bill once its a-la-carte add-ons come into play.
What UpMenu Actually Offers
UpMenu's three tiers, Basic, Standard, and Premium, cover online ordering, a restaurant website with QR code menus, Google ordering, and increasing amounts of marketing and inventory tooling at each step up.
Beyond the core tiers, UpMenu sells a genuinely long list of a-la-carte add-ons:
- A branded mobile app
- A driver app
- Third-party delivery dispatch
- A loyalty program
- POS integrations
- Marketplace order aggregation for managing DoorDash and Uber Eats orders in one dashboard
A Dedicated Alternatives Hub
UpMenu runs a dedicated comparison hub with individual pages against Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub, ChowNow, BentoBox, and GloriaFood, plus one master table scoring all of them at once. It is a genuinely useful model, and part of why this comparison series is structured the way it is.
What UpMenu Actually Costs
UpMenu's three core plans are $49, $89, and $169 a month, each priced per restaurant location, meaning a two-location group pays for two separate subscriptions rather than one shared account.
A restaurant on the $49 Basic plan that also wants a branded app, delivery dispatch, and a loyalty program is really paying closer to $161 a month once those three add-ons are included, before any per-location multiplication for a multi-unit group.
| Add-On | Price |
|---|---|
| Branded Mobile App | $49/mo per location |
| Driver App | $14/mo per driver |
| Third-Party Delivery Dispatch | $40/mo per location |
| Loyalty Program | $19/mo per location |
| Marketplace Order Aggregation | $9/mo per location |
What AUANI Offers Instead
AUANI bundles the following into both its Free and Monthly tiers with no separate add-on charges:
- Real courier delivery
- Loyalty
- POS sync
The Monthly tier's website, direct widget, and Google visibility suite are all included in the single $300 price, not sold piece by piece.
Side by Side
| Feature | UpMenu | AUANI |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan | $49/mo per location | $0/mo |
| Loyalty program | $19/mo add-on | Included |
| Delivery dispatch | $40/mo add-on | Included via Uber courier network |
| Marketplace order management | $9/mo add-on | Not applicable, AUANI is the marketplace |
| Free trial length | 7 days | Free tier is permanent |
| Pricing model across locations | Separate subscription per location | Single account, marketplace fee drops at 2+ locations |
Running the Same Setup Through Both
Take a single-location restaurant that wants online ordering, a loyalty program, and delivery dispatch, the closest match to AUANI's own bundled feature set.
- UpMenu Basic plus loyalty plus delivery dispatch: $49 plus $19 plus $40, or $108 a month, before any per-order costs.
- AUANI Free: $0 a month, with loyalty and Uber courier delivery already included, at a 10% marketplace fee on orders through AUANI's own discovery.
The comparable UpMenu bundle costs $108 a month with no commission attached. AUANI's Free tier costs nothing upfront but carries a marketplace fee on discovery orders, which crosses over to costing more than $108 a month once that 10% applies to roughly $1,080 or more in monthly marketplace-driven sales.
The Real Trade-Off
What UpMenu's A-la-Carte Model Buys
UpMenu's a-la-carte structure buys precision, a restaurant only pays for exactly the features it uses, and can add or remove pieces as needs change, without paying for a bundle of features it does not need.
What AUANI's Bundled Model Buys Instead
AUANI's bundled model buys simplicity, a restaurant does not need to calculate which combination of add-ons matches its needs, and everything on a given tier is already included.
Who UpMenu's Model Doesn't Fit At All
A restaurant that wants one bundled price covering ordering, loyalty, and delivery without adding up several separate line items will find UpMenu's add-on structure more work to plan around than a bundled platform.
An Honest Case for Choosing UpMenu Anyway
A restaurant that only wants online ordering and nothing else genuinely saves money on UpMenu's $49 base plan, since it is not paying for loyalty, delivery dispatch, or a mobile app it does not plan to use. That precision is a real strength for a narrow use case.
Best For
UpMenu suits a restaurant that wants to pick and pay for exactly the features it uses, nothing more. AUANI suits a restaurant that wants loyalty, delivery, and POS sync bundled in from the start, without pricing out separate add-ons.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does UpMenu charge per location?
Yes. Each UpMenu subscription covers one restaurant location, so a multi-location group pays for a separate plan per address.
Are UpMenu's add-ons required?
No, they are optional, but features like a loyalty program, delivery dispatch, and a branded mobile app all carry separate monthly charges if a restaurant wants them.
Does UpMenu offer a free tier?
No, only a 7-day free trial. After that, the cheapest ongoing plan is $49 a month.
What does UpMenu's marketplace order aggregation add-on do?
For $9 a month per location, it lets a restaurant manage DoorDash and Uber Eats orders from one dashboard alongside its own direct orders.
Does AUANI charge separately for loyalty or delivery?
No. Both are included in AUANI's Free and Monthly tiers with no separate add-on fee.
The full comparison against every platform in this series, UpMenu included, is in the master fee comparison table. For the full picture beyond fees, see the Restaurant & Bar online ordering guide.