ChowNow's core pitch, commission-free direct ordering, is real and worth taking seriously. What is easy to miss reading only the headline plan price is everything that sits underneath it: a setup fee, per-transaction card processing, capped marketing contact credits by tier, and a separate per-order charge for ChowNow's own delivery product. This piece adds up the complete stack.
What ChowNow Actually Offers
ChowNow's three plans, Launch, Grow, and Elevate, all include the same core set:
- A direct online ordering tool
- An SEO-optimized website built on Squarespace templates
- A branded mobile app
- A commission-free marketplace listing
- Discovery Network placement across Google, Apple Maps, Yelp, and more
- Full fraud and chargeback protection with no limits
- 24 hour phone and chat support
Marketing Tools Scale by Tier
Automated email and SMS marketing is included starting on the Grow plan, with 2,000 contacts and 2,000 message credits. Elevate raises that to 5,000 contacts and 5,000 credits. Launch, the cheapest plan, includes none of this.
What ChowNow Actually Costs
Listed monthly pricing on an annual commitment runs from $229 for Launch to $409 for Elevate, with monthly-billing versions priced $20 to $40 higher on each tier.
On top of the plan price, ChowNow adds a one-time setup fee ranging from $119 to $499 depending on tier, a card processing charge of 2.95% plus $0.29 per transaction, and, if a restaurant uses ChowNow's own Flex Delivery product, a flat $7.98 charge per delivery order.
A branded mobile app also carries a separate $99 annual Apple developer fee, and print marketing hardware like a receipt printer runs $250 to $420 if a restaurant needs one.
| Plan | Monthly (annual billing) | Setup Fee | Contacts/Credits Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch | $229 | $119 | None |
| Grow | $319 | $249 (approx.) | 2,000 / 2,000 |
| Elevate | $409 | $499 | 5,000 / 5,000 |
What AUANI Offers Instead
AUANI's Free tier costs nothing and carries no setup fee, at a 10% marketplace fee, and includes:
- Pickup, dine-in, and real courier delivery through Uber
- Loyalty and POS sync
- An exportable guest list
The Monthly tier is $300 flat, drops the marketplace fee to 5%, and adds:
- A fully hosted website
- A 0% direct ordering widget
- A full Google visibility suite
- Menu analytics
There is no separate setup fee, no per-transaction processing charge layered on top of the plan price, and no capped contact or credit system gating how many guests a restaurant can message.
Side by Side
| Feature | ChowNow | AUANI |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan | $229/mo + setup fee | $0/mo, no setup fee |
| Setup fee | $119 to $499 | None |
| Per-transaction processing | 2.95% + $0.29 | Not itemized separately |
| Marketing contact limits | 0 (Launch) to 5,000 (Elevate) | No cap on guest list size |
| Own-delivery per-order fee | $7.98 (Flex Delivery) | Delivery split is set by the restaurant, no flat per-order add-on |
| Fraud/chargeback protection | Full, no limit | Not the primary comparison point here |
| Free permanent tier | No | Yes |
Running the Same First Month Through Both
A restaurant signing up for ChowNow's Grow plan on annual billing pays roughly $319 for the first month, plus a setup fee in the neighborhood of $249, before a single order is processed. Card processing then adds roughly 3% of every dollar of sales on top.
- ChowNow Grow, month one: $319 plan cost plus a one-time $249 setup fee, plus 2.95% processing on all card sales that month.
- AUANI Free, month one: $0 plan cost, no setup fee, 10% marketplace fee on orders that came through AUANI's own discovery.
- AUANI Monthly, month one: $300 plan cost, no setup fee, 5% marketplace fee on discovery orders, 0% on the restaurant's own direct widget.
The setup fee alone means ChowNow's actual first-month cost is meaningfully higher than its advertised monthly price, a cost that does not recur but that AUANI does not charge at all, on any tier.
The Real Trade-Off
What ChowNow's Fee Stack Buys
ChowNow's setup fee and processing costs fund a genuinely mature product: 20-plus POS integrations, unlimited fraud and chargeback protection, and a Discovery Network that lists a restaurant across Google, Apple Maps, and Yelp automatically. For a restaurant that wants that breadth from day one, the itemized costs are buying something real.
What AUANI's Flatter Structure Buys
AUANI's structure buys predictability. A restaurant knows its exact monthly cost and marketplace fee rate without needing to add up a setup fee, a processing rate, and a delivery-per-order charge separately to find the real number.
Who ChowNow's Model Doesn't Fit At All
A restaurant that wants to test online ordering with zero upfront cost will not find that on ChowNow. Every plan carries a setup fee, and there is no free tier to try the product first.
An Honest Case for Choosing ChowNow Anyway
ChowNow's unlimited fraud and chargeback protection is a genuine, uncapped guarantee, and its Discovery Network distribution across major listing sites is broad and automatic. A higher-volume restaurant that values that breadth and can absorb the setup fee as a one-time cost may find the total package worth the itemized charges.
Best For
ChowNow suits a restaurant that wants broad listing distribution and unlimited fraud protection from day one, and can absorb a one-time setup fee as part of getting there. AUANI suits a restaurant that wants to know its exact cost upfront, with no setup fee and no separate processing line to track down.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ChowNow actually commission-free?
Yes, on a per-order basis there is no percentage commission. But the plan price, one-time setup fee, and card processing charge still apply regardless.
How much is ChowNow's setup fee?
It ranges from $119 on the Launch plan to $499 on the Elevate plan, charged once at signup.
Does AUANI charge a setup fee?
No. AUANI has no setup fee on any tier, including the Free tier.
What does ChowNow charge for its own delivery product?
Flex Delivery orders carry a flat $7.98 charge per order, separate from the plan price.
Are there contact limits on ChowNow's marketing tools?
Yes. Launch includes no email or SMS marketing contacts, Grow includes 2,000, and Elevate includes 5,000.
Does AUANI cap the size of a restaurant's guest list?
No. The guest list built through AUANI is exportable and is not capped by plan tier.
The full nine-way breakdown, including ChowNow, is in the master fee comparison table. For how AUANI's own sliding marketplace fee works, see AUANI vs. Menufy, another flat-fee model worth comparing directly. For the full picture beyond fees, see the Restaurant & Bar online ordering guide.