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AUANI vs. BentoBox: What a 300-Order Month Costs You

by | Mar 26, 2026 | Fees & Switching

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BentoBox sells restaurant websites first, with online ordering, POS, gift cards, and loyalty tools layered on as add-ons. That structure means the advertised website price is only part of the real bill once a restaurant actually wants to take orders through it.

What BentoBox Actually Offers

BentoBox's core product is a restaurant website builder with SEO management, gift cards, and loyalty tools available, and online ordering, kitchen management, and payment processing sold as add-ons on top.

  • Website plans: Basic ~$119/mo, Foundations ~$279/mo, Signature ~$479/mo
  • Takeout and delivery ordering add-on: ~$49/mo plus a $0.99 per-order fee
  • Card processing: roughly 3% per transaction on top of the above
  • No long-term contract required, per BentoBox's own marketing

Understanding this add-on structure matters before comparing headline prices, since the advertised website plan cost tells only part of the story for any restaurant actually planning to take orders through the site rather than using it purely as a marketing page.

What BentoBox Actually Costs at Real Volume

At roughly 300 orders a month, a restaurant is reported to see all-in costs, ordering add-on, per-order fees, and processing, run past $700 a month, before even counting the separate website plan cost underneath it.

Cost Line Rate or Price
Website plan $119 to $479/mo
Ordering add-on ~$49/mo
Per-order fee $0.99 per order
Processing ~3% per transaction
Reported cost at 300 orders/mo $700+/mo, ordering alone

Why the Per-Order Fee Compounds

A flat $0.99 charge on every order looks small in isolation, but it scales linearly with volume in a way a percentage-based marketplace fee doesn't always feel like it does. At 300 orders a month, that's $297 in per-order fees alone, before the $49 monthly add-on, the website plan, or roughly 3% processing are even added in, which is exactly how the total climbs past $700 so quickly.

What AUANI Offers Instead

AUANI's Free tier costs $0 a month with no setup fee, no per-order add-on fee, and a 10% marketplace fee covering pickup, dine-in, real courier delivery, loyalty, and POS sync from the start, not as separate line items.

The Monthly plan is $300 a month, drops the marketplace fee to 5%, and adds a fully hosted website, a 0% direct ordering widget with no per-order fee, the full Google visibility suite, and menu analytics, all included rather than billed separately.

The absence of a per-order fee specifically matters most for a restaurant with genuinely high order volume, since that's exactly the scenario where a flat per-order charge compounds fastest into a large total regardless of what the base plan costs.

A restaurant already comfortable with BentoBox's website design specifically may still find it a reasonable fit despite the added ordering cost, which is why the honest case for choosing it anyway is worth weighing separately from the fee math alone.

Side by Side

Feature BentoBox AUANI
Website included in ordering cost No, billed separately Yes, on Monthly
Per-order fee on direct orders $0.99 per order None
Cheapest way to start $119/mo (website only, no ordering) $0/mo (Free, ordering included)
Free permanent tier No Yes
Setup fee Not published None

An Honest Case for Choosing BentoBox Anyway

A restaurant that wants a highly polished, design-forward website with dedicated SEO management as its primary need, and treats ordering as secondary, has a real reason to consider BentoBox's website-first approach.

Best For

BentoBox suits a restaurant prioritizing website design and willing to pay for ordering as a separate add-on. AUANI suits a restaurant that wants ordering, a website, loyalty, and Google visibility included together rather than billed as separate line items.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does BentoBox include online ordering in its base website price?

No, online ordering is a separate add-on costing roughly $49 a month plus a $0.99 per-order fee and standard card processing.

Does AUANI charge a per-order fee on top of its marketplace fee?

No, AUANI's marketplace fee is the only percentage charged, with no additional flat per-order fee stacked on top.

Is there a free way to start with BentoBox?

Not based on published pricing; the lowest published website plan starts around $119 a month, without ordering included.

What is the cheapest way to start on AUANI?

The Free tier, at $0 a month with a 10% marketplace fee, no setup fee, and ordering included.

Where can I compare every platform in this series at once?

The master fee comparison table and the Restaurant & Bar online ordering guide both cover this.

For the full picture against every platform in this series, see the master fee comparison table. For the full picture beyond fees, see the Restaurant & Bar online ordering guide.

AUANI vs. Popmenu: What the Add-On Fees Actually Cost

by | Jan 13, 2026 | Fees & Switching

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Popmenu markets itself primarily as a restaurant website and marketing platform, an interactive menu, AI-driven marketing, reservations, and reputation management. Online ordering is a genuinely separate add-on, not part of the base plan, and it carries its own guest-paid per-order fee on top of the software cost.

What Popmenu Actually Offers

Popmenu's core product is a restaurant website with an interactive, searchable menu, AI-generated marketing campaigns across email, SMS, and social, an AI phone host, and reservation and reputation management, all bundled into its base software plans.

  • Starter: $179/mo, Essentials: $299/mo, Premier: $499/mo (roughly 10% off if paid annually)
  • Interactive website with an SEO-indexable menu
  • AI-generated email, SMS, and social media marketing
  • 24/7 AI phone answering and reservation management

What Popmenu's Online Ordering Add-On Actually Costs

Online ordering itself is not included in any base plan. It's a separate add-on running roughly $50 a month, plus a $1 per-order fee charged to the guest at checkout. Catering orders carry an additional 3% fee on top of that. Each additional location adds roughly $300 a month to the base software cost.

Cost Line Rate or Price
Base software plan $179 to $499/mo
Online ordering add-on ~$50/mo
Guest-paid per-order fee $1 per order
Catering fee 3%
Additional location ~$300/mo

What AUANI Offers Instead

AUANI's Free tier costs $0 a month with no setup fee and a 10% marketplace fee, with online ordering included by default, not as a separate add-on, alongside pickup, dine-in, real courier delivery, loyalty, and POS sync.

The Monthly plan is $300 a month, drops the marketplace fee to 5%, and adds a fully hosted website, a 0% direct ordering widget with no guest-paid per-order fee, the full Google visibility suite, and menu analytics.

Side by Side

Feature Popmenu AUANI
Cheapest monthly price $179/mo (Starter, ordering not included) $0/mo (Free, ordering included)
Online ordering included in base plan No, ~$50/mo add-on Yes, on every tier
Guest-paid per-order fee $1 per order None
Free permanent tier No Yes
Additional location cost ~$300/mo $100/mo

A Worked Example

A restaurant on Popmenu's Essentials plan at $299 a month adds online ordering for another $50 a month, bringing the software cost to $349 a month before a single order comes through. At 600 online orders a month, the guest-paid $1 per-order fee adds $600 that guests pay on top of their food total, money that never touches the restaurant's books but does sit on every receipt and can quietly depress average order value as guests notice the added line item at checkout.

The same restaurant on AUANI's Free tier pays $0 a month in software costs and a 10% marketplace fee on orders placed through the AUANI marketplace, with no separate per-order charge added to the guest's total. Moving to the Monthly tier at $300 a month drops the marketplace fee to 5% and adds the 0% direct ordering widget, meaning orders placed through the restaurant's own hosted website carry no fee to either the restaurant or the guest at all, a structure Popmenu's ordering add-on does not offer at any tier.

An Honest Case for Choosing Popmenu Anyway

A restaurant whose biggest need is an AI-driven marketing engine, automated email and social campaigns, an AI phone host, and reputation management, has a real reason to consider Popmenu, since that's genuinely its core strength rather than an afterthought.

A restaurant that already has a satisfactory online ordering setup elsewhere, and simply wants a better website with built-in marketing automation and reservations layered on top, can treat Popmenu as a website-and-marketing purchase rather than an ordering purchase, in which case the $1 per-order fee never becomes relevant since ordering stays with whatever system is already in place.

Best For

Popmenu suits a restaurant that wants an all-in-one AI marketing and website platform and is comfortable paying separately for online ordering as an add-on. AUANI suits a restaurant that wants online ordering included from the start, a free permanent tier, and no guest-facing per-order fee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Popmenu include online ordering in its base plans?

No, online ordering is a separate add-on costing roughly $50 a month, on top of the base software plan.

Does Popmenu charge guests directly for online orders?

Yes, a $1 per-order fee is charged to the guest at checkout on Popmenu's online ordering add-on.

Is AUANI's online ordering an add-on too?

No, online ordering is included by default on every AUANI tier, not sold separately.

Does AUANI charge guests a per-order fee?

No, AUANI does not add any guest-paid fee at checkout, on the marketplace or through its direct ordering widget.

What is the cheapest way to start on AUANI?

The Free tier, at $0 a month with a 10% marketplace fee, no setup fee, and online ordering included.

Does the Popmenu per-order fee show up on the guest's receipt?

Yes, it is added as a separate line item at checkout, similar to a service fee, which some guests notice and factor into whether they order again online.

For the full picture against every platform in this series, see the master fee comparison table. For more on hosted websites and direct ordering, see the Restaurant websites & direct ordering guide.

AUANI vs. Slice: Sorting Out Its Real Fee Structure

by | Jan 9, 2026 | Fees & Switching

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Slice is built specifically for independent pizzerias, and it markets itself as commission-free compared to third-party delivery apps. Its own published pricing is genuinely harder to pin down than most competitors: different sources describe a flat monthly rate, a percentage-based membership fee, and a per-order charge, and they don't fully agree with each other. This piece lays out exactly what's documented.

What Slice Actually Offers

Slice positions itself specifically for pizzerias, offering direct online ordering, a consumer-facing app that lists participating pizzerias, and marketing support aimed at that single category.

  • Direct online ordering built around pizza-specific menu structures
  • Listing inside the consumer-facing Slice app alongside other participating pizzerias
  • Marketing and data insights aimed specifically at the pizza category
  • No setup fee reported across the plans described publicly

What Slice Actually Costs, as Published

Slice's own public pricing describes more than one structure depending on the plan and the source: a flat-rate option around $499 per location aimed at higher-volume locations, a membership plan at roughly 5% per order, and an a-la-carte option around 7% per order. Slice markets itself as commission-free relative to third-party delivery apps charging 20 to 30%, which is accurate as a relative comparison, even though Slice's own structure isn't a flat $0 either.

Because these figures come from different published sources describing Slice's plans, a pizzeria considering Slice should confirm current, exact terms directly with Slice before comparing final numbers.

Plan Type Reported Rate
Flat-rate option ~$499/mo per location
Family membership ~5% per order
A la carte ~7% per order

What AUANI Offers Instead

AUANI's Free tier costs $0 a month with no setup fee and a 10% marketplace fee, covering pickup, dine-in, real courier delivery, loyalty, and POS sync, the same terms regardless of vendor category, including Pizzeria.

The Monthly plan is $300 a month, drops the marketplace fee to 5%, and adds a fully hosted website, a 0% direct ordering widget, the full Google visibility suite, and menu analytics, useful for a pizzeria running a build-your-own ordering flow specifically.

Side by Side

Feature Slice AUANI
Published pricing clarity Multiple structures reported across sources One published rate per tier
Cheapest entry cost No confirmed $0 tier found $0/mo (Free)
Category focus Pizzerias specifically All food and drink categories, including Pizzeria
Direct ordering widget fee Varies by plan, percentage or flat 0% on Monthly
Free permanent tier Not confirmed publicly Yes

A Worked Example

A pizzeria doing $20,000 a month in order volume on Slice's reported family membership rate of roughly 5% pays around $1,000 a month in fees. On the a-la-carte option at roughly 7%, that same volume runs closer to $1,400 a month. On the flat-rate option at around $499 per location, a higher-volume shop may come out ahead of either percentage plan, though the flat rate applies regardless of how the month actually performs, high or low.

The same $20,000 in monthly volume on AUANI's Free tier, at a 10% marketplace fee, would run $2,000, higher than Slice's reported figures on marketplace orders alone. But that comparison only holds for orders coming through AUANI's own marketplace channel; a pizzeria on the Monthly tier processing that volume through the 0% direct ordering widget instead pays nothing in per-order commission on those specific transactions, only the flat $300 monthly software cost.

An Honest Case for Choosing Slice Anyway

A pizzeria that wants a platform built and marketed specifically around pizza, including a consumer app that lists only pizzerias, has a real category-specific reason to consider Slice. That focus is a genuine differentiator AUANI, a general food and drink marketplace, doesn't offer in the same way.

A pizzeria whose customer base already searches specifically inside pizza-focused apps rather than general food delivery or marketplace apps may find that category-specific discovery channel valuable enough to justify sorting out Slice's less transparent pricing directly with a sales representative.

Best For

Slice suits a pizzeria that specifically wants to be listed inside a pizza-only consumer app and is comfortable confirming its current plan terms directly. AUANI suits a pizzeria that wants one clearly published rate per tier, a free permanent option, and a build-your-own ordering flow alongside marketplace, loyalty, and Google visibility tools in the same account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Slice's pricing look different across different sources?

Slice's own published materials describe more than one plan structure, flat-rate, membership percentage, and a-la-carte, and public sources don't always agree on current terms, so confirming directly with Slice is worthwhile.

Is Slice more expensive than AUANI?

It depends on the specific plan and order volume; AUANI's Free tier has a clearly published $0 monthly cost and 10% marketplace fee, which isn't always directly comparable to Slice's reported structures.

Does AUANI have a pizza-specific consumer app?

No, AUANI is a general food and drink marketplace rather than a pizza-only app, though it does support build-your-own pizza ordering flows.

Is there a wider guide for pizzeria vendors specifically?

Yes, see the pizzeria online ordering guide for fees, custom order flows, and local search.

What is the cheapest way to start on AUANI?

The Free tier, at $0 a month with a 10% marketplace fee and no setup fee.

Which Slice plan is cheapest for a high-volume pizzeria?

Based on published figures, the flat-rate option around $499 per location can work out cheaper than either percentage plan once volume is high enough, though a pizzeria should confirm current numbers directly with Slice.

For the full picture against every platform in this series, see the master fee comparison table. For the pizzeria-specific picture beyond fees, see the pizzeria online ordering guide.

AUANI vs. Square Online: The Fees Compared Honestly

by | Jan 6, 2026 | Fees & Switching

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Square Online's free plan is a genuinely commission-free direct ordering setup: no monthly fee, no setup charge, no percentage taken on direct orders, only standard payment processing. That's a real, honest offer worth comparing fairly, tier by tier, against what a restaurant actually needs as it grows.

What Square Online Actually Offers

Square Online lets a restaurant launch a branded direct ordering page at no monthly cost, with no commission on those direct orders, payment processing applies per transaction the same way it would on any card sale.

  • Free plan: $0/mo, branded online ordering page, processing fees only
  • Plus: $49/mo per location, added customization and features
  • Premium: $149/mo per location, lowest processing rates and most features
  • Pro: custom pricing based on volume and needs

What Square Online Actually Costs

Processing rates vary by tier. The Free plan's online rate runs 3.3% plus 30 cents, Plus subscribers get a discounted 2.9% plus 30 cents, and Premium carries the lowest published rates. There's no separate marketplace-style commission on top of processing on any tier, which is a genuinely different structure from a percentage-commission marketplace.

Plan Monthly Fee Online Processing Rate
Free $0/mo 3.3% + 30 cents
Plus $49/mo per location 2.9% + 30 cents
Premium $149/mo per location Lowest published rate

What AUANI Offers Instead

AUANI's Free tier also costs $0 a month with no setup fee, but includes a marketplace, discovery orders from guests who don't already know the restaurant, at a 10% fee, plus pickup, dine-in, real courier delivery, loyalty, and POS sync.

The Monthly plan is $300 a month, drops the marketplace fee to 5%, and adds a fully hosted website, a 0% direct ordering widget, the full Google visibility suite, and menu analytics.

Side by Side

Feature Square Online AUANI
Cheapest monthly price $0/mo (Free) $0/mo (Free)
Commission on direct orders None, processing only None on Monthly's 0% widget
Marketplace or discovery channel Not included Included, 10% Free, 5% Monthly
Google visibility suite Not included Included on Monthly
Loyalty program Not included on base plans Included on every tier

A Worked Example

A restaurant on Square Online's Free plan doing $15,000 a month in direct online orders pays roughly 3.3% plus 30 cents per order in processing, which works out to about $495 a month plus the fixed per-order charges, all of it processing, none of it a separate commission. That same restaurant, if it also wants marketplace discovery orders from guests who don't already know the restaurant, has no built-in channel for that on Square Online at all, since Square Online is a direct ordering page, not a marketplace.

On AUANI's Free tier, the same $15,000 in marketplace order volume carries a 10% fee, or $1,500, notably higher than Square's processing-only cost. But that volume is discovery volume, guests AUANI's Google visibility tools and marketplace listing brought in, not volume the restaurant already had another way to reach. A restaurant running both, its own direct orders through a 0% widget on AUANI's Monthly tier, plus new discovery orders through the marketplace at 5%, is comparing two different revenue sources rather than paying twice for the same customer.

An Honest Case for Choosing Square Online Anyway

A restaurant already running Square's POS system has a real integration advantage using Square Online alongside it, and its processing-only fee structure is genuinely simple to understand at a glance. For a restaurant that doesn't need marketplace discovery orders and already has its own way of reaching new guests, that simplicity is a legitimate reason to stay.

A restaurant with a strong existing following, an active social media presence, a loyal regular base, and little need for new-guest discovery, gets less value out of any marketplace commission structure than a newer restaurant still building its name in the area, since a marketplace's core value is the introduction to guests who wouldn't otherwise have found the restaurant at all.

Best For

Square Online suits a restaurant already on Square's POS that mainly wants a simple, direct ordering page with no commission layered on top. AUANI suits a restaurant that also wants marketplace discovery orders, loyalty, and Google visibility tools bundled into the same account rather than assembled separately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Square Online really charge no commission on direct orders?

Correct, on every tier, only standard payment processing applies to direct orders, with no separate marketplace-style commission.

Does Square Online include a marketplace or discovery channel?

No, Square Online is a direct ordering page rather than a marketplace that brings new, previously unfamiliar guests to a restaurant.

Is AUANI's Free tier also commission-free on direct orders?

AUANI's 0% direct ordering widget is a Monthly tier feature; the Free tier's marketplace carries a 10% fee on discovery orders.

Does AUANI require Square's POS specifically?

No, AUANI syncs with a restaurant's existing POS rather than requiring any specific brand.

What is the cheapest way to start on AUANI?

The Free tier, at $0 a month with a 10% marketplace fee and no setup fee.

Can a restaurant use Square's POS and AUANI's marketplace at the same time?

Yes, AUANI syncs with existing POS systems rather than replacing them, so a Square POS setup can run alongside AUANI's marketplace and ordering tools.

For the full picture against every platform in this series, see the master fee comparison table. For the full picture beyond fees, see the Restaurant & Bar online ordering guide.

AUANI vs. Toast: The Real All-In Monthly Cost

by | Jan 1, 2026 | Fees & Switching

On This Page

Toast is a combined point-of-sale and online ordering system, and its $0 starter software plan is a real, genuine offer. What that headline number leaves out is hardware, payment processing, and the software tiers most full-service restaurants actually need once a single terminal stops being enough.

What Toast Actually Offers

Toast is built around POS hardware and software first, with online ordering layered on top, aimed at restaurants that want one system running both the front counter and the website.

  • Point-of-sale hardware and software, sold and supported directly by Toast
  • Online ordering integrated with the same menu and reporting as in-store sales
  • Software tiers: Starter at $0/mo, Essentials at $69+/mo, Growth at $165+/mo
  • Reporting, staff management, and kitchen display options depending on tier

What Toast Actually Costs

The $0 Starter software plan is real, but it isn't the number most restaurants end up paying. Online orders process at 3.50% plus 15 cents, noticeably higher than standard card-present rates, and real operators report all-in monthly costs, hardware, software tier, and processing combined, landing between roughly $300 and $700 a month for a small cafe, and $1,000 to $2,000 or more for a full-service restaurant.

Toast frames direct online orders as commission-free, and in the sense that there's no separate marketplace percentage on top of processing, that's accurate. It's a different claim from the setup being free, since hardware and a software tier are still real recurring costs for most restaurants.

Cost Line Rate or Price
Starter software $0/mo
Essentials software $69+/mo
Growth software $165+/mo
Online order processing 3.50% + 15 cents per order
Reported all-in monthly cost $300 to $2,000+/mo depending on size

What AUANI Offers Instead

AUANI starts at $0 a month with no setup fee and no hardware requirement. The Free tier carries a 10% marketplace fee and includes:

  • Pickup, dine-in, and real courier delivery through Uber
  • A punch-card loyalty program and an exportable guest list
  • POS sync, rather than requiring a full POS replacement
  • Reviews tied only to verified completed orders

The Monthly plan is $300 a month, drops the marketplace fee to 5%, and adds a fully hosted website, a 0% direct ordering widget, the full Google visibility suite, and menu analytics. Add a second location and the whole account's marketplace fee drops to 3%.

Side by Side

Feature Toast AUANI
Starter software cost $0/mo (hardware and processing extra) $0/mo (no hardware required)
Online order processing rate 3.50% + 15 cents Standard processing, no added markup
Marketplace or discovery fee None built in 10% Free, 5% Monthly, 3% at 2+ locations
Reported real-world monthly cost $300 to $2,000+/mo $0/mo Free, $300/mo Monthly
Requires new POS hardware Yes, typically No, syncs with existing POS

A Worked Example

A full-service restaurant on Toast's Growth plan at $165 a month, with two terminals and a kitchen display purchased as hardware, plus the 3.50% and 15 cent online processing rate on $10,000 a month in digital orders, lands around $165 in software, roughly $365 in online processing, and a hardware cost amortized over its useful life, before in-person processing on the rest of the day's sales is even added. Reported real-world totals in that range, $300 to $2,000 or more depending on size, reflect exactly this stacking of separate cost lines.

The same restaurant on AUANI's Free tier pays $0 a month in software with no hardware purchase required, since AUANI syncs with the POS already in place rather than replacing it. A 10% marketplace fee applies only to discovery orders coming through AUANI's own channel, and moving to the Monthly tier at $300 a month adds a hosted website and the 0% direct ordering widget without introducing a new online processing markup on top of standard rates.

An Honest Case for Choosing Toast Anyway

A restaurant that wants a single, deeply integrated system running its POS, kitchen display, staff scheduling, and online ordering all under one roof has real reasons to consider Toast, since that level of hardware integration is genuinely Toast's strength. AUANI doesn't replace a restaurant's POS; it syncs with one already in place.

A restaurant opening a brand-new location with no existing POS to work around has less reason to weigh the cost of switching systems, since there's nothing to migrate away from, which is exactly the scenario where an all-in-one hardware and software vendor like Toast tends to make the most operational sense.

Best For

Toast suits a restaurant ready to replace its POS hardware entirely and wants one vendor handling the whole stack. AUANI suits a restaurant that wants to keep its existing POS, test online ordering for free first, and pay a flat, published monthly cost once it moves to a paid tier, rather than an all-in bill assembled from several separate cost lines.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Toast's $0 plan actually free to run?

The software tier can be $0, but hardware and payment processing are separate real costs, and most operators report a meaningfully higher all-in monthly total.

Does AUANI require new POS hardware?

No, AUANI syncs with an existing POS rather than requiring a hardware replacement.

Why is Toast's online processing rate higher than standard?

Toast's 3.50% plus 15 cent online rate is higher than many standard processors, reportedly to cover the integrated software and support around it.

Does AUANI charge a separate online processing markup?

No, AUANI does not add a markup on top of standard payment processing for online orders.

What is the cheapest way to start on AUANI?

The Free tier, at $0 a month with a 10% marketplace fee and no setup fee.

Is Toast hardware required to use its online ordering?

Toast's online ordering is built to run on its own POS system, so most restaurants adopting it also take on Toast hardware rather than keeping an existing setup.

For the full picture against every platform in this series, see the master fee comparison table. For the full picture beyond fees, see the Restaurant & Bar online ordering guide.

AUANI vs. Every Major Ordering Platform: The Master Fee Comparison Table

by | Sep 1, 2025 | Fees & Switching

On This Page

Every restaurant owner comparing online ordering platforms eventually ends up with eight browser tabs open, trying to hold eight different pricing pages in their head at once. This page does that work in one place. Every number below comes directly from each platform's own published pricing, sitemap, or help documentation, not a third-party estimate. Where a platform does not publish a number at all, that gap is called out directly rather than guessed at.

How to Read This Table

Two numbers matter more than any other on this page, in this order:

  1. The cheapest published monthly cost to start.
  2. The commission or marketplace fee charged per order.

A platform that looks cheap on one number can look expensive on the other, which is exactly why both are shown side by side rather than picking one favorite metric.

The Master Comparison Table

AUANI is the only platform on this list with both a genuinely permanent free tier and a self-serve application process with no demo call required.

Platform Cheapest Plan Commission / Fee Signup Free Tier
AUANI $0/mo 10% (Free), 5% (Monthly), 3% at 2+ locations Self-serve application Yes, permanent
Owner.com Flex or Flat, both add a guest-paid or restaurant-paid fee 5% restaurant fee (Flex) or 5% guest-paid order support fee (both plans) Demo call No
ChowNow Starter tier, published rate not itemized publicly in full Flat monthly plus setup fee model, not per-order commission Demo call No
Sauce No published pricing Custom quote only Demo call No
Menufy $149/mo (annual) or $179/mo (month-to-month) None, flat fee only Demo call No
UpMenu $49/mo per location None on core plan, add-ons priced separately 7-day free trial, self-serve No, trial only
DoorDash No monthly fee, commission only 15% to 30% by tier, reported effective rate often 33% to 38% Self-serve No
Uber Eats No monthly fee, commission only 20% to 30% by tier (as of March 2026), up to 30% for Uber One orders Self-serve No
Grubhub No monthly fee, commission only 15% to 30%, plus a separate 15% to 25% on phone orders Self-serve No
ezCater Free to list 15% marketplace commission + 2.99% processing Self-serve Listing only, commission still applies
Clover $14.95 to $354/mo software None on online orders, add-ons priced separately Sales call No
Lightspeed Restaurant $69/mo None built in, standard processing applies Self-serve No
SpotOn $99 to $135/mo, plus $3/employee/mo, $75/mo minimum None on online orders Sales call No
GoTab $15 to $229/mo None on online orders, add-ons priced separately Sales call No

Grouping These by Business Model

Managed Direct-Ordering Platforms: Owner.com, ChowNow, Sauce, Menufy

These four platforms share a common structure: a managed website and ordering system sold through a demo call, with no self-serve free tier. Owner.com and Menufy publish their pricing outright. ChowNow publishes a partial structure. Sauce publishes none of it, requiring a custom quote for every prospective restaurant.

Self-Serve Signup, With a Managed Option: UpMenu, AUANI

UpMenu and AUANI both let a restaurant sign up without a call. UpMenu's self-serve path ends after a 7-day trial, after which the cheapest plan is $49 a month per location. AUANI's Free tier has no trial expiration and no per-location multiplier for a single-location restaurant, and unlike UpMenu, a restaurant can also have AUANI's team build and configure the account instead of doing it themselves, the same hands-off setup the managed platforms above sell.

Commission-Only Marketplaces: DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub

These three charge no monthly fee at all, only a per-order commission that ranges from 15 to 30% depending on tier, plus, in Grubhub's case, a separate phone-order rate. AUANI's marketplace fee undercuts all three published ranges at every tier, while also offering a direct-ordering path these three do not, since each is a marketplace-only product by design.

Where AUANI Lands on Each Axis

  • Cheapest to start: tied for lowest, alongside UpMenu's trial, but AUANI's Free tier does not expire.
  • Lowest marketplace fee: lower ceiling (10%) than DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub's published ranges.
  • Signup friction: lowest, alongside UpMenu, since both allow self-serve signup with no demo call.
  • Path to 0% commission: unique among the marketplace-model platforms, via the Monthly tier's direct widget.

When a Competitor Is Genuinely the Better Fit

None of this is an argument that AUANI is the right fit for every restaurant. A restaurant that wants a single dedicated success manager staying on the account long-term may prefer Menufy's or Owner's model of assigning one person to every call. A restaurant that needs the existing scale of an established delivery audience for pure discovery may reasonably keep DoorDash or Uber Eats in the mix even while building a direct channel elsewhere. Each individual comparison in this series lays out that trade-off in full.

Best For

This table is built for an owner who wants every platform's real, published numbers in one place before making a decision, rather than piecing together eight separate pricing pages by hand.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which platform has the lowest published commission?

AUANI's marketplace fee tops out at 10% on the Free tier, lower than the published commission ranges for DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub, all of which run from roughly 15 to 30%.

Which platforms require a demo call to sign up?

Owner.com, ChowNow, Sauce, and Menufy all require booking a call before an account is created. UpMenu and AUANI both allow self-serve signup.

Does any platform here have a permanent free tier?

AUANI is the only platform in this comparison with a permanent, ongoing free tier. UpMenu offers a 7-day free trial, after which its cheapest plan is $49 a month per location.

Why doesn't Sauce have published pricing in this table?

Sauce's own pricing page does not list plan costs publicly, directing every prospective customer to a custom quote instead.

Is a lower commission always the better deal?

Not necessarily. A restaurant that wants one dedicated success manager staying on its account for every call, the way Menufy assigns, may value that continuity over a lower fee alone. Site-building, migration, and setup support are not unique to the higher-fee platforms though, since AUANI offers the same hands-off setup on request.

Can a restaurant use more than one of these platforms at once?

Yes. Many restaurants keep a marketplace like DoorDash or Uber Eats for new-customer discovery while building a direct ordering channel through a platform like AUANI at the same time.

Read the full individual breakdown for any platform: Owner.com, ChowNow, Sauce, Menufy, UpMenu, DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, ezCater, Clover, Lightspeed Restaurant, SpotOn, and GoTab. For the full picture beyond fees, see the Restaurant & Bar online ordering guide.