Independent restaurants that want their own website, app, loyalty and marketing to bring customers back without the apps' commission.
Weigh more here than in the overall ranking: your customers' data, website with your own domain, brings you new customers, app with your brand, and loyalty and email or text marketing. Weigh less here: 12-month cost of the reference restaurant.
The ranking
ChowNow
By ChowNow
A direct ordering platform with an SEO website, branded app, loyalty and automated email on every plan, and 20+ POS integrations. Launch costs $249 a month month to month, with no commission on orders from your website, app and ChowNow's marketplace, 2.95% + 29¢ card processing per order and a $499 setup fee per its agreement. Orders from its Discovery Network (Google, Apple Maps, Yelp and others) carry a 15.5% marketing fee, unless you turn on Profit Protector, which raises your menu prices on those channels.
RTC SCORE
8.1
#1 for Growing your online sales
Pros
- No commission on orders from your website, app or ChowNow's marketplace, and card processing is published: 2.95% + 29¢ per order.
- Every plan includes an SEO website, branded app, loyalty and automated email, with 24/7 support by phone, chat and text.
- Integrates with 20+ POS systems, including Toast, Square, Clover, Shift4 POS and Lightspeed.
Cons
- Orders from its Discovery Network (Google, Apple Maps, Yelp and others) carry a 15.5% marketing fee, or higher menu prices for your customers if you turn on Profit Protector.
- The agreement sets a $499 setup fee for every plan, while the pricing page shows a lower range without saying which plan pays less.
- Your customers pay a $0.99 service charge on website and app orders unless you opt out in writing, per the agreement; the help center describes it as a setting you turn on.
- Initial term
- Month to month
- Exclusive processing commitment
- Yes, for the whole term
Strongest on 12-month cost of the reference restaurant, your customers' data, and contract term.
Owner.com
By Owner.com
A direct ordering platform that builds your restaurant's website, branded app, loyalty program and email and text marketing, month to month at $499 a month (Flat Rate) or $249 plus 5% of each order (Flexible), with a mandatory 5% fee charged to your customers on every order and a card processing rate it doesn't publish.
RTC SCORE
7.5
#2 for Growing your online sales
Pros
- Month to month with no cancellation fee; the agreement renews monthly and you cancel before the next renewal date.
- Both plans include the website, branded app, loyalty, automated email and text marketing, setup and migration, with no setup fee shown.
- Orders go into Toast, Square, Clover or Lightspeed, and DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub orders come into Owner, at no extra fee.
Cons
- Your customers pay a mandatory 5% order support fee on every order, in both plans.
- Owner processes the payments of your online orders and doesn't publish its card processing rate.
- The agreement makes the restaurant responsible for chargebacks, while the pricing page advertises chargeback protection.
- Initial term
- Month to month
- Exclusive processing commitment
- Yes, for the whole term
Strongest on your customers' data, contract term, and 24/7 support. Weakest on fee charged to your customers.
Restolabs
By Restolabs
A direct ordering platform with published plans from $69 a month on monthly billing (Basic), month to month, with no commission, loyalty included, the website ($29) and branded app ($49) as monthly add-ons, a 30-day trial with no card, and card processing through the processor you connect.
RTC SCORE
6.6
#3 for Growing your online sales
Pros
- Published plans from $69 a month (Basic, billed monthly), with no commission, no fee per order and no setup fee shown.
- Month to month with no cancellation fee, and a 30-day trial with no card required.
- The terms say your order and customer data belong to you, and Restolabs commits not to sell it.
Cons
- The website ($29 a month) and branded app ($49 a month) are add-ons below the Pro plan ($199 a month).
- Card processing is paid to your own processor, so the full cost depends on the rate you get; Restolabs doesn't handle chargebacks.
- No refunds or proration when you cancel, and your data export is only by request within 30 days after you leave.
- Initial term
- Month to month
- Exclusive processing commitment
- No exclusivity commitment
Strongest on contract term, your customers' data, and 24/7 support. Weakest on refund when you cancel.
Flipdish
By Flipdish
A direct ordering platform with your own website, online ordering and loyalty from $149 a month on monthly billing, a branded app on the $249 plan, its own card processing at rates it doesn't publish, quoted setup, and a 12-month term that renews automatically unless you give 3 months' notice.
RTC SCORE
5.5
#4 for Growing your online sales
Pros
- Published monthly plans from $149 (website, online ordering, loyalty and reporting), with a branded app on the $249 plan.
- Integrates with Toast, Square, Clover, Lightspeed and other POS systems, and sends deliveries to DoorDash Drive or Uber Direct.
- Support by chat, phone and email seven days a week.
Cons
- 12-month term that renews for another 12 unless you give 3 months' notice; leaving early costs your average monthly fees times the months left.
- Flipdish processes the cards and doesn't publish its US transaction rates; setup and hardware are by quote.
- The restaurant pays chargebacks and their fees, fees aren't refunded, and the terms let Flipdish charge your customers handling fees.
- Initial term
- 12 months
- Exclusive processing commitment
- Yes, for the whole term
Strongest on your customers' data, contract term, and direct POS integrations. Weakest on 24/7 support.
Not enough verified data to rank
We only rank a platform once we've verified enough of its key facts. These are listed so you know we looked at them.
This is general information about published contracts, not legal advice: read your own contract and check with a lawyer before you sign.