Best Commission-Free Online Ordering Systems for Restaurants (2026)

The best commission-free online ordering system for most independent restaurants in 2026 is the one that charges a flat monthly fee instead of a percentage of every order, lets you keep your customer data, and fits how you actually work. For restaurants that want their own branded channel with bilingual support and no per-order cut, Eatsy Orders is our pick. ChowNow is the established national option. GloriaFood is free — but it's shutting down in 2027. Square is the easiest free starting point if you already use Square. Below we compare all four, honestly, including where each one falls short.

First, the thing every "commission-free" platform buries in the fine print: commission-free does not mean free. You'll still pay a monthly subscription and/or standard card processing (usually around 2.9–3.3% plus a few cents per order). The real question isn't "is it free" — it's "does my cost stay flat as I sell more, or does it grow with every order?" That's the difference that decides your profit.

Quick comparison

Pricing verified against each platform's public pages and third-party breakdowns in 2026 (links in each section). Confirm current pricing before deciding.

What "best" actually means for a restaurant

Before the individual reviews, here's the scorecard we used. A good commission-free system should give you:

• Flat, predictable cost — a monthly fee, not a cut of every sale.
• Your customer data — names, contact info, and order history that belong to you, not the platform.
• Your brand front and center — customers should see your restaurant, not a marketplace logo.
• Easy setup and daily use — you run a kitchen, not an IT department.
• The right fit for your customers — for many U.S. restaurants, that means real bilingual (English/Spanish) support.

Now let's see how each platform stacks up.

1. Eatsy Orders — best for independent and Latino restaurants

Model: flat monthly fee, 0% commission. Roughly $89.99/month. Confirm the current price on the pricing page before you decide.

Eatsy Orders is built specifically for independent restaurants — with a strong focus on Latino restaurants in the U.S. — that want their own commission-free ordering channel without becoming a tech project. You get a branded ordering site, an optional branded app, iPad menu and loyalty tools, all in one platform, with genuine bilingual English/Spanish support built in rather than bolted on.

Where it stands out:

• One flat monthly fee — no percentage of any order.
• You own the customer relationship and the data on every order.
• Bilingual (EN/ES) support and Spanish-speaking help — a real difference for many U.S. operators.
• The whole ecosystem (ordering, iPad menu, branded restaurant app, loyalty) lives in one place.

Where to look closely: Eatsy Orders is a growing platform rather than a household name, so if brand recognition is your top priority, weigh that. Confirm the current monthly price and what's included directly on the Commission-Free Online Ordering for Restaurants.

Best for: independent and Latino-owned restaurants that want a branded, bilingual, commission-free channel with hands-on setup.

2. ChowNow — best established national option

Model: flat monthly subscription, 0% commission on direct orders, plus ~2.95% + $0.29 processing per order.

ChowNow has operated since 2011 and works with thousands of restaurants, which makes it the most recognized name in commission-free direct ordering. It gives you a branded ordering website and a branded mobile app, and it charges no per-order marketplace commission on your direct orders.

The honest catch is the price and the fine print. Published monthly pricing varies quite a bit depending on the source and tier — from around $119 in some breakdowns to $249–$449 per month on ChowNow's own pricing page as accessed in mid-2026. On top of the subscription there's a setup fee, the $99/year Apple developer fee for the branded app, and $7.98 per order if you use their Flex Delivery — which, on a $25 order, is nearly a third of the food revenue.

Where it stands out:

• Established, trusted national brand with 24/7 support.
• You own 100% of diner contact and ordering data.
• Branded website and app included.

Where to look closely: the total cost adds up (subscription + setup + app fee + delivery), and the entry price is higher than some alternatives. Confirm a current quote before signing.

Best for: established or higher-volume restaurants that want a recognized national brand and can absorb a higher monthly cost.

3. GloriaFood — free, but shutting down in 2027

Model: free base plan, 0% commission, with paid add-ons (~$9–$29/month for website, payments, branded app).

For years GloriaFood was the go-to free option, and that's exactly why 123,000+ restaurants worldwide built their ordering on it. The base online ordering and table reservation system is genuinely free and commission-free, with paid add-ons for a sales-optimized website and online payments.

But here's the part any honest 2026 guide has to tell you: Oracle, which owns GloriaFood, has confirmed the platform is shutting down on April 30, 2027, and has already closed new signups. If you build on GloriaFood today, you're building on a platform with a known expiration date — and you'll be migrating within the year. For a restaurant choosing a system to grow on, that's a serious mark against it, no matter how good the price is.

Where it stood out:

• Truly free base plan, no commission.
• Simple, do-it-yourself setup.

Where to look closely: the shutdown. If you're currently on GloriaFood, the cheapest move is a planned migration now rather than a rushed one in 2027.

Best for: honestly, no one starting fresh in 2026 — and current users should be planning their move.

4. Square — best if you already use Square

Model: free plan available; paid tiers at $49 and $149/month. No marketplace commission; you pay card processing (3.3% + $0.30 on the free plan, dropping to 2.9% + $0.30 on paid tiers).

Square Online is one of the easiest low-cost ways to start taking direct orders, especially if you already run Square's POS. The free tier is genuinely usable — a website builder, unlimited items, and orders that flow straight into your Square POS like any other ticket, with no marketplace commission. Square also recently added the ability for AI assistants like ChatGPT and Claude to place orders directly into a restaurant's Square system, with no marketplace cut.

The trade-off is channel ownership. As one 2026 breakdown put it plainly, Square gives you a branded profile inside its ecosystem — it does not publish a native app under your restaurant's own name. Your higher processing rate on the free plan (3.3%) also means your per-order cost quietly grows with sales volume.

Where it stands out:

• A real free plan, not a trial.
• Dead-simple if you already use Square POS.
• Orders sync natively into your POS.

Where to look closely: you live inside Square's ecosystem rather than owning a fully branded channel, and the free-plan processing rate is higher than competitors'.

Best for: small restaurants already on Square that want the simplest possible starting point.

So which one should you choose?

Here's the honest short version:

• You want your own branded, bilingual channel and a flat fee → Eatsy Orders, especially if you're an independent or Latino-owned restaurant.
• You want a big national brand and can pay more → ChowNow.
• You're on GloriaFood today → start planning your migration before the 2027 shutdown; don't build anything new on it.
• You already use Square and want the cheapest start → Square's free plan.

The deeper point behind all four: the platform matters less than the model. Any system that charges a flat fee instead of a commission protects your margin as you grow. Any system that keeps your customer data hands you a long-term asset. Pick the one whose fit — brand, language, support, ecosystem — matches your restaurant, and you'll keep far more of every order than you would renting your customers back from a marketplace at 15–30% a time.

If a branded, commission-free, bilingual channel sounds like what your restaurant needs, see how Eatsy Orders' commission-free online ordering works — or start from the Eatsy Orders home page.