Tap-to-order and QR ordering: the alternatives.
Tap-to-order and QR ordering alternatives do different jobs: Toast and Square run your whole POS, Bite sells kiosks, Owner.com and ChowNow grow online orders, and Sunday and me&u speed up paying at the table. Tap2Order is the better choice when guests are already in the room and the wait to order is what costs you: they tap an NFC display or scan the QR code, order from their own phone with no app, and the ticket lands on your kitchen display. One flat fee with no per-order commission, setup done in person in NYC.
Or book a 15-minute call. Every competitor fact below links to the vendor's own page.
Tap-to-order and QR ordering alternatives compared
Published starting prices and terms as each provider listed them in September 2026.
| Provider | Main job | Published starting price | Setup and hardware | Commitment | Details and source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toast | Restaurant POS with hardware; Mobile Order & Pay (scan a QR code at the table to order and pay) is an add-on | Starter Kit from $0/month; Point of Sale from $69/month; Mobile Order & Pay add-on price not published | Runs on Toast hardware; onboarding days $1,000 on site or $800 remote | Initial term set in your order, then renews for one-year periods | Tap2Order vs Toast · Toast pricing |
| Square | POS for restaurants and retail; self-serve QR ordering through Square Online on Plus and Premium | Free $0, Plus $49, Premium $149 per location per month | Square hardware sold separately; KDS and Kiosk apps extra per device | 30-day trial on Plus and Premium; cancel or switch plans anytime | Tap2Order vs Square · Square pricing |
| Sunday | QR pay at table (split, tip, pay) plus QR ordering | $199/month Standard, $299/month Premium (US) | $5 per QR code; physical onboarding optional at $299 on Standard | Not stated on pricing page | Tap2Order vs Sunday · Sunday pricing |
| Bite | Self-order kiosk and line-busting software for quick service and fast casual | Not published; demo required | Hardware agnostic, from 11-inch tablets to 50-inch screens; Bite cites a six-week deployment | Not published | Tap2Order vs Bite · Bite Linebuster |
| Owner.com | Restaurant website, online ordering, branded app and marketing | $249/month + 5% per order, or $499/month flat | Setup and migration listed as included | Month-to-month | Owner.com notes · Owner.com pricing |
| ChowNow | Online ordering, app, marketplace and marketing; QR ordering on Grow and Elevate | From $249/month ($229 billed annually) | $119 to $499 setup; printer $250 to $420 | Not stated on pricing page | ChowNow notes · ChowNow pricing |
| me&u | Mobile order and pay, pay-only, multi-vendor food hall and hybrid guest/server ordering | Not published; talk to sales | Not published | Not published | me&u |
| Tap2Order (our product) | NFC and QR ordering in the room, with a kitchen display in a staff portal on any device | $297/month (Essential Core); no per-order commission | $599 setup, waived for every customer who signs by December 31, 2026 (payable if you cancel in the first quarter); no hardware to buy | 3-month initial term, renews quarter to quarter | Pricing |
Card processing is extra with every provider; each full comparison lists the published rates.
We make Tap2Order, so read this knowing that. Sources, all vendor pages checked September 2026: Toast pricing, Toast Mobile Order & Pay, Toast mobile payments, Toast onboarding rates, Toast onboarding guide, Toast renewal FAQ, Square QR code ordering, sunday Pay at table, Sunday partners, Bite, Bite Kiosks, Bite QSR, Bite partners, Owner.com kitchen tablet, ChowNow QR Code Ordering. If a fact has changed, email MoreARR@TapToOrder.co and we'll correct it.
Pick by the job you need done
- Replacing your POS? Compare Toast and Square first. Both sell QR ordering as part of their own system.
- Lines at the counter in a quick-service chain? Look at Bite's kiosks.
- Losing margin to delivery apps? Owner.com and ChowNow are built for direct online ordering and marketing.
- Tables stalling at the check? Sunday and me&u focus on scan-to-pay and order-and-pay, including bill splitting on Sunday.
- Guests waiting to order at the bar, table or counter? That's the job Tap2Order does. An NFC tap point and QR code sit where guests already are, tickets land on the kitchen display in a staff portal on any device, and we place the displays and train your staff in NYC. Live within 7 days of your onboarding call, once we have your menu and venue details, or your next month is free.
Tap2Order is not a POS, a website builder or a kiosk. It is an ordering system that also sells more and wastes less: on Growth Engine, upsells sell the next round, stock counts itself and the Algorithm paces the kitchen so each table's food lands together. Pro Command adds live food cost % and up to 5 locations compared. Why operators choose Tap2Order
Owner.com and ChowNow online ordering: cost and fit
Both are built for the guest at home deciding where to order dinner; Tap2Order is built for the guest already in your room. Some venues use both.
Owner.com
- Price. Flexible is $249 a month plus a 5% restaurant fee per order; Flat Rate is $499 a month with no restaurant fee. Guests pay a 5% order support fee on both plans.
- Terms and setup. Month-to-month, with no cancellation fees; setup and migration with a dedicated specialist are listed as included.
ChowNow
- Price. $249 (Launch), $349 (Grow) and $449 (Elevate) a month billed monthly, or $229, $319 and $409 billed annually, plus $119 to $499 setup and a printer at $250 to $420.
- QR ordering. On Grow and Elevate, not Launch, and described as POS-agnostic, with 20+ POS integrations including Toast, Square, Revel and Clover.
Tap-to-order alternatives: common questions
What is the difference between tap-to-order and QR ordering?
Both open a menu on the guest's phone. With QR ordering the guest opens the camera and scans a code; with NFC tap-to-order the guest holds the phone near a display. Tap2Order's displays carry both, so every guest has a way in.
Do I have to replace my POS to add QR ordering?
Not always. Toast and Square are POS systems themselves. Sunday, ChowNow and Bite connect to existing POS systems they name. Tap2Order orders arrive in its own staff portal, so no POS replacement is needed; custom integrations are part of Tap2Order Pro Command.
Which option has the lowest published monthly price?
Square Free and Toast's Starter Kit both start at $0 a month, with processing fees and hardware on top. Among the non-POS options, Sunday Standard ($199) and Owner.com Flexible ($249 plus 5% per order) have the lowest published subscriptions.
Which providers charge per-order fees?
Owner.com Flexible charges a 5% restaurant fee per order, and Owner.com guests pay a 5% order support fee on both plans. ChowNow lists 2.95% + $0.29 per transaction. Tap2Order charges no per-order commission.
Which options work without a guest app download?
Tap2Order opens the menu in the phone browser with no app and no account. Sunday also says no app is needed. Owner.com and ChowNow offer web ordering alongside branded apps.
Every Tap2Order comparison
Walk through the sample guest flow in the interactive demo, and read the order accuracy guide before you plan your own order flow.
Bring your numbers to a 15-minute call.
We map where the wait to order costs you, and what your first month costs.