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Short answer: For most restaurants, Wix is the best restaurant website builder of the four: its official restaurant page lists an online menu, 24/7 reservations, commission-free online ordering and POS integrations in one product. If you already run your counter on Square, choose Square Online instead, because your menu and orders stay in the same system as your point of sale. Pick Squarespace when design comes first and you are happy to add reservations and ordering through its partners, Tock and ChowNow. Skip Shopify for a dine-in restaurant; it fits a food brand that ships products.
This comparison is based on each vendor’s official pages, not on our own use of the products.
- Quick picks
- Comparison table
- How we compared them
- 1. Wix: best overall for restaurants
- 2. Square Online: best if you already use Square POS
- 3. Squarespace: best for design-led restaurants
- 4. Shopify: best for food brands that sell online
- Restaurant-specific alternatives
- Which one should you choose?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Quick picks
| Your situation | Best pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Full-service restaurant that wants menus, reservations and ordering in one place | Wix | Menu, reservations and commission-free ordering are all listed as Wix Restaurants features |
| Counter service or a café that already uses Square POS | Square Online | Online orders, menus and customer data sync with Square POS |
| Design-led restaurant or bar | Squarespace | Built-in menu layouts, with reservations through Tock and ordering through ChowNow |
| Packaged food, sauces or merch sold online | Shopify | A full online store; restaurant tools come from third-party apps |
Comparison table
| Builder | Score (out of 10) | Menu | Reservations | Online ordering | POS | Free option |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | 8.8 | Built in | Built in | Built in, commission-free | Integrations | Free plan |
| Square Online | 7.5 | Built in (Square Dashboard) | Not listed | Built in, no marketplace commissions | Square POS | Square Free plan |
| Squarespace | 4.8 | Built in | Through Tock | Through ChowNow | Not listed | 14-day free trial, no free plan |
| Shopify | 2.5 | Third-party apps | Third-party apps | Third-party apps | Shopify POS | See official page |
How we compared them
We scored each builder on the four jobs a restaurant website has to do. A feature listed as part of the product scores 2 points, a feature offered through an official partner scores 1 point, and a feature that is only available through third-party apps, or not listed on the official pages we checked, scores 0.
| Criterion | Weight | What we looked for |
|---|---|---|
| Online ordering | 30% | Pickup or delivery orders taken on your own site, without marketplace commissions |
| Reservations | 25% | Table booking from the website |
| POS connection | 25% | Menus and orders shared with the point of sale |
| Menu pages | 20% | A menu built as a web page, not a PDF |
Price is not part of the score, because plan prices vary by region and billing period.
We did not sign up for or operate these products for this comparison. Every feature comes from the vendors’ official pages, checked on October 23, 2026. Read more about how we research on our About page.
1. Wix: best overall for restaurants
Best for: a full-service restaurant that wants menus, reservations and online ordering without extra software.
Wix sells its restaurant tools as Wix Restaurants. Its official restaurant page lists an online menu, reservations that customers can make from the site 24/7, a commission-free online ordering system run from one dashboard, on-demand delivery integration, a loyalty program, and POS integrations that sync menus and orders with point of sale solutions.
On the Wix plans page, “Accept payments” appears on the Core, Business and Business Elite plans, but not on Light or the free plan, so a restaurant that takes paid orders online needs Core or higher.
- Pros: every core restaurant job is part of the product; ordering is commission-free; there is a free plan to start building.
- Cons: payments need a higher plan; the plans page shows prices billed yearly.
- Pricing: Prices vary by region and billing period, so we link to the official plans page instead of quoting a number that may not match yours. See the official Wix plans page.
- Free option: a free plan. Paid plans come with a 14-day money-back guarantee rather than a free trial.
2. Square Online: best if you already use Square POS
Best for: counter-service restaurants, cafés and food trucks that take payments with Square.
Square’s US online ordering page says that your online ordering profile and Square POS stay connected, so menus, in-person and online orders, and customer data are in one system, and that orders go straight to the kitchen through Square Point of Sale. Customers can order for pickup or delivery without marketplace commissions. The Square pages we checked do not list a table reservation tool.
| Plan | Price (US) | Online card rate | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square Free | $0/month per location | 3.3% + 30¢ | — |
| Square Plus | $49/month per location | 2.9% + 30¢ | 30 days |
| Square Premium | $149/month per location | 2.9% + 30¢ | 30 days |
Source: Square Online plans (US), checked October 23, 2026. Square Plus adds QR code ordering and subscriptions; Square Premium adds real-time shipping rates, advanced reporting and 24/7 phone support.
- Pros: a real free plan; menus and orders shared with your POS.
- Cons: no reservations listed; prices are per location, so several locations multiply the cost.
- Free option: Square Free, with no monthly fee; you pay processing fees when you take a payment.
3. Squarespace: best for design-led restaurants
Best for: restaurants and bars that care most about how the site looks.
Squarespace’s restaurant website page describes pre-built menu layouts that match your site design, with no PDFs needed and menu sections that search engines can index. Reservations come through Tock, which can also handle online ordering and delivery, and commission-free online ordering for pickup or delivery comes through ChowNow. A POS connection is not listed on that page.
- Pros: strong menu pages out of the box; well-known partners for reservations and ordering.
- Cons: reservations and ordering depend on partner services, each with its own account and terms.
- Pricing (US, USD): Basic $19/month billed annually or $25/month billed monthly, Core $29 or $39, Plus $49 or $65, and Advanced $99 or $139. Source: official Squarespace pricing page, checked October 23, 2026.
- Free option: no free plan, but every site starts with a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
4. Shopify: best for food brands that sell online
Best for: a restaurant that sells packaged food, sauces, gift boxes or merch to ship.
Shopify’s pricing page does not list restaurant menus or table reservations as plan features. Restaurants add them with third-party apps from the Shopify App Store; for example, Zapiet Eats lists pickup, delivery, dine-in and reservations. Shopify POS handles in-person sales, and POS Pro is a paid add-on per location.
- Pros: the strongest online store of the four for shipping products.
- Cons: every restaurant feature is a separate third-party app with its own pricing and support.
- Pricing (US, USD): Basic $29/month billed annually or $39/month billed monthly, Grow $79 or $105, and Advanced $299 or $399. Source: official Shopify pricing page, checked October 23, 2026.
Restaurant-specific alternatives
These three are built only for restaurants. They are not part of the score above, because each one is mainly an ordering, marketing or POS platform rather than a general website builder, but they are worth a look if online orders or a POS matter more to you than site design.
| Service | What it is | Starting price (US) | Reservations |
|---|---|---|---|
| GloriaFood | Online ordering you add to your existing website | Free; online payments add-on $29/month | Free table reservation widget |
| Popmenu | Restaurant website and marketing platform | Starter $159/month prepaid annually ($179 billed monthly) | Included on Premier; add-on on Essentials |
| Toast | Restaurant POS with its own website builder | POS from $0/month (Starter Kit) or $69/month (Point of Sale) | Toast Tables, connected through Toast Websites |
GloriaFood (from Oracle) offers online ordering with no commission per order and no monthly fee: a “See MENU & Order” button for your website, Facebook ordering, mobile ordering and a free table reservation widget. Paid add-ons include online card payments ($29/month), reservation deposits ($0.5 per guest for accepted bookings) and a restaurant POS ($49/month per location with a 2-year commitment). Source: GloriaFood pricing, checked October 23, 2026.
Popmenu builds an SEO-focused restaurant website with an interactive menu and Google Business Profile sync. Starter costs $159/month prepaid annually or $179 billed monthly, Essentials $269 or $299, and Premier $449 or $499. Online ordering and catering are add-ons on every plan, and the digital waitlist and reservations are included on Premier. Popmenu offers a demo rather than a free trial. Source: Popmenu pricing, checked October 23, 2026.
Toast is a restaurant POS. Its pricing page starts at $0/month for the Starter Kit (a hardware kit with no upfront cost) and $69/month for Point of Sale (Toast pricing, checked October 23, 2026). Toast Websites keeps your menu, online ordering and POS in sync and connects with Toast Tables, and Toast Online Ordering lists no commissions and one flat fee per delivery order. Pick Toast if you want the POS and the website from one company.
Which one should you choose?
- Choose Wix if you want menus, reservations and ordering in one product. This is the right choice for most sit-down restaurants.
- Choose Square Online if Square already runs your counter, or if you need a free plan with clear US pricing.
- Choose Squarespace if design matters most and you are fine with Tock or ChowNow accounts.
- Choose Shopify only if selling products online matters more than dine-in.
Setting up a site for a salon or beauty business instead? See our salon website builder comparison.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best restaurant website builder?
For most restaurants, Wix, because its official restaurant page lists an online menu, reservations, commission-free online ordering and POS integrations in one product. If you already use Square POS, Square Online is the better fit.
Which restaurant website builder has a free plan?
Wix and Square Online both have a free plan. Squarespace has no free plan but offers a 14-day free trial.
Can I take online orders without paying commissions?
Yes. Wix describes its online ordering as commission-free, Square Online takes pickup and delivery orders without marketplace commissions, and Squarespace offers commission-free ordering through ChowNow. Card processing fees still apply.
Which builder handles table reservations?
Wix lists reservations as a built-in feature. Squarespace adds them through Tock. The Square and Shopify pages we checked do not list a built-in reservation tool; Shopify relies on third-party apps.
Why isn’t the Wix price listed?
Wix’s official pricing page shows different prices by location and tax, so we link to it for the current number. Squarespace and Shopify prices are listed above (US, USD).
Last updated: October 23, 2026. Prices were last checked on October 23, 2026.
