How Franklin-area restaurants can take online orders in 2027: the real options, compared

Updated October 2026 · Walkthrough Web · about a 7-minute read

If you run a restaurant, food truck or café around Franklin, Brentwood, Spring Hill or Nashville, you've probably been pitched online ordering more than once: by the delivery apps, by your POS company, by a platform with a slick demo. This guide lays the real options side by side: what each one costs you, who owns the customer, and who it's actually right for.

Full disclosure: we're Walkthrough Web, and we sell one of these options (option 5). We've tried to be fair to the others, and for each one we say when it's the better pick. Prices below come from each company's own public pages, checked in October 2026. They change, so check before you sign anything.

The short version

1. The delivery apps (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub)

The apps are very good at two things: putting you in front of people who've never heard of you, and sending a driver.

What it costs: DoorDash charges 15%, 25% or 30% of each delivery order depending on the plan (Basic, Plus or Premier), and 6% on pick-up orders. Uber Eats charges 20%, 25% or 30% on delivery (Lite, Plus or Premium), and 7% on pick-up with in-store pricing.

The catch: you're paying that on your regulars too. Someone who's eaten at your place for years and orders through the app every Friday costs you the same commission as a brand-new customer. On a $30 delivery order on DoorDash's Plus plan, that's $7.50.

Best for: delivery, and getting discovered. Most restaurants should keep them. The goal is to stop paying them on orders that would have come to you anyway.

2. The apps' own "free" ordering sites

DoorDash offers restaurants commission-free direct ordering, with no monthly fee and no commission, only standard card processing. Uber Eats has a similar ordering site (Webshop) at 2.5% + 29¢ per order.

This is a genuinely decent deal, and if you already use DoorDash it may already be available to you.

The catch: it's not really yours. It lives under DoorDash's or Uber's agreement, it's tied to their systems, and their main business is still the marketplace, where they earn 15–30%. Some restaurants also find their Google listing's "Order online" button quietly pointing at the app instead of at them (more on that below).

Best for: restaurants that are happy inside the DoorDash or Uber world and don't care much about owning their website or customer list.

3. Your POS's own online ordering (Square, Toast, Clover)

If you already take payments on Square, Toast or Clover, you very likely already have online ordering available.

What it costs: Square's online card fee is 3.3% + 30¢ per order on its free plan, or 2.9% + 30¢ on the $49/month Plus plan. Toast's online ordering is commission-free but sold as part of its plans, priced by quote. Clover also offers online ordering through its plans. On a $30 pick-up order through Square's free plan, you pay about $1.29.

Why it's good: orders land in the same system as your in-store sales: same menu, same reports, same payouts. No commission. And the account is yours.

The catch: it's do-it-yourself. Someone has to build the menu with descriptions, photos and options, set pick-up hours, turn it on, and put it somewhere customers will actually find it. The ordering page these systems give you is basic, and it isn't a website.

Best for: owners who have a few free evenings and like setting things up themselves. Honestly, if that's you, this is the cheapest good option.

4. All-in-one restaurant platforms (Owner.com, Popmenu, ChowNow and others)

These companies sell a website, online ordering and marketing tools as one monthly package.

What it costs: Owner.com is $249 a month plus a 5% restaurant fee per order, or $499 a month with no restaurant fee. On both plans, guests also pay a 5% order support fee. Popmenu is $179, $299 or $499 a month (a little less paid yearly), and online ordering is an add-on. ChowNow and similar services sit in the same range, often with a setup fee.

Why it's good: you get a lot in one box: often a branded app, loyalty points, automated texts and emails, and sometimes delivery dispatch.

The catch: it's rented. Read the agreement before you sign, especially the parts about who owns the site and what happens to your customer list if you leave. Owner.com's agreement, for example, says the restaurant may use customer data it gets through the platform "only in connection with its use of the Services." And at $249–$499 a month, you'll pay $3,000–$6,000 a year before any per-order fees.

Best for: busier restaurants that will actually use the loyalty, texting and app features every week, and that are fine paying monthly for them.

5. A website built for you, on your own ordering (what we do)

The fifth route: someone builds you a real website, phone-first, with your menu, hours and photos, and sets up pick-up ordering on your own Square, Clover or Toast account. Local web designers and freelancers do this, and so do we.

What it costs (us): $500 to build plus $20 a month, $750 one-time with everything handed over, or $1,000 plus $35 a month for a bigger site. Online ordering setup is $299 one-time. You pay only normal card processing on orders, with no commission and no fee added to your customers. Other local builders range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand.

Why it's good: it's done for you, it's yours (domain, site, ordering account, customer list), and you have a local person to call when the menu changes.

The catch: there's an upfront cost, and we don't offer a branded app, loyalty points or delivery dispatch. If you need those, option 4 does more.

Best for: owners who want a proper website and their own ordering without doing it themselves, and without a monthly platform bill.

One $30 order, five ways

What the restaurant pays on a single $30 order (published rates, October 2026; your plan may differ):

Whichever you choose: five things to check this week

1. Your Google "Order online" button. In your Google Business Profile, under Food ordering, you can add your own ordering link and mark it "Preferred" for pick-up. Many owners don't know it's pointing at an app.
2. Your menu on a phone. Open your website on your phone. If the menu is a PDF or photos you have to pinch and zoom, customers give up.
3. Your hours on the first screen. Today's hours and address should be visible without scrolling or tapping.
4. Your pick-up prices. If the apps mark up your prices, make sure your own ordering uses your in-store prices. That's the reason to order direct.
5. A test order. Place one yourself from your phone, start to finish, then refund it.

Questions owners ask us

Should I quit DoorDash? Usually not. Keep the apps for delivery and new customers. Just give your regulars an easy way to order pick-up from you directly.

Isn't card processing the same everywhere? Roughly, yes: a few percent. The real difference between these options is commission and monthly fees, not processing.

What if I'm not on Square, Toast or Clover? Square's free plan is the simplest way to start. Your bank or current processor may also offer online ordering.

Sources (checked October 2026): DoorDash Marketplace and Online Ordering pages (merchants.doordash.com); Uber Eats merchant pricing (merchants.ubereats.com/us/en/pricing); Square Online plans (squareup.com/us/en/online-store/plans); Owner.com pricing and Restaurant Participation Agreement (owner.com); Popmenu pricing (get.popmenu.com/pricing); Toast online ordering (pos.toasttab.com).