TL;DR
This post compares direct ordering fees, not DoorDash payout audits. GloriaFood's free core and Square Free can win on sticker price. Outbites usually wins when volume swings or you Pass the $1. ChowNow and Owner.com can win once online sales are high and steady enough to absorb $229–$499 months. Card processing sits on top of almost every path. For marketplace commission math, use the evaluate-fees guide linked below.
If you're still trying to decode last month's DoorDash statement, stop here and open What's Left After the Cut. That post owns marketplace payout math: plan percents, pickup vs delivery, ads, and deals.
This one assumes you've already decided repeats should go direct. The new question is uglier in a quieter way: which commission-free or direct platform actually costs less at your volume? ChowNow and Owner.com sell monthly. Square and GloriaFood can look free. Outbites charges $1 per fulfilled order. "Lowest fees" depends on how many tickets you ring in a slow month, not who yelled commission-free loudest.
Three Direct Fee Models (Ignore the Marketing Labels)
Every sales page says low fees. The bills fall into three buckets:
- Monthly SaaS: You pay rent every month whether you do 40 orders or 400. ChowNow and Owner.com live here.
- Free or cheap starter: Low or $0 platform fee, then you pay for payments, promos, or upgrades. GloriaFood and Square Online Free sit here.
- Per fulfilled order: Platform cost scales with tickets. Outbites is $1 per fulfilled order, with Pass / Split / Pay controlling who covers it.
Add card processing on every path. Add setup fees when they're published. Separate guest-facing fees (money the diner pays) from your restaurant invoice. If a quote mixes those, ask them to split it.
What the Direct Platforms Publish
ChowNow
Monthly subscription for commission-free direct ordering. Published 2026 bands on annual billing: Launch from $229/mo, Grow from $319/mo, Elevate from $409/mo (month-to-month lists $249 / $349 / $449). Also budget a setup fee ($119–$499), card processing at 2.95% + $0.29, and watch Discovery Network (listed at 15.5%/order) and catering (5%/order) if you use those channels.
Owner.com
Flexible: $249/mo plus a 5% restaurant fee per order. Flat Rate: $499/mo with no additional restaurant fees (they position Flat for about $5k+/mo online sales). Guests pay a 5% order support fee on both plans. Month-to-month on the public page. Full product duel: Outbites vs Owner.com.
Square Online, GloriaFood, and Toast
Square Online: Free is $0/mo with online cards at 3.3% + 30¢. Plus is $49/mo per location with 2.9% + 30¢ online. Premium is $149/mo. No separate marketplace-style commission on your Square Online profile orders.
GloriaFood: Free core ordering (no monthly fee, no commission). Online card payments add-on is US$29/mo. Advanced promo marketing is US$19/mo. POS add-on is US$49/mo per location with a two-year commitment. Free is real for basics. Paid add-ons show up when you want smoother payments.
Toast Online Ordering: Usually inside a Toast POS quote. Ask for the online ordering line and online processing rate in writing. Stack fit (not just fees): Toast vs Square vs Outbites.
Outbites
$1 per fulfilled order, $0 monthly platform fee. Pass, Split, or Pay decides who covers the dollar. Stripe or Square processing is separate. Cancel anytime. Details: Outbites pricing.
Same Month, Three Volumes: Who Wins on Platform Fees?
Assume a $25 average ticket. Numbers below are platform fees only (illustrative). Add card processing on every option. Marketplace apps aren't in this table on purpose. If you still need that comparison, use the marketplace fee guide and the fee calculator.
50 orders / month ($1,250 food sales)
- ChowNow Launch (annual): $229 before processing and network fees
- Owner Flexible: $249 + 5% ($62.50) ≈ $311.50 restaurant-side
- Owner Flat Rate: $499
- Outbites Pay: $50 · Outbites Pass: $0 platform cost to you
- Square Free / GloriaFood free core: $0 platform (processing and GloriaFood's $29 payment add-on still count if you use them)
At 50 orders, a $499 monthly floor is a lot of rent for a truck that only hits a few lots a week. Free starters and $1/order (especially Pass) win the fee race here.
200 orders / month ($5,000 food sales)
- ChowNow Launch: $229
- Owner Flexible: $249 + $250 ≈ $499
- Owner Flat Rate: $499
- Outbites Pay: $200 · Pass: $0 to you
Monthly SaaS starts to look predictable if you're consistently around a few thousand in online sales. Pass mode still keeps Outbites at $0 platform cost to the merchant. Pay mode stays cheaper than Flex/Flat Owner at this volume.
500 orders / month ($12,500 food sales)
- ChowNow Launch: $229 (Elevate is $409 on annual if you need that tier)
- Owner Flexible: $249 + $625 ≈ $874
- Owner Flat Rate: $499
- Outbites Pay: $500 · Pass: $0 to you
At high steady volume, Owner Flat or a ChowNow tier can beat Pay-mode Outbites on platform dollars alone if you're covering the $1 yourself. Pass flips it again. Features still matter. This post only ranks the fee model.
Who Usually Wins on Fees by Format
- Food trucks and pop-ups: Intermittent volume favors $1/order or a true free/low starter. Fixed $249–$499 months punish rainouts. See the food truck ordering guide.
- Ghost kitchens: Once repeats exist, fee winners are direct links with owned contacts, not another monthly stack you forget to cancel. See ghost kitchen direct ordering.
- Busy single-location restaurants: If you're clearing $5k+/mo online, compare Owner Flat, ChowNow tiers, Square Plus, and Outbites Pay vs Pass with your real ticket size.
- Already on Square or Toast: Bundled online ordering can be the lowest-friction fee path. Upgrade when you need retention tools the POS storefront doesn't prioritize.
Mistakes That Fake a "Lowest Fees" Winner
- Ignoring card processing. Compare it on both sides or you're cheating.
- Treating commission-free as free. ChowNow still has subscription, setup, and possible network fees.
- Forgetting guest-facing fees. Owner's 5% order support fee hits the diner and can change conversion.
- Judging from your busiest month. Price the slow month. That's when fixed SaaS hurts.
- Shopping features in a fee post. Need the full shortlist by fit? Use the 2026 platform buyer's guide.
- Re-litigating marketplace payouts here. That's a different job: evaluate marketplace fees.
So Which Direct Platform Has the Lowest Fees?
GloriaFood's free core and Square Free can win on sticker price if you'll accept the tradeoffs and still pay processing. Outbites is usually the lowest predictable platform cost when volume swings or you Pass the $1 to guests. ChowNow and Owner.com can win on restaurant-side dollars once online volume is high and steady enough to absorb $229–$499 months (and you want that product bundle).
Lowest fees isn't a trophy. It's a worksheet with your quietest month on it. Run the checklist, then pick the fee model that still makes sense when the lot is empty.
Templates
Common questions about lowest-fee direct ordering platforms
You've already fought the marketplace cut. Don't accidentally sign a direct platform that bills like rent on a quiet week. Price the slow month first.
Keep more of every direct order
Outbites gives food trucks, pop-ups, ghost kitchens, and independents a branded ordering link, customer contacts you own, and $1 per fulfilled order with no monthly platform fee.
Start with Outbites
Katie Carswell
Account & Social Media Manager
Sharing firsthand stories and lessons learned from running an independent restaurant: margins, marketing, and owning your customer relationships.
How this guide was put together
This article was written for independent food businesses looking for practical ways to grow direct orders, repeat visits, and customer relationships. We keep the advice operator-focused, avoid generic playbooks, and update posts when the restaurant marketing landscape changes.
