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Compare ChowNow vs GloriaFood: pricing, features, pros, cons, and which is right for your business.

ChowNow vs GloriaFood

Updated October 2026 · Restaurant Online Ordering Systems software comparison

ChowNow

ChowNow

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Commission-free online ordering and marketing for independent restaurants

★ 4.7 47 reviews from $229.00/mo
GloriaFood

GloriaFood

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Free, commission-free online ordering and table reservations for independent restaurants

★ 4.6 68 reviews from $0.00/mo

At a Glance

Criteria ChowNow GloriaFood
Overall Rating ★ 4.7
47 reviews
★ 4.6
68 reviews
Starting Price $229.00 /mo $0.00 /mo
Pricing Model Paid Freemium
Free Trial No No
Deployment cloud, mobile cloud, mobile
Best For Smb, Mid Market Freelancer, Smb, Mid Market

Strengths & Weaknesses

ChowNow
GloriaFood
Pros
✓Commission-free: a flat monthly fee instead of 20–30% per-order marketplace commissions
✓Genuinely free, commission-free core: no monthly fee, no per-order commission, no setup fee, and no contract on the ordering service
✓Branded ordering website and native iOS/Android app keep guests on channels you own
✓Takes delivery, takeaway, dine-in, table reservations, and QR scan-to-order from one widget on your site and Facebook page
✓You keep full diner contact and ordering data instead of handing it to the marketplace
✓Processor-agnostic payments — the add-on connects your own gateway and funds settle to your account, so no processor lock-in
✓Consolidates DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub tickets into one dashboard with centralized menu management
✓Unlimited orders and unlimited locations on the free plan
✓Software-first: runs on your existing POS and site, no proprietary hardware required
✓Ease of use and responsive support are the dominant praise across reviews
✓24/7 phone and chat support plus a dedicated onboarding advisor
✓Oracle-owned, with a daily End-of-Day sales and tips report and a Google-listing optimization scanner built in
Cons
✗Flat subscription plus 2.95% + $0.29 processing and a setup fee is the top complaint — pricey at low order volume
✗Reporting is thin — a daily End-of-Day email is the extent of native reporting; operators needing deeper analytics outgrow it
✗Limited flexibility in how the branded ordering pages can be customized
✗Customization is rigid; reviewers hit limits configuring the ordering widget and menu to their exact needs
✗Learning curve to get full value out of the email, SMS, and loyalty tools
✗Integrations are marketed but shallow — the catalog names categories, not partner brands, and connections can be awkward
✗Integration friction can surface depending on your specific POS and stack
✗Hardware fit for the paid POS add-on is a flagged pain point
✗Not a POS — it layers on top of Toast/Square/Clover rather than replacing them
✗The POS add-on carries a 2-year commitment, unlike the no-contract core service
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✗An ordering widget first, not a full front-of-house POS — in-store depth trails dedicated POS suites

Who uses restaurant software — and what each person does with it

🧑‍🍳 Owner / GM

Watches sales, food cost, labor and prime cost across shifts and locations on one dashboard — sees which menu items and dayparts actually make money.

📋 Floor manager

Builds the schedule against forecasted sales, approves shift swaps, seats the floor and clears the waitlist, and pulls the daily close from the POS.

🍽️ Server / FOH

Fires orders from the POS or a handheld, splits and adjusts checks, takes payment tableside, and the kitchen sees the ticket instantly on the KDS.

👨‍🍳 Kitchen / BOH

Works tickets on the kitchen display with station routing and timers, marks items 86'd, and depletes inventory automatically as dishes sell.

The flow the software runs end to end: guest orders (dine-in, online or delivery) → ticket fires to the KDS → items depleted from inventory → payment captured at the POS → sales, food and labor cost post to reporting and accounting → schedule and purchasing adjust to the numbers. Each stage hands off to the next without re-keying.

Who Should Choose Which?

Choose ChowNow if…
  • Your team fits the smb or mid market profile
  • You prioritise peer-verified quality — higher rating (4.7 vs 4.6)
  • Your preferred deployment is cloud or mobile
  • Commission-free: a flat monthly fee instead of 20–30% per-order marketplace commissions
Choose GloriaFood if…
  • Your team fits the freelancer or smb or mid market profile
  • Budget matters — GloriaFood starts $229 cheaper per month
  • Your preferred deployment is cloud or mobile
  • Genuinely free, commission-free core: no monthly fee, no per-order commission, no setup fee, and no contract on the ordering service

Our Verdict

ChowNow
ChowNow edges ahead with a higher overall rating (★ 4.7 vs ★ 4.6) and stronger review volume (47 vs 68 verified reviews) .

ChowNow targets smb/mid_market businesses with paid pricing starting at $229.00/mo. Its strongest selling points include commission-free: a flat monthly fee instead of 20–30% per-order marketplace commissions and branded ordering website and native ios/android app keep guests on channels you own.

GloriaFood targets freelancer/smb/mid_market businesses with freemium pricing starting at $0.00/mo. Its key advantages include genuinely free, commission-free core: no monthly fee, no per-order commission, no setup fee, and no contract on the ordering service and takes delivery, takeaway, dine-in, table reservations, and qr scan-to-order from one widget on your site and facebook page.

Both tools are reviewed independently — see the full reviews below to dig into integrations, implementation timelines, and user sentiment.

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  • 30-minute product walkthrough
  • Custom pricing based on your seat count
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