Both platforms are genuinely commission-free, so this is not an argument about percentages — it's a comparison of monthly cost and what you get for it. ChowNow does one significant thing we don't, and it's covered below rather than buried.
| ChowNow Launch | Ontabee Single | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $249 ($229 billed annually) | $49 |
| Setup fee | $119 – $499 one-off | None |
| Commission on direct orders | 0% | 0% |
| Card processing | 2.95% + $0.29 | Your own gateway, your own rate |
| First-year total | $3,107 – $3,487 | $588 |
| Free plan | No | Yes, $0 forever |
ChowNow's higher plans are Grow at $349/month and Elevate at $449/month. Pricing last verified: August 2026, from ChowNow's published pricing. Vendor pricing changes — check it yourself before deciding.
ChowNow runs its own marketplace app and discovery channels, so a diner who has never heard of you can find you there. That is a real acquisition channel and Ontabee has nothing equivalent — we get your existing customers ordering direct, we don't find you new ones. If that reach brings you more than the price difference, ChowNow wins on the maths.
ChowNow offers delivery fulfilment through its Flex Delivery option, priced per order. If you have no drivers and no appetite to arrange them, that is a genuine convenience. Ontabee handles delivery through your own drivers or an integration, which is cheaper per order but is a thing you have to set up.
Payments settle directly to your own merchant account at whatever rate you have negotiated, rather than through the platform at a fixed 2.95% + $0.29. On a $12,000 month that difference alone is worth more than the plan.
Menu, customers and order history, on demand and in a usable format — not only on the way out. It's the same principle that made GloriaFood's shutdown so painful for the restaurants that couldn't get their data out.
No time limit and no card to start. It carries a small Ontabee mark on your pages, which the paid plans remove. If you want to test commission-free ordering before spending anything, you can.
ChowNow publishes three plans: Launch at $249/month, Grow at $349/month and Elevate at $449/month, discounted to $229, $319 and $409 on annual billing. A one-off setup fee of $119–$499 applies, and card processing is 2.95% + $0.29 per transaction. Verified August 2026 against ChowNow’s published pricing.
No. ChowNow takes no percentage of direct orders — it is a flat monthly subscription, which is the same model Ontabee uses. The difference between the two is the size of that monthly fee, not the presence of commission.
Ontabee starts at $0 on the free plan and $49/month for a single restaurant, against ChowNow’s $249/month entry plan, with no setup fee. Both are commission-free. The trade-off is that ChowNow also runs its own marketplace app that can bring you new customers, which Ontabee does not.
It depends on whether you value the discovery. If ChowNow’s marketplace and discovery channels bring you enough new customers to cover roughly $200 a month more than a cheaper commission-free platform, it pays for itself. If you already have the customers and just need them ordering direct, you are paying for reach you are not using.
Open a real storefront and place an order — no signup, no email. Then work out your own numbers.
See a live demo Run the numbers