Free Digital Restaurant Menu Software in 2026: Free Plans and Their Real Limits

Two of the free digital restaurant menu software tools we checked on October 13, 2026, take QR code orders on a plan that doesn't expire. Menu Tiger's Free plan allows 75 orders a month, and its kitchen display starts on its $46-a-month Advanced plan. MenuBeacon Free has a browser kitchen dashboard and 20 table codes, but guests pay cash or at the counter. Square's Free plan takes cards for US pickup and delivery but not dine-in QR orders, and FineDine has no free plan.

Watch for two other kinds of "free": a trial that ends after your codes are printed, and a free core with the parts you need sold as add-ons. This guide covers free digital menus for restaurants that guests open on their own phones, not digital menu boards (the screens above a counter). For a printed menu, a design tool is the better fit.

MenuBeacon makes QR menu, ordering and kitchen software. We don't sell POS systems or card processing. Competitor prices below come from each vendor's own page, checked on October 13, 2026. Prices are in US dollars, and plans can differ by country.

Best free restaurant menu software by situation

Checked on October 13, 2026, at US prices; each vendor's source is linked in the side-by-side table and in its own section below.

What to look for in free restaurant menu software

Seven checks separate a free plan you can run service on from a sales demo.

1. Permanent plan or trial. Square's paid plans have a 30-day free trial, and Menu Tiger's terms describe a 14-day free trial. FineDine has no free plan; its help center (updated March 31, 2026) says signing up starts a 14-day free trial, though its pricing page doesn't mention one. Square Free is a free core: a working POS whose kitchen display app and dine-in QR ordering are paid.
2. Menu, item and table limits. Count your real menu and tables against each plan's limits in the side-by-side table below.
3. Where orders go. A free QR code or table ordering system is only as useful as where its orders land. Check that each order arrives with its table number, and whether the kitchen screen is free: on Menu Tiger and Square it is paid.
4. Order caps versus scan caps. Menu Tiger Free caps orders at 75 a month. MenuBeacon Free caps menu scans at 5,000 a month (about 167 a day) and lists no order limit; it doesn't publish how scans are counted, so assume at least one per guest who opens the menu. Both examples are illustrative arithmetic on list prices checked October 13, 2026, not customer data:
   • A café with 10 tables averaging two orders each a day takes about 600 orders in a 30-day month (10 × 2 × 30). It passes Menu Tiger Free's 75 on day 4 and its paid Regular plan's 500 on day 26, but needs only about 1,200 MenuBeacon scans if two guests scan per order.
   • A 20-table room with three orders per table a day and three guests scanning each uses 180 scans a day (20 × 3 × 3) and passes MenuBeacon Free's 5,000 on day 28.
5. What happens at the limit. Menu Tiger says orders never stop mid-service: it warns you at 80% of your allowance and gives a grace allowance. FineDine moves you up a tier and charges the difference at month end. MenuBeacon asks you to upgrade rather than interrupting live menus without warning. You're warned at 80% and again at 100% of the month's scans. Past the allowance plus a 20% margin (6,000 scans on Free), new scans can be turned away until the next calendar month or an upgrade; guests already ordering at a table aren't cut off, and orders are never refused because of scans.
6. The card rate on the free plan. Square's Free plan charges 3.3% + 30¢ on online card payments, against 2.9% + 30¢ on its $49 Plus plan: $1.62 versus $1.46 on a $40 order. On online sales alone, Plus's lower rate covers its fee above $12,250 a month ($49 ÷ 0.4%). Plus's in-person rate of 2.5% + 15¢, against 2.6% + 15¢ on Free, lowers that point if you take cards at the counter. Illustrative arithmetic on list prices checked October 13, 2026, not customer data.
7. Branding and the upgrade path. Check whether the vendor's name shows on your menu, and price the tier you'll want next. A menu on your own domain costs $46 on Menu Tiger Regular plus its White Label Domain add-on ($17 + $29) and $69 on FineDine Growth billed annually; MenuBeacon doesn't offer custom domains at the moment. Illustrative arithmetic on list prices checked October 13, 2026, not customer data.

Free digital restaurant menu software compared side by side

Each cell comes from the page linked in its column header, checked October 13, 2026; a dash means the page doesn't say. We include only tools whose plans we could read on the vendor's own page that day and that still take sign-ups. Run any other tool that calls itself free through the seven checks above before you sign up.

Free menu software plan by plan: what each one includes

MenuBeacon Free: table ordering and a kitchen dashboard, cash or counter payment

• Catches:
  • Guests pay cash or at the counter, and staff mark orders paid. Free menus show a small "Powered by MenuBeacon" line, and Free has no staff accounts.
  • In the US, UK and EU editions, card payments, pickup and delivery ordering, printed tickets and receipts, and AI or CSV menu import are on Pro. On Free you type items into the editor.
  • There is no website builder, no tablet menus and no Pro trial, so trying Pro costs one month.
  • MenuBeacon has editions for the US, the UK, EU member states and Pakistan only. Elsewhere, contact the team before signing up.
• Free plan includes:
  • MenuBeacon Free costs $0 and doesn't expire: 3 menus with unlimited items, 20 table QR codes and 5,000 menu scans a month.
  • It includes table ordering with modifiers and notes, each order carrying its table number, and the live kitchen dashboard: Received, Preparing, Ready and Done columns in a browser on a tablet or computer you already own.
  • Waiter call and bill request, photos, allergens, your logo and colors, scheduled menus, menus in more than one language (you enter the translations; there's no automatic translation) and basic scan analytics are included too.
• Upgrade price:
  • Pro is $20 a month, billed in US dollars, month to month, with no commission on orders or tips.
  • On Pro, in the US, UK and EU editions, guests can pay at the table by card through the restaurant's own Stripe account, at standard Stripe fees. Those vary by card type and country: for example, 2.9% + 30¢ for US domestic cards and 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards. Bills split equally into up to 10 parts, not by item.
  • Pickup and restaurant-run delivery ordering is on Pro (US, UK and EU editions). With card payments switched on, guests can also pay by card when they place a pickup or delivery order; a delivery payment is authorised first and charged when you accept the order.
  • Canceling Pro returns you to Free with your data kept: menus, QR codes, table ordering and the kitchen dashboard keep working. If you run more than Free's 20 table codes on Pro, ask the team what happens to the rest before you cancel.
• Checked: October 13, 2026, against our pricing page.

Menu Tiger Free: QR and website ordering, 75 orders a month

• Free plan includes: $0 for 1 store, with no expiry under its terms: QR code and website ordering, its AI Menu Builder, menu translation, modifiers and basic sales and order reports.
• Catches:
  • 75 orders a month. Its Free plan card lists unlimited menu categories, with a note on that line saying up to 7, and unlimited food items are listed from Regular, so check that your menu fits.
  • The same card says customers "order and pay" by QR code, but the comparison table lists cash and card payment processing from Regular up, so confirm how guests pay on Free.
  • No table limit is stated, but its terms say plans limit tables and QR codes per store, and table-based real-time ordering is listed on Premium only. Before you print, ask how many table codes Free allows and how a Free order shows its table.
  • The kitchen display starts on Advanced. White label on your own domain is included on Premium and is a $29-a-month add-on on Regular or Advanced.
  • Its terms (effective November 20, 2025) describe a 14-day free trial and ask for a payment method before it ends or when you upgrade. Upgrading from Free is charged immediately, with no new trial.
• Upgrade price: Regular is $17 a month ($173.40 billed yearly), with 500 orders, 2 stores and payments through PayPal, Stripe, Adyen or cash. Advanced is $46 ($469.20) with 2,000 orders and the kitchen display; Premium is $119 ($1,213.80) with unlimited orders, table management and white label.
• Where it beats MenuBeacon Free: ordering from your website and an AI menu builder on the free plan.
• Checked: October 13, 2026, on Menu Tiger's pricing page and Terms for Specific Service.

Square Free (US): pickup and delivery, but no dine-in QR ordering

• Free plan includes: $0 a month per location: Square's POS, a branded online ordering page for commission-free pickup and local delivery orders, and in-person card payments at 2.6% + 15¢.
• Catches: QR code ordering for dine-in needs a Plus or Premium plan. The Square KDS app isn't available on Free; it costs $30 a month per device on Plus and $20 on Premium.
• Upgrade price: Plus is $49 and Premium $149 a month per location. On a paid plan, QR orders are charged the standard 2.9% + 30¢.
• Where it beats MenuBeacon Free: it is a POS, and it takes cards and pickup and delivery orders on the free plan.
• Checked: October 13, 2026, on Square's restaurant pricing, QR code ordering and online store plans pages.

GloriaFood: closing in 2027, and Oracle has stopped sign-ups

Oracle no longer accepts GloriaFood sign-ups and has scheduled full end of service for March 31, 2027, while GloriaFood's homepage gives April 30, 2027 for end of life. If you need a free GloriaFood alternative, Square Free covers US pickup and delivery, and MenuBeacon Free and Menu Tiger Free take QR code orders. Our guide to GloriaFood's two end dates and a switch plan has you live on a replacement by Sunday, March 21, 2027.

FineDine: no free plan, but tablet menus from $29

FineDine has no free plan. Its pricing page shows no trial, but its help center says signing up from its website starts a 14-day free trial. Starter is $29 a month per location billed annually ($36 monthly). Beyond the quotas in the side-by-side table, it includes tablet menus (5 tablets), 50 reservations a month, and AI menu and website builders.

Team logins (3 users) and a custom domain start on Growth, at $69 a month billed annually ($85 monthly); Premium is $135 ($169). Choose FineDine if you want tablet menus or a built-in website, neither of which MenuBeacon offers. Checked October 13, 2026, on FineDine's pricing page and help center; see also MenuBeacon vs FineDine.

Google Business Profile menu: free and display only

Google's menu editor lets food and drink businesses add sections, items, descriptions and prices to their Business Profile; Google says those changes can take 24–48 hours to show on Maps and Search.

A separate Menu link field holds your online menu's address. Changing it is a profile edit, which Google says is usually reviewed within 10 minutes but can take up to 30 days (Business Profile Help). Put your live menu's address there, so Google and your tables show the same menu.

A free QR menu maker and a web page

The cheapest setup is a free QR generator pointing at a menu page or PDF you already have. Guests can read it but can't order.

A static code stores the address itself, so if the file is moved or renamed, every printed code stops working; keep the address fixed and update the page behind it. A dynamic code points at the generator's server instead, so check what happens to it when a trial ends or you stop paying. If a menu to read is all you need, start with a free QR code menu generator.

What table ordering, a kitchen screen and card payments cost after the free plan

No free plan above includes all three. Here is each vendor's cheapest plan that covers them, for one location over 12 months. Illustrative arithmetic on list prices checked October 13, 2026, not customer data; card fees and hardware are extra.

Card fees can be identical: on a $40 payment, Stripe's US domestic-card rate and Square's QR rate both come to $1.46 (2.9% × $40 + 30¢).

Three trade-offs sit behind those totals:

• Without a kitchen screen, Menu Tiger costs less, up to 500 orders a month. Its Regular plan lists QR code orders and card payments for $17 a month, $3 below MenuBeacon Pro. The 10-table café above uses up Regular's 500 orders on day 25; Menu Tiger says orders never stop mid-service, but Advanced ($46) is the plan sized for that volume.
• The paid screens do more. Square's KDS app lists ticket routing and ticket timers, and Menu Tiger's KDS lists an order timer and kitchen station routing. MenuBeacon's board shows a timer on each ticket but has no station routing.
• Square's $948 also buys a POS. MenuBeacon is not a full POS replacement and has no full two-way POS sync; it has no POS connection today. MenuBeacon applies one tax rate per restaurant, so it can't charge two rates on one bill, such as Germany's 7% on restaurant food and 19% on drinks. If you need a till or mixed tax rates, budget for a POS alongside MenuBeacon; Menu Tiger sells its own Cloud POS module ($30 a month on Regular or Advanced, included on Premium).

Free menu software in Pakistan

In the Pakistan edition, Free is Rs 0 and Pro is Rs 5,000 a month, billed locally in rupees. Guests pay cash or at the counter; there are no online card payments. Free has the same limits as in the other editions, with menus in rupees, table ordering and the kitchen board. Of the other tools here, Square doesn't take card payments in Pakistan: its help center lists the eight countries where it does, and Pakistan isn't one.

MenuBeacon doesn't connect to FBR, PRA or SRB. It prints kitchen tickets and order summaries on 80 mm thermal printers on the Free plan, not the guest's bill or receipt. Where PRA, SRB or FBR rules apply, the guest's receipt comes from your integrated billing system, and MenuBeacon handles the menu, ordering and kitchen. This is general information, not tax advice; check your obligations with a tax adviser. Details are on the Pakistan edition page.

How to choose free menu software before you print codes

Free plans end at a number, so find yours first.

1. Count your orders. Run check 4's arithmetic on your own tables. Menu Tiger Free's 75 orders a month is about 2–3 a day; MenuBeacon Pro raises Free's 20 table codes and 5,000 scans to 200 and 50,000.
2. Decide how guests pay. Card payment on QR orders starts at $17 on Menu Tiger Regular (ask how its orders show the table), then $20 on MenuBeacon Pro (US, UK and EU editions), $29 on FineDine Starter billed annually and $49 per location on Square Plus. Square Free takes cards, but not dine-in QR orders.
3. Test before you print. Place a test order from a table on an older phone over mobile data, and check that it reaches the kitchen.

If none of those limits is close, start on the free plan that matches how you serve.

Sources, checked on October 13, 2026

• Menu Tiger pricing (undated): plans, order allowances, plan-card notes, add-ons, limit policy.
• Menu Tiger Terms for Specific Service (effective November 20, 2025): trial, free-plan expiry, upgrades, table limits.
• Square restaurant pricing, US, QR code ordering and online store plans (undated): plans, QR ordering, KDS app, card rates, trial; Square Support Center: accept payment cards (undated): card-payment countries.
• FineDine pricing (undated): plans, Starter quotas, order-limit policy; FineDine Help Center: How does the system work? (updated March 31, 2026): 14-day trial.
• Oracle food and beverage and GloriaFood homepage (undated): end dates and sign-ups.
• Google Business Profile Help: menu editor and what happens to your edits (undated): menu changes and review times.
• Stripe pricing, US and UK (undated): standard card rates.
• German VAT Act, § 12 UStG (current consolidated text): 19% standard rate; 7% on restaurant food, not drinks.