There is no single best QR code menu app. There is a best one for your venue. A busy pub that wants guests to order rounds from the table needs something very different from a cafe that just wants a clean, multilingual menu with allergens. This comparison covers nine options used in the UK, EU and US, with starting prices taken from each vendor's own pricing page as of October 2026, plus a checklist focused on what regulators actually care about.
Menu-first with allergens and translations: MenuMan. Free QR ordering on a budget: MENU TIGER or Menubly. Already on a POS: Square or Toast. UK/Ireland online orders: Flipdish. Order and pay at the table in a pub: me&u. US growth package: Owner.com. Tiny, static menu: Canva plus a QR code.
Disclosure: this comparison is published by MenuMan, which appears in the list. We have tried to describe every product fairly, using the vendors' own published information. Prices change often and can differ by country, so always confirm on the vendor's site. Prices exclude tax unless stated.
First, decide which kind of tool you need
QR menu apps fall into three groups. Knowing which one you need removes half the list.
- Menu-first tools (MenuMan, MENU TIGER, Menubly): the menu itself is the product. Best for showing dishes, prices, allergens and translations clearly. Some add ordering.
- POS and ordering platforms (Square, Toast, Flipdish, me&u): QR ordering is one feature inside a payments or POS system. Best when guests will order and pay from their phones.
- Website and DIY (Owner.com, Canva): either a full marketing website with ordering, or a designed PDF behind a free QR code.
QR code menu apps compared (prices as of October 2026)
| App | Type | Starting price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| MenuMan | AI digital menu | Free plan with 10 AI credits. Paid plans: check menuman.co. | Independent restaurants, cafes, bars and hotels that want a compliant, multilingual menu without a POS switch. |
| MENU TIGER | QR menu + ordering | Free (75 orders/month, 1 store). Regular $17/mo, Advanced $46/mo, Premium $119/mo. | Small venues that want QR ordering from day one on a modest budget. |
| Menubly | Menu website | Free forever plan. Pro $9.99/mo, or $7.99/mo billed yearly ($95.99). | Cafes and food trucks that want a simple, cheap online presence plus a QR menu. |
| Square | POS ecosystem | US: Free $0, Plus $49/mo, Premium $149/mo per location, plus processing fees. | Venues already on Square, or quick-service spots that want ordering and payment in one system. |
| Toast | Restaurant POS | US: Starter Kit $0/mo (1 terminal, fees apply), Point of Sale $69/mo. Other regions: check vendor site. | US full-service and quick-service restaurants ready to standardize on one POS. |
| Flipdish | Ordering platform | Online ordering from €49/mo billed yearly per site (€69 monthly). QR ordering is an add-on: check vendor site. | Takeaways and multi-site operators in the UK and Ireland focused on direct online orders. |
| me&u | Order & pay at table | Not published. Check vendor site. | High-volume pubs, bars and venues where order-and-pay is the main goal. |
| Owner.com | Website + online ordering | Flex $249/mo + 5% restaurant fee per order, or Flat $499/mo. Guests pay a 5% order support fee on both. | US restaurants that want to grow direct online orders, not just display a menu. |
| Canva + free QR generator | DIY | Free tier available; some templates are Pro. Check vendor site. | Pop-ups and very small menus that rarely change. |
US-dollar prices are US list prices unless noted. Card processing, commission, guest fees, hardware and add-ons are extra where they apply.
The apps, one by one
An AI-powered QR menu platform. You upload a photo of your existing menu and it builds a multilingual digital menu with suggested allergens, calories and ingredients per dish.
Starting price (as of October 2026): Free plan with 10 AI credits. Paid plans: check menuman.co.
- ✓ Menu-from-photo saves retyping a long menu
- ✓ Allergen, calorie and ingredient fields are built in, not an afterthought
- ✓ Multilingual menus for tourist-heavy venues
- – AI suggestions must be reviewed against your recipes before publishing
- – A menu tool, not a full POS: pair it with your existing till
Best for: Independent restaurants, cafes, bars and hotels that want a compliant, multilingual menu without a POS switch.
A QR code menu and ordering platform with an online menu, an AI menu builder, and higher tiers adding a kitchen display, promotions and a built-in POS.
Starting price (as of October 2026): Free (75 orders/month, 1 store). Regular $17/mo, Advanced $46/mo, Premium $119/mo.
- ✓ Genuine free tier that includes QR ordering
- ✓ Clear published price ladder; yearly billing advertised at 15% off
- ✓ Vendor lists multi-language menus and allergen and dietary labels
- – Order caps on lower tiers (75, 500, 2,000 per month)
- – Built-in POS only on Premium or as a paid add-on
Best for: Small venues that want QR ordering from day one on a modest budget.
A mini website with a built-in online menu, QR code menu and pickup or delivery ordering.
Starting price (as of October 2026): Free forever plan. Pro $9.99/mo, or $7.99/mo billed yearly ($95.99).
- ✓ Free plan already includes QR menu and online ordering
- ✓ Zero commission on orders, per the vendor
- ✓ Pro adds PDF-to-digital menu conversion and a custom domain
- – Pro includes one online menu and one QR menu; more needs a custom plan
- – Multilingual support not confirmed on its pricing page
Best for: Cafes and food trucks that want a simple, cheap online presence plus a QR menu.
A POS and payments platform. Restaurants can use Square Online self-serve ordering with QR codes mapped to tables, and Square UK promotes a free QR code menu generator.
Starting price (as of October 2026): US: Free $0, Plus $49/mo, Premium $149/mo per location, plus processing fees.
- ✓ QR orders flow straight into the POS and kitchen
- ✓ Square says self-serve ordering is available on all Square Online plans, including free
- ✓ Strong fit if you already take payments with Square
- – Processing fees on every card transaction (from 2.4% + 15¢ in person on Premium in the US)
- – Less menu design control than menu-first tools
Best for: Venues already on Square, or quick-service spots that want ordering and payment in one system.
A restaurant-specific POS. Toast Mobile Order & Pay lets guests scan a QR code at the table, order and pay from their phone.
Starting price (as of October 2026): US: Starter Kit $0/mo (1 terminal, fees apply), Point of Sale $69/mo. Other regions: check vendor site.
- ✓ Deep restaurant features: tabs, kitchen routing, tableside payment
- ✓ Digital menu updates in real time from the POS
- ✓ Good for full-service venues with high table turnover
- – You are buying a POS, not just a menu; hardware and implementation can add cost
- – Some plans carry contract terms; read the agreement
Best for: US full-service and quick-service restaurants ready to standardize on one POS.
An Ireland-based ordering, kiosk and POS platform popular in the UK and Ireland, with branded websites and apps and an in-store QR ordering add-on.
Starting price (as of October 2026): Online ordering from €49/mo billed yearly per site (€69 monthly). QR ordering is an add-on: check vendor site.
- ✓ Branded online ordering, kiosks and POS from one supplier
- ✓ Strong UK and Ireland presence
- ✓ QR ordering lets guests order from their own phone in-store
- – QR add-on price not published
- – More platform than a small cafe may need
Best for: Takeaways and multi-site operators in the UK and Ireland focused on direct online orders.
An order-and-pay-at-table platform that started in Australia, merged with Mr Yum in 2023 and operates in the UK and US. Guests scan a QR code or tap an NFC tag at the table.
Starting price (as of October 2026): Not published. Check vendor site.
- ✓ Built for busy pubs and bars where guests order rounds from the table
- ✓ Apple Pay and Google Pay at checkout
- ✓ Integrates with established POS systems
- – Pricing on request only
- – Geared to venues where order-and-pay volume justifies it
Best for: High-volume pubs, bars and venues where order-and-pay is the main goal.
A US-focused platform that builds an SEO-optimized website, online ordering, a branded app, loyalty and marketing for restaurants.
Starting price (as of October 2026): Flex $249/mo + 5% restaurant fee per order, or Flat $499/mo. Guests pay a 5% order support fee on both.
- ✓ All-in-one growth package: website, app, loyalty, email and SMS marketing
- ✓ Setup and migration included, month-to-month
- – Not a dine-in QR menu tool at heart
- – Highest monthly price in this list
Best for: US restaurants that want to grow direct online orders, not just display a menu.
Design a menu in Canva, export a PDF, host it online and point a QR code at it.
Starting price (as of October 2026): Free tier available; some templates are Pro. Check vendor site.
- ✓ Total design freedom and very low cost
- ✓ Plenty of QR menu, table tent and sticker templates
- – A PDF is hard to read on a phone and often poor for screen readers
- – No structured allergen data, translations or ordering; every change means a new export
Best for: Pop-ups and very small menus that rarely change.
Also worth a look: Popmenu, a US menu and marketing platform for restaurants, does not show prices we could verify for this article, so check the vendor site. Website builders such as Wix and POS systems such as Lightspeed also offer menu or ordering features through their own products and integrations.
Watch the total cost, not the headline price
A $0 plan isn't always the cheapest, and a $499 plan isn't always the most expensive. When you compare, add up:
- Payment processing. POS-based QR ordering usually charges a percentage plus a fixed fee per card payment. On Square's US plans, in-person rates are listed from 2.4% + 15¢ (Premium) to 2.5% + 15¢ (Plus).
- Commission and guest fees. Owner.com's Flex plan adds a 5% restaurant fee per order, and guests pay a 5% order support fee on both plans. Menubly says it charges zero commission.
- Caps and add-ons. MENU TIGER caps orders per month by plan; its POS and printer management are paid add-ons on lower tiers. Flipdish lists QR ordering as an add-on.
- Hardware and contracts. POS systems may need terminals, printers or kitchen screens, and some plans have minimum terms.
If guest-facing fees are involved, make sure they are disclosed properly. Our guide to service charges and hidden fee rules explains what the UK, EU and US expect.
How to choose: a compliance-first checklist
Most comparisons focus on design and ordering. But a menu is also a legal document: allergens, calories and prices are regulated in all three regions. Before you pick a tool, check that it can do these things:
For what each region requires, see our QR code menu legal requirements guide, the EU 14 allergens guide, the UK calorie and allergen rules and the US FDA menu labeling guide. The menu compliance guide for the UK, EU and US brings it all together.
Pick your three most complicated dishes, the ones with sauces, nuts or several components. Build them in each shortlisted tool's free plan or trial. Check how allergens display on a phone, in a second language and on a printout. Twenty minutes of testing tells you more than any review, including this one.
Where MenuMan fits
MenuMan is a menu-first tool. Its focus is turning your existing menu into a transparent, multilingual QR menu: upload a photo, and AI suggests allergens, calories and ingredients for each dish, which you then review and confirm. If you need a full POS or pay-at-table system, one of the platforms above will suit you better. If your priority is a clear, compliant menu in several languages without retyping everything, the free plan with 10 AI credits is an easy way to see whether it works for your menu. Try MenuMan free.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free QR code menu app?+
It depends on what you need for free. MENU TIGER and Menubly both have free plans that include a QR menu and online ordering. Square's free tier works if you are already on Square. MenuMan's free plan includes 10 AI credits for turning a menu photo into a digital menu with allergen, calorie and ingredient suggestions. Compare what each free plan limits, such as orders, menus or AI usage.
Do I need a POS-integrated QR menu?+
Only if guests will order and pay through the QR code. If the QR code is just for viewing the menu, and staff take orders as usual, a menu-first tool is simpler and usually cheaper. POS-integrated ordering (Square, Toast, Flipdish, me&u) makes sense when you want to reduce staff time per order.
Is a PDF menu behind a QR code good enough?+
It works, but it is the weakest option. PDFs are hard to read on small screens, often not accessible to screen readers, and every price or recipe change means a new export. They also have no structured allergen data, which makes compliance harder to maintain.
Are QR code menus legal?+
Yes, in the UK, EU and US. But some duties, such as printed prices at the entrance or a non-digital allergen option, are not met by a QR code alone. See our guide to QR code menu legal requirements.
Which QR menu apps handle allergens?+
Several list allergen or dietary labels, including MENU TIGER and MenuMan, and Menubly's own guides discuss dietary tags. The important question is depth: per-dish structured allergens, translations of those labels, and a printable allergen sheet. Test this in the free trial or free plan before committing.
Sources
- MENU TIGER pricing ↗
- Menubly pricing ↗
- Square: unified plans and pricing announcement (Oct 2025) ↗
- Square UK: QR code menu generator ↗
- Square: self-serve ordering best practices ↗
- Toast pricing ↗
- Toast Mobile Order & Pay ↗
- Flipdish online ordering pricing ↗
- me&u ↗
- Owner.com pricing ↗
- Canva QR menu templates ↗
- Popmenu ↗
Bottom line: decide whether you need a menu, an ordering system or a website first. Then shortlist two or three tools, test your hardest dishes, and choose the one that keeps allergens and prices accurate with the least effort.
The Superhero of Menus
An AI-powered, multilingual QR menu with allergens + calories + ingredients — ready in 5 minutes.