Choosing the best online ordering system for restaurants in India comes down to three questions: where your customers actually order, whether you need billing and inventory in the same system, and how the vendor charges. The products that come up in this search fall into three families, WhatsApp-first, website-first and POS-first, and the right one depends on which family matches your restaurant rather than on which has the longest feature list. This roundup covers eight systems across all three.
Competitor pricing is described by model rather than by amount because the amounts change; check each vendor's pricing page. Tezzu's prices are stated because they are ours, and Tezzu is listed first because this is our blog; the other descriptions are meant to be fair.
Three kinds of online ordering system
WhatsApp-first systems run the menu, cart and payment inside a chat on the restaurant's own number, with a store page as a second entry point. They suit restaurants whose customers already message them, which in India is most of them. Website-first systems give you a branded ordering page or app and use WhatsApp for sharing links and updates; they suit brands that want their own web presence front and centre. POS-first systems start from billing and inventory and add online ordering as a module; they suit restaurants with a counter, stock and aggregator tablets to consolidate.
The cost models differ too. Subscription plus a flat per-order fee can be worked out from your order count. Subscription plus a percentage of payments grows with your average bill. Annual per-outlet subscriptions with paid modules add up module by module. Free systems with paid add-ons are cheap to start and cost more as you switch things on; the post on what free ordering systems really cost covers that last one.
The eight systems
1. Tezzu (WhatsApp-first)
Tezzu lets a food business take orders inside WhatsApp on its own number, with a bot handling the menu, variants, add-ons, cart, address and payment, and on a free store page at tezzu.in/store/your-name with a custom domain if wanted. No customer app. Orders land in a live dashboard and a staff app with spoken new-order alerts. It includes UPI and card payments through Razorpay or your own Razorpay account, cash on delivery, delivery zones with distance charges and free-delivery thresholds, pickup points, scheduled orders, dine-in with QR tables and a served status, KOT and thermal printing, GST bills, bundles, menu scheduling, coupons, campaigns with a prepaid wallet, reviews after delivery, staff roles, multi-outlet routing on one number, Shiprocket for packaged food, and Hindi and English. Pricing: ₹999, ₹1,999 or ₹3,999 a month, ₹100 less yearly, plus flat ₹10 per order, no commission, 7-day free trial, about 30 minutes to set up. Best for restaurants, cloud kitchens, tiffin services, cafes and home bakers. No inventory or recipe costing.
2. DotPe (POS plus QR and store link)
DotPe bundles QR dine-in ordering, an online store link, POS billing, payments, loyalty and delivery tie-ups. Pricing has combined subscriptions with charges linked to payments processed; check their pricing page. Best for restaurants wanting dine-in, billing and online orders from one vendor.
3. Thrive (website-first)
Thrive offers a branded ordering website, built-in loyalty, customer data ownership and a consumer discovery app, with WhatsApp for link sharing and updates. Pricing is a subscription with a per-order or percentage charge; check their pricing page. Best for metro dine-in brands and small chains.
4. Petpooja (POS-first)
Petpooja is one of India's most widely used restaurant POS systems: billing, KOT, inventory, recipe costing, reports and aggregator integration, with online ordering and WhatsApp marketing as add-on modules. Pricing is an annual per-outlet subscription plus modules; check their pricing page. Best for restaurants whose main need is billing and stock.
5. LimeTray (website-first with POS)
LimeTray provides restaurant websites and apps with online ordering, plus POS, CRM and marketing modules, on an annual subscription; check their pricing page. Best for established restaurants and small chains that want a branded app and are prepared for a longer setup and contract.
6. UrbanPiper (aggregator hub)
UrbanPiper integrates Zomato, Swiggy and other channels into one order screen and POS, and offers a direct ordering product alongside, on a per-outlet subscription; check their pricing page. Best for restaurants whose main pain is managing many aggregator orders rather than building a direct channel.
7. GloriaFood (free with add-ons)
GloriaFood offers a free basic online ordering widget and menu, with paid add-ons for online payments, a website, a branded app and reservations. It is international and website-first, with no WhatsApp ordering flow and no India-specific payment or delivery logic out of the box. Best for testing web ordering at zero software cost.
8. Posist (enterprise POS)
Posist is restaurant management software for chains: POS, inventory, central kitchen, franchise controls and analytics, sold on enterprise subscription terms. Online ordering is a module within the suite. Best for brands with many outlets and central operations.
Side-by-side comparison
| System | Family | Where the customer orders | Inventory | Pricing model | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tezzu | WhatsApp-first | In chat on your number, plus free store page | No | ₹999 to ₹3,999/month plus flat ₹10 per order | Independent food businesses |
| DotPe | POS plus QR | QR menu and store link | Yes | Subscription plus payment-linked charges | One-vendor dine-in plus online |
| Thrive | Website-first | Branded website and app | No | Subscription plus per-order or percentage | Metro dine-in brands |
| Petpooja | POS-first | Ordering page linked to POS | Yes | Annual per outlet plus modules | Billing and stock first |
| LimeTray | Website-first with POS | Branded website and app | With POS module | Annual subscription | Established restaurants and chains |
| UrbanPiper | Aggregator hub | Direct product alongside aggregators | Via POS | Per-outlet subscription | Aggregator-heavy operations |
| GloriaFood | Free with add-ons | Website widget | No | Free basic, paid add-ons | Zero-cost trial of web ordering |
| Posist | Enterprise POS | Module within suite | Yes, central kitchen | Enterprise subscription | Chains with central operations |
Pricing models explained with one example
Take a restaurant doing 400 direct orders a month at an average of ₹400, which is ₹1,60,000 in order value. On a flat per-order model like Tezzu Growth, the cost is ₹1,999 plus ₹4,000, which is ₹5,999, and it stays there if the average bill rises. On a percentage-of-payments model, a 2 percent charge, used here only as an illustration, would be ₹3,200 plus the subscription, and it rises if the average bill rises. On an annual POS subscription with modules, divide the yearly total for the POS, ordering module and WhatsApp module by twelve. On a free-with-add-ons model, add the payment and website add-ons you would switch on.
All of these are a fraction of aggregator commission on the same orders, which at the commonly reported 18 to 30 percent would be ₹28,800 to ₹48,000 a month. The commission-free online ordering explainer covers what you take on in delivery and marketing when you move orders direct, and the Tezzu pricing explainer breaks down the flat model.
What this looks like on Tezzu
A restaurant starting on Tezzu connects the WhatsApp number it already uses through Meta's embedded signup, keeps the number, and builds its menu in the dashboard with categories, variants, add-ons and bundles. Delivery zones get distance-based charges and a free-delivery threshold each, pickup points get collection times, and Razorpay or the restaurant's own Razorpay account handles UPI and cards, with cash on delivery as a toggle.
From then on, a customer who messages the number orders from the bot, a customer who finds the store page on Google orders there, and a customer at a table scans a QR code; all three land in the same live dashboard and on the staff app with a spoken announcement. The kitchen gets a KOT on a thermal printer, bills carry GST, statuses update the customer on WhatsApp, and a review request follows delivery. Campaigns go out from the same dashboard with a prepaid wallet. Setup is about 30 minutes and the 7-day free trial runs real orders. The best WhatsApp ordering software roundup compares the WhatsApp-first family in more detail.
Start with the WhatsApp-first option
Connect your own number, build your menu and take real orders during the 7-day free trial. Flat ₹10 per order, no commission, unlimited orders on every plan.
Start your free 7-day trialFrequently asked questions
Which online ordering system is best for a small restaurant in India?
For a small restaurant without serious inventory, a WhatsApp-first system with a store page covers ordering, payments, delivery zones, pickup, dine-in and KOT printing in one product at a flat per-order cost, which is the simplest to run and to forecast. A POS-first system makes sense once stock tracking and multiple billing terminals become real problems. Website-first systems suit brands that want their own app front and centre.
How much does an online ordering system cost in India?
Models vary: a subscription from around ₹1,000 a month plus a flat per-order fee, a subscription plus a percentage of payments, an annual per-outlet POS subscription with paid modules, or a free widget with paid add-ons. Work out each at your real monthly order count and average bill. Whatever the model, the total is usually far below the 18 to 30 percent commission aggregators commonly charge on the same orders.
Can I use an online ordering system together with Zomato and Swiggy?
Yes, and most restaurants do. The aggregators bring new customers; the direct system takes repeat orders without commission. Some POS-first systems integrate aggregator orders into the same screen; WhatsApp-first systems run the direct channel alongside the aggregator tablets. The usual approach is to keep the listings for discovery and move repeat customers to the direct channel one order at a time.
Do customers need to download an app to order online from a restaurant?
Not on most modern systems. WhatsApp-first platforms take the order inside the chat the customer already has, and store pages work in any phone browser. Branded apps exist on website-first platforms but adoption is low for single restaurants because customers rarely install an app for one place. Prefer a system where the customer can order from WhatsApp or a web link with no install.