The 6 Best Popmenu Competitors to Consider (Pros & Cons)

Popmenu is a website and online sales platform that's a great option for dine-in restaurants. Many customers try out Popmenu due to their attractive website designs. They also offer unique front-of-house features and white-glove services for photography.

However, you probably came across this post because Popmenu isn’t cutting it for your restaurant. If that’s the case, keep reading.

I have 7 modern alternatives for Popmenu you should check out. I’ve personally tried all these platforms. And I have recommendations no matter which type of restaurant you run.

First, why do customers leave Popmenu?

Popmenu is a great solution if you mostly care about your website’s design. But when you start worrying about growing online orders, you’ll notice a few shortcomings:

1. Popmenu isn’t the best for direct online orders

Popmenu’s sites and templates look great. But a restaurant website is a business tool, not a design tool. And Popmenu’s websites struggle in other key areas.

Popmenu websites feature a clunky online ordering experience. It takes too many clicks to complete an order and doesn't optimize for increasing ticket size.

Orders also get moved off of your restaurant website to the Popmenu app. This is not good for your Google rankings. Google likes orders to be completed on the same website where a user started.

Overall, Popmenu tends to favor design over conversion rate. This might be fine if you mostly care about dine-in customers and phone reservations.

2. Popmenu doesn’t offer custom mobile apps

Domino’s says 75.2% of its online orders happen through its mobile app. No wonder all the top chains have one.

But, do mobile apps really work for independent restaurants?

At first, I wasn’t so sure. Then I worked with Owner customers Antoinette of Ottavio’s Italian Restaurant. We built them a custom restaurant mobile app and tracked the results:

Ottavi's earned $7,000 in new orders in just 2 months. We’ve seen hundreds of similar success stories since then.

Popmenu doesn’t offer a mobile app generator or any custom solutions. That means you can’t offer customers the most convenient way to order from you.

That’s tough. Our data shows regulars who use a restaurant’s mobile app order 2x more on average.

3. Popmenu has frustrating long-term contracts

Multiple restaurant owners say Popmenu pressures customers into signing long-term contracts.

These contracts become hard to escape if the restaurant discovers Popmenu isn’t a good fit. That has left many Popmenu customers forced to “buy out” their existing contract to cancel.

“I tried to compromise with Popmenu to buy out my contract by paying a few months,” says one user. “But their offer was to pay out the rest of the 24-month contract. I fully regret partnering with Popmenu.” Unfortunately, similar reviews are found around the web.

Business tools should have to earn your business—every single month.

That’s why I told our team we will always allow Owner customers to pay month-to-month. And never force long-term contracts.

4. Popmenu doesn’t have a loyalty program

Starbucks says 57% of its revenue comes from its popular loyalty program. I’ve always been amazed at how effective loyalty programs are for quick-service restaurants.

Owner includes a loyalty program in all our custom mobile apps. Talkin’ Tacos built its loyalty program with Owner and grew it to over 10,000 members. This program played a massive role in their growth from $4k to over $120,000/m.

Popmenu doesn’t feature a loyalty program at all.

No loyalty program means you’re missing out on the most effective tactic to get regulars to order more food, more often.

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The best modern alternatives to Popmenu

1. Owner.com

The best platform for growing direct online orders.

Owner is designed with one goal in mind: To help local restaurants increase direct online sales. 

That’s why websites on Owner.com get 2-4x more orders than the average restaurant website.

Owner is the only platform on this list that grows your customer base by getting more visitors to your website with SEO. You also get an online ordering platform that converts like the best national chains.

Compared to Popmenu, restaurants switch to Owner for a website that’s built to grow direct online orders. Owner features built-in SEO features to get found in Google. Owner’s online ordering system is fast, reliable, and designed to convert. Owner also includes a custom mobile app for your restaurant to let regulars order in just a few taps. Because Owner is focused on conversion, we don't offer the same amount of customization as other platforms.

Reviews for Owner are positive and share more details about our product. Customers currently rate Owner 4.8/5 on G2.com, which is like Yelp for software. Read the reviews here.

💡 Feature highlights

• Online ordering that converts. Owner.com offers one of the best online ordering systems available. Websites on Owner.com get 2-4x more orders than the average restaurant website.   
• SEO features to rank in Google. Unlike Popmenu, Owner works great for SEO out of the box. Owner customers like Saffron Indian Kitchen get over 750 orders per month from Google.
• Mobile app for your restaurant. Every business using Owner gets its own restaurant mobile app. You can even send push customers notifications about promos and discounts.
• Built-in customer loyalty program. Owner's loyalty program is built right into your custom mobile app. It’s like having the Starbucks reward system for your restaurant.
• Automatic SMS and email marketing. Owner automatically reminds regulars about your restaurant. Send special promotions or nudge customers to earn loyalty points in just a few clicks.
• Free marketing resources. Owner also gives restaurants free physical marketing resources like fliers, posters, and table tents. 

🛠️ Room for improvement

• Limited design customization. Owner sites data-driven templates to maximize conversion. Some customers wish they could tweak their website design a bit further. “I wish there was more room to customize,” says one G2 user. “But other than that it's pretty awesome.”
• More integrations would be nice. “[More] compatibility with a broader range of systems would greatly improve its utility,” says one user. “Especially for restaurants that already rely on other digital tools.”

Restaurants who switch to Owner say this:

“Now that we’ve used Owner.com for 1 year, I can say confidently that it is the best technology in our restaurant,” says Phillip Hang, owner of Sushi Me Rollin'. “We’ve increased direct online sales by over $77,000 in the past 10 months alone.”

“From Day 1, our online orders went up,” says John Arena, co-founder of Metro Pizza. “Not only that, our direct sales with Owner.com far exceed the other platforms we use—every day, for all of our locations.”

Real customer reviews

2. ChowNow

Best for getting a basic website with fewer third-party delivery fees. 

ChowNow is similar to DoorDash and Uber Eats in that consumers use the app to order food. ChowNow’s main benefit is that it doesn’t charge commission fees. Instead, you pay a monthly fee for the ability to accept takeout orders through the ChowNow app, or a custom mobile app.

Compared to Popmenu, ChowNow is a solid option if you need an alternative to third-party apps. Access to ChowNow’s app users is a good way to find new customers. Merchant features on ChowNow have gotten better thanks to ChowNow Pro (which costs more). However, ChowNow still lacks key features to grow your direct online sales and market to long-time regulars.

💡 Feature highlights

• No-commission orders. ChowNow offers marketplace benefits without the fees most apps charge. This is good for finding new customers.
• Get found on multiple sites. ChowNow lets you sync your restaurant’s menu to multiple sales channels. That makes it easier to get found on sites like Yelp, OpenTable, TripAdvisor, etc.
• Automatic email marketing. ChowNow includes basic automation features to send timed marketing emails to your customers.

🛠️ Room for improvement 

• Not good for SEO. ChowNow sends Google visitors to the ChowNow app to finish their orders. This isn’t good for SEO and may hurt your site’s Google rankings.
• Lacks SMS marketing and upsells. ChowNow has basic restaurant marketing automation like timed emails. However, it lacks the ability to send SMS messages to customers.
• Worrying consumer reviews. ChowNow has bad reviews on websites like Trustpilot. “ChowNow lets you go all the way to entering payment info and then won’t confirm the order,” says one user. “Every time. After several tries on different dates... I quit using [it].”

Real customer reviews

3. Menufy

Best for restaurants who want cheap, no-frills online ordering.

If you're just starting out and cost is your number one concern, Menufy may be a good option. Menufy gives you the ability to accept orders from customers both online and through the Menufy app. However, the Menufy app gets very poor reviews. And the rest of the platform isn’t great for accepting direct online orders. Or finding new customers via Google search.

Compared to Popmenu, most of Menufy’s appeal comes from the fact that it’s free to start using. You get what you pay for, however, and Menufy requires a number of compromises. The app itself isn’t great with far fewer customers than DoorDash. The websites offered are basic with no marketing features. Delivery will cost you a 12.5% commission on every order.

💡 Feature highlights

• Cheap way to accept online orders. Menufy is free to get started. Though deliveries include a 12.5% commission and there are fees for individual services. 
• Access to a marketplace. Menufy is a much smaller marketplace than DoorDash, Uber Eats, or GrubHub. But you do get in front of Menufy app users with their service.

🛠️ Room for improvement 

• No custom mobile app. Instead, customers must use the Menufy app which has bad reviews. “Menufy was fine before but now it’s a hot mess,” says one user.
• Basic website templates. The website template on Menufy is basic and not optimized to convert. Online ordering feels slow and archaic compared to modern solutions.
• No SEO support. Menufy doesn’t set you up with a custom website tailored for Google search. So you’ll have to figure that out for yourself.
• Fees add up. Menufy markets its solution as free, but there are multiple fees. For example, the online order fee must either be paid by customers or your restaurant.

Real customer reviews

Menufy doesn’t have many third-party ratings from Capterra or similar sites. However, it does have reviews from consumers on the App Store.

4. Slice

Best for pizzerias who want simple ordering with a marketplace.

Slice is a food-ordering service made specifically for pizza. This makes it a solid choice for pizzerias that want an easy way to accept online orders. Slice also offers their Slice Register product, a basic point of sale (POS) solution for pizzerias. Other features include a custom website, automated email marketing, and a loyalty program.  

Compared to Popmenu, pizzerias like Slice since they charge per order instead of a monthly fee. Slice also offers a network of potential customers via their app. App users are pretty valuable because they’re only searching for pizza. However, Slice isn’t good for getting found on Google or growing direct online orders. Slice also lacks key marketing features that help you turn one-time buyers into regulars.

💡 Feature highlights

• Built for pizza shops. People browsing the Slice app are specifically looking for pizza. That makes them good users to reach but a little harder to stand out.
• Flat fees on orders. Depending on which plan you’re on, Slice may charge a flat fee per order depending on which plan you pay for.
• Simple online ordering. Slice handles order processing for smaller restaurants. This is valuable for new pizza shops who just want a basic solution.

🛠️ Room for improvement 

• Doesn’t help your website SEO. Orders on your Slice website get pushed to slicelife.com. Google does not like this and it may hurt your Google rankings.
• Basic websites that don’t convert. Slice websites are bare-bones. Menus are also confusing with limited photography. We’ve seen 3x better conversions when restaurants switch to Owner.
• Markets your competition. As a marketplace, Slice will market your competitors to local customers in the same area.

Real customer reviews

5. SpotHopper

Best for restaurants that prioritize catering and dine-in events.

SpotHopper is a Popmenu competitor suited for dine-in restaurants that don't do takeout. Or restaurants that do a lot of business through catering and events. A big selling point that is SpotHopper offers to shoot custom photos or videos for new customers.

Compared to Popmenu, Spothopper has a worse online ordering experience—it’s clunky and slow. However, Spothopper also offers a unique professional photography and social media package. Its website designs work great for higher-end restaurants who care about reservations over takeout orders. SpotHopper websites look good but don’t allow for much customization. Restaurant owners also said SpotHopper contracts—which are all annual—were hard to get out of after signing up.

💡 Feature highlights

• Photo or video shoots included.  During setup, SpotHopper offers a full photoshoot for your restaurant and/or menu items.
• Good-looking websites. Websites on SpotHopper have nice designs and stand out. Customers seem pleased with the available templates.

🛠️ Room for improvement

• Orders happen offsite. Orders on SpotHopper sites get pushed to their app. This often hurts conversion and is bad for restaurant SEO.
• Clunky online ordering. SpotHopper’s online ordering experience is slow and outdated. It’s hard to find items and slow to complete orders.
• No custom mobile app. SpotHopper doesn’t create a custom mobile app for your restaurant.
• Annual contracts lock you in. Many restaurant owners say they can’t cancel their SpotHopper service without paying for the full-year contract.

Real customer reviews

Spothopper doesn’t have many reviews available. Instead, I'd recommend checking the Reddit threads about it. Or scheduling a demo if you're interested.

6. Sauce

Best for restaurants that just want commission-free delivery.

Sauce is a delivery platform that helps you save on commission fees from DoorDash, Uber Eats, and other third-party delivery services. Similar to Owner.com, Sauce charges a flat fee for each delivery order so your costs don't become higher with volume.

Compared to Popmenu, Sauce offers a more complete solution to solve your local delivery operations. The flat fee per delivery is also great if you accept large orders—or even catered orders. Sauce can’t replace Popmenu for websites, accepting online orders, or marketing features. That’s because Sauce is a delivery platform only and doesn’t have these features.

However, Sauce lacks most of the features that other options offer. For example, it doesn't offer a custom website, mobile app, or automated email marketing. 

💡 Feature highlights

• Zero-commission fees. Sauce’s main appeal is that it offers commission-free pickup and delivery.
• Full-service delivery. Sauce handles any issues with payment or delivery on behalf of the restaurant.
• Delivery flexibility. Sauce allows you to easily switch between your own drivers or their in-network drivers. This can be useful if you want your employees to handle shorter deliveries.

🛠️ Room for improvement

• No restaurant website. Sauce doesn’t offer a customized website or online ordering experience for your restaurant. That means it can’t fully replace Popmenu (or other platforms).
• No custom mobile app. Sauce doesn’t set you up with a custom mobile app to accept orders.
• No automatic email and SMS marketing. Sauce also doesn’t include any marketing features to reach your current customers.

Real customer reviews

Sauce doesn’t have many online reviews available. Instead, I'd recommending trialing the product or booking a demo if interested.

Book a demo to see if Owner.com is the right choice for your independent restaurant

For local restaurants that want to grow direct sales, Owner.com is the best Popmenu competitor. 

Book a demo to see how these features can help grow your customer base:

• Advanced SEO that gets you to the top of Google
• Online ordering that gets 2-4X more orders compared to the average restaurant website
• Zero commission delivery
• Automatic email & SMS marketing that keeps you top of mind
• Your own branded mobile app
• Your own loyalty and rewards program
• Free marketing resources like flyers, posters, and table tents

Book a 20 minute demo with the Owner.com team here.