GloriaFood vs ChowNow 2026: Free vs $249/mo Compared

The GloriaFood notice and Oracle EOL FAQ give April 30, 2027. Another Oracle page gives March 31. Confirm the date and subscription terms for your account before planning around either headline date.

Direct and partner onboarding can differ. Confirm current eligibility with the provider instead of treating the absence of a website signup button as proof that all onboarding is closed. Existing operators should prepare their replacement and preserve accessible records. The closure guide owns the detailed notice review.

GloriaFood and ChowNow both serve restaurants wanting commission-free online ordering, but they take opposite economic approaches. GloriaFood is free unlimited: Oracle-owned, unlimited orders, unlimited locations, no monthly fee, with optional paid add-ons ($19 to $49/month) for online payments, promo marketing or a POS. The catch in 2026: Oracle retires GloriaFood on the date in the applicable account notice, its headline date does not guarantee every paid subscription lasts that long, and gloriafood.com no longer shows a way to sign up, so treat it as an option subject to current account eligibility. ChowNow is a paid subscription: plans start at $249/month ($229/month billed annually) with no commissions on orders, plus a $119 to $499 setup fee and a 2.95% + $0.29 fee per transaction. ChowNow bundles in automated email marketing (SMS marketing from the Grow plan) and a more polished restaurant-branded website and app.

Operators evaluating these two are usually deciding between 'generous free tier with ugly UI' (GloriaFood) and 'premium polished app with monthly fee' (ChowNow). Both compete with third-party aggregators like UberEats and DoorDash that charge 15-30% commissions on delivery orders (per DoorDash and Uber Eats pricing). The honest answer for many restaurants: neither is needed. The third-option lane (display-only menu plus existing aggregator presence) is structurally cheaper. Disclosure: I'm Ahmad Tayyem, founder of Menujo. I will set out what each one actually does, and where a display-only menu like Menujo fits instead.

What you get for free

GloriaFood's free tier covers a lot. Unlimited orders, unlimited locations, no commissions, no monthly fees. The free plan covers website ordering widgets, Facebook ordering, QR-code dine-in menus, table reservations, basic promotions, and reporting. Oracle acquired GloriaFood in 2021. In 2026 the picture changed. Oracle retires GloriaFood on the date in the applicable account notice, per the end-of-life notice on gloriafood.com, whose headline date does not guarantee every paid subscription lasts that long, and the site no longer shows a signup option. Oracle says it offers no direct replacement and points customers to FoodAmigos, a separate online ordering provider. Everything below applies while your account remains available.

The realistic cost with paid add-ons

These paid add-ons raise the real cost:

• Online / credit-card payments: $29/month. Adds the integrated payment processor; without this, you're collecting payments at pickup or via a separate processor.
• Advanced promo marketing: $19/month. Promotions and campaigns beyond the basic free promotions.
• POS system: $49/month per location on a 2-year commitment, which runs past the announced closure date, so ask Oracle before signing.
• Sales-optimized website and branded mobile app: $9/month and $59/month respectively, per GloriaFood's online ordering page.

Adding payments costs $29/month, or $48/month with promo marketing as well. Still cheaper than ChowNow's $249/month starting price, but not the $0/month that GloriaFood's free-plan headline suggests.

Where GloriaFood still fits (existing accounts)

Three scenarios: (1) you operate multiple locations and the unlimited-locations free tier matters more than UI polish; (2) you don't need card payments: cash, regional payment apps, or a separate reader covers payments; (3) you're cost-sensitive and willing to live with GloriaFood's functional-but-dated interface. For existing accounts, the free tier is the cheaper of these two paths to commission-free online ordering while account access remains available.

Where GloriaFood doesn't fit

gloriafood.com no longer shows a way to sign up, and everyone on it needs a replacement before the deadline confirmed for your account. The interface feels dated by 2026 standards. Customization on the free tier is limited (you live with GloriaFood's default colors and layout). The branded mobile app is a $59/month paid add-on.

What you get on the Launch plan

ChowNow's pricing page lists three plans: Launch from $249/month ($229/month billed annually), Grow from $349/month ($319 annually) and Elevate from $449/month ($409 annually), plus a $119 to $499 setup fee and a 2.95% + $0.29 fee per transaction. Launch includes a restaurant-branded ordering website, a branded mobile app, automated email marketing with 500 contacts, a loyalty program, 20+ POS integrations (Toast, Square, Clover and others), and reporting. Grow adds QR code ordering, SMS marketing, third-party order aggregation, 2,000 email contacts and 2,000 SMS credits. There are no commissions on orders.

Note: the plan prices are listed as 'starting at'. Verify current pricing and what your plan includes at chownow.com before signing.

Where ChowNow fits

Three scenarios: (1) you want a polished, modern, restaurant-branded ordering experience that's on par with what UberEats and DoorDash provide, but commission-free; (2) you want automated email marketing (and, from the Grow plan, SMS) built in rather than bolting on a separate tool; (3) you're a single-location operator where the $249/month subscription is offset by avoiding 15-30% commissions on $5,000+/month delivery volume. The ChowNow brand experience is materially better polished than GloriaFood's.

The pricing math vs aggregators

The case for ChowNow is the commission math vs UberEats/DoorDash. If you're doing $5,000/month in delivery volume on UberEats at 25% commission, that's $1,250/month in commissions. ChowNow at $249/month plus the setup fee and its 2.95% + $0.29 transaction fee is still far cheaper. The case breaks down if your delivery volume is lower: under $1,000/month in delivery, the commission savings don't cover ChowNow's subscription.

Where ChowNow doesn't fit

The $249/month subscription plus a $119 to $499 setup fee and per-transaction fees is real money for cost-sensitive operators. The subscription doesn't scale economically until you're doing meaningful order volume. The bundled email marketing (plus SMS from the Grow plan) is good if you will use it, but if you already run your own campaigns, you're paying for capabilities you won't fully use. And the restaurant-branded app is genuinely valuable only if you have a customer base that would download it (customers often won't download an app for one specific restaurant).

Both GloriaFood and ChowNow win against third-party aggregators (UberEats, DoorDash) once you're doing meaningful direct-delivery volume. The choice between GloriaFood and ChowNow comes down to how much polish you're willing to pay for. GloriaFood at $0 to $29/month is the cheaper of the two, but subject to account access and only while account access remains available. ChowNow at roughly $3,100 to $3,500 in year one, plus transaction fees, is more expensive but materially more polished.

The breakeven analysis: if you're doing under $500/month in direct online ordering, both platforms are economically over-built: your customers can call in orders or use third-party aggregators where the platform costs you nothing fixed. If you're doing $500-$5,000/month in direct online ordering and already hold a GloriaFood account, GloriaFood at $0 to $29/month covers the workflow at minimal cost while account access remains available. If you're doing $5,000+/month and want a polished branded experience, ChowNow at $249/month is justified.

Three concrete scenarios where GloriaFood is the right answer, provided you already hold an account: gloriafood.com no longer shows a way to sign up and Oracle retires GloriaFood on the date in the applicable account notice, so treat these as reasons to stay until then, not reasons to start.

1. Multi-location operator on a budget

GloriaFood's unlimited-locations free tier costs nothing at any location count. A 5-location chain pays $0 in software fees. ChowNow starts at $249/month per subscription plus setup, and its pricing page does not state multi-location terms, so ask before comparing. The cost difference is dramatic; the trade-off is the dated UI versus ChowNow's polish.

2. You don't need integrated card processing

If your model is cash, regional payment apps, or a separate card reader, GloriaFood Free covers everything you need at $0/month. ChowNow's integrated payments are bundled in and carry a 2.95% + $0.29 fee per transaction.

3. You're cost-sensitive and willing to manage your own marketing

ChowNow's automated email marketing (with SMS from the Grow plan) is valuable if you want it built in. GloriaFood's self-serve approach is cheaper if you have the time. For operators running their own Instagram and Google Business Profile, GloriaFood plus your own weekly social posting beats ChowNow's bundled marketing on cost.

Three scenarios where ChowNow's subscription makes sense.

1. Single-location with $5,000+/month delivery volume

The commission savings vs UberEats/DoorDash justify ChowNow's subscription at this volume. $5,000/month at 25% commission is $1,250/month going to the aggregator; ChowNow at $249/month plus its 2.95% + $0.29 per-order fee still keeps most of that back. Above $5,000/month delivery volume, the math accelerates.

2. You want a polished branded experience

ChowNow's restaurant-branded mobile app and ordering website are materially more polished than GloriaFood's functional-but-dated interface. For restaurants where brand presentation matters (fine dining, premium-casual, hospitality-driven concepts), the polish is worth the price premium.

3. You want marketing built in

ChowNow includes automated email marketing and a loyalty program from the Launch plan, with SMS marketing and on-demand campaigns to your contact list from the Grow plan up. If you don't have time or interest in setting up your own marketing tools, ChowNow's bundled service is a real differentiator. GloriaFood's closest equivalent is a $19/month promo marketing add-on.

The unspoken truth about GloriaFood vs ChowNow: both are direct-ordering platforms competing with third-party aggregators. If your direct-online-ordering volume is low (under $500/month) or you're happy letting aggregators handle delivery while you focus on dine-in and pickup, neither platform makes economic sense.

Three signals you're in this third-option lane:

• Most of your delivery volume happens through UberEats, DoorDash, or Grubhub, and you're fine with that
• Direct online ordering is a small fraction of revenue (under $500/month or 5% of total)
• Your menu's primary job is to be visible to customers reading it before they order verbally or via aggregators

If two or more match, both GloriaFood and ChowNow are over-built. The right answer is a display-only digital menu, Menujo (free or $7/month), paired with whatever ordering channels you're already using (UberEats, phone, dine-in, counter pickup). The menu itself costs under $10/month. The aggregator handles delivery economics; the menu platform handles visibility.

The economic case for the third option:

• If aggregators are 10%+ of revenue, you're already paying their commission anyway. Adding a separate ChowNow subscription on top is double-paying for the channel.
• If aggregators are under 5% of revenue, your delivery volume is too low to justify any direct-ordering platform. Display-only menu is sufficient.
• If you're dine-in or counter-service primary, a display-only menu plus a basic card reader covers payment. No need for either GloriaFood or ChowNow.

For deeper coverage, see our 7-platform comparison covering Menujo, GloriaFood, MenuTiger, FineDine, CloudWaitress, Toast, and Menubly.

Three questions:

1. Do you do $5,000+/month in direct online delivery orders? ChowNow's polish and bundled marketing are worth the $249/month plus setup if you're at this volume.
2. Do you do under $5,000/month or you're multi-location? GloriaFood's free or low-cost tiers cover the workflow without the ChowNow subscription, if you already hold an account (the site no longer shows a signup option and it retires on the date in the applicable account notice).
3. Do you actually need direct online ordering? If aggregators (UberEats, DoorDash) handle most of your delivery, neither is necessary. A display-only menu (Menujo) plus your existing aggregator presence covers it, with the menu itself under $10/month.

Run through your last 3 months of direct online order volume. If it's small or zero, neither GloriaFood nor ChowNow is needed. If it's meaningful, the volume threshold ($5K/mo) decides: below it, stay on GloriaFood while your account remains available (it has announced closure); above it, ChowNow.

For broader coverage, see our comparison hub and restaurant-type guides.

GloriaFood is a trademark of Oracle Corporation. ChowNow is a trademark of ChowNow, Inc. This comparison is published by Menujo (a product of Jorbox LLC) under the doctrine of nominative fair use. Menujo is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by either company. All references to pricing, features, and ownership are based on publicly available information at the time of publication. Pricing and terms can change; verify current details directly with each platform before making purchasing decisions.

Pricing and feature details verified against the official GloriaFood pricing page and ChowNow pricing page on September 23, 2026.