Free QR code menus: what's really free in 2026

What a free QR code menu actually is

A QR code menu is a menu that opens on the guest's phone when they scan a code on the table. At its simplest it's a web page with your dishes and prices, replacing or sitting next to the printed menu. At its most complete, guests can also order from it, the order goes straight to the kitchen, and they can pay.

"Free" means different things at each level. A view-only menu is cheap to run, so many vendors give it away. Ordering costs the vendor more, so free plans usually cap orders or take a fee per order. Payment is where the real money is, because whoever processes the card takes a percentage of every sale. When a menu calls itself free, ask which of the three it means.

Why "free" needs a second look

• Order caps arrive when you're busiest. MENU TIGER's Free plan includes 75 orders a month for one store; past that you move to Regular at US$17 a month (500 orders) or higher.
• A free subscription can still cost per sale. Square's Free plan in the US charges 2.6% + 15¢ per in-person card payment and 3.3% + 30¢ online. Bopple's platform fee is 1.64% + 10¢ per order in Australia and 2.4% + 10¢ in New Zealand.
• Some fees land on your guests. Owner.com charges guests a 5% order support fee on both of its plans. Guests notice that on the bill.
• Free trials end. Clover's software promotion gives 90 days without subscription fees on certain plans, then the standard monthly fee applies. A trial is not a free plan.
• Printing QR codes yourself should be free too. Check that the vendor lets you download the codes as images or PDF, not only order printed stands from them.

Free QR menus compared

We looked at the free plan (or the lowest plan) of each vendor that offers QR or online menus to restaurants in our markets. Prices are as published on each vendor's own page.

qmen.us

qmen.us is free with no catch on the menu or the ordering: no monthly fee, no commission per order, no paid plan, no credit card. You get categories, items, sizes, add-on groups, a main photo plus up to 8 more per item, menu import from a photo with AI, 4 public menu styles, and printable QR sheets and posters as PNG or PDF. Guests can call the waiter from the table QR, or order by themselves if you turn on self-ordering. Prices show in your own currency, the local way ("$12.50", "£9.50", "12,50 €"). The honest limitation: guests can't pay by card through qmen.us. There's no online payment, no card terminal integration and no split bill, so payment happens at your existing register or terminal. There's also no delivery-platform integration and no "sold out today" switch (you can only hide an item).

MENU TIGER

MENU TIGER's Free plan costs US$0 a month, needs no credit card and covers one store with 75 orders a month. Paid plans are Regular at US$17 a month (500 orders, up to 2 stores), Advanced at US$46 (2,000 orders, up to 5 stores) and Premium at US$119 (unlimited), with 15% off for yearly billing. MENU TIGER says it charges 0% commission per order. A built-in POS is a US$30 add-on on Regular and Advanced. Best for a small place that wants an online menu with ordering and expects fewer than 75 orders a month to start.

Square

Square's Free plan has no monthly fee and includes menu management, pickup and local delivery, and a branded online ordering page. You pay per payment instead: in the US, 2.6% + 15¢ in person and 3.3% + 30¢ online; in the UK, 1.75% in person and 1.4% + 25p online for UK cards; in Australia, 1.6% in person and 2.2% online. Best if you want guests to order and pay by card from one free account and you're fine paying per sale.

Bopple

Bopple, based in Australia and New Zealand, has a free Starter (Storefront) plan; taking online orders needs the Online ordering plan at $49 a month, with prices exclusive of tax. From 1 October 2026 its platform fee is 1.64% + $0.10 per order in Australia (AUD), 2.4% + $0.10 in New Zealand (NZD) and 2.9% + $0.10 elsewhere (USD), and you can absorb it or pass it on to the guest. Payments run through your own Stripe account. Best for ANZ cafés that want order-ahead and payment in one place.

sunday

sunday is a pay-at-table product, not a free menu: its pricing page lists Standard at $199 a month and Premium at $299 a month, $5 per QR code, and optional on-site onboarding at $299. The region selector covers the United States, France and the United Kingdom. Best for busy full-service restaurants where the bill is the bottleneck and guests want to scan, split, tip and pay on their own.

How to set up a free QR menu that holds up on a Friday

These steps use qmen.us, but the checks apply to any free plan you try.

1. Sign in and create the restaurant

   Sign in with your Google account, create the restaurant and pick your currency and time zone in Settings. No card is asked for at any point, so there's no trial clock running.

2. Load the menu from a photo

   Use the menu import to read a photo of your printed menu with AI, then check each item's name and price. Add sizes, add-on groups and photos where guests usually ask questions.

3. Create the tables and print the codes

   Add each table, then download the QR sheet or a poster as PNG or PDF and print it wherever you like. Each table gets its own code, so orders arrive already labeled with the table.

4. Decide if guests can order by themselves

   Self-ordering from the table QR is optional. Leave it off if you want the waiter to take every order, or turn it on if you're short-staffed at peak times.

   Tip: Test with a friend's phone on mobile data, not the restaurant Wi-Fi. That's how most guests will open the menu.

5. Keep payment where it is

   Guests pay at your current terminal or register, which also produces the receipt your tax rules require. If you need guests to pay by card from their phone, pick a tool with payments, such as Square, Bopple or sunday, and compare their per-sale fees.

6. Check the limits after a month

   Look at how many orders you actually took. If you're on a capped free plan, see where you'd land on the paid tiers. If you're on qmen.us, the number doesn't change your bill.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Prices checked on 28 October 2026; confirm on each vendor's site before deciding.

• MENU TIGER — Pricing
• Square — Restaurant POS pricing (US)
• Square — What are Square's fees (US help)
• Square — Pricing (UK)
• Square — Pricing (Australia)
• Bopple — Pricing
• Bopple — Pricing and fees
• sunday — Pricing
• Owner.com — Pricing
• Clover — Pricing

Glossary

Menu

The screen that holds your items, categories, prices and photos. It's the source of the digital menu guests see through the table QR code.

Table QR code

The code printed on the table that guests scan with their phone, no sign-in needed.

Self-ordering

The Self-ordering with the virtual waiter (chat) option in Settings. When it's on, guests build and send their own order from the table screen, with no waiter.

Public page

The page at qmen.us/your-code where guests see your menu, phone numbers, address and opening hours.

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