Is a free QR menu enough?

For a menu that never changes and a single-language clientele, a PDF behind a free QR code does the job. As soon as your prices move, you serve several languages, or you need allergens dish by dish, the time spent re-exporting the PDF quickly outgrows the price of a subscription.

Do you need an all-in-one suite with POS and reservations?

Only if you are genuinely replacing your till and your reservation system at the same time. Paying €150 a month for a suite whose menu is the only part you use works out at six times the price of a dedicated platform for the same card.

Do my guests need to install an app?

No, and this is a disqualifying criterion. A proper QR menu opens in the phone's browser with nothing to install. Any solution requiring a download will lose you most guests before they even see the menu.

Choosing a QR menu for your restaurant

Four approaches, price gaps running from nothing to several thousand euros, and differences that only become obvious six months in. Here is what you need to decide.

To choose a QR menu, compare five things rather than the headline price: what the subscription really costs once per-order commissions are counted, whether you can correct a price live, how good the multilingual support actually is, how it handles the 14 allergens in EU Regulation 1169/2011, and whether your data leaves with you. Budget €0 for a PDF behind a QR code, €12–35 a month for a dedicated platform, and €50–250 a month for an all-in-one suite.

The four ways to put a menu behind a QR code (prices observed August 2026)
Approach	Cost	Updates	Languages	Allergens	Table ordering
Free QR generator + PDF	€0	Re-export and re-upload the PDF	One PDF per language	Written into the PDF	No
Dedicated QR-menu platform	€12–35/month	Live	Several, on one menu	Ticked dish by dish	Depends on the plan
All-in-one suite (POS, reservations)	€50–250/month	Live	Several	Dish by dish	Yes, sometimes with commission
Custom build	€2,000 and up, then maintenance	Whatever the developer built	Your choice	Your choice	Your choice

The real cost, commissions included

A €15-a-month subscription carrying a 2% commission on orders costs you more, from €750 of monthly orders onward, than a €30 subscription with no commission. Always ask for the per-order price and the payment fees separately: that is where the gap hides, not in the figure on the pricing page.

Correcting a price mid-service

This is the test that genuinely separates the approaches. A PDF behind a QR code means reopening a layout program, re-exporting and re-uploading — in practice nobody does that on a Friday night, and the menu on display ends up lying. Check that a price change takes under a minute from a phone.

Multilingual support that holds up

In Belgium, serving in French, Dutch and English is not a luxury. Be wary of solutions that simply bolt machine translation onto the page: 'filet américain' and 'stoemp' do not survive it. Look for the ability to enter each dish name yourself in each language, and to auto-translate only what you choose.

The 14 allergens, dish by dish

EU Regulation 1169/2011 requires you to inform guests about fourteen allergens. A blanket note at the bottom of the menu is not enough if the guest still has to ask. A well-built QR menu shows allergens under each dish, which settles the question without tying up a server mid-rush.

Euro billing and EU VAT

A tool billed in dollars exposes you to exchange rates and complicates reclaiming VAT. Check that you get a euro invoice with your VAT number on it — a formality while it works, and a monthly chore when it does not.

Where your guests' data lives

The moment you take orders you are processing personal data, and the GDPR applies to you, not only to your supplier. Ask for a data processing agreement (DPA), the list of sub-processors, and the retention period. A supplier who cannot produce those documents is leaving you to carry the risk alone.

What happens the day you leave

Ask before you sign, not after: can you export your menu, your photos and your orders? And above all, does the QR code printed on your tables point at an address you control? If the address belongs to the supplier, switching tools means reprinting every sticker — an exit cost you only discover at the worst moment.

Try it before you pay

The only test that counts: enter ten of your real dishes, with your real prices and your real photos, then scan the QR code from your own phone, in your own room, on your own network. A menu that takes four seconds to appear on the neighbourhood's 4G will never be read. Most serious solutions offer a trial with no card required; walk away from the ones that do not.

Frequently asked questions

Is a free QR menu enough?: For a menu that never changes and a single-language clientele, a PDF behind a free QR code does the job. As soon as your prices move, you serve several languages, or you need allergens dish by dish, the time spent re-exporting the PDF quickly outgrows the price of a subscription.
Do you need an all-in-one suite with POS and reservations?: Only if you are genuinely replacing your till and your reservation system at the same time. Paying €150 a month for a suite whose menu is the only part you use works out at six times the price of a dedicated platform for the same card.
Do my guests need to install an app?: No, and this is a disqualifying criterion. A proper QR menu opens in the phone's browser with nothing to install. Any solution requiring a download will lose you most guests before they even see the menu.

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