How much does a restaurant website with online ordering cost in 2026?

Short answer: a restaurant website with online ordering can cost you anywhere from a few thousand dinars per month (ready-made platform) to several thousand euros one-off plus maintenance (custom build). The most expensive option is often the one that looks free at first glance — relying only on delivery apps, because there you pay a commission on every order.

Below we break down all four options, what exactly you pay for, and what each costs after three years.

What goes into the price of a restaurant website

When you compare offers, check whether the price covers all of the following — if it doesn’t, you’ll pay for it later:

• Domain — the website address (e.g. yourrestaurant.rs). Paid yearly.
• Hosting — the server the site runs on. Paid monthly or yearly.
• Build — design, menu, cart, checkout. With a custom build this is the biggest item.
• Order system — where an order arrives, how the kitchen sees it and how you change its status.
• Delivery zones and fees — automatic delivery fee calculation based on the customer’s address.
• Admin panel — whether you can change the menu, prices and promotions yourself, or have to call a developer every time.
• Maintenance and updates — security patches, SSL certificate, backups.
• Support — who answers when something breaks on a Friday at 8 pm.

The most common trap: a cheap build without an admin panel. Every price change or new item means a new invoice from the developer.

Option 1: Custom-built website

An agency or freelancer builds a site just for you.

Price: roughly from a few hundred euros for a simple brochure site (menu, contact, map) up to several thousand euros for a complete ordering system with cart, delivery zones and admin panel. On top of that come hosting and maintenance — monthly or billed per hour.

Pros:

• The site looks and works exactly the way you want.
• Everything is yours — code, design, data.

Cons:

• High upfront cost and a long build time.
• Every new feature (e.g. promo codes, combo deals) is a new project and a new invoice.
• Quality depends on a single contractor — if they stop working, you’re left with a system nobody else knows.

Option 2: WordPress + an ordering plugin

WordPress with WooCommerce and a restaurant plugin.

Price: it looks cheap at the start — the theme and the basic plugin are cheap or free. But serious use usually requires paid plugin versions (annual licences, often in euros), better hosting and someone to set it all up.

Hidden costs:

• Updates — WordPress and plugins update often, and an update sometimes breaks the site.
• Security — a popular system is also a frequent target of attacks.
• Speed — lots of plugins = a slow site on mobile, and people order food from their phones.
• Delivery zones and kitchen display — usually require extra plugins or custom development.

WordPress is great for a blog or a brochure site. For taking orders every day during the rush, look for something built specifically for that.

Option 3: A ready-made online ordering platform

You pay a monthly or yearly subscription and get a complete system: customer website, admin panel, hosting and support.

Price, using Restoran Pilot as an example: 3,000 RSD per month or 36,000 RSD per year (with the annual plan the domain is free for the first year). The contract commitment is 12 months. The price includes:

• an ordering website (menu by category, variants, add-ons, cart, checkout);
• an admin panel for the menu, prices, promotions, customers and analytics;
• promo codes, automatic promotions and combo deals;
• a kitchen display that runs on a tablet, phone or computer, with a sound alert;
• hosting, maintenance, SEO basics and technical support.

Pros: low entry cost, a known monthly price, new features arrive at no extra charge, and the system is already proven on real orders.

Cons: you don’t pay for a build, but you pay the subscription for as long as you use the system. The design is customisable (logo, colours, images, texts), but not fully bespoke.

Option 4: Only Wolt, Glovo and similar apps

No build cost — you sign up and the platform brings you customers.

Price: a commission on every order. Restaurants most often report a commission of 20 to 30% of the order value, depending on the contract and whether the platform also handles delivery. On 120,000 RSD of monthly turnover that’s 24,000–36,000 RSD — every month.

See the detailed calculation in How much restaurants really pay Wolt and Glovo.

Comparison table: what each option costs over 3 years

Example: a restaurant with 60 online orders per month, average order 2,000 RSD (turnover 120,000 RSD per month). The figures are illustrative — your numbers depend on the offer and contract.

The difference between the last two rows is almost a million dinars over three years — on the same number of orders. Of course, platforms also bring you new customers, so it isn’t smart to switch them off completely. But every regular customer who orders directly from your site is an order with no commission.

Try it with your own numbers in the savings calculator.

What to check before you choose

1. Can you change the menu and prices yourself? If not, budget for the cost of every change.
2. How does an order reach the kitchen? An email nobody reads during the rush is not a solution. You need a screen with a sound alert.
3. Is delivery calculated automatically from the address? Working out the delivery fee manually over the phone wastes time and loses customers.
4. How does the site work on a phone? Most food orders come from mobile.
5. Who maintains the site and what does it cost? Ask upfront, not when something stops working.
6. What if you quit? Check the contract commitment and whether you can keep the domain.

Conclusion

If you’re just starting out or a predictable price matters to you, a ready-made platform is the most cost-effective. A custom build makes sense for restaurant chains with special requirements and the budget for it. And use delivery apps as a channel for new customers, not as your only way of taking orders.

Want to see what an ordering website for 3,000 RSD per month looks like? See the features or book a free demo.

Frequently asked questions