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A free Flipdish alternative

Flipdish gives you polished branded ordering and a branded app — for a monthly subscription. DineKit is a free, open-source WordPress plugin used by restaurants worldwide: menus, QR codes, allergen labelling, commission-free online ordering, QR order & pay at the table, table bookings, on-site card payments (your own Stripe), a Kitchen Display and a full POS are all live and free today.

Get DineKit — Free

How Flipdish works & what it costs

Flipdish is a mature, done-for-you managed platform. It builds branded online ordering sites and mobile apps for your restaurant and handles the tech for you as a hosted service — with marketing tools bolted on.

The trade-off is a monthly subscription. Ordering typically runs around €49–79 per month, and a branded mobile app is usually an extra £99–199 per month on top. Flipdish keeps its own-channel ordering commission-free, so the recurring fee is the real cost — you’re renting a polished platform rather than owning one.

Flipdish is a genuinely capable managed SaaS with branded native apps available right now. If you want someone else to run it all and you’re happy paying monthly, it does that job well.

DineKit vs Flipdish

Where each one stands today — no spin.

What you need	DineKit	Flipdish
Monthly subscription	None — free	~€49–79/mo ordering
Per-order / payment commission	0% — your own Stripe, no per-transaction cut	Own-channel commission-free (subscription)
Branded native mobile app for diners	Not offered — own-brand web on your domain	Available (~£99–199/mo)
Online menu builder	Free today	Included
QR code menus	Free today	Included
QR order & pay at the table	Free today — scan-to-order + pay-by-QR	Included
Allergen tagging + printable matrix	Free today — statutory allergens built in	Not a core feature
Commission-free online ordering	Live Free today — keep 100%	Live now (subscription)
Kitchen Display (KDS)	Free today	Not a core feature
Installable staff app (PWA) + multi-tablet live sync	Free today	n/a
Works worldwide (own currency)	Menu localised to ~43 countries	Multi-region
Own your data & hosting	Self-hosted on your WordPress	Managed on Flipdish
Open source	Yes	Proprietary SaaS

Being straight: DineKit doesn’t offer a branded native mobile app for diners — ordering is own-brand web on your own domain — and it’s self-hosted, so you (or your web person) run the WordPress site rather than handing it to a managed service. A couple more honest edges: payments are Stripe-only and card capture is in GBP today (the menu itself localises to ~43 countries), there’s no live GPS delivery tracking, and text messaging (order-ready and booking texts via your own Twilio) is still in beta. If you want a branded native app or someone else running everything, Flipdish does that. If you just need free, commission-free ordering, QR order & pay, bookings, on-site payments, a Kitchen Display and a POS, DineKit already does all of it today.

Why restaurants choose DineKit

Free, open, and yours.

💷

0% commission, no subscription

DineKit is free and open-source. No per-month ordering fee, no separate app fee, and no per-transaction cut — payments go straight to your own Stripe account, so you keep 100% (only standard Stripe fees apply).

📱

QR order & pay at the table

Guests scan the table QR, order on their phone and the round fires to the kitchen, then settle the bill (or just their share) by QR on a hosted “Secured by Stripe” pay page. Plus clean QR code menus — no reprinting when prices change.

⚠️

Allergens done properly

Tag every dish against statutory allergens — the UK’s 14 (Natasha’s Law) ship pre-seeded as one example — drill down to sub-sources, and print a tidy allergen matrix for staff and inspections — free.

🔓

Own your data

Self-hosted and open-source. Your menus, your customers, your site — not locked inside someone else’s platform. Everything lives in standard WordPress, with no custom tables to freeze.

🛒

Commission-free ordering, live today

Eat-in (QR order-at-table), takeaway and delivery ordering is live and free now, with on-site card payments through your own Stripe account (Apple Pay + Google Pay). Includes partial refunds and accept-and-capture control.

🖥️

Kitchen Display + installable app

A full Kitchen Display board with per-round coursing tickets, plus an installable app (PWA) you add to any phone or tablet home screen — many tablets stay in live sync automatically, worldwide, in your own currency.

See what’s next

When Flipdish might still be right

We’d rather be honest than win the wrong customer.

You want a branded native mobile app for diners. Flipdish offers native iOS/Android apps for your restaurant. DineKit gives diners an own-brand ordering experience on your own domain (and an installable staff app), but no native diner app.
You’d rather someone else run it. Flipdish is a managed, done-for-you SaaS with support and marketing tools. DineKit is self-hosted, so you (or your web person) look after the WordPress site — though built-in support tickets are included right in the dashboard.

Questions

Is DineKit really free?

Yes. DineKit is a free, open-source WordPress plugin used by restaurants worldwide. The menu builder, QR menus, allergen tagging with a printable matrix, opening hours, commission-free online ordering, QR order & pay at the table, table bookings, on-site card payments, a Kitchen Display and a full POS are all free today, with no monthly subscription and no per-transaction commission.

Can DineKit take online orders like Flipdish?

Yes. DineKit’s commission-free ordering — eat-in (QR order-at-table with pay-by-QR), takeaway and delivery — is live and free, with on-site card payments through your own Stripe account (Apple Pay and Google Pay included). Flipdish also offers online ordering and branded native apps, on a monthly subscription. The difference: DineKit is free and self-hosted on your WordPress site with 0% commission and no native diner app; Flipdish is a paid, managed service with a branded mobile app.

Does DineKit work outside the UK?

Yes. The menu and public experience are localised to around 43 countries in your own currency, and allergen labelling is flexible (the UK’s 14 statutory allergens ship pre-seeded as one example, and you can add your own). One honest edge to note: card capture through Stripe is in GBP today, and there’s no live GPS delivery tracking yet — see the roadmap. (Order-ready and booking texts now send through your own Twilio account, in beta.)

What’s the catch with self-hosting?

DineKit runs on your own WordPress site, so you own your data and there’s no monthly fee or commission — but you’re responsible for the site itself. Built-in support tickets and multi-tablet live sync help, and Flipdish, by contrast, manages everything for you as a hosted service. It’s a trade of control and cost against convenience.