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A free UpMenu alternative

UpMenu is a capable all-in-one for online ordering, loyalty and marketing — but it’s a recurring monthly bill. DineKit is a free, open-source WordPress plugin, used by restaurants worldwide, that puts your menu, QR codes, allergen labelling, table bookings, commission-free online ordering, QR order & pay, a Kitchen Display and a full POS with loyalty points on your own site — free and live today.

Get DineKit — Free

How UpMenu works & what it costs

UpMenu is a hosted SaaS platform built around commission-free online ordering, sold on a monthly subscription.

The pitch is a genuinely useful one: rather than pay a marketplace 20–30% per order, you pay UpMenu a flat monthly fee and keep your ordering commission-free. Around that ordering engine it bundles a website and app builder, a loyalty scheme, and SMS/email marketing tools — a lot of moving parts in one place.

The trade-off is the recurring cost. Plans typically land somewhere around £49–99 a month depending on the tier and add-ons, billed for as long as you use it. Your menu, customer data and storefront live on UpMenu’s platform, so what you’re really buying is ongoing access rather than something you own outright.

Approximate, typical pricing — check UpMenu directly for current plans. The point isn’t the exact figure; it’s that it’s a monthly commitment for the life of your restaurant.

DineKit vs UpMenu

What each gives you today — and what it costs.

What you need	DineKit	UpMenu
Price	Free, forever	~£49–99/month
Menu builder	Yes — live today	Yes
QR menus	Yes — live today	Yes
Allergen labelling + printable matrix	Yes — live today (UK-14 / Natasha’s Law built in, editable for your country)	Not a core feature
Opening hours	Yes — live today	Yes
Table bookings	Yes — live today, free (floor plan, deposits via your own Stripe)	Yes
Commission-free online ordering	Yes — live & free (collection & delivery)	Yes — live & integrated
QR order & pay at table	Yes — scan-to-order + pay-by-QR, live today	Yes
Kitchen Display (KDS)	Yes — included free, per-round tickets	Not a core feature
On-site card payments & POS	Yes — live today, your own Stripe, card-present or pay-by-QR	Yes
Installable staff app + multi-tablet live sync	Yes — live today (PWA), screens stay in sync	Yes — customer app builder
Loyalty & marketing (SMS/email)	Loyalty points live via the POS; transactional texts via your own Twilio (beta); marketing campaigns on the roadmap	Yes — loyalty and SMS/email marketing both live
Works worldwide (own currency)	Yes — menu & prices in your own currency (~43 countries)	Yes
Built-in support	Yes — support tickets inside the dashboard	Yes
Runs on your own site	Yes — self-hosted WordPress	Hosted on UpMenu
Own your data	Yes — open-source	Held on their platform

Being straight: DineKit’s commission-free ordering, QR order & pay, table bookings, on-site payments, Kitchen Display and full POS (with loyalty points) are all free and live today, on your own WordPress site, wherever you are in the world. Honest edges: payments run through Stripe and card capture is in GBP today, delivery isn’t GPS-tracked, and there’s no SMS/email marketing-campaign engine yet (transactional texts — confirmations, reminders, order-ready — now send via your own Twilio, in beta). UpMenu’s genuine remaining edge is its integrated SMS/email marketing suite — still on DineKit’s roadmap — and that it’s a fully-managed, hosted platform with no WordPress to run.

Why restaurants choose DineKit

Free, open, and on infrastructure you already control.

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No monthly bill

DineKit is free and open-source. No subscription, no per-order cut — you install it and it’s yours.

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Menus & QR, worldwide

Build your menu, generate QR codes and keep opening hours accurate — working right now, at zero cost, with your menu and prices shown in your own currency wherever you are in the world.

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Allergens done properly

Allergen labelling per dish with a printable matrix for staff — UK-14 (Natasha’s Law) built in as one example, and fully editable for your own country’s rules. The compliance side taken seriously, not bolted on.

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You own your data

Self-hosted on your own WordPress site. Your menu and customer data stay with you, not locked inside someone else’s platform.

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Ordering, QR pay, KDS & POS — live and free

Commission-free online ordering (collection & delivery), QR order & pay at the table, a Kitchen Display and a full POS with loyalty points are live today, taking payments through your own Stripe account. Install the staff app to any tablet — multiple screens stay in live sync. You keep 100%, minus standard card fees. Get DineKit — Free

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Part of your website

It lives inside the WordPress site you may already have, rather than a separate storefront you rent by the month.

When UpMenu might still be right

We’d rather be honest than win you the wrong way.

You want integrated SMS/email marketing. UpMenu’s SMS/email marketing tools are live and built in alongside its ordering and loyalty scheme. DineKit now has loyalty points live via its POS, but integrated SMS/email marketing campaigns are still on our roadmap — if that’s essential today, UpMenu already has it.
You need live GPS delivery tracking or diner accounts. DineKit’s delivery is commission-free but non-tracked today — there’s no live GPS driver tracking and no customer accounts with saved reorder. (Scheduled future-day pre-ordering is now live, with per-day kitchen capacity.) If GPS tracking or diner accounts are must-haves right now, a hosted platform may fit better.
You don’t run WordPress and don’t want to. DineKit is a WordPress plugin on your own hosting. If you’d rather a fully hosted, done-for-you platform manage everything for you, UpMenu’s SaaS model may suit you better.

Common questions

Is DineKit really free?

Yes. DineKit is a free, open-source WordPress plugin. The menu builder, QR menus, allergen labelling with printable matrix, opening hours, table bookings, commission-free online ordering, QR order & pay, Kitchen Display and full POS with loyalty points are all free to use today — no subscription and no per-order commission.

Can DineKit take online orders like UpMenu?

Yes. DineKit’s commission-free online ordering — collection and delivery — is live and free today, alongside QR order & pay at the table (scan-to-order and pay-by-QR). Payments go through your own Stripe account (Apple Pay and Google Pay included), and card capture is in GBP today. You keep 100%, minus standard Stripe card fees. Being honest: there’s no live GPS delivery tracking yet — though diners can now schedule future-day pre-orders.

Does DineKit work outside the UK?

Yes — DineKit is used by restaurants worldwide. Your menu and prices display in your own currency, localised to around 43 countries, and the allergen list (UK-14 / Natasha’s Law is built in) is fully editable for your own country’s rules. One honest caveat: Stripe card capture is in GBP today.

Does DineKit do loyalty and marketing like UpMenu?

Loyalty points are live today, built into DineKit’s POS. Integrated SMS/email marketing campaigns — the kind UpMenu bundles in — are still on our roadmap and not live yet.

What do I need to run DineKit?

A WordPress site on your own hosting. You install the plugin like any other, and your menu, QR codes, orders, bookings and allergen data live on your site — self-hosted and yours to keep. Built-in support tickets are right inside the dashboard if you need a hand.