Zay-OS vs the alternatives. Side by side, with the numbers showing.
Choosing restaurant online ordering means comparing four very different things: delivery marketplaces that take 15-30% base commission (25-35% blended real cost), direct-ordering platforms with layered pricing, website builders with ordering bolted on, and POS add-ons tied to one register. Each comparison below puts Zay-OS's flat $399-$599/month next to the alternative, feature by feature and dollar by dollar — including where the alternative is the better fit.
Zay-OS publishes 14 side-by-side comparisons against DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Toast, Square, ChowNow, Owner.com, Olo, Slice, GetSauce, Chowly, BentoBox, Popmenu, and Otter. The short version: marketplaces cost restaurants 25-35% of every order in blended real cost, while Zay-OS is a flat $399 to $599 per location per month with no commission — and marketplace orders still flow into the same kitchen tablet through Otter.
The apps taking the commission.
The apps that charge 15-30% base commission — 25-35% blended real cost once fees stack.
The direct-ordering field.
Direct-ordering competitors — the differences are pricing transparency and what is bundled.
Site-first, ordering second.
Site-first products where ordering is a feature, not the operating system.
The register you already run.
Zay-OS is not a POS replacement — it layers onto the register you already run.
What everything actually costs.
Sourced, dated cost pages and honest alternatives lists — every figure attributed to a published rate card or named report.
The comparison that matters is your own P&L.
Run the free grader to see what the marketplaces took from your restaurant last month — most operators are live in under a week.