Hidden Costs in Restaurant Software
RestroAI by Taiz · · 8 min read
A restaurant software price on a website is usually the monthly fee for the smallest plan. The cost of running the system is what you pay after the extras. This post groups the extras into categories, gives real examples from vendors' own pricing pages (checked 25 October 2026, not independently verified), and ends with a checklist you can use with any vendor, including RestroAI by Taiz. We also say where RestroAI has its own extra costs, because hardware and extra capacity are not free.
App fees
Some vendors build a branded customer app for you and charge for it as a one-off fee. WOS (OnlineOrder.pk), for example, lists an app fee of PKR 25,000 to 35,000 on its pricing page. That may be fair for the work involved, but it is a number you only see after reading the whole page. Ask whether the app is built once or maintained, whether updates cost extra, and whether iOS and Android are both covered.
Nosh lists its customer app as a paid add-on. Add-on prices are often not on the page at all.
Onboarding and advance payments
Onboarding fees pay for set-up and training. Nosh lists a PKR 5,000 to 15,000 onboarding fee. WOS lists two months paid in advance. Neither is unreasonable, but both change your first-month cash outlay and your total in year one. A low monthly price with a one-time fee and advance months looks different over twelve months.
Ask: is the fee refundable if I leave in month two? Is the advance payment credited against later months or held as a deposit?
Per-order and percentage charges
These grow with your success, which is why they matter most. Foodnerd lists a 5% charge on online store orders. Oscar POS offers a free POS and card machine but lists 1.2% + Rs 10 on every card payment. Both can be fair trades. The point is to work out what they cost at your volume, not at the vendor's example.
| Charge | How it is worked out | Per month at PKR 1,000,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 5% on online orders | 1,000,000 x 5% | PKR 50,000 |
| 1.2% + Rs 10 on card payments, if all payments were card and the average bill were PKR 2,000 (500 orders) | (1,000,000 x 1.2%) + (500 x 10) | PKR 17,000 |
| Flat PKR 15,000 per branch, no commission | Fixed | PKR 15,000 |
The assumptions are ours, to show the method. Payment processors charge fees on any card payment, including with RestroAI, whose card payments go through Stripe; those fees are separate from the RestroAI price.
Order caps, module add-ons and user limits
- Order caps: Foodnerd lists daily order caps of 100 to 450 depending on plan. A busy day can hit a cap, and the next plan up costs more.
- Module add-ons: Foodnerd lists a delivery module at USD 10 a month. Nosh puts riders, Foodpanda, tax integration and table ordering in its Pro plan. WOS puts POS, KDS and inventory in its Golden plan at PKR 25,000.
- User limits: Nosh lists a 5 to 15 user limit. Foodnerd lists extra users and drawers at USD 10 a month each. Each hire can change your bill.
- Device limits: how many terminals, kitchen screens or tablets are included?
| Vendor | Advertised price | One-time fees | Not in base price |
|---|---|---|---|
| RestroAI | PKR 15,000/month per branch, all features (1 POS, 1 KDS, 3 riders, 5 order takers) | None | No feature is extra; only extra terminals, screens, riders and users |
| WOS (OnlineOrder.pk) | PKR 4,999 to 25,000/month | PKR 25,000 to 35,000 app fee; 2 months paid in advance | POS, KDS and inventory only in Golden (PKR 25,000); iOS app from Professional; domain, hosting, hardware extra |
| Nosh | PKR 1,999 to 4,999/month; Pro custom | PKR 5,000 to 15,000 onboarding | Riders, Foodpanda, tax integration and table ordering only in Pro (custom price); customer app is a paid add-on; 5 to 15 user limit |
| Foodnerd | USD 34.99 to 74.99/month | None | Daily order caps (100 to 450); delivery module USD 10/month; online store 5% per online order; extra users and drawers USD 10/month each |
| HysabOne | From PKR 3,499/month | None | No online ordering website or customer app mentioned on its page |
| Oscar POS | Free POS and card machine | None | 1.2% + Rs 10 on every card payment; online ordering page offered separately |
"Contact sales" plans, hardware, domain and hosting
A plan with no price, usually called Pro, Enterprise or Custom, is a signal that the features you need may sit there. It is not wrong to quote custom prices. It does make comparison hard, so ask for the price in writing before you commit time to a trial.
Hardware is another real cost with every vendor: tablets or touchscreens, receipt printers, cash drawers and card machines. Domain and hosting for your ordering website may be included or may be your job. WOS lists domain, hosting and hardware as extra. Ask who pays for the domain, who owns it, and whether you can take it with you if you leave.
Year-one totals are the fairest way to compare. For one branch, RestroAI at PKR 15,000 x 12 is PKR 180,000. WOS Golden at PKR 25,000 x 12 plus a PKR 35,000 app fee is PKR 335,000, before domain, hosting and hardware, so PKR 155,000 more. That comparison uses WOS's own published prices and is not independently verified. Cheaper plans exist elsewhere, but they do not all include the same features.
A checklist for any vendor
- What is the total for my first twelve months, with every fee and advance payment included?
- Is there a setup, onboarding or app fee? Is it one-time?
- Is there any commission or percentage on orders, online or in-store?
- What does a card payment cost me, and who sets that fee?
- Are there daily or monthly order caps? What happens when I hit one?
- Which features are in my plan, and which are paid modules or add-ons?
- How many users, devices, riders and kitchen screens are included? What does each extra cost?
- Is the price I see the price for my plan, or does a "contact us" plan hold what I need?
- What hardware do I need, and is any of it sold by you?
- Who owns my domain and my data, and can I export them?
- Can I cancel at any time, and when does it take effect?
What RestroAI charges, upfront
RestroAI by Taiz costs PKR 15,000 per branch per month with every feature included. There is no setup or onboarding fee and no commission on orders. The Android customer app is included; iOS is not available yet. The ordering website runs on your own domain.
Costs that do exist: hardware is billed separately (the software runs on any tablet or touchscreen with a browser, and receipt printers and cash drawers are supported), card payments carry Stripe's processing fees, and busier branches pay for extra capacity. We publish those prices:
| Per branch | Included in PKR 15,000 | Extra capacity |
|---|---|---|
| All features, website, mobile app | Every feature, no feature locks | Nothing extra |
| POS terminals | 1 | PKR 2,000/month each |
| Kitchen display (KDS) screens | 1 | PKR 1,000/month each |
| Riders | 3 | PKR 500/month each |
| Order takers | 5 | PKR 500/month each |
| Central ordering users | 1 | PKR 1,000/month each |
| Users in every other role (manager, kitchen, cashier, etc.) | 1 per role | PKR 500/month each |
For example, 2 POS terminals and 6 riders comes to PKR 18,500 a month, and 15 terminals with 50 riders to PKR 66,500. We are not the cheapest monthly option: Nosh starts at PKR 1,999 and HysabOne at PKR 3,499, and Oscar POS has a free tier. Our claim is the lowest price for a complete system. See also what restaurant POS costs in Pakistan, RestroAI vs Nosh and the commission math against Foodpanda.
Start free at restroai.io. One branch. One price. Every feature.
Frequently asked questions
What hidden costs should I look for in restaurant software?
Look for app fees, onboarding fees, advance payments, per-order or card percentages, order caps, paid add-on modules, user and device limits, contact-sales plans, hardware, and domain or hosting costs. Ask for a written first-year total.
Does restaurant software charge per order?
Some does. For example, Foodnerd lists 5% on online store orders and Oscar POS lists 1.2% plus Rs 10 on card payments, per their own pages checked 25 October 2026. RestroAI charges no commission on orders, though card payments carry Stripe processing fees.
Does RestroAI have a setup fee?
No. RestroAI by Taiz has no setup or onboarding fee, no commission on orders, and a flat PKR 15,000 per branch per month with every feature included. Hardware is billed separately.
What extra costs does RestroAI have?
Hardware such as tablets, printers and cash drawers is billed separately, card payments carry Stripe processing fees, and extra capacity costs more: POS terminal PKR 2,000, KDS screen PKR 1,000, rider PKR 500, order taker PKR 500, central ordering user PKR 1,000 and other-role user PKR 500, per month.
What is a typical onboarding fee for restaurant software in Pakistan?
It varies. Nosh lists PKR 5,000 to 15,000, and WOS lists a PKR 25,000 to 35,000 app fee plus two months in advance, per their own pricing pages checked 25 October 2026. Check each vendor's current page.
How do I compare restaurant software prices fairly?
Compare the first-year total for the same list of features: monthly fees, one-time fees, advance payments, per-order charges, add-ons, hardware, domain and hosting. Vendor figures here come from their own pages and were not independently verified.