Ordering.co vs Square Online
Square Online, Square Kiosk, and Square KDS are sold as add-ons layered on Square for Restaurants plans, priced per device and per location. Ordering.co is an independent platform: ordering channels, store operations, delivery, marketing, and loyalty run on one catalog and order flow, and you connect the POS, payment, and delivery providers you already run instead of adopting Square as your point of sale to get started. A free pilot lets you prove it on your own operation.
| Capability | Ordering.co | Square Online |
|---|---|---|
| Call center software for your own agents | Included | Not listed |
| Your own multi-vendor marketplace | Included | Not listed |
| Driver app for your own fleet | Included | Not listed |
| Frontend source code license | Eligible plans | Not listed |
| White-label reseller program | Included | Not listed |
Ordering.co at a glance
- years building ordering technology
- 12+
- of orders a month, on auto-scaling infrastructure
- Millions
- products across ordering channels, operations, and delivery
- 20+
- features, from catalog to dispatch
- 1,500+
Enterprise brands running on Ordering.co technology
Why restaurant brands choose Ordering.co over Square Online
Five reasons that come up when teams put the two side by side.
No POS requirement
Run online ordering without adopting Square as your POS
Square's own restaurant capabilities page sells online ordering, Kiosk, and Kitchen Display System as features layered on a Square for Restaurants subscription, with KDS and Kiosk billed per device on top. Ordering.co is an independent platform: you connect the POS, payment, and delivery providers you already use instead of switching your point of sale to get online ordering.
Enterprise-grade
Enterprise-proven, equal or better quality
Ordering.co runs ordering for enterprise groups such as Alsea, which operates 10 brands across 4,262 locations on one platform. Its auto-scaling infrastructure can process millions of orders a month.
Free pilot
Start with a free pilot
Prove Ordering.co on your own menus, stores, and order paths before you commit. Start with a free pilot and make the switch decision on results your team has seen for itself.
20+ products, 1,500+ features
One complete platform, one catalog
Websites, branded apps, self-ordering kiosks, a call center console, AI ordering agents, store operations, delivery, marketing, and loyalty run on the same catalog and order flow. More than 20 products and 1,500 features come from one provider, so a new channel is a configuration, not another device fee to add.
API, MCP, source code
An open platform your team can build on
Connect any system through the Ordering.co API and webhooks, plug AI tools into your ordering account through MCP, and, on eligible plans, build on the frontend source code of the storefront and apps.
Keep Square POS. Add your own ordering platform.
You do not have to replace Square to use Ordering.co. Ordering.co connects with Square POS: its setup guide describes syncing the store's Square menu and sending online orders to Square, with fulfillment status returning to Ordering.co order tracking. Keep Square at the counter and run your branded website, apps, kiosk, AI ordering agents, and your own delivery on Ordering.co. Setup confirms the exact workflow for your store.
See the Square integrationSide by side
Every row is something your brand can run on Ordering.co.
| Capability | Ordering.co | Square Online |
|---|---|---|
| Cost and commitment | ||
| Sign up without a specific POS | Connect the POS, payment, and delivery providers you already run. No specific POS is required to get started. | Online ordering, Kiosk, and Kitchen Display System are sold as add-ons on top of a Square for Restaurants plan (Free, Plus at $49/location a month, or Premium at $149/location a month), with KDS and Kiosk billed per device. |
| Ordering channels | ||
| Web ordering and branded apps | Ordering Web and branded iOS and Android apps on your domain and developer accounts, with the source code on eligible plans. | A Square Online ordering profile: a branded ordering page on a Square-hosted link, connected to Square POS, not a native branded app. |
| Self-ordering kiosk | Ordering Kiosk: customers order and pay from tablets or large screens in the store, managed from the dashboard. | Square Kiosk, billed per device on top of a Square for Restaurants plan. |
| Call center software for your own agents | Ordering Call Center: your own agents find the customer by phone number, pick a saved address, and the order lands in that store's Merchant App and POS. | Not listed |
| AI ordering agents (voice, WhatsApp, chat) | AI Ordering Agents take orders through voice, WhatsApp, chat, and web conversations on your catalog. | Square AI voice ordering answers calls to a Square business number and takes pickup orders, on Square Plus, Premium, or Messages Plus. |
| Your own multi-vendor marketplace | A marketplace website and app where customers buy from several stores or brands in one checkout. | Not listed |
| Store and delivery operations | ||
| Driver app for your own fleet | Driver App and delivery dashboard: automatic assignment, order batching, a live map, and proof of delivery. | Not listed |
| Courier partners | Connected delivery partners with per-store selection and fallback rules, alongside your own drivers on the same order flow. | On-demand delivery through connected courier partners referenced on Square's ordering and restaurant capabilities pages, described as available "without marketplace commissions" on direct orders. |
| Kitchen and pickup displays | Send accepted orders to a kitchen display and show customers which orders are ready for pickup. | Square KDS: an Android app that syncs orders from POS, online ordering, and delivery apps, billed per device ($30/month on Plus, $20/month on Premium). |
| Loyalty program | Loyalty tied to the same catalog and order flow across every ordering channel. | Square Loyalty: points-based rewards with customizable VIP tiers, sold as a separate product with its own plan. |
| Gift cards | Gift cards on the same catalog and order flow across every ordering channel. | Square Gift Cards: physical and eGift cards, with a 2.5% load fee on Square Free and Plus. |
| Catering ordering on the same catalog | Catering runs on the same catalog, stores, and order flow as every other ordering channel. | Add-onSquare's caterer page centers on proposals and invoicing to get paid for catering jobs, not catering ordering on the restaurant's online catalog. |
| Build and extend | ||
| API and webhooks | The Ordering.co API and webhooks, included in every plan. | The Square API platform, with SDKs, an API Explorer, and a GraphQL Explorer, governed by Square's developer terms. |
| MCP for AI ordering tools | Connect compatible AI tools to your Ordering.co account through MCP. | Square MCP server (Beta), connecting AI assistants to the Square API. |
| Frontend source code license | On eligible plans, source code for the web storefront, customer apps, Merchant App, and Driver App. | Not listed |
| White-label reseller program | Offer ordering under your own brand through the Ordering.co reseller program, with the platform technology managed underneath. | Not listed |
| Custom features | Build them yourself on the API and source code, or with a dedicated Ordering.co team. | Through the Square API platform and Square's App Marketplace of certified third-party apps. |
“Not listed” means the capability does not appear in Square Online's product lineup. Confirm scope and terms with each provider.
Where Square Online stops
What restaurant teams run into on Square.
Online ordering, kiosk, and KDS are add-ons on a Square subscription
Square sells its online ordering profile, Kiosk, and Kitchen Display System as features and per-device add-ons on top of a Square for Restaurants plan (Free, Plus at $49 a location a month, or Premium at $149 a location a month), so adding those channels means running on Square's plan and device pricing, not connecting them to a POS you already use.
Per-device and per-transaction fees stack up
Square KDS and Square Kiosk are each billed per device per month on top of the plan fee, online card processing runs 2.9% + 30 cents on paid plans (3.3% + 30 cents on Free), and gift cards carry a 2.5% load fee on Free and Plus.
No call center console or multi-vendor marketplace listed
Square's restaurant, marketing, and support pages describe payments, POS order management, online ordering, kiosk, KDS, loyalty, and gift cards; none describes a console for a team's own phone agents or a multi-vendor marketplace a brand can run.
Catering is a billing tool, not catering ordering
Square's page for caterers centers on turning a proposal into an invoice and getting paid, positioned as an all-in-one business solution for the catering business, not an online catalog customers order catering from.
Proven with enterprise brands.
The platform you would run on already runs ordering for Alsea, a multi-brand restaurant group with more than 4,000 locations.
Alsea runs WOW+ and ten restaurant brands on one ordering platform.Domino's, Starbucks, Burger King, Vips, and six more brands share one app, one website, call centers, and a delivery operation that assigns drivers automatically.10 brands on WOW+4,262 locationsMexico and ColombiaRead the Alsea storyRun Ordering.co in your own cloud.
Every plan runs on infrastructure Ordering.co manages for you. Organizations that need the platform inside a cloud account they control can install it on AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, or Railway with an enterprise package.
- The whole backend: API, webhooks, and real-time.
- One contract at a fixed rate, with no charges per store or by transaction volume.
How to move from Square Online to Ordering.co
A Square move is more than an online-ordering swap. Start with a free pilot, trace how one real order moves through your operation, and switch traffic only after the checks pass while Square keeps taking orders.
What moves
Menus and catalogs
Products, categories, modifiers, prices, and images, checked on one representative store before the full import.
Stores and teams
Store records, hours, service areas, handoff modes, and the roles and access levels your teams use to run the day.
Customers and order history
Customer and order records that your Square exports contain and that your data rights and retention rules allow you to move.
Domains and apps
Your ordering domain points to the new storefront. With the same developer accounts and app listing, the new build can ship as an update under the existing icon.
POS, payments, and delivery
POS, payment, delivery, loyalty, and analytics connections, reconfigured against your existing provider accounts where the provider supports it. Moving your ordering channels does not require replacing your point of sale.
How the move runs
Start with a free pilot
Bring a representative menu, the order paths your guests use, and the systems that must stay connected, so the pilot tests the operation you actually run.
Trace one real order
Follow an order from menu to payment, fulfillment, support, and reporting. That path shows which decisions the new setup must keep and which ones you want to change.
Build the move map
List each domain, channel, and menu to replace; the menu, store, customer, and order data that matters for launch; who handles each order handoff; and the credentials and callbacks every connected system needs.
Configure and test
Agree on the scenarios that must work before traffic moves: a guest orders from the right store and gets a confirmation, the team accepts and completes the order, and every connected system has an owner and a fallback.
Switch store by store
Point your domain and apps to Ordering.co once the checks pass, and keep Square live until the new setup has proven itself. Check your Square plan's billing cycle and device subscriptions before you set the date.
Duration depends on store count, menu complexity, POS and payment connections, delivery, and app-store access, so the scope, responsibilities, and timing are set in your project plan. Apple and Google decide app review and approval.
Questions from Square Online customers
Why choose Ordering.co over Square Online?
Ordering.co is an independent ordering platform: you are not required to run Square POS or a specific Square for Restaurants plan to get started. Ordering channels, operations, delivery with your own drivers, marketing, and loyalty run on one catalog and order flow, and the platform is open: API, webhooks, MCP, and, on eligible plans, frontend source code. You can start with a free pilot.
Do we have to switch our POS to use Ordering.co?
No. Ordering.co connects with the POS, payment, delivery, loyalty, and analytics systems you already run, each confirmed against your provider accounts in the move plan. Square's online ordering, Kiosk, and Kitchen Display System, by contrast, are sold as add-ons on a Square for Restaurants subscription.
Can we try Ordering.co before we switch?
Yes. Start with a free pilot on your own menus, stores, and order paths, and decide on what you have seen working in your operation.
Is Ordering.co reliable enough for an enterprise brand?
Yes. Ordering.co runs ordering for enterprise groups such as Alsea across 4,262 locations and 10 brands, on auto-scaling infrastructure that can process millions of orders a month.
Does Ordering.co have a call center for phone orders?
Yes. Ordering Call Center is a console for your own phone agents: they find the customer by phone number, pick a saved address, and the order lands in that store's Merchant App and POS. Square's public materials describe no equivalent console for a team's own phone agents.
Can our developers build our own ordering experience?
Yes. The Ordering.co API and webhooks are included in every plan, MCP connects compatible AI tools, and eligible plans include the frontend source code of the storefront and apps.
Can we keep Square POS?
Ordering.co lists Square among its POS integrations. Confirm the menu and order workflow for your project in the move plan.
How long does a move from Square Online take?
It depends on store count, menu complexity, POS and payment connections, delivery, and app-store access. There is no standard timeline; the plan for your brand sets the sequence, responsibilities, and dates, starting with the free pilot.
Square Online and every other product name on this page are trademarks of their respective owners. Ordering.co is not affiliated with Square Online.
Run ordering without adopting a new POS.
Bring the Square setup you run today, your store count, and your monthly orders. We'll show you the Ordering.co setup, the free pilot, and the cost at your volume in a live demo.