Over three years, a restaurant website costs anywhere from about $1,000 to more than $17,000. The cheapest option is building it yourself on Squarespace. The most expensive are the all-in-one restaurant platforms, which charge every month for as long as you stay. A site you own outright sits in between and stops costing much after the first payment.
How do the options compare over 36 months?
These are list prices. Platform totals assume the price doesn't go up, which it usually does.
| Option | What you pay | Three-year total |
|---|---|---|
| Squarespace Core (you build it) | $29 a month, billed yearly | About $1,044, plus domain renewal after year one |
| Holston Core site | $2,500 once, then about $12 a month for hosting and domain | About $2,932 |
| Holston Standard site | $3,500 to $5,000 once, then about $12 a month | About $3,932 to $5,432 |
| Popmenu Starter | $159 a month, prepaid yearly | About $5,724 |
| SpotHopper | No published price. Owners report $249 a month and up, usually on a yearly contract | About $8,964 and up |
| Owner.com Flexible | $249 a month plus 5% of every online order | About $8,964 plus order fees |
| Popmenu Essentials | $269 a month, prepaid yearly | About $9,684 |
| Owner.com Flat Rate | $499 a month | About $17,964 |
Why is Squarespace so much cheaper, and what's the catch?
Because you're the one building it, on a template thousands of other sites also use. You pick the template, write the pages, size the photos and keep the menu current. The layout bends only as far as the template allows, which is why so many template sites look alike. It's a fine choice if you have the time and enjoy it.
Speed is the other catch. Squarespace sites are reasonably fast on average, but you can't change the code underneath, so a heavy template or big photos stay slow. A site built for your business is shaped around your content and measured on a phone before launch. Run your current site through Google's free PageSpeed Insights to see where it stands.
What do the restaurant platforms give you for the monthly fee?
More than a website. Popmenu adds email and text marketing. Owner.com adds online ordering, a branded app and loyalty. If online ordering is a big part of your sales, those tools can pay for themselves, and a site from me doesn't include ordering.
If what you mainly need is a fast site with your menu, hours, events and a way to book private parties, you're paying every month for tools you don't use.
What happens when you stop paying?
This is the question to ask before you sign. On a monthly platform, the site lives on their system. Stop paying and it goes away. Ask in writing:
- Who owns the domain?
- Who owns the photos and copy they made for you?
- How long is the contract, and what does it cost to leave early?
- Is there a cap on changes, and what do they charge past it?
When I build a site, the domain, hosting and editing accounts are in your name from the start. You pay the hosting company directly, about $10 to $12 a month. There's no monthly fee to me.
Which one is right for you?
- You like doing it yourself: Squarespace.
- Online ordering is a big share of your sales: a platform with ordering built in, like Owner.com or Popmenu with its ordering add-on.
- You want a fast site you own, that staff can update from a phone: that's what I build. See pricing.
Prices checked October 2026 on each company's pricing page, except SpotHopper, which doesn't publish one.