"Digital menu" sounds like one thing, but in practice it is three different solutions with very different cost and control: a QR code to a PDF, a subscription to a SaaS menu platform, or a menu section built into your own site. This article compares the three — by cost, who updates it, how it looks on a phone, multilingual support, allergens and whether Google sees it.
The three options in brief
| QR → PDF | SaaS platform | Menu on your own site | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | none | usually €15–40/month | none (included in the build) |
| Who updates prices | you — a new PDF each time | you, through their panel | you, through the site admin panel |
| Look on a phone | poor — zooming and dragging | good | good, on your brand |
| Multilingual | a separate PDF per language | often built in | yes, like the rest of the site |
| Allergens / labels | manually in the PDF | fields in the system | fields in the system |
| Google / SEO | a PDF does not rank for "menu [city]" | lives on their domain, not yours | indexed on your domain |
| If you stop paying | — | the menu stops working | — |
| Ownership of the content | yours | in their system | yours, in the site database |
QR to PDF — when it is enough
You put a QR sticker on the table, it leads to a PDF file. Almost free and done in an hour.
When it is OK: a small venue with a rarely changing menu, a seasonal location, or as a temporary solution.
Downsides: a PDF reads badly on a phone — the customer zooms and drags. Every price change is a new file (and sometimes a new QR). Google does not show a PDF for searches like "restaurant menu [city]", so it brings you no visitors. There is no decent way to add photos of dishes.
A SaaS menu platform — what you get and what you pay
Services like digitalnomenu.bg, mymenu.bg, 2menu and similar give you a ready system: you enter dishes, categories, prices, allergens; you get a QR and a web address. Some add table ordering, automatic translation, Google-review capture.
Pros: a fast start, ready features, support from their side.
Cons: the monthly fee runs for as long as you use the menu — with no end. The menu usually lives on their domain (e.g. your-venue.digitalnomenu.bg), not yours — so the SEO value and the traffic do not accrue to you. The design is limited to their templates. And most importantly: stop the subscription and the menu stops.
If what you want is specifically table ordering with payment, a specialised platform may be the right choice — that is a separate feature from "a menu to look at".
A menu on your own site — the option with no monthly fee
The menu is a section of your site: on your domain, on your brand, with an admin panel for editing. The QR code on the table leads to your-site.bg/menu.
Pros: zero extra monthly fee — it is included in the site build. It is indexed in Google on your domain, so it helps "restaurant [city]" and "menu [city]". Full control over the design, photos, multilingual support and allergen fields. Prices are edited from the same panel you manage the rest of the site with.
Cons: table ordering with payment does not come "by default" — it is done with an extra integration if you need it. It makes sense when you are already building or planning a site for the venue.
With us, the menu section is part of the restaurant website — with no monthly subscription for the menu itself.
A 3-year total
| Option | Upfront | Over 3 years |
|---|---|---|
| QR → PDF | ~€0 | ~€0 (plus your time for each new PDF) |
| SaaS platform (€25/month) | €0–50 | ~€900 for the menu alone |
| Menu on your own site | one-off, in the site price | €0 extra for the menu |
For reference — pricing for building a venue site is on the restaurant page and in the general pricing article.
Which suits whom
- A small/seasonal venue with no site and no plans for one: QR → PDF or the cheapest SaaS option.
- A venue that wants table ordering with payment now: a specialised platform for that.
- A restaurant that already has or is building a site and wants Google traffic: a menu on your own site — no monthly fee, and it works for local SEO too.
Summary
A PDF is cheap but looks bad and brings no visitors. SaaS is convenient but is an endless fee on someone else's domain. A menu on your own site has no monthly fee, is on your brand and domain, and helps you show up in Google for "menu [city]" — it makes sense when you are building a site anyway.
Considering a venue site with a menu? Get in touch — we'll tell you which option fits your case, even if we don't work together.
