Let’s be honest. Running a restaurant in the UK feels a bit like doing the London Marathon… while carrying a fryer… and someone keeps asking why the chips are taking so long.
Between rising ingredient costs, staff shortages, delivery demand, and customers expecting the speed of a fast food chain but the charm of a Michelin star, your POS system needs to do more than simply take payments.
It needs to run your business, help you grow it, and stop you from losing money in sneaky ways, making a modern Square alternative a smart move for many UK restaurants.
Square is a popular choice for small venues. It’s easy to set up, looks clean, and offers a basic POS that’s free. But for many restaurants, especially those doing regular online orders and delivery, Square can start feeling like one of those “free trials” that get expensive the moment you actually need it.
That’s where Foodhub steps in as a powerful alternative. Designed for UK restaurants and takeaways,
Foodhub gives you an all-in-one system that combines an EPOS system, online ordering, PDQ payments, and marketplace integration in a way that’s built for high-volume hospitality. Less juggling. Less stress. More revenue is kept in your pocket.
Let’s break it down properly.
Square: Great for Simple Setups, Pricey Once You Grow
Square is genuinely good at what it was built for: simple, quick, app-based selling.
If you run a small cafe, a market stall, or a food truck, Square gives you a fast way to take payments and track sales. It’s neat, and it works.
But restaurants usually need more than that. The moment you need tools like:
- Table plans
- Better reporting
- Coursing
- Loyalty programmes
- Deeper restaurant workflows
…You’re also moving into Square’s paid plans and add-ons. In the UK, Square for Restaurants’ Plus plan comes with a monthly subscription per location, and features like loyalty are often available at an additional cost.
On top of that, there are card processing fees, online payment charges, and integrations that can increase your overall costs depending on how your setup is configured.
So while it starts free, it can quickly turn into “free-ish” at best.
And if your restaurant is delivery-heavy, those payment fees can stack up quietly. You might not notice week to week… until you look at your monthly statement and suddenly feel personally victimised by percentages.
Foodhub EPOS: Built for Uk Restaurants That Rely on Online Orders
Foodhub EPOS system is designed for restaurants, takeaways, and multi-channel ordering in the UK.
It’s not trying to be a universal tool for every business type. It’s built for hospitality. That means it’s designed around the actual chaos of restaurant life:
- Walk-ins
- Deliveries
- Collections
- Kitchen workflows
- Peak-time rushes
- and customers who order three meals and forget to add the drink until the last second
Foodhub doesn’t just give you a POS. It gives you a connected system that helps you run orders smoothly while keeping more control over profits.
Feature-By-Feature Comparison: Foodhub EPOS Vs Square for Restaurants
Here’s a simplified breakdown:
Feature | Foodhub EPOS | Square for Restaurants |
Core POS | Menu management, split bills, table plans, and real-time reporting | Basic free plan available, but advanced tools often require paid plans |
Online ordering | Branded website and app, orders sync directly, low-fee setup | Online ordering available, often with transaction fees and third-party integrations |
Payments / PDQ | Integrated PDQ, Pay by Link, Apple Pay, Google Pay | Card payments supported, with UK processing fees |
Restaurant tools | Delivery tracking, loyalty tools, kiosks, and offline mode | Table management and advanced tools in higher tiers, loyalty is often an add-on |
Integrations | We don't charge for our own orders
| Integrations available, but depth varies based on restaurant needs |
Pricing approach | 50% setup fee, Free branded online ordering website, 2 months free trial
| Monthly plans + payment fees |
Put simply, Foodhub unifies everything. Square can do a lot, too, but you may need to stitch things together with paid upgrades and extra tools.
The Real Difference: Keeping Your Revenue
This is where the conversation gets serious.
For restaurants that depend on delivery and online ordering, payment fees and platform charges can quietly eat into profits. It’s not always about who has the flashiest app. It’s about what you take home at the end of the month.
Foodhub has processed 60 million+ orders, and the model is designed to support restaurants with a marketplace presence while still allowing you to build your own customer base through branded ordering channels.
With Foodhub, restaurants can:
- Drive direct orders through their own site/app
- Get additional orders from the foodhub marketplace
- Reduce reliance on high-commission third-party platforms
- Keep customer data instead of renting it
That last one is a big deal. Because if you cannot communicate directly with your own customers, you’re basically paying someone else for access to your own audience. Which is… not the dream.
Where Foodhub Fits Best
Foodhub is ideal if you are:
- A takeaway or restaurant doing regular online and delivery orders
- Tired of managing multiple tools for ordering, payments, and reporting
- Looking for a UK-focused solution that understands how British restaurants operate
- Ready to build a direct customer base and reduce dependency on expensive third-party platforms
- Scaling beyond “one till and a prayer” into a full system that supports growth
If your orders are coming in from multiple channels and you want them handled cleanly in one system, Foodhub’s approach makes a lot of sense.
It’s especially strong for independents and growing groups who want:
- Smooth kitchen flow
- Reliable order management
- Customer retention tools
- And a setup that helps them keep more of what they earn
When Square Might Be Better
To be fair, Square is still a solid choice in certain scenarios.
Square may suit you better if you are:
- A micro venue or pop-up
- Running a food truck
- Only need simple sales tracking
- Want a low-cost, app-only solution with minimal setup
- Not heavily reliant on deliveries or online ordering
If you are keeping things simple and mostly take payments in person, Square’s ease can be great.
But as soon as you grow into multi-channel orders and deeper restaurant management needs, you might start feeling its limits.
Final Thoughts: Choose the Tool That Matches Your Business
Square is great for basic setups. But Foodhub is built for restaurants that need more than basic.
If you run a UK restaurant that wants:
- Strong POS tools
- Built-in ordering channels
- Integrated payments
- Marketplace growth
- And a system made for busy hospitality environments
…Foodhub is a powerful alternative worth looking at.
Because your POS should not just ring up orders. It should help you run better, and keep more money while doing it.
And if it can save you a few headaches during peak hours, too? Even better.
Ready to Grow with Foodhub for Business?
If you want to streamline how you take orders, manage tables, accept payments, and grow online without losing revenue to stacked fees, Foodhub for Business can help, especially if you’re currently comparing Square alternatives.
Book your free demo and see how Foodhub EPOS, PDQ payments, online ordering, and marketplace integration work together in one powerful system.
Your restaurant deserves tools that actually work as hard as you do.
