QR Menu Apps Compared: Free Tiers vs Real Cost
By menu-MENA Team
Published on May 4, 2026
Why a comparison table is the only honest way to do this
Every QR menu app says it is the best for restaurants. The actual differences are buried under marketing copy, free-tier asterisks, and per-feature upgrade prompts. The way to cut through is to put them on the same row, score the things that matter to a real Egyptian restaurant — Arabic RTL, PDF mode, multi-branch, ads, caps — and let the table speak.
This is a QR menu SaaS comparison aimed specifically at Cairo, Alexandria, and the Sahel. If you are running a koshary spot in Maadi, a cafe in Zamalek, or a grill chain across Sheikh Zayed and 6th of October, this is for you.
The comparison table
| Feature | menu-MENA | MenuTiger free | GloriaFood free | Generic free QR app |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ads on guest menu | None | Sometimes | None | Frequent |
| QR watermark | None | Yes on free tier | None | Yes |
| Item cap | None | Limited | Limited on free | Often 30 items |
| Photo cap | None | Limited | Limited | Yes |
| Arabic-first RTL | Yes (Cairo font) | Translation only | Limited | Rare |
| PDF flipbook mode | Yes (PDF.js) | No | No | No |
| WhatsApp ordering FAB | Built-in | Add-on | Limited | Rare |
| Multi-branch pricing | 50% off each | Per-account | Per-account | Per-account |
| 1,100-item starter catalog | Yes | No | No | No |
| Offline (PWA) | Yes | No | No | No |
| Custom domain | Roadmap | Paid tier | Paid tier | No |
| Monthly price | 90 EGP | Equivalent paid | Paid for ordering | Free with ads |
| Yearly price | 1,000 EGP | Higher equivalent | Higher equivalent | Free with ads |
| 14-day trial, no card | Yes | Varies | Varies | N/A |
The hidden costs that do not fit in a table
A table is good for the obvious things. The less obvious things are where free QR menu apps get expensive.
Brand erosion from ads on your menu
When a guest scans your QR and the first thing they see is a banner ad for a different shawarma shop, that is a brand impression you bought and someone else used. Across a 200-cover-per-day restaurant, that is 6,000 impressions per month going to your competitors. The 90 EGP/month plan is, in pure ad-impression terms, a steal.
Watermark fatigue
A QR with a third-party logo inside or below it is a visible reminder that you are using a generic tool. It signals to guests that the digital menu is an afterthought, not part of the brand. menu-MENA's QRs are clean and printable at any size, with no watermark on any plan.
Arabic that almost works
Most QR menu apps were built for the US or Europe and added Arabic later. The result is RTL that breaks on long item names, inconsistent number formatting, and default fonts that look out of place. Cairo guests notice within five seconds. menu-MENA is Arabic-first with the Cairo font, full RTL, and parallel ar_EG / en_US fields on every menu item.
PDF as a second-class citizen
If you already paid a designer for a beautiful PDF menu, retyping it into a generic QR menu app is wasteful. Linking out to a flat PDF is a poor mobile experience because pinch-to-zoom on a multi-page PDF is clumsy. menu-MENA's PDF mode uses PDF.js to render any uploaded PDF as a swipeable flipbook with viewport-fit rendering and reliable navigation. The artwork stays intact.
Multi-branch math
A two-branch restaurant on a per-account free app pays double for everything that is not free, manages two dashboards, and has no shared inventory. On menu-MENA, the second branch is 50% off (45 EGP/month), inventory and catalog can be shared or branch-specific, and the dashboard surfaces both branches in one place.
The real cost of ownership over 12 months
Cash cost over a year:
- menu-MENA yearly: 1,000 EGP, all features included.
- Free tier with ads: 0 EGP cash, but guest impressions diverted to ads and competitors.
- Most paid competitors: 1,500-4,000 EGP equivalent once you remove watermarks, unlock Arabic, and add a second branch.
Time cost over a year:
- menu-MENA: 5 minutes to launch from the catalog, weekly Template Builder tweaks if desired.
- Generic free app: 4-8 hours to type 200 items, plus retyping for translations.
- Competitor paid app: Similar typing burden, often without the catalog assist.
Brand cost over a year:
- menu-MENA: zero, no ads, no watermarks.
- Free app with ads: roughly 70,000-100,000 ad impressions diverted across a year for a 200-cover/day shop.
Key takeaways
- Free QR menu apps usually monetize through ads, watermarks, and per-branch upcharges that exceed 90 EGP/month in real terms.
- menu-MENA is 90 EGP/month or 1,000 EGP/year, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card required.
- Each additional branch is 50% off, which beats per-account pricing on every competitor.
- Arabic-first RTL with the Cairo font is built in, not bolted on.
- PDF flipbook mode using PDF.js lets you reuse existing designed menus.
- The 1,100-item catalog and PWA offline support are exclusive to menu-MENA at this price point.
If you are choosing a QR menu system in Egypt, the right comparison is not "free vs paid" — it is "ads on your menu vs no ads on your menu." Try menu-MENA's 14-day free trial at menu.mena-x.com.