Designing a restaurant menu isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s a powerful tool that can boost sales and increase your average check.
With 85% of diners browsing menus online before visiting a new restaurant, your menu is often the first impression that influences their decision to dine with you. Additionally, data shows that 16% of menu items typically account for 80% of sales, so strategically highlighting these top dishes can have a significant impact on your restaurant’s revenue.
To help you save time and create menus that truly convert, I’ve tested and reviewed the most popular menu making apps. Whether you’re updating printed menus or launching a digital version with a QR code, the right app can make the process faster, easier, and more effective.
In this guide, I’ll share the 8 best menu making apps for restaurants in 2025, chosen based on features that matter most for your day-to-day restaurant operations.,
What Is the Best App to Create a Menu?
Here’s my take on the 8 best menu making apps:
These menu making apps have been tested to ensure they suit the needs of all types of restaurants.
What Is a Menu Making App?
A menu making app is a digital tool that allows restaurants to easily create, customize, and manage their menus for both print and digital use.
These apps enable you to design custom menus, update item descriptions, menu pricing, and availability in real-time, and add high-quality images to create more engaging digital experiences. Most are available in both web and mobile formats for added convenience.
Beyond simple design, many menu making apps also offer advanced features such as QR code menu generation, marketing tools, and integration with an online ordering system.
Key Features to Consider in Menu Making Apps
Not all menu making apps are created equal. Some are basic design tools, while others offer comprehensive, restaurant-focused features such as online ordering, POS integration, and multilingual support.
Choosing the right menu making app for your restaurant requires considering several key factors.
To make the menu design process easy, I’ve analyzed eight different menu making apps. In the table below, you’ll find the key features I evaluated for each app I tested.
| Features | UpMenu | Canva | Lisi Menu Maker | Adobe Express | MustHaveMenus | iMenuPro | PosterMyWall | Fotor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | ||||||||
| Additional Costs | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Paper Menu Templates | ||||||||
| Online Menus | ||||||||
| Mobile Menu | ||||||||
| QR Code Menu | ||||||||
| Marketing Tools | ||||||||
| Drag-and-Drop Editor | ||||||||
| Multi-Language Support |
Some menu making apps I tested include an option to create a QR code menu, but it’s static, meaning the QR code only links to a file or an external website. These tools don’t host or update the menu dynamically, so any changes require manually re-uploading or re-linking the file.
For this reason, I marked this feature as unavailable in the table, even though some apps claim to offer it, because they don’t provide a fully functional, hosted QR code menu solution.
How I Tested and Selected the Best Menu Making Apps
I carefully evaluated each app to ensure it meets the real-world needs of restaurant owners and managers.
Criteria I Used
When reviewing these menu making apps, I focused on the features that matter most for efficiency and functionality.
Ease of use was a top priority, ensuring that even users with no design experience could create professional menus quickly and easily. Design flexibility was also key, as restaurants need to showcase their brand and adapt the layout for different types of menus or seasonal updates.
Price transparency was also essential because hidden costs can significantly impact your restaurant budget. I also checked for mobile access, QR code functionality, and third-party integrations, including compatibility with POS systems and online ordering platforms.
How My Process Looked
I personally tested each menu making app. I evaluated how quickly I could build a menu, how well the export and publishing options worked, and whether it integrated with common restaurant systems like POS and online ordering platforms.
My goal was to simulate real-life restaurant usage, not just review features on paper and write a summary.
Top 8 Menu Making Apps
Short Overview
Pros
✅ Customizable and Stylish Menus: Build branded menus using templates and customizable QR code menus. Manage multiple menus from one dashboard.
✅ Advanced Ordering and Upselling Features: Includes tableside ordering, contactless QR code menus, dish modifiers, labels, item variants like sizes and flavors, recommendations, and cross-selling options to boost revenue.
✅ Flat-Fee Pricing with Marketing Tools: No commissions, flat pricing, and built-in marketing features to grow your brand and attract customers.
Cons
❌ Advanced Features Locked to Higher Plans: Advanced options such as multiple menus and item recommendations are available only in Premium, and labels are limited to Standard and Premium plans.
UpMenu is an online ordering system that provides a mobile app for restaurants, allowing customers to place online orders.
Restaurants can use the UpMenu menu management software to create and manage their online menu across all locations and ordering channels from a single dashboard. It allows them to add and edit multiple digital menus with modifiers, item variants, descriptions, and photos, ensuring a seamless and consistent experience for customers.
Additionally, UpMenu offers a variety of restaurant menu templates that make menu building quick and easy. You can also create a QR code menu with the system and print it to provide contactless ordering, enhance restaurant customer service, and increase restaurant sales.
UpMenu is a powerful solution for restaurants seeking professional menus, QR code functionality, and advanced ordering tools. While Premium unlocks full features, the flat-fee pricing and integrated marketing tools make it a strong choice for restaurants focused on growth.
Pricing
UpMenu offers subscription-based plans with a flat monthly fee and no commissions. There are three plans to choose from:
- Basic – $49/month: Includes online ordering (75 orders), restaurant website, QR code menu, and more.
- Standard – $89/month: Everything in Basic, 210 orders, tableside ordering, table reservations, email & SMS marketing, and integrations.
- Premium – $169/month: Everything in Standard, unlimited number of orders, marketing automation, gift cards, inventory, API, and multiple menus.
“Love this company. This app has come a long way and hopefully will continue to apply important features that restaurant owners need”
Clint Seeley, Operations Director at Michelangelo 301 (Source: Google Play)
Restaurants that choose UpMenu and use customizable menu templates to build menus for their website and mobile app report a 51% increase in order value, thanks to built-in upselling tools. Moreover, mobile app orders now account for over 40% of total restaurant revenue, proving that a well-designed digital restaurant menu can significantly boost sales.
UpMenu’s QR code menu helps restaurants increase online orders by 17% and improve table turnover by 23%, thanks to real-time updates and faster service.
Who Is It Best For?
UpMenu is perfect for full-service and quick-service restaurants that want an all-in-one platform for menu design, online ordering, and marketing—without paying commissions.
Short Overview
Pros
✅ Customizable Restaurant Menu Templates: Hundreds of professionally designed templates tailored for restaurant menus, making it simple to create your own menu.
✅ Wide Font Selection: Choose from over 130 fonts to match your restaurant’s branding.
✅ Free Stock Photos: Enhance your menu with a vast library of free images to showcase your dishes.
Cons
❌ No Restaurant-Specific Features: Canva doesn’t include online ordering, POS integration, or modifiers management.
❌ No QR Code Menu: Unlike restaurant-focused tools, Canva only allows static designs without QR code functionality.
Canva is one of the most popular design platforms, offering a wide variety of visual content and design assets, including social media graphics, presentations, posters, flyers, logos, menu designs, and more. Its menu-making feature is ideal for restaurants that want stylish, professional menus without hiring a designer.
With thousands of ready-made templates, an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, and easy customization options, Canva allows you to create menus for print, digital, and promotional use quickly and affordably.
“Canva is an incredibly user-friendly and powerful design platform that has revolutionized the way I create visual content. Its intuitive drag-and-drop interface makes it easy for anyone to create professional-looking graphics, regardless of their design experience. The vast library of pre-made templates and customization options allows for endless creativity, and the collaboration features make it seamless to work with teams and clients.”
Pallav Bora, User (Source: Google Play)
Pricing
Canva offers several pricing options:
- Free Plan: $0 per month – Includes basic templates, fonts, and design tools, making it ideal for creating simple menus.
- Canva Pro: $15/month per person – Unlocks premium templates, AI features, and advanced tools like background remover, and access to over 100 million premium photos, videos, and design assets.
- Canva Teams: $10/month per person (minimum three users) – Includes Pro features plus team collaboration tools.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing – Designed for large organizations with advanced brand control and admin tools.
Canva offers flexible pricing, featuring a robust free plan and affordable upgrades for premium features. It is perfect for creative menu designs and marketing visuals. However, it’s not a substitute for a full-featured restaurant menu management system.
Who Is It Best For?
Ideal for small restaurants, cafés, and food trucks that need professional menus and marketing materials on a budget but don’t require online ordering or QR menu management.
Short Overview
Pros
✅ Extensive Template Library: Access 1,000+ ready-made templates for all types of menus.
✅ QR Code Integration: Create a digital menu with QR codes for a contactless solution.
✅ Marketing Templates: Use Lisi’s marketing assets to promote your restaurant online and offline.
Cons
❌ Limited Advanced Features: Lisi focuses on design, so it lacks advanced menu management features (like modifiers’ management), POS integration, and online ordering features.
❌ Ads in Free Version: Free plan includes ads, and some templates are locked behind the Pro plan.
Lisi is a restaurant menu maker designed to create both digital and physical menus quickly and easily. The app offers over 1,000 customizable templates for various menu types such as cafés, bakeries, cocktail bars, and more.
With Lisi, you can design attractive menus without any design skills, add branding, and generate QR code menus for a modern, contactless dining experience.
Lisi makes menu creation easy with a simple 3-step process: select a template, customize it with your dishes and branding, then download, share, or print.
“It’s very useful and user friendly but it would be better if you have more templates that are free to be customized.”
Shiela Perez, User (Source: Google Play)
Pricing
Lisi offers a free plan with ads and limited features. The Pro version unlocks premium templates and removes ads. Pricing varies by region, but typically starts at around $8 per month or $42 per year for full access to all features and templates.
Lisi Menu Maker is a great option for restaurants that want quick, professional-looking menus and QR codes without hiring a designer. However, it’s focused on design only and doesn’t include restaurant-specific features like online ordering or POS integration.
Keep in mind that most templates and premium features require a paid subscription, and the number of free items is quite limited.
Who Is It Best For?
Lisi Menu Maker is ideal for small restaurants, cafés, and catering businesses that prioritize design flexibility and quick updates without investing in advanced restaurant software. It’s perfect for businesses that need printed or QR menus but don’t require integrated ordering or POS systems.
Short Overview
Pros
✅ Extensive Template Library: Browse thousands of menu templates or start from a blank canvas for complete creative control.
✅ Premium Design Assets: Upload your own photos or choose from royalty-free Adobe Stock images, graphics, icons, and more to enhance your menu design.
✅ Massive Font Selection: Access over 25,000 Adobe Fonts with curated font pairings to keep your menu looking professional and on-brand.
Cons
❌ Limited Restaurant-Specific Features: No POS integration, online ordering, or dynamic QR menu functionality.
❌ Premium Assets Require Subscription: Most advanced templates and stock photos are locked behind the paid plan.
Adobe Express is a design tool from Adobe that simplifies professional-level design for non-designers. It allows restaurants to create menus, social media graphics, and promotional materials with ease. Users have access to a library of stock images, editing tools, typefaces, and illustrations, as well as the ability to build their own logo and designs from scratch.
With thousands of templates and Adobe’s design resources, it’s an excellent option for creating both print and digital menus while maintaining brand consistency.
“This app takes some getting used to, but after taking some tutorials and exploring, I enjoy using it for everything! From logo design to social media posts and videos – this app provides endless tools for amazing design! I highly recommend it to beginners, non-designers, and even seasoned professionals!”
Leslie Lefever, User (Source: Google Play)
Pricing
- Free: $0/year – Basic content creation tools, limited generative AI credits, and assets.
- Premium: $99.99/year – Includes millions of premium templates and assets, more generative AI credits, brand kits, and time-saving design features.
- Teams: $49.99/seat per year (introductory offer for first year; renews at $79.99/seat per year) – Advanced collaboration for teams creating on-brand content at scale, with security and AI credits.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing – Designed for large organizations requiring advanced collaboration, security, and admin tools.
Adobe Express is a great free online menu maker for restaurants that want to create professional-quality designs and enhance their branding without dealing with complex software. However, it lacks operational features like online ordering or QR menu management, making it best suited purely as a design tool.
Who Is It Best For?
Best suited for restaurants and cafés focused on premium branding and design consistency across menus and restaurant marketing channels. Perfect for businesses that prioritize aesthetics but use separate systems for ordering and POS.
Short Overview
Pros
✅ Smart Menu Management Across Channels: Use free menu templates to design and update menus for print, web, QR codes, and digital signage from one platform.
✅ POS Integration & Automation: Sync menus with Toast and Square for instant updates across screens and digital menus.
✅ Enterprise Features for Multi-Location Brands: Control brand consistency with user permissions, team roles, and centralized oversight.
Cons
❌ Premium Features Require Paid Plan: POS syncing, digital signage, and advanced branding are only available with Pro or Enterprise plans.
❌ No Built-In Ordering System: MustHaveMenus focuses on menu management and marketing, not direct online ordering.
MustHaveMenus is a web-based menu management and marketing platform built for restaurants, bars, and multiple restaurants. It goes beyond menu design by offering digital signage, POS integration with Toast and Square, and QR code menus.
With over 25,000 templates and one-click publishing, MustHaveMenus allows you to manage print, web, and digital menus all in one place.
It also includes enterprise-level features like role-based permissions, brand kits, and remote display management, making it ideal for growing businesses.
MustHaveMenus is ideal for restaurants that want a centralized menu management system with advanced design and publishing capabilities. It’s particularly valuable for multi-location brands thanks to POS integration, brand controls, and digital signage support. While it doesn’t handle online ordering, its automation and enterprise-ready features make it one of the most comprehensive menu-making solutions on the market.
Pricing
- Design Plan: $0 (limited time) – Access menu design tools, 23,000+ templates, downloads, brand customization, and professional print services.
- Pro Plan: $33/month per location (billed annually) – Everything in Design plus digital signage, POS sync, AI Copilot, QR codes, unlimited team members, and advanced publishing tools.
- Display Add-On: $20/month per screen – Complete digital signage solution with animations, scheduling, and 4K video (requires Pro plan).
Optional Services:
- Takeout Conversion: From $49
- Digital Menu Board Setup: From $99
- Quick Build Menu Setup: From $99
- Full Menu Set (Dine-in + Takeout): From $149
“Overall, I wouldn’t use anything else. This is the ideal software for an independent restaurant to make professional menus and get them printed in house on the cheap. Way better than Canva, and forget using word/publisher. It is truly made for restaurants/events/venues etc. FOOD it is made for food people. I can tailor fonts, upload custom fonts, match custom colors, and the catalog of stock graphics is very good. The most powerful thing they have are the templates..wow so many to choose from and you don’t have to go through anything but menus.”
Donnie M., User (Source: GetApp)
Who Is It Best For?
Perfect for restaurants, bars, and hospitality groups that need multi-location menu management and restaurant marketing tools in one streamlined platform.
Short Overview
Pros
✅Patented Drag & Drop Menu Builder: Quickly design menus using a unique system that formats items automatically for a professional look.
✅ Dynamic QR Menus & Live-Sync Updates: Instantly sync changes across printed menus, websites, social media, and QR codes without re-uploading files.
✅ Unlimited Menu Styles & Branding Tools: Start with curated designs or fully customize menus with your own logos, fonts, colors, and artisan images.
Cons
❌ No Built-In Ordering or POS Integration: Focused on menu design and publishing only—ordering must be managed through separate systems.
❌ Limited Template Variety Compared to Design Platforms: While styles are curated, the library isn’t as extensive as Canva or Adobe Express for marketing visuals.
iMenuPro is a specialized online menu maker built exclusively for restaurants, offering patented drag-and-drop functionality and real-time sync between printed menus, QR code menus, and digital displays.
Unlike generic design tools, it’s purpose-built for the food industry with features like automatic dot leaders, daily menu updates, and item highlighting for upselling.
It ensures consistent branding and makes menu changes instant across all channels: print, web, and digital.
“The developers of this software understand the restaurant business. This is the only product on the market that helps a restaurant owner with little IT skills to build a professional menu quickly, publish it for printing and on the web. It even automatically updates multiple menus as we make changes. I’ve looked a long time for SaaS vendors that claim they do menus. They don’t even come close to iMenuPro. Don’t waste your time anywhere else.”
Martin C., User (Source: SourceForge)
Pricing
- Monthly Plan: $16/month (recurring)
- Annual Plan: $10.75/month billed annually ($129/year)
iMenuPro is a powerful solution for restaurants that frequently update menus or need a fast, integrated way to publish across print, web, and QR code channels. While it doesn’t include online ordering or POS integration, its patented features and real-time sync make it an efficient tool for menu management.
Who Is It Best For?
Ideal for independent restaurants, bars, and hospitality businesses that need dynamic menus, quick updates, and contactless solutions.
Short Overview
Pros
✅ Comprehensive Marketing Suite: Design menus, flyers, social media content, email campaigns, and digital signage all in one platform.
✅ Restaurant-Specific Tools: Use a built-in Menu Maker, schedule social posts, send newsletters, and even sync menus with Square POS for easy updates.
✅ AI-Powered Features: Use AI tools for image generation, background removal, and content cre
Cons
❌ No Direct Online Ordering: While great for marketing, it lacks built-in ordering functionality.
❌ Premium Features Locked Behind Higher Plans: Advanced tools require a Premium+ subscription.
PosterMyWall is an all-in-one restaurant marketing platform that combines design, menu creation, social media scheduling, email marketing, and digital signage into a single solution.
It offers over 1 million customizable templates for menus, flyers, posters, videos, and social content, plus AI-powered tools like an image generator and background remover.
Restaurants can create, schedule, and track campaigns across multiple channels, making it a top choice for busy owners who want design and marketing in one app.
“I really love how user-friendly the site is. I’ve been using PosterMyWall for approximately 3 years now and every year the features get better and better. I love the quality images and graphics as well as the hundreds of thousands of templates to help you save time when designing. Each time I design something using PosterMyWall, my clients and colleagues think that I’m using Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator.”
Darise D., User (Source: G2)
Pricing
- Free: Basic templates, limited downloads, watermarked designs.
- Premium: $9.95/month – HD downloads, most templates, and scheduling tools.
- Premium+: $29.95/month – Adds brand kits, full analytics, resizing, and unlimited premium features.
PosterMyWall is a powerhouse for restaurant marketing, combining menu design with social, email, and digital signage in one easy-to-use platform. It’s ideal for restaurants that prioritize visual marketing but don’t need built-in ordering features.
Who Is It Best For?
Perfect for restaurants, bars, and cafés that want a single tool for menu creation and multi-channel marketing, without hiring a graphic designer or juggling multiple apps.
Short Overview
Pros
✅ Restaurant Menu Design Templates: Choose from a wide range of editable templates for cafes, bars, and restaurants. Customize them with your logo, branding, and dish images easily.
✅ AI-Powered Editing Tools: Features like AI background remover, photo enhancer, and object removal simplify creating professional visuals.
✅ Extensive Asset Library: Access millions of stock images, 100+ fonts, stickers, and design elements to make your menus stand out.
Cons
❌ No Restaurant-Specific Features: Lacks operational tools like online ordering, POS integration, or QR code menu management.
❌ Limited Free Version: Most premium templates and advanced features require upgrading to a paid plan.
Fotor is a powerful online design maker and photo editor that allows anyone to create professional-quality graphics and designs without prior experience. It offers an extensive library of customizable templates for social media posts, flyers, logos, and restaurant menu design.
With AI-powered tools like photo enhancement, background removal, and text-to-image generation, plus access to millions of stock photos and fonts, Fotor makes it easy to create stunning menus for both print and digital platforms. Simply choose a template, customize with your branding and food images, and download in high resolution or share online.
“Great set of tools and preset styles. There are a lot of image generators out there. Fotor is a nice blend of many of them, with a community and daily rewards which keep me coming back.”
Keith B., User (Source: Capterra)
Pricing
- Fotor Basic – Free: Basic editing, limited templates, and downloads with a watermark.
- Fotor Pro – $3.33/month: Premium templates, advanced tools, HD export, no watermark.
- Fotor Pro+ – $7.49/month: Includes Pro features plus brand kits, AI batch editing, and more storage.
Fotor is a great tool for photo editing, offering powerful AI features. It can also be used for creating restaurant menus thanks to its wide range of customizable templates and design assets. However, it’s primarily a design platform, so it doesn’t include restaurant-specific features such as QR code menus, POS integration, or online ordering.
Who Is It Best For?
Fotor is best for individuals, small businesses, and content creators who need quick, professional designs without prior experience. It’s ideal for projects like social media graphics, posters, flyers, cards, business logos, and YouTube thumbnails.
While it can also be used for restaurant menu design, it lacks restaurant-specific features.
Benefits of Menu Making Apps
Creating a professional, engaging menu no longer requires hiring a designer or spending hours on formatting. A menu making app streamlines the process, allowing you to handle everything from layout to updates in just a few clicks.
Using a menu making app offers several benefits. It saves time and reduces design costs by removing the need for external services.
You can quickly update prices, menu descriptions, and seasonal items without having to start from scratch. Organizing menu categories becomes effortless, helping customers navigate your offerings with clarity.
These tools also make it simple to upload high-quality images and incorporate your restaurant’s branding, ensuring a custom menu design that reflects your restaurant’s identity.
Whether you require menus for print, QR code access, or online ordering, the right app handles it all. Even without prior design experience, intuitive features make creating a professional menu simple and effective.
