Choose Toast's website if you already run Toast POS and want the menu and ordering to stay in sync with no extra work. Choose Squarespace or Wix if you want to build and edit the site yourself for under $40 a month. Choose a custom site when the website has to sell the experience, look like nobody else, and give you full control over Google and AI search. All four can take orders and bookings; they differ in who controls the design and the data.

How do Squarespace, Wix, Toast and a custom site compare?

Prices below come from each vendor's own pages as of October 2026. Where a vendor does not publish a price, we say so.

Who is Squarespace right for?

Squarespace suits a restaurant owner who cares about how the site looks and is willing to build it. As of October 2026, Squarespace's pricing page lists Basic at $19 a month paid annually ($25 monthly), Core at $29 ($39), Plus at $49 ($65) and Advanced at $99 ($139).

• Ordering: online food ordering runs through a ChowNow integration, which is included on Core, Plus and Advanced, not Basic. ChowNow has its own fees on top.
• Reservations: an OpenTable block is on every plan, so guests can book or join a waitlist from your site.
• Menus: a menu block on every plan. You edit it by hand, so a menu change means updating your POS and your site.
• Search: you can edit page titles, descriptions and URL slugs in the SEO panel. Code injection, which you need for custom structured data, is available on Core, Plus and Advanced.

The trade-off: Squarespace templates are good, which is one reason many restaurant sites built on them look alike.

Who is Wix right for?

Wix suits an owner who wants many restaurant tools inside one builder. Wix shows prices by country and lists yearly subscriptions paid up front. Style Factory, in a guide updated August 2026, lists annual-billing prices of $17 a month for Light, $29 for Core, $39 for Business and $159 for Business Elite. Wix's plans page shows that accepting payments starts at Core.

• Ordering: the Wix Restaurants Orders app handles pickup, delivery and dine-in orders, with prep times and advance orders, and integrates with DoorDash Drive for delivery.
• Reservations: guests can book tables online, you can approve bookings automatically or by hand, and you can require prepayment. Online booking needs a paid plan.
• Menus: menus with sections and dish variations such as sizes, edited in Wix.
• Search: Wix lets you add custom JSON-LD structured data to static pages, up to five markups per page, but not to dynamic pages.

The trade-off: the more apps you add, the more there is to configure, and the site's speed and look depend on how carefully you do it.

Who is Toast's website right for?

Toast's website suits a restaurant that already runs Toast POS and wants one system. Toast Websites says it syncs menus, pricing and availability with the POS in real time, and includes pages for menus, online ordering, loyalty sign-up and gift cards. Toast's online ordering page says "No commissions. No hidden fees." with a flat fee per delivery order.

• Price: Toast does not publish a price for its website or ordering products. Its pricing page offers a starter package from $0 a month and sends the rest to a sales quote, as of October 2026.
• Reservations: Toast Tables is a separate reservation and waitlist product. When Toast announced it in April 2023, it was offered for a flat monthly price with no per-cover fees, and guests could book from the restaurant's Google Business Profile.
• Design: the site is auto-generated from your Toast setup and edited without code. Toast calls it customizable; it is not a blank canvas.

The trade-off: you save hours of double entry, and in return your site looks and works the way Toast's system allows. If you ever leave Toast, you rebuild the website too.

When is a custom site the right call?

A custom site makes sense when guests choose you for the experience: the room, the chef, the tasting menu, a private dining space, events. A template can list those things. A custom site can show them, with film of the room on a Friday night and a booking button that stays on screen.

• Ordering and booking: a custom site connects to whatever you already use, including Toast ordering, ChowNow, OpenTable, Resy or SevenRooms. You are not tied to one vendor's widget.
• Search and AI answers: you control every page title, menu page and the structured data that tells Google and AI assistants your cuisine, hours, price range and booking link. Our restaurant AI search guide explains why that matters when guests ask ChatGPT where to eat.
• Cost: more up front than DIY. At Project 66 Studio a new website or rebuild starts from $799, with care plans at $79, $179 or $549 a month. We confirm the final price before any work begins.

The trade-off: you depend on whoever built it for bigger changes, so ask how you will edit menus, hours and events yourself before you sign. Our Atelier Mercer build is an example of a custom restaurant site with films and booking.

What happens if I switch platforms later?

Plan for the exit before you pick. Three things decide how painful a move is.

• Your domain. Register it in your own name with a registrar you control, not inside a bundle you cannot move. Then any platform can point to it.
• Your menu and photos. Keep master copies of menu text and images outside the website. A synced Toast menu lives in Toast; a hand-built Squarespace or Wix menu has to be rebuilt elsewhere.
• Your page addresses. When URLs change, set up redirects from the old pages to the new ones, so Google and anyone with an old link still land on the right menu or booking page.

A move also resets some of the work done for search, so do it once, on purpose, rather than every year.

How do I decide in five minutes?

1. Do you run Toast POS and change the menu often? Start with Toast Websites and get a quote.
2. Are you a cafe or casual spot that mostly needs hours, menu and a pickup link? Squarespace or Wix will do the job.
3. Do you take reservations and sell an experience? A custom site, connected to your booking system, usually earns its cost.
4. Do you need full control over how Google and AI assistants describe you? Pick a route where you can edit structured data: Squarespace Core and above, Wix static pages, or custom.
5. Who will update the site every week? Pick the system that person will actually open.

What we can't promise

None of these platforms will fill your tables on its own, and we cannot promise a ranking on Google or a mention in ChatGPT for any restaurant. Vendor features and prices also change; check each vendor's page before you commit. What we can say is that a site guests can read on a phone in ten seconds, with a real menu and an obvious booking button, does better than one that cannot.

How can Project 66 Studio help?

We build custom restaurant websites that connect to the ordering and booking tools you already use, from $799 for a new website or rebuild. See our hospitality and restaurants page, compare plans on pricing, or start a project.

Build your plan Start a project

Questions people ask

Is Squarespace or Wix better for a restaurant?

Both work well for a restaurant. Squarespace includes an OpenTable block on every plan and ChowNow ordering from the Core plan, while Wix has its own restaurant apps for orders, menus and table reservations with optional prepayment. As of October 2026 their core plans cost about the same on annual billing, so the choice usually comes down to which editor you prefer.

Does Toast give restaurants a free website?

Toast does not publish a price for Toast Websites as of October 2026; pricing comes through a sales quote. Its pricing page offers a starter package from $0 a month, and its website page mentions paid onboarding services and possible additional fees, so ask for the full figure in writing.

Can I use OpenTable or Resy with Squarespace or Wix?

Yes. Squarespace includes an OpenTable block on every plan, and most reservation systems, including OpenTable and Resy, provide a booking widget or link you can add to a site. Wix also has its own table reservation tool if you prefer to keep bookings inside Wix.

Will a custom website help my restaurant show up in AI search?

A custom site gives you full control over the page content and structured data that Google and AI assistants read, such as cuisine, hours, price range and booking link. That control helps, but no one can guarantee a mention in ChatGPT or a Google ranking, because reviews, listings and other sites also count.

What does a custom restaurant website cost?

At Project 66 Studio, a new website or rebuild starts from $799, and care plans are $79, $179 or $549 a month. We confirm the final price before any work begins, and the site can connect to your existing ordering and booking systems.

Read next

• How to get your restaurant found in Google and recommended by AI
• What a restaurant website costs in 2026
• OpenTable, Resy or your own booking: what's right for your restaurant

Sources

1. Squarespace pricing, Squarespace (read 26 Oct 2026).
2. Using the SEO panel, Squarespace Help Center (read 26 Oct 2026).
3. Using code injection, Squarespace Help Center (read 26 Oct 2026).
4. Wix plans, Wix (read 26 Oct 2026).
5. Wix pricing: which plan should you pay for, Style Factory (read 26 Oct 2026).
6. Wix Restaurants: an overview, Wix Help Center (read 26 Oct 2026).
7. Add structured data markup to your site's pages, Wix Help Center (read 26 Oct 2026).
8. Toast pricing, Toast (read 26 Oct 2026).
9. Toast Websites, Toast (read 26 Oct 2026).
10. Toast online ordering, Toast (read 26 Oct 2026).
11. Introducing Toast Tables: integrated reservation and waitlist management, Toast (read 26 Oct 2026).