Digital Waiter vs Joe Merchant PLUS
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Digital Waiter
Enhance your restaurant's front-of-house operations with a customizable, in-premise ordering system. Customers can order from their phones without internet or app installation, integrating with your existing POS. Offers branding, feedback, and kitchen display features.
- Customizable ordering system
- In-premise ordering
- Customer feedback and rating
- Kitchen display integration
- Branding and white-labeling
- Order slip printing
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This app is aimed at business owners in the foodservice industry. This improves the front of the house, specifically the staff like waiters & cashiers. It does not replace your POS but instead, it works on top of it. 'Digital Waiter' is a fully customizable ordering system that enables your customers to make their orders in their mobile phones within your vicinity without the need for an internet connection or an app installation. This app requires a WIFI network and may require you to use some printers at some point. It also needs some pictures of the food you serve. The 'Free' version is identical to the ‘Plus/Premium' version except it can only store up to (12) menu items. Paid users will be able to write their HTML and completely change the design of their menu. Features: - Full support for own Branding & White-labelling - Custom HTML Themes (Premium/Plus Only) - In-premise Ordering System - Feature-rich menu Items - Schedulable Categories - Product Barcode for use with existing POS systems - Customer Feedback & Rating - Customer Support Chat - QR Editor Tool - Kitchen Display - Order Slip Printing (using Non-MFI bluetooth thermal receipt printers) Advance Features: - Google Sheets Data Synchronization - Order Dashboard, History & System Logs - Open source Themes - Custom Localization - Digital Waiter’s Rest API - Dynamic DNS updater
Joe Merchant PLUS
This app empowers independent coffee shops with advanced technology to compete with larger chains. It offers automated deals, loyalty programs, and marketing tools to attract and retain customers. Multiple modes, including Point of Sale and Barista Mode, cater to various operational needs.
- Automated deals and discounts
- Built-in loyalty program
- Customer acquisition tools
- Marketing suite
- Point of Sale Mode
- Barista Mode
- Square POS integration
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BUILT TO HELP INDIE COFFEE THRIVE The joe Merchant Plus app puts big technology in the hands of small independent coffee shops to beat corporate giants. Run the app in Point of Sale Mode, Barista Mode, or integrate with Square Point of Sale to launch contactless ordering and access hundreds of thousands of coffee lovers in about 24 hours. AUTOMATED DEALS & DISCOUNTS As a joe partner, coffee shops unlock unlimited deals and discounts for customers paid for by joe and a fully automated loyalty program built-in at no extra cost. ACQUIRE NEW CUSTOMERS When you launch with joe, you tap into the largest community of coffee lovers choosing to support local coffee over corporate giants wherever they are. MARKETING TOOLS The joe marketing suite gives you all the tools you need in addition to automated discounts and rewards that we run in the background. Select items to upsell your customers at checkout Create custom promo codes and flash deals to drive traffic during slow times Create deals on featured items Create Happy Hour specials Feature signature drinks and food items to highlight on your menu Add photos to your menu to entice customers … and more! BUILT FOR EVERY COFFEE SHOP Built specifically for coffee, the joe merchant app can run in three different modes to meet the needs of any independent coffee shop or cafe. Square Integration: Receive orders directly into your Square POS for unified reporting and one place to accept orders. Run joe in the background to message customers and track customer purchase history. Now additional hardware is required. Barista Mode: Accepting and managing incoming orders is a breeze on a dedicated tablet. Designed to fit any workflow, joe allows you to manage orders across multiple devices and custom configure printers to accommodate full-service kitchens and multiple coffee bars. Runs on a tablet or behind any Point of Sale with access to the App Store. Point of Sale Mode: Run the joe POS on any iPad. Complete with a customer facing screen and optimized for contactless ordering in-person or via mobile order ahead, the joe POS automates loyalty marketing and brings you new customers in a snap. Runs on iOS for barista-facing view. Requires additional hardware to launch. INTEGRATIONS Fully integrated with Star Micronics printers and Square Point of Sale. REPORTING Keep your finger on the pulse of your business with robust reports and trends. Easily export to .csv compatible with QuickBooks. WORKS WITH FULL SERVICE KITCHEN/ CAFE Joe integrates with Star Micronics printers and allows for custom configurations so you can send food tickets to the kitchen and drink tickets to your espresso bar.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Joe Merchant PLUS at Free against Digital Waiter's $1.99. Joe Merchant PLUS also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 5) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 73 months). Digital Waiter's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On rating and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Joe Merchant PLUS is free to download; Digital Waiter costs $1.99 up front. Digital Waiter sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Joe Merchant PLUS asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Digital Waiter against 5.0 for Joe Merchant PLUS. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 3 respectively.
Digital Waiter ships an update every 73 months, Joe Merchant PLUS every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.
| Parameter | Digital Waiter | Joe Merchant PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 73 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 11.2 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 113 MB | 113 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Michael Angelo Ruta | Coffey Ventures, Inc. |
Customer experience
Digital Waiter
Joe Merchant PLUS
In-app purchases
Digital Waiter
- Plus 40$1.99
- Remove Ads$1.99
- Plus 200$9.99
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- Plus 1000$49.99
- Premium$124.99
Joe Merchant PLUS
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Digital Waiter free?
Is Joe Merchant PLUS free?
Which has better reviews, Digital Waiter or Joe Merchant PLUS?
Do Digital Waiter or Joe Merchant PLUS have ads?
Which is updated more often, Digital Waiter or Joe Merchant PLUS?
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