A free QR code menu that is actually free
Updated
Most "free" QR menu makers are free until you need something basic: a second category, a photo, or a QR code without a watermark. Then the upgrade screen appears.
This guide explains what a free QR code menu should include, where the catches usually hide, and how to set one up in about ten minutes.
What a free QR menu should include
If a tool calls itself free, you should be able to run a real restaurant on it. At minimum that means:
- Unlimited menu items and categories, so you are not forced to cut dishes.
- Photos and descriptions, because guests order what they can picture.
- Dietary markers such as veg, non-veg and egg.
- A way to mark a dish sold out without deleting it.
- A QR code you can download and print as many times as you like.
- A menu that opens in the phone browser, with no app to install.
Where the catches usually are
Read the pricing page before you print anything. The common traps are item limits (often 20 or 30 dishes), scan limits that switch your menu off after a few hundred views, and QR codes that point to the vendor's own redirect. That last one matters most: if the QR code belongs to them, leaving means reprinting every table card.
A fair free plan puts a small "Powered by" link at the bottom of your menu and nothing else. That is the trade you make on menulink.live: the free plan has no item limits and no scan limits, and the paid plan removes the badge.
How to set one up in ten minutes
Create an account and choose your menu address, for example yourcafe.menulink.live. Add your categories, then your dishes with prices. Add photos for your best sellers first; you can fill in the rest later.
Download the QR code from the dashboard and print it. From then on, every change you make in the dashboard shows up on guests' phones the moment you save, and the printed code never changes.
When it is worth paying
Most small cafés and food trucks never need to. Pay when the "Powered by" badge no longer fits your brand, for example if you are a hotel or a restaurant group with a strict identity.