The flat-rate math: what a sixth location actually costs
Almost every restaurant platform prices per location. It sounds reasonable — more locations, more usage, more money — and it lets the pricing page show a small number while your invoice shows a large one. The gap between those two numbers is what this note is about.
Two per-location price points cover most of the mid-market: MarginEdge runs about $330 per location, and Restaurant365 starts around $469 per location — public list pricing, mid-2026, not strawmen. Telaia Restaurant OS is $499 per month, flat, for every location you operate. Multiply it out:
| Locations | MarginEdge, ~$330/loc | Restaurant365, from ~$469/loc | Telaia, flat |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ~$330 | ~$469+ | $499 |
| 2 | ~$660 | ~$938+ | $499 |
| 3 | ~$990 | ~$1,407+ | $499 |
| 4 | ~$1,320 | ~$1,876+ | $499 |
| 6 | ~$1,980 | ~$2,814+ | $499 |
Start with the row that doesn't flatter us: at one location, we are not the cheap option. $499 against $330 is a real difference, and if you run one restaurant and only need inventory, a leaner tool may serve you fine. I'd rather say that plainly than pretend the table only has good rows.
The table turns at two locations and keeps turning. At three, per-location pricing runs $990 to $1,407 against our $499. At six, it's $1,980 to $2,814 — a $499 product renting for four to five times its price because you did the thing every operator is trying to do: grow.
Multi-location operators are subsidizing single-location pricing everywhere else.
That's the punchline, and it's worth sitting with. The small number on a per-location pricing page is paid for by the operators who scale. Serving your sixth location costs a software company almost nothing — it's a row in a database and some API calls. The invoice pretends otherwise because the invoice can.
Flat pricing is possible for us because we charge for the part that actually costs something: onboarding is $2,500, once, and it covers getting your locations, your POS, and your delivery platforms wired in properly. After that, location seven is a row in a database for us too. We just price it like one.
If you run one location, look at the demo and do your own math — it may genuinely not favor us yet. If you run three or more, the table above is the whole argument, and the demo is open without a form either way.
MarginEdge and Restaurant365 figures are public list pricing as of mid-2026, rounded, and both companies price in tiers that can move the number. Check their current pricing pages before you decide — the point survives the rounding.