Restaurant management software India free — 5 options compared (2026)

Verdict in one paragraph

There is no single free restaurant management software in India that covers POS + cash close + inventory + GST + aggregator reconciliation end-to-end. Every "free" tier is a wedge: the vendor gives you the part that's cheap to host (a ledger, a basic POS, an invoice generator) and charges for the part that costs them money (printer integration, GST filing, multi-outlet, support). That's not a complaint — it is the economics. The job for an owner is to pick the free tier that matches the one workflow you most need formalised, accept that the rest of the stack will be paper or another tool, and graduate to paid only when growth justifies it.

Below: five real options operators are using in 2026, with the line drawn on each.

What "restaurant management software" means in practice

Before comparing, agree on what the tool is supposed to do. In an Indian restaurant the operator-facing surface is some combination of:

• POS / billing — taking orders, printing KOT, splitting tax (CGST/SGST), settling bills.
• Cash close — float reconcile, denomination sheet, deposit slip.
• Inventory — daily stock counts, transfers, wastage.
• Aggregator reconciliation — Swiggy/Zomato gross vs commission vs deposit.
• Payroll/attendance — staff register, advances, salary.
• GST/compliance — GSTR-1, 3B, ITC reconciliation.
• Reporting — DSR (daily sales report), P&L, multi-outlet rollup.

No free tier on the market does all of these. Most cover one or two competently and either disable or rate-limit the rest.

The five options compared

We've kept this to tools we see actually used in independent Indian outlets, not the global SaaS catalogue. Pricing on every one of these changes — publicly listed on the respective vendor sites, verify before purchasing.

We are not going to pretend Restaurant Daily is the right answer for everyone — it isn't. It is one of five, and the four others above are mature, widely used, and absolutely correct picks for the right shape of outlet. Honest comparison piece, not a backdoor pitch.

What each tool does well — head to head

Khatabook

Best at: customer credit ledgers. The udhaar workflow is its DNA. Phone-keyed, SMS reminders, supplier app sharing, photo attachments. If 30%+ of your revenue is regulars-on-credit, this is the right wedge.

Where it ends: no POS, no aggregator payout reconciliation, no GST filing. See our full Khatabook breakdown for the line.

Vyapar

Best at: GST-ready billing on a single laptop, especially for catering and small QSRs that print invoices rather than thermal bills. Desktop-first heritage means it works offline.

Where it ends: free version is one device, no cloud sync. The moment you have two billing counters or want the owner to see numbers from home, you're on the paid plan.

Petpooja (Lite)

Best at: a real POS with KOT, tax split, modifiers, table management. The mature Indian player — large install base, integrations with Swiggy/Zomato, deep menu logic, training material in Hindi.

Where it ends: the free/lite tier is a sampler. Anything serious (inventory, full reporting, integrations) moves to a paid plan quickly. See our Petpooja review for the honest version.

Zoho Invoice

Best at: GST-compliant invoicing for one user. Genuinely free, no upsell wall in the invoice flow. Bank-grade UX. If you cater corporate orders or run B2B alongside the restaurant, this is a serious option.

Where it ends: not a POS, no kitchen flow, no aggregator reconciliation. You'd use it next to a POS, not instead of one.

Restaurant Daily (free tier)

Best at: the daily-close workflow — float reconcile, denomination sheet, deposit slip, DSR. Built India-first around the post-shift hour, not the in-shift hour. New product (2026), narrower scope than Petpooja.

Where it ends: not a POS yet. If you need billing/KOT, you need a POS layer next to it. Multi-outlet rollups and some compliance modules are paid.

Pricing — the honest version

Every free tier exists to upsell. That's fine, but operators should know where each one gates.

Publicly listed on the respective vendor sites — verify before purchasing. We've watched all five change pricing in the last 18 months.

Who should pick what

• Pick Khatabook if your problem is "I keep losing track of who owes me money." Solve the ledger first, worry about POS later.
• Pick Vyapar if your problem is "I need to print GST invoices and don't want to learn Tally." Single-laptop catering / small QSR.
• Pick Petpooja (Lite, then full) if you are a serious POS-driven outlet — 30+ covers, KOT printers, kitchen display, multiple counters.
• Pick Zoho Invoice if you primarily run B2B / catering / corporate orders and your "restaurant" needs a clean invoice trail.
• Pick Restaurant Daily (free) if your problem is "shift mein cash close kaise karein, multi-outlet ka roll-up kahaan dekhun." Daily-close ergonomics, not POS.

A stack that actually works

For most independent outlets we've spoken to, "the answer" is two free tools used together, not one tool doing everything:

1. Petpooja (or another POS) for billing and KOT.
2. Khatabook / Restaurant Daily / Vyapar for the layer the POS is weak at (ledger / cash close / GST invoicing).

The free-only stack works up to ~₹3-5 lakh/month revenue. Above that, you graduate at least one layer to paid — usually the POS or the accounting tail.

Closing recommendation

Free software in India is not a unicorn — it's a wedge. Pick the wedge that matches the workflow you most need disciplined, accept that the rest will live elsewhere, and budget for the day you outgrow the free tier. The worst outcome is paying for an enterprise plan you don't use; the second-worst is bending a single free tool into doing four jobs badly. Map your five workflows, pick honestly, and revisit the stack every quarter.

Related on Restaurant Daily

• Khatabook for restaurants — what it replaces, what it can't
• Petpooja review — operator honest take 2026
• Best POS software for small restaurants in India