Genu vs Protel: An Honest Comparison (2026)
Genu is business software for restaurants, cafés and bars in Türkiye that brings the QR menu, bill and POS (cashier), waiter and kitchen display, stock and customer credit accounts together in a single panel. Protel is a Turkish provider of hotel and restaurant management software: it offers Oracle's hospitality technology together with its own products, and on the restaurant side it highlights the cloud-based MICROS Simphony Cloud POS, Materials Control for stock and a waiter app.
The two products address different scales. Protel's strengths are a global enterprise POS foundation, the same roof as its hotel software, 140+ support staff and 24/7 support; Genu stands out with openly published prices, a 30-day trial you can start on your own, a Desktop cashier that keeps working when the internet is down and approval-based AI. The tables below put the data from both companies' official websites side by side, with dates.
Verification note
The Protel information on this page was taken on 9 October 2026 from the public home and restaurant management solutions pages of protel.com.tr. Protel does not publish prices; a demo or quote is requested. Because the pages do not state offline operation or per-product feature detail, those cells are left as 'not stated on the official pages'. Features may change; always rely on the official website for current information. If you spot an error, let us know and we'll correct it.
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Pricing and purchase model
| Genu | Protel | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing structure | Basic / Premium / Pro — each higher plan includes everything in the one below | No prices on the official pages; a demo or quote is requested |
| Amounts | Basic $199 · Premium $499 · Pro $999 (annual, VAT included) | Not stated on the official pages |
| How you buy | You start on your own from the panel; 30-day free trial, no credit card required | Contact form and sales conversation |
| Hardware | Works with ESC/POS receipt printers | Offers restaurant hardware products (details and prices not stated) |
Work it out for your own scenario
Because Protel does not publish prices we make no numeric comparison. In Genu, bills, the cashier and the kitchen display are in Pro at $999/year (VAT included); it covers all updates and has no separate licence fee. When you request a quote from Protel, ask for licence, installation, hardware, support and update items separately and set the same scope next to Genu Pro.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Genu | Protel |
|---|---|---|
| Selling when the internet is down | ✓ Pro + Genu Desktop: new orders, payments, closing bills, customer credit accounts and the end-of-day continue during an outage; when the connection returns, every transaction is recorded in the cloud exactly once | Not stated on the official pages |
| AI assistant and MCP | ✓ Genu Assistant (proposes menu and price changes), Genu Pazarlama (marketing) and an MCP connection (ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor); approval-card based: nothing changes without approval, and every approval is logged under the approver's name. Daily AI credits in every plan | Its home page mentions 'AI-supported cost optimization'; an assistant, an approval flow or MCP are not detailed |
| Own online ordering channel (commission-free) | ✓ Pro: pickup and home delivery, ordering from the menu, WhatsApp sign-in and order notifications, live order tracking; no per-order commission | Not stated on the official pages |
| Waiter approval on QR orders | ✓ Premium+: a QR order goes to the waiter first and is sent on to the station (kitchen) once the waiter approves it | Not stated on the official pages |
| Item cancellation permission + mandatory reason | ✓ Cashier or manager role + a mandatory reason; every deletion is written with its reason to the audit log and the end-of-day cancellation list (who, when, why) | Not stated on the official pages |
| Table QR identity and join approval | ✓ Every table has its own QR identity; joining an occupied table goes to the people at that table for approval | Not stated on the official pages |
| Stock, recipes, customer accounts and expenses | ✓ Premium, Pro and Enterprise: automatic recipe-based deduction (gram quantities), goods receiving, stock counts, waste, product cost and margin; customer and supplier credit accounts (purchase invoices, supplier balance); expense tracking | ✓ 'Materials Control' module: stock and cost management, real-time tracking, supplier price comparison, automatic purchase orders when stock runs low; customer-account and expense tracking are not stated |
| HQ panel (multi-branch) | ✓ Enterprise: HQ panel (branch comparison, end-of-day coverage, automatic alerts), a single MCP connection for all branches; Pro price × branches for 2–3 branches, custom pricing for 4+ | ✓ Centralized multi-branch management; remote menu and campaign management, a bulk price editor (approved changes go live in all branches at the same time); pricing is not published |
| Kitchen display (KDS) | ✓ Station-based kitchen display (Pro) | ✓ A kitchen display (KDS) appears in its FAQ; detail is not stated |
| Waiter app | ✓ PIN-based staff sign-in, waiter panel (Premium+) | ✓ Waiter app: takes orders on mobile devices and sends them directly to the kitchen |
| Self-service kiosk, reservations, shift planning | No kiosk; reservations are recorded only by staff at the cashier; shifts and timekeeping are available (Premium+) | ✓ Self-service kiosk, reservations and staff shift planning appear in its FAQ |
| QR menu | ✓ In every plan; QR ordering with Premium+ | ✓ A QR menu appears in its FAQ; detail is not stated |
| Loyalty and CRM | ✓ Loyalty (Pro) | ✓ Guest data management, notifications, loyalty programmes; CRM integration |
| Online / delivery platform integration | Not available — on the roadmap | ✓ 'Online and delivery platform integration' appears in its FAQ; which platforms is not stated |
| Where the system runs | Cloud + Genu Desktop for Windows (outage-resilient cashier on the till PC) | Cloud-based (Simphony Cloud); on-premises deployment is not stated |
| Support | Priority support in Enterprise; VIP support and SLA in Zincir | ✓ 24/7 support; 140+ support staff and a 98.73% satisfaction rate are stated |
'Not stated on the official pages' in the table does not mean the feature is absent — only that it could not be verified on Protel's public pages on the comparison date. Confirm it in the sales conversation.
Difference in focus
- Protel's structure: an enterprise solution partner that manages hotel and restaurant under one roof; Oracle infrastructure, kiosks, reservations, bulk price changes across branches and 24/7 support. A natural address for large groups running several hotels/restaurants.
- Genu's structure: the operating system of a table-service restaurant — QR order at the table → waiter approval → station-based kitchen display → cashier → end-of-day; stock, recipes, customer accounts, expenses and multi-branch under one roof; prices are public and you start on your own from the panel.
- Outage resilience: with Genu Desktop installed on the till, new orders, payments, closing bills and the end-of-day continue when the internet drops; offline operation is not stated on Protel's pages.
- Where Genu stands out: approval-based AI (Genu Assistant, Genu Pazarlama, MCP), a commission-free own pickup/home delivery channel, item cancellation that requires a role plus a reason, and join approval through table QR identity.
- The best test for deciding: upload your menu to Genu and try it for 30 days in real service, without giving a credit card.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between Genu and Protel?
Scale and purchase model. Protel offers an enterprise hotel and restaurant solution built on Oracle MICROS Simphony Cloud; prices are not published and a quote is requested. Genu is a restaurant operating system with public prices through Basic / Premium / Pro plans ($199 – $999/year, VAT included) that you can start on your own; the Desktop cashier that sells fully when the internet is down, approval-based AI and waiter-approved QR ordering are where Genu stands out.
Protel also offers hotel software; is Genu suitable for hotels?
Genu is focused on restaurants, cafés and bars. The 30-day free trial for the restaurant side requires no credit card.
Can I move my menu from Protel to Genu?
Yes — we move your menu together with you. If you paid your previous provider 10,000 TL or more per year and your subscription is still running, your remaining months (up to 9) are added to your Genu annual subscription under the Transfer Bonus (Geçiş Bonusu); see the gecis-bonusu page for the terms.
Does Genu have Yemeksepeti/Getir integration?
Delivery platform integration is on Genu's roadmap. Today Genu manages delivery and takeaway sales through its own channel: queue-numbered delivery bills at the cashier, separate prices for table, takeaway and delivery, a packaging fee, and orders customers place from the menu all come together on the same screen; there is no per-order commission.
Is this comparison impartial?
This page was written by Genu; we are not an impartial third party and we don't pretend to be. What we do: take Protel's data only from official sources, state it with its access date, write its strengths plainly, and put no claim we couldn't verify into the table.
Compare it with your own venue
Genu's 30-day free trial requires no credit card. Upload your menu and see the cashier, the kitchen display and a cashier that keeps working when the internet goes down in real service.
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