Restaurant reservation software lets guests book a table online, helps you manage seating and waitlists, and builds a record of who your regulars are. Picking one looks like a feature decision, but in my view it is really a pricing-model decision: some platforms charge you for every diner they send, and others charge a flat monthly fee, and at busy volumes that difference can be larger than the subscription itself.
My short answer: I would look at Resy or Tock first for flat pricing, OpenTable only if its diner network is worth the per-cover fees to me, Yelp Guest Manager if my guests mostly find me on Yelp, and SevenRooms if I ran several venues and cared about guest data. If I already used Toast for my POS, I would also check Toast Tables.
The Fee Model Decides Everything
There are two ways these platforms charge:
- Flat monthly fee (Resy, Tock, SevenRooms, Yelp Guest Manager): you pay the same whether you seat 300 guests or 3,000.
- Subscription plus a per-cover fee (OpenTable): you pay a monthly plan and a fee for each diner who books through its network.
OpenTable’s per-cover charge is reported at about $1.50 per network cover on its Basic plan and $1.00 on Core and Pro, with website bookings priced lower. Early in 2026 it also added a 2% service fee on deposits and prepaid experiences, according to several comparisons. OpenTable does not publish its own price list, so all of these figures come from third parties and should be confirmed with its sales team.
What 1,000 Network Covers a Month Looks Like
To make the difference concrete, I ran one illustration with the reported prices. It assumes 1,000 diners a month arrive through the platform’s network, and it uses the lowest published subscription for each.
| Platform | Monthly cost (estimates) | Approximate yearly cost |
|---|---|---|
| OpenTable Basic | $149 + $1.50 x 1,000 = ~$1,650 | ~$19,800 |
| OpenTable Core | $299 + $1.00 x 1,000 = ~$1,300 | ~$15,600 |
| Resy Platform | ~$249-$289 flat | ~$3,000-$3,500 |
| Tock Essential | ~$249-$269 flat (+3% on prepaid) | ~$3,000-$3,200 |
| Yelp Guest Manager | ~$129-$299 flat | ~$1,550-$3,600 |
This is an illustration, and the sources disagree on several prices. It is also not like for like: OpenTable’s network covers are new diners the platform sends you, and a flat-fee tool does not give you that audience. My own rule would be to compare the fee per cover with what a new regular is worth to my restaurant.
Which Restaurant Are You?
- A neighbourhood spot that wants more discovery: OpenTable’s network is the main reason to pay its fees.
- An upscale or ticketed restaurant: Resy and Tock are built for this, with Tock strongest for prepaid and ticketed dining.
- A casual place that lives on Yelp and walk-ins: Yelp Guest Manager’s waitlist and texting are its real strength.
- A multi-venue group or a hotel restaurant: SevenRooms is aimed at guest data and group-level reporting.
The Five Platforms
OpenTable: the biggest network, with a price tag
OpenTable has the largest diner network in North America, with one comparison citing 60,000+ restaurant partners. Third-party sources report plans from about $149 to $499 a month, though one older listing shows a $39 entry tier, plus the per-cover fees above. My take: worth considering if you need to fill seats, and expensive if you do not. Watch out for: per-cover fees can exceed the subscription at volume, and the guest CRM sits on the higher tiers.
Resy: upscale and flat-priced
Resy charges a flat monthly rate with no per-cover fees, reported at about $249 to $289 a month for its Platform plan, $399 to $459 for Platform 360, and up to $899 for the full-stack tier. It is US-focused and known for its American Express tie-in. My take: the polished choice for upscale restaurants in big cities. Watch out for: the entry price is higher than several alternatives, and some ticketed transactions carry a percentage fee.
Tock: prepaid and ticketed dining
Tock shares a pricing page with Resy, with entry plans reported around $249 to $269 a month and a 3% prepayment fee on ticketed sales, though one comparison lists a range of $199 to $399. My take: the one I would price first for tasting menus, events and anything that needs a deposit. Watch out for: it is less focused on everyday casual walk-ins.
SevenRooms: guest data for groups
SevenRooms is subscription-based, with one comparison citing $499 per month per venue and another $300 to $1,000 or more, usually quoted after a demo. It leads on guest profiles, deposits and marketing automation. My take: a fit for groups and hotels that care about guest data, and likely more than a single independent needs. Watch out for: opaque pricing and an enterprise-leaning setup.
Yelp Guest Manager: waitlists and Yelp traffic
Yelp Guest Manager is listed at about $129 to $299 a month, with the Basic plan near $129 and the guest CRM on the Plus tier, and no per-cover fees. It turns Yelp traffic into bookings and is strong on waitlists with two-way texting. My take: a practical choice for casual restaurants whose guests already look on Yelp. Watch out for: it has no free plan, and its strength is tied to Yelp’s audience.
Also Worth a Look
Toast Tables is reported between free and about $199 a month, but only for restaurants running Toast as their POS. Our guide to restaurant POS software covers Toast and its competitors. Eat App and Resos both advertise flat pricing and free or low-cost plans, but both are vendors that publish comparisons of their rivals, so I would read their claims carefully.
Questions I Would Ask Before Signing
- Is there a per-cover fee, and does it apply to bookings from my own website?
- Who owns the guest data if I leave, and can I export it?
- How are deposits and no-show fees handled, and what do they cost?
- Does it sync with my POS?
- What is the contract length, and what happens at renewal?
Making the Most of It
- Take phone bookings in the same system. If your restaurant still answers the phone, see our guide to business phone systems.
- Use guest profiles for email campaigns with email marketing software, and respect privacy rules with a consent management platform.
- If your restaurant is part of a hotel, see our guide to hotel management software for boutique hotels.
How I Researched This
I compared published pricing pages and several independent 2026 comparisons, and I noted every price where sources disagreed. I need to be clear about a limit: many of the comparisons I found are published by competing reservation platforms, and OpenTable does not publish its own prices, so I leaned on figures that appeared in several sources and flagged the rest. I have not run these platforms in a restaurant, so my opinions come from analysing pricing and positioning, not hands-on testing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best restaurant reservation software?
It depends on how you get guests. Resy and Tock suit flat-priced upscale and ticketed dining, OpenTable suits discovery, and Yelp Guest Manager suits Yelp-driven casual restaurants.
Does OpenTable charge per cover?
Reported figures say yes: about $1.50 per network cover on its Basic plan and $1.00 on Core and Pro, with lower fees for website bookings. Confirm the current terms with OpenTable.
What is the cheapest reservation software?
Flat-fee tools such as Yelp Guest Manager, Resy and Tock avoid per-cover charges, and some vendors offer free or very low-cost plans for small restaurants.
Do I need a separate system if my POS has reservations?
Not always. If you run Toast, check Toast Tables first, because it is built into the same system, but compare its features with a dedicated platform.
My Verdict
If I had to simplify everything above, my pick would be Resy or Tock for most restaurants that want flat pricing, OpenTable only if its network earns its fees for me, Yelp Guest Manager for Yelp-driven casual dining and SevenRooms for groups. Before choosing, run your own cover numbers through the fee model, and ask who owns the guest list if you leave.
Pricing note: figures are estimates from independent 2026 comparisons, many published by competing vendors, and differ between sources. Confirm current pricing with each vendor.
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