OpenTable Pricing 2025: What Restaurants Really Pay Per Cover

OpenTable is the most recognised restaurant reservation platform in the world — and one of the most expensive for independent restaurant owners. The pricing model has two components: a monthly subscription and a per-cover fee. Understanding how these compound is essential before you sign up.

OpenTable's Pricing Structure

OpenTable offers three tiers for restaurants:

• Basic — $249/month: Online booking widget, reservation management, basic reporting
• Core — $449/month: Guest CRM, marketing tools, shift management
• Pro — $499+/month: Full analytics, API access, priority support

That's the monthly subscription. The per-cover fee is charged on top:

• $0 per cover — bookings made directly through your restaurant's website widget
• $1.00 per cover — bookings made through OpenTable's mobile app or website
• $1.50 per cover — bookings from OpenTable's "Concierge" network (hotels, travel partners)

What This Costs a Typical Restaurant

Let's do the maths for a restaurant doing 150 covers per week, where 60% book through OpenTable's platform (not the direct widget):

• Monthly subscription: $449 (Core)
• Weekly covers via OpenTable: 90 × $1.00 = $90/week = $390/month
• Total monthly cost: $839
• Annual cost: ~$10,000

"A restaurant doing 150 covers per week through OpenTable pays over $10,000 a year — before accounting for concierge bookings at $1.50 per head."

And here's the critical irony: as we've shown in our piece on why 65% of diners book directly on your website, most of those covers were coming to your site anyway. You're paying a commission on guests who were already yours.

The Hidden Costs

The subscription and per-cover fees are the known costs. The hidden ones are:

• Guest data ownership: Guests who book via OpenTable's platform belong to OpenTable's database, not yours. You cannot market to them outside OpenTable without separate tools.
• Platform lock-in: Your reviews, your ranking, and your visibility in the OpenTable marketplace depend on your continued subscription. Leaving is expensive in terms of lost visibility.
• No AI phone answering: OpenTable has no phone coverage feature. You still need a separate solution for the 43% of calls that go unanswered.

OpenTable Pricing vs Alternatives

Platform	Monthly Fee	Per-Cover Fee	AI Phone
OpenTable Basic	$249	$1.00–$1.50	✗ No
OpenTable Core	$449	$1.00–$1.50	✗ No
Resy	$249	$0.25–$0.50	✗ No
SevenRooms	$300–$800+	$0	✗ No
Reservaii Starter	$59	$0	✓ Included
Reservaii Growth	$99	$0	✓ Included

Who OpenTable Is Actually Right For

OpenTable's per-cover model was designed for restaurants that need marketplace discovery — restaurants in competitive markets where OpenTable's consumer traffic drives meaningful new bookings. If you're a new restaurant with no established audience, OpenTable's discovery channel has genuine value.

For established independent restaurants with existing guest relationships, the per-cover model doesn't stack up. You're paying a recurring commission on guests who already know you. For a full comparison of alternatives, see our SevenRooms vs OpenTable vs Reservaii guide, or the complete breakdown of every reservation platform fee.