OpenTable is a marketplace — it typically charges a fee for the covers it refers and tends to own the diner relationship. TableTango™ runs the bookings you already attract — one plan at £29.99 a month, per venue, with your first 30 days free from go-live — no commission, and your guest data stays yours.
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Hi, I'm Graham — I built TableTango. Here's the honest split. OpenTable is a marketplace: it runs a big consumer app, sends diners your way, and charges a fee for the covers it refers — typically per seated diner, on top of a monthly subscription. That network is genuinely valuable when you need brand-new discovery.
But most of your bookings already come from people who know you — your website, your Instagram bio, a Google search for your name, your regulars. TableTango is the other model: a flat monthly fee, no commission on a single cover, and a guest list that stays 100% yours — never sold, shared, or used to market other restaurants to your diners.
We've led with the pricing model rather than exact competitor figures, because OpenTable's tiers and per-cover rates vary by market and contract and change over time. The shape of it is what matters.
| TableTango | OpenTable | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly model | One plan, £29.99 per venue — flat (first 30 days free from go-live) | Tiered subscription + a per-cover fee on network bookings |
| Per-cover / commission fees | None, ever — nothing per cover | Per-cover fee on network (marketplace) bookings |
| Who owns the diner relationship | You — 100%, never sold or shared | The marketplace typically owns discovery & the diner relationship |
| Email confirmations & reminders | Included free | Depends on plan |
| Guest texts (reminders, waitlist offers, review invites) | A 100-credit starter grant included to try them; add a text bundle when you want more | Depends on plan |
| 24/7 AI chat booking | Included free | Not a core feature |
| Waitlist & auto cancellation-fill | Included | Depends on plan |
| Special events (supper clubs, set menus) | Included — commission-free, on your own page | Available, but tied to the marketplace |
| Setup | Self-serve, ~5 minutes | Typically sales-led onboarding |
| Contract | None — cancel anytime, one email | Subscription commitment |
OpenTable details reflect its publicly reported pricing model as of mid-2026; exact figures vary by tier, market and contract — always check opentable.co.uk for current pricing.
That's the bit that stings on a busy month. A per-cover model means the better you do, the more you pay — and on a marketplace that fee falls on the covers it books, including repeat guests it sends back to you, not just brand-new diners. With TableTango there's no per-cover fee at all: one plan at a flat £29.99 per venue, whether it's a packed December or a quiet February. Email booking confirmations and day-before reminders are included as standard; reminder, waitlist-offer and review-invite texts come with a 100-credit starter grant to try them, and you add a text bundle when you want more.
It's not only cheaper plumbing — it's a better book. You get 24/7 AI chat booking in plain English plus a fast stepped form, smart table assignment that prevents conflicting bookings, no-show risk scoring that flags risky bookings, and a guest book that remembers usual tables, allergies and VIPs. The one plan also includes reminder, waitlist-offer and review-invite texts (with a 100-credit starter grant to try them), a waitlist that auto-texts the next matching guests a tap-to-claim link when someone cancels, events, and optional card-secured no-show fees. Worried about no-shows specifically? See our guide to reducing restaurant no-shows.
If most of your covers come from a marketplace's own app, that discovery is doing real work and you should keep it. TableTango is for running the bookings you already attract, commission-free. You can run both: OpenTable purely for net-new discovery, TableTango for everything direct.
Looking at the wider market? Resy is a marketplace too (owned by American Express and, in the UK, concentrated in London), and SevenRooms is a flat-fee, data-you-own system aimed more at larger groups and hotels. If you're weighing the free route instead, our free booking tools comparison lays out where Google links, Square and forms fall short.
Genuinely commission-free. There is no per-cover fee and no commission on any booking — direct, repeat or otherwise. One plan is £29.99 a month per venue, with every software feature included: 24/7 AI chat and stepped-form booking, smart table assignment, multi-room floor plan, guest book, no-show risk flags, email confirmations and day-before reminders as standard, the auto-filling waitlist, review invites, events and optional card-secured no-show fees. Your first 30 days are free from go-live, with no card to start. Guest texts — reminders, waitlist offers and review invites — run on a 100-credit starter grant included to try them; add a text bundle when you want more.
Whatever suits your covers. OpenTable's diner network has real discovery value, so if it's bringing you brand-new guests, keep it for that. You can run both: OpenTable purely for net-new discovery, and TableTango — commission-free — for everything direct, like your website, Instagram link and regulars. The honest line is: stop paying a finder's fee on guests who already know you.
Setup is self-serve and takes about five minutes — no sales call and no waiting on us. You sign up with an email and password, verify your UK mobile with a 6-digit text code, name your venue, then a guided checklist (with an AI helper) walks you through your tables, hours and details. Nothing goes live until you tap 'Go live', so you can set it up calmly alongside whatever you use now and switch when you're ready.
Completely. Names, numbers and visit history belong to your restaurant — never sold, shared, or used to market other restaurants to your diners. TableTango is UK-made, UK-hosted and GDPR-friendly, with one-tap guest export and erasure for subject requests. Your guest list stays a list you own, not a marketplace's audience.
There isn't one — no contract and no card up front. One plan is £29.99 a month per venue and includes everything: AI chat and stepped-form booking, smart table assignment, no-show risk flags, email booking confirmations and day-before reminders as standard, the guest book, the auto-filling waitlist, review invites, events and optional card-secured no-show fees. Your first 30 days are free from go-live. Guest texts — reminders, waitlist offers and review invites — run on a 100-credit starter grant included to try them; add a text bundle when you want more. Cancel anytime by email.
One plan, £29.99 a month per venue — no card to start, no contract, and your first 30 days are free from go-live. Set it up yourself in minutes and take commission-free bookings tonight, with the auto-filling waitlist, review invites and events all included; guest texts run on separately funded SMS credit. Cancel anytime by email.
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