The commission-free TheFork alternative for UK restaurants
TheFork is a marketplace — a Tripadvisor company whose published pricing model charges a commission on the covers its app and partner channels send, based on your average bill per guest. TableTango™ runs the bookings you already attract — one plan at £29.99/month, per venue, with your first 30 days free from go-live — no commission, and your guest data stays yours.
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A marketplace, or a tool you own?
Hi, I'm Graham — I built TableTango. Here's the honest split. TheFork is a marketplace: a Tripadvisor company running one of Europe's biggest diner apps. Per its published pricing model, bookings that arrive through TheFork, Tripadvisor and its partner channels carry a commission based on your average bill per guest — though, to be fair, bookings through your own website widget don't. That app's reach is genuinely valuable when you need brand-new discovery.
The catch is quieter. Once a guest starts booking you through the app, they tend to keep booking through the app — so over time, regulars can drift into commissioned covers. And TheFork's discount programmes — Yums loyalty rewards and its seasonal festival promotions — are part-funded by the restaurant, which can teach diners to shop on discount. TableTango is the other model: one flat monthly fee, no commission on a single cover, no discount programmes, and a guest list that stays 100% yours — never sold, shared, or used to market other restaurants to your diners.
TableTango vs. TheFork, side by side
We've led with the pricing model rather than exact competitor figures, because TheFork's plans are quoted by its sales team and vary by market and contract. The shape of it is what matters.
| TableTango | TheFork | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly model | One plan — £29.99/mo per venue, flat (first 30 days free from go-live) | Subscription plans quoted by sales — pricing on request |
| Per-cover / commission fees | None, ever | Commission on marketplace bookings (TheFork app, Tripadvisor & partner channels), based on your average bill per guest |
| Bookings from your own website | Commission-free — like everything else | Also commission-free via its widget — the commission applies to marketplace channels |
| Discount programmes (loyalty points, festivals) | None — your menu, your prices | Yums loyalty discounts & festival promotions, part-funded by the restaurant |
| Who owns the diner relationship | You — 100%, never sold or shared | Diners book as TheFork users; the marketplace typically owns discovery & the relationship |
| Email confirmations & reminders | Included as standard | Check your plan |
| Guest texts (confirmations, reminders, waitlist offers) | Separately funded SMS credit, not part of the £29.99 plan — a one-off 100-credit starter to try, then paid top-up bundles for more | Reconfirmation SMS listed as included; check your plan for the rest |
| 24/7 AI chat booking | Included as standard | Not a core feature |
| Setup | Self-serve, ~5 minutes | Sales-led — ask for pricing, then onboarding |
| Contract | None — cancel anytime, one email | Subscription commitment — check your contract |
TheFork details reflect its published pricing model on theforkmanager.com as of mid-2026; plans are quoted by sales and vary by market and contract — always check your TheFork contract for current terms.
A commission per guest scales with your success. A flat fee doesn't.
That's the bit that stings on a busy month. A commission based on your average bill per guest means the busier — and the pricier — your service, the more you pay. On a marketplace it falls on the covers the platform books, including regulars it re-books to you, not just brand-new diners. Add loyalty discounts that are part-funded from your side of the invoice, and a strong month can cost noticeably more than a quiet one. With TableTango there's no per-cover fee at all: one flat £29.99 a month per venue whether it's a packed December or a quiet February.
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. Email confirmations and day-before reminders come as standard, with confirmation, reminder and waitlist-offer texts on a 100-credit starter grant to try them (add paid top-up bundles), a waitlist that auto-texts the next matching guests a tap-to-claim link when someone cancels, commission-free bookable events on your own page. Worried about no-shows specifically? See our guide to reducing restaurant no-shows.
Who should switch — and who should stay
If TheFork's app reliably fills seats you couldn't fill yourself, 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: TheFork purely for net-new discovery, TableTango for everything direct.
✓ Switch to (or add) TableTango if
- You already attract bookings from your own website, Google, Instagram or regulars
- You want a predictable bill that doesn't grow with every cover
- You'd rather not part-fund loyalty discounts or festival promotions
- You want your guest list to stay yours, fully
- You'd rather set up yourself in minutes than ask sales for a quote
✕ Stay on TheFork if
- Its diner app is your main source of brand-new guests
- Yums and festival promotions profitably fill your quiet shifts
- The Tripadvisor tie-in matters to your discovery
- You're happy trading a per-guest commission for that reach
Looking at the wider market? OpenTable runs a marketplace model too — our OpenTable comparison covers it. If you're on Quandoo, it's closing in 2026 and our free migration offer is the faster read. And if you're weighing the free route instead, our free booking tools comparison lays out where Google links, Square and forms fall short.
TheFork vs TableTango — your questions
Is TableTango really commission-free, or are there hidden per-cover fees?
Genuinely commission-free. There is no per-cover fee and no commission on any booking — direct, repeat or otherwise. It's one plan: £29.99 a month per venue, with your first 30 days free from go-live and no card to start. AI chat booking, the booking form, floor plan, guest book, no-show risk flags, email confirmations and day-before reminders, events are all included. Guest texts aren't part of the £29.99 software fee — they run on separately funded SMS credit: a one-off 100-credit starter to try them, then paid top-up bundles. We're not currently VAT registered, so no VAT is charged — £29.99 is the plan price, with guest-text credit the only optional extra.
Should I leave TheFork completely, or run both?
Whatever suits your covers. TheFork's diner app has real discovery value, so if it's reliably bringing you brand-new guests, keep it for that. You can run both: TheFork purely for net-new discovery, and TableTango — commission-free — for everything direct, like your website, Instagram link, Google profile and regulars. If you do decide to leave TheFork entirely, check your contract for notice terms first, and set TableTango up alongside before you switch your booking links so there's no gap. The honest line is: stop paying a finder's fee on guests who already know you.
Does TableTango run discount programmes like Yums or TheFork Festival?
No — and that's deliberate. TableTango has no consumer marketplace, so there are no loyalty points, no festival promotions and no co-funded money-off deals. Your menu and your prices stay entirely yours, and your brand never sits in a discount listing next to the restaurant down the road. If TheFork's promotions genuinely fill quiet shifts at a margin that works for you, you can keep running them — TableTango simply takes care of your direct bookings, commission-free, alongside.
How hard is it to switch from TheFork?
Setup is self-serve and takes about five minutes — no sales call and no quote to wait for. 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 TheFork and switch when you're ready.
Do I keep my guest data with TableTango?
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.
What's the catch with the free trial?
There isn't one — no contract and no card up front. Your first 30 days are free from go-live, then it's one plan: £29.99 a month per venue. The one plan covers the software: AI chat booking, smart table assignment, no-show risk flags, email confirmations and day-before reminders, the guest book, the auto-filling waitlist, a never-gated Google review link (auto invites after v1), events. Guest texts aren't part of the £29.99 software fee — they run on separately funded SMS credit: a one-off 100-credit starter to try them, then paid top-up bundles. Cancel anytime with one email.
Keep your covers. Keep your guest list.
First 30 days free from go-live, no card, no contract — set it up yourself in minutes and take commission-free bookings tonight. One plan at £29.99/month per venue for the software — the auto-filling waitlist, a never-gated Google review link (automatic review invites arrive after v1) and events; guest texts run on separately funded SMS credit (a one-off 100-credit starter to try them, then paid top-up bundles).
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