The OpenTable alternative for UK independents.
No per-cover fees. No annual contracts. Your branding, your website, your customer data. A flat monthly subscription from £59.
Last updated 14 July 2026. Around a 6-minute read.
Why OpenTable's model may not suit an independent
OpenTable's pricing is built around its diner-facing marketplace: on top of the subscription, it charges a fee on each seated diner who books through its network. On the last rate card OpenTable published for the UK, that fee was £2 a cover.
If most of the diners OpenTable's network sends you are locals and regulars who already know you, a per-cover fee charges you for demand you created. The subscription itself has been quote-only in the UK since January 2025, so the price comes from a sales call.
There's a contractual dimension too. OpenTable's UK plans page says its standard contract is one year, renewing automatically unless you give 30 days' notice before the renewal date. OpenTable says that standard term applies to new agreements and existing restaurants keep their Order Form terms, so confirm yours on your quote or Order Form. The full client agreement is not published, so ask to see it before you sign. One clause worth asking about on the call: OpenTable's April 2026 client agreement asks that OpenTable be the booking system linked from your own website, and that inventory you list elsewhere is also on OpenTable. OpenTable says this does not stop you using other platforms; ask whether your UK contract includes it. The term and that clause decide how easily you can change your mind later.
Seatly exists because there should be a booking platform that charges restaurants once a month and otherwise stays out of the way.
How much does OpenTable cost in the UK in 2026?
OpenTable stopped publishing UK prices in early 2025. Its UK plans page now lists two packages, Core and Pro, both marked "contact us for pricing". The only way to get a 2026 figure is a sales call. What we can tell you is what the last published UK rate card said, and what OpenTable's US list showed in April 2026, the last time we could check it.
| Plan | Last published UK rate* | US list, April 2026 (context) |
|---|---|---|
| Core | £179/mo + £2 per seated network cover | $299/mo + $1 per network cover |
| Pro | £299/mo + £2 per seated network cover | $499/mo + $1 per network cover |
* UK rates from OpenTable's own UK plans page, as archived by the Wayback Machine on 14 December 2024. OpenTable stopped publishing UK prices in early 2025 — the monthly prices went in January, the £2 by March. US figures from OpenTable's US plans page as archived on 9 April 2026, the latest copy we could read, which also listed a cheaper Basic plan at $149/month that the UK plans page doesn't offer. Always verify current pricing directly with the provider.
Two details in that rate card matter. Bookings made through your own website were free of cover fees. The £2 applied to seated diners arriving through OpenTable's app, website and partner network, and the fee is charged per seated cover, not per booking, so a table of six from the network is £12.
OpenTable's UK plans page still says it charges cover fees only for diners who find you through its own website, app or partner network, and only for seated diners. It just no longer says how much. Treat these figures as history, not as a quote; only OpenTable can tell you today's UK price.
Side-by-side comparison
OpenTable figures use its last published UK rate card. See the pricing section above for the full breakdown. Always verify current pricing directly with the provider.
| Seatly | OpenTable | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly subscription | £59 to £129 flat, published | Quote-only (last published UK: £179 to £299) |
| Per-cover fees | £0 at every tier | £2 per seated network cover (last published UK rate) |
| Contract term | Monthly rolling, cancel anytime | One-year standard term that auto-renews unless you give 30 days' notice (OpenTable's current UK plans page); full contract not published — ask to see it |
| Widget branding | White-label by default* | OpenTable branded |
| Booking flow | Stays on your website | Typically redirects to OpenTable |
| Customer data ownership | Restaurant owns it | Governed by OpenTable's terms — ask to see them |
| Data export | Available any time | Ask what you can take with you before signing |
| Booking database | London, UK | Location not published; its UK privacy policy says personal data may be transferred to the United States** |
| UK GDPR posture | Built in, DPA available | US transfers under the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework** |
| Setup | Paste one line of code | Sales process, weeks |
** OpenTable's UK privacy policy, last updated 4 September 2026. It says personal data may be transferred to, or accessed by, entities around the world, and that UK data sent to the United States relies on the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. It does not say where OpenTable stores bookings.
The maths on a real restaurant
A 40-cover independent seating around 1,500 covers a month. Assume 500 of those arrive through OpenTable's diner network (where the cover fee applies) and the remaining 1,000 book direct on the restaurant's own website. Using OpenTable's last published UK rates, here's how the monthly cost lines up.
OpenTable Core
£1,179
per month
Subscription: £179
500 network covers × £2: £1,000
Seatly Professional
£89
per month
Subscription: £89
Per-cover fees: £0
Annual difference at that mix
£13,080
A year at OpenTable's last published UK rates, against Seatly Professional.
Figures are illustrative and use OpenTable's last published UK rate card (archived 14 December 2024). OpenTable stopped publishing UK prices in early 2025, so UK pricing is now quote-only and your quote may differ. Per-cover fees applied to network and discovery bookings only; bookings from your own website carried no cover fee. Always verify current pricing directly with your provider.
The 40-cover figure is illustrative — Seatly can scale up to 5,000 covers a month on all tiers. The more of your covers flow through OpenTable's network, the bigger that gap gets. Want to run it on your own numbers? The TCO calculator on the homepage lets you plug in your own volume.
What you keep when you switch
- 01. Your customers. Every diner who books becomes a record in your database, not OpenTable's. Names, emails, booking history, preferences — yours to keep, export, or delete.
- 02. Your brand. The booking widget shows your colours, fonts, and restaurant name. Not ours. No "Seatly" branding in the widget by default.*
- 03. Your traffic. Diners book directly on your website. No redirect to a competing restaurant marketplace. No marketplace that can suggest other restaurants to the diner who just booked you.
- 04. Your margins. Every booking stops costing you a cover fee. The savings compound every month.
When OpenTable is still the right choice
We're not trying to talk everyone out of OpenTable. There are venues where OpenTable genuinely earns its fees:
- • Tourist-destination fine dining in central London, Edinburgh, Bath. The OpenTable network genuinely surfaces inbound diners from the consumer app.
- • Large chains with complex floor management who need enterprise features, physical reservation terminals, and deep PMS integrations.
- • Venues whose bookings genuinely come from OpenTable rather than their own website. If you can prove 30% or more of your covers originate from the OpenTable network, the per-cover fee becomes customer acquisition cost rather than a tax on existing customers.
If none of those describe your restaurant, the maths is simple — you're paying a marketplace fee on covers your marketplace isn't bringing in.
Switching is painless
- 01. Export your data from OpenTable before your contract ends — booking history and customer list, usually in CSV. Keep it for your own records: Seatly does not import past bookings or customer lists, so your Seatly customer database starts from your first booking.
- 02. Paste one line of code into your website. It goes in as a script tag on WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace (Core plan or higher) and custom-built sites, and as our hosted iframe on Wix.
- 03. Point new bookings at Seatly and let the last OpenTable bookings play out. No migration drama.
We're onboarding our first cohort of UK independents one at a time. If you're on OpenTable and ready to switch, get in touch and we'll walk you through the handover personally.
Common questions
- How much does OpenTable cost in the UK?
- OpenTable no longer publishes UK pricing. Its UK plans page lists Core and Pro with "contact us for pricing" (verified 14 July 2026). The last UK rates it published, as archived on 14 December 2024, were Core at £179 per month and Pro at £299, plus £2 per seated cover on bookings arriving through the OpenTable network; bookings from your own website carried no cover fee. OpenTable stopped publishing UK prices in early 2025. Its US list prices, as archived in April 2026, were $149 (Basic), $299 (Core) and $499 (Pro) per month plus network cover fees. Treat these figures as history, not as a quote; only OpenTable can tell you today's UK price.
- Is Seatly really cheaper than OpenTable for a UK independent restaurant?
- On OpenTable's last published UK rates, yes, for most UK independents. OpenTable's UK pricing is quote-only, but its last published UK rates (archived 14 December 2024) were £179 to £299 per month plus £2 per seated cover on network bookings, and its US list, as archived in April 2026, ran $149 to $499 per month plus cover fees. Seatly charges a flat monthly fee from £59 with no per-cover fees at any tier. The more of your bookings flow through the OpenTable network, the larger the gap becomes.
- Who owns my customer data with Seatly versus OpenTable?
- With Seatly, your restaurant is the data controller and owns the customer data. You can export or delete it at any time, and Seatly never uses it for advertising or shares it with other restaurants. With OpenTable, what happens to your diners' data is governed by OpenTable's terms — ask to see them, and what you can take with you, before you sign.
- Does the widget work on my existing website?
- Yes. Seatly embeds on your existing website with a single line — an inline script tag for WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace (Core plan or higher), and custom HTML sites, or an iframe URL for Wix and other platforms that block third-party JavaScript. Either way, the widget is white-labelled to your restaurant brand. OpenTable also offers a widget but it typically links out to the OpenTable network and displays OpenTable branding.
- Is there a contract with Seatly?
- No. Seatly is monthly rolling. You can cancel at any time, and you can export your booking and customer data on the way out. OpenTable's UK plans page says its standard contract is one year, renewing automatically unless you give 30 days' notice before the renewal date. OpenTable says that applies to new agreements and existing restaurants keep their Order Form terms, so confirm yours on your quote or Order Form. The full client agreement is not published, so ask to see it before you sign.
- When might OpenTable still be the right choice?
- OpenTable is the right choice if your restaurant depends on inbound diner traffic from the OpenTable consumer network — typically fine-dining and tourist-destination venues in London and major cities — or if you need physical reservation terminals and multi-property enterprise features. For most UK independents taking their bookings directly through their own website, those features are paid for but rarely used.
Looking at the wider market? Our buyer's guide to UK restaurant booking systems compares 10 platforms — including OpenTable, ResDiary, Quandoo, Dojo, and Seatly — against the same six criteria: pricing, contracts, data ownership, embedding, GDPR, and feature fit.
Weighing OpenTable against ResDiary specifically rather than against Seatly? Our ResDiary vs OpenTable page holds the two against each other directly, with Seatly disclosed but not the focus.
Ready to stop paying per cover?
We're onboarding UK independents into the first cohort now. Tell us about your venue and we'll walk you through a switch from OpenTable end-to-end.
* A note on Seatly branding. Seatly branding is optional and entirely your choice. A single toggle in your admin Settings controls whether a small "Powered by Seatly" line appears on your booking widget AND in confirmation, reminder, and cancellation emails. It is OFF by default on every tier, including Starter — nothing carries Seatly branding unless you switch it on. When you do, you receive a tier-matched discount on your subscription (£5/month on Starter, £10/month on Professional, £15/month on Business). You can turn it on at any time; switching it back off ends the discount at your next invoice and locks the toggle for 30 days, so the discount cannot be claimed and immediately reversed.
Now onboarding
Talk to us
We're onboarding the first restaurants now, one at a time. Leave your details and we'll be in touch for a chat — happy to answer any questions. Founding-customer pricing, no setup fee, no contract.
Just your name, email and role — everything else is optional.
We'll only contact you about Seatly. No spam. Unsubscribe any time.
Prefer to chat? Email us at info@seatly.uk