What Per-Cover Fees Really Cost a Neighbourhood Restaurant
Monthly subscription, per-cover fees, a cut on deposits: the full calculation of what a reservation platform like OpenTable costs a 60-seat restaurant, and what a flat monthly fee changes.
Updated on September 17, 2026
The advertised price of a reservation system is the subscription. The price you pay is the subscription plus the per-cover fees. The difference shows up on next month's invoice, rarely in the comparison you did before signing.
Here's how to run the numbers for your dining room, using the public prices as of September 2026.
What "per cover" means
A cover is one seated guest. A reservation for four is four covers. Platforms that bill "per cover" charge an amount for every guest who came through them, on top of the subscription.
The detail that matters: the rate depends on where the reservation came from. A table booked through the platform's network (its app, its website, its partners) costs more than a table booked through the link on your own website. A reservation taken by phone by your staff and entered into the system is usually free.
OpenTable's public prices in 2026
Prices published by OpenTable for restaurants, in US dollars, as displayed in September 2026. They change, so check the pricing page before you decide.
| Plan | Subscription | Cover from the OpenTable network | Cover from your own site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $149/month | $1.50 | $0.25 (or $49/month flat) |
| Core | $299/month | $1.00 | included |
| Pro | $499/month | $1.00 | included |
Add roughly 2% on deposits and credit-card holds taken to prevent no-shows. Floor plans, table combinations and the fine-grained settings (turn times, pacing) are reserved for the Core and Pro plans.
The math for a neighbourhood restaurant
Take a 60-seat bistro doing 2,500 reserved covers a month, which is a full room five nights a week. Assume 60% of reservations come from the platform's network and 40% from your own website.
Network : 1,500 covers
Website : 1,000 covers
Basic : $149 + (1,500 × $1.50) + (1,000 × $0.25) = $2,649 / month
Core : $299 + (1,500 × $1.00) = $1,799 / month
Pro : $499 + (1,500 × $1.00) = $1,999 / month
Over a year, the cheapest plan comes to US$21,600 and the "reasonable" one to just under US$22,000. That is not $149 software. It's an expense the size of a part-time salary.
Two honest caveats:
- The network brings guests. If some of those 1,500 covers would never have existed without the platform, the fees buy discovery, not just booking. The question is how many. For a neighbourhood restaurant people already know, usually not many.
- The math depends on your mix. The more your guests find you through Google, Instagram and the phone, the less the network fees are justified, and the more you pay for something you already did: take a reservation.
Why the phone changes the calculation
In most neighbourhood restaurants, the phone is still the first booking channel, especially for groups, special occasions and guests over 45. Those reservations cost nothing in per-cover fees. They cost something else: someone to answer.
That is where the leak happens. During the rush, nobody picks up. The caller hits voicemail, opens the platform's app, and books somewhere else, or books with you through the network. Either way you lose: the table, or $1.50 a head.
A restaurant that answers every call mechanically reduces its dependence on the network, and therefore its per-cover fees. We put a number on that effect in what missed calls cost a restaurant during the rush.
The flat-fee model
The alternative: a monthly subscription that includes phone reservations, the online booking link, the floor plan, turn times and pacing, text confirmations, with no per-cover fees. The price is the same in January and December, whether you seat 800 or 4,000 covers.
For the same bistro at 2,500 covers a month:
| Platform with per-cover fees (Core) | Flat fee | |
|---|---|---|
| Per month | ≈ US$1,799 | CA$129 to CA$399 |
| Per year | ≈ US$21,600 | CA$1,550 to CA$4,800 |
| What changes with volume | The fees | Nothing |
What the flat fee does not sell, and it has to be said: the discovery network. Your reservations come from your Google listing, your social media, your website and your phone. If your restaurant lives on platform traffic, keep the platform for what it brings and run the math on the rest.
Three questions to ask before signing
- What share of my reservations really comes from the network? Ask your current provider for the report, or track where guests come from for one month.
- What happens to my phone reservations? Are they taken, entered in the right place, with the right table and duration? Or lost in voicemail?
- What does the plan cost me in my busiest month? That is the month that counts, not the quiet one.
Callomi answers your phone during the rush and books the right table using your floor plan, turn times and pacing, with the online booking link included and no per-cover fees. See the restaurant page or compare plans.