OpenTable vs Resy: Which Is Better in 2026?

At a glance

	OpenTable	Resy
Best for	Filling seats through diner discovery	Flat pricing with no cover fees
Starting price	$149 / month + cover fees	$289 / month
Plans	Basic $149, Core $299, Pro $499 / month	Platform $289, Platform 360 $459; Essential and Premium (Tock-powered) at the same prices
Per-cover fees	$1.50 per network cover on Basic, $1 on Core and Pro	None
Direct bookings	$0.25 per cover or $49 / month on Basic; free on Core and Pro	Included
Free plan or trial	No	No
Contract	One year, renews automatically	Not listed in published pricing; ask sales
Events and prepayment	Bookable experiences and events	Ticketing and prepaid experiences on Tock-powered plans (2% to 3% prepayment fee)
Ownership	Booking Holdings	American Express

OpenTable is the better fit for restaurants that need diners to find them, while Resy suits busy, in-demand restaurants that want a flat monthly fee with no per-cover charges. Both handle online reservations, table management, and guest profiles well. The real choice comes down to how much you need a diner network, how many covers you seat, and whether you run ticketed events.

We rate OpenTable 4.7 out of 5 and Resy 4.6, first and second on our ranked list of the best restaurant reservation software. Below, we compare them on the factors that move the numbers for a restaurant, and name a winner in each.

Diner network and discovery

OpenTable runs the best-known reservation network, owned by Booking Holdings. Your tables show up for diners searching its app and website, which is valuable for a new restaurant, a spot on a quiet side street, or a room that needs to fill midweek seats. That reach is the main reason to pay OpenTable’s cover fees.

Resy, owned by American Express, has a smaller but strong diner app with a following among chef-driven and in-demand restaurants. It also promotes its link to American Express as a way to reach Amex cardmembers. For a restaurant that already books out, Resy’s audience is a good fit. For one that still needs to be discovered, it reaches fewer people.

Discovery has a cost beyond the fee. Diners who find you through a network often return through that same network, so each repeat visit can carry another cover charge on OpenTable. Encourage regulars to book through your own website, where OpenTable Core and Pro do not charge per cover.

Winner: OpenTable, because no other platform puts your tables in front of as many diners.

Pricing and cover fees

This is where the two differ most. OpenTable charges a monthly fee plus a fee for each diner seated from its network. Basic costs $149 a month with $1.50 network covers, and either $0.25 per cover booked on your own site or $49 a month flat for direct bookings. Core costs $299 and Pro $499, each with $1 network covers and free direct bookings. OpenTable does not charge for phone bookings or for no-shows.

Resy charges a flat monthly fee with no per-cover charges at all. Platform costs $289 a month and Platform 360 costs $459. Resy also sells Essential and Premium plans at the same prices, powered by Tock, which add ticketing and prepaid experiences.

Here is a simple way to compare them. A restaurant that seats 200 network covers a month pays about $499 on OpenTable Core ($299 plus $200 in cover fees), more than Resy Platform at $289. At 600 network covers, Core costs about $899 a month, while Resy stays at $289. A small room with few network covers, on the other hand, can spend less on OpenTable Basic than on any Resy plan.

1. Count the covers you seat each month from the platform’s own network.
2. Multiply by the per-cover fee for the OpenTable plan you would choose, then add the monthly fee.
3. Compare that total with the flat Resy plan that matches your needs.
4. Repeat with your busiest month, since cover fees grow with demand.

Winner: Resy for busy restaurants, because the price does not climb with every seated guest. OpenTable Basic wins for low-volume rooms.

Table management and the host stand

Both platforms give hosts a live floor plan, reservation book, and guest notes on a tablet. OpenTable includes table and floor management, guest profiles, and notes, with more tools on its higher plans. Resy covers reservation and table management along with guest analytics.

Day to day, hosts tend to find either one quick to learn, and the gap here is small. The bigger factor is how well each connects to your POS, covered below.

Winner: tie. Both handle a busy host stand well.

POS integrations

Resy lists integrations with a long range of POS systems, including Toast, Square, Lightspeed, NCR Aloha, Oracle MICROS Simphony, and Lavu, along with marketing tools such as Fishbowl. That linkage lets spend history show up on guest profiles and helps hosts see table status. OpenTable also connects to several POS systems, including Square, which shares booking and spend data with OpenTable.

Before you sign with either, confirm that your exact POS is supported, whether the connection is two-way, and whether it carries an extra fee. Ask to see the integration running in a live account during the demo.

Winner: Resy, narrowly, for the breadth of POS systems it lists.

Guest data and marketing

Both platforms build guest profiles that hold visit history, notes, and preferences, so hosts can greet regulars properly and flag allergies before the party sits down. Resy adds guest analytics and promotes marketing tools built with American Express. OpenTable includes guest profiles and notes, and its plans scale up from Basic as your marketing needs grow.

The question to settle is ownership. Ask each vendor whether you can export your full guest list, with contact details and visit history, at any time. Ask how the platform records email and text consent, since US marketing texts fall under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. A guest list you cannot take with you makes switching later much harder.

Winner: tie. Both are strong here, so compare the export terms in writing.

Events, experiences, and prepayment

Resy’s Tock-powered Essential and Premium plans are built for ticketed dinners, tasting menus, and prepaid experiences. Guests pay ahead, which cuts no-shows on high-value nights. These plans add a 2% to 3% prepayment fee, so budget for it if you sell many tickets. OpenTable also supports bookable experiences and events within its plans.

Winner: Resy, for restaurants that sell ticketed or prepaid nights often.

Contracts and flexibility

OpenTable contracts run one year and renew automatically, so put the renewal date in your calendar and read the cancellation notice terms. Resy’s published pricing does not list its contract terms, so ask sales directly about term length, renewal, and any setup costs. Neither offers a free plan or a self-serve trial, so both start with a demo.

Winner: neither clearly. Get the full terms in writing from both and compare them side by side.

Setup and day-to-day support

Neither vendor publishes onboarding details on its pricing pages, so treat setup as part of the sales conversation. Ask who builds your floor plan and shift rules, how future reservations move over from your current system, and how long the vendor expects setup to take. Then ask about support hours. A reservation system fails at the worst possible time, during Friday dinner, so you want a phone line staffed when you are busiest.

Winner: neither clearly. Ask for the same answers from both and compare.

Which should you choose?

Choose OpenTable if discovery fills your book

OpenTable is the stronger pick for new restaurants, for rooms that need midweek traffic, and for low-volume restaurants that can start on Basic at $149 a month. Its network is the main reason to choose it, and the cover fees are the price of that reach. Keep an eye on how many regulars book through the network rather than your own site.

Choose Resy if you already have demand

Resy is the better pick if your restaurant already books out and seats enough covers that per-cover fees would add up. It also suits restaurants that sell ticketed dinners and prepaid experiences regularly. The higher starting price pays off as volume grows, since the monthly fee stays flat.

Pros and cons

OpenTable

Resy

Which should you choose?

Frequently asked questions