Yes, there is a genuinely free OpenTable alternative. bavoli's Free plan costs $0 a month and stays that way: 50 reservations a month, one floor plan with up to 10 tables, one staff account, 50 guest profiles, an email waitlist, basic analytics, and no-show tracking. No credit card to sign up. This is a real free tier, not a 14-day trial that turns into a bill.
OpenTable, as of June 2026, starts at $299/mo for its Core plan and $499/mo for Pro, and then adds roughly $1 per seated cover through its network (about $0.25 through your own widget). A restaurant doing 500 reservations a month can pay $500 or more in cover fees on top of the subscription. bavoli charges $0.00 per cover on every plan, including Free. Get busy and your bill does not move.
If you want more than the Free plan, paid tiers are flat and month-to-month: Starter is $20/mo, Professional is $50/mo, Premium is $100 per location per month. No contracts, cancel anytime. Every new account also gets 30 days of Professional free, no card required, so you can try the paid features before deciding whether the Free plan is enough.
What "free" actually means here
A lot of "free" reservation tools are free trials. You hand over a card, the clock starts, and 14 or 30 days later you are paying. bavoli's Free plan is different. It is $0 a month with no end date and no card on file. You run real reservations on it for as long as you want.
Free is built for a small or new dining room, not a crippled demo. You get 50 reservations a month, a floor plan with up to 10 tables, 50 saved guest profiles, an email waitlist, no-show tracking, and basic analytics. The one visible limit is a small "Powered by bavoli" badge on your booking page. When you outgrow 50 reservations a month, Starter at $20/mo lifts the cap. You choose when to pay. We do not flip a switch on you.
- $0/mo, no end date, no credit card to sign up
- 50 reservations per month
- 1 floor plan, up to 10 tables
- 1 staff account and 50 guest profiles
- Email waitlist, no-show tracking, basic analytics
- $0.00 per-cover fees, always
Free plan vs OpenTable, in plain numbers
The gap is not subtle. OpenTable's entry point is $299/mo before a single cover fee. Add the network per-cover charge of about $1 and a modest 400-cover month lands near $700. Over a year that is well past $8,000. bavoli's Free plan is $0 for that same year, and even Starter at $20/mo totals $240 for twelve months with zero cover fees.
Resy ($249/$399/$899 per mo, Amex-owned) and Yelp Guest Manager ($129/mo and up) sit in similar territory. Toast Tables advertises $50/mo but ties you to its POS processing at 2.49% plus $0.15 per transaction. Eat App has a $0 tier but caps it tightly and climbs to $49, $129, and $229 per month. bavoli is the rare option where the free tier is one you can actually run a restaurant on, and where paid plans never bolt on a per-guest tax.
Built for restaurants with no system yet, not just OpenTable switchers
You do not need to be leaving OpenTable to use this page. If you are taking reservations in a paper notebook, by phone, or through a Google Form, the Free plan is a clean first system. You get a booking page guests can use, a digital floor plan, a guest list that remembers who has dined with you, and no-show rate tracking, without paying anything or learning enterprise software.
Setup is the same whether you are starting fresh or moving over. Add your tables, set your hours, share your booking link. If you are coming from another tool, you can bring your existing reservations and guest notes with you so the dining room does not skip a beat.
When the Free plan is not enough
Free has honest limits, and we would rather be clear about them than surprise you. If you do more than 50 reservations a month, need more than one staff login, want to remove the booking-page badge, or need a second floor plan, that is the line where a paid plan makes sense.
Starter at $20/mo covers most independents past that point. Twenty dollars a month isn't cheap. It's what this actually costs to run reservations without selling your guest data or charging you per head. Professional ($50/mo) and Premium ($100/location/mo) add deeper guest CRM, loyalty, and multi-location tools. Whatever you pick, the per-cover fee stays at $0.00 and you can cancel any month.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a truly free alternative to OpenTable?
Yes. bavoli's Free plan is $0 a month with no end date and no credit card required. It includes 50 reservations a month, a floor plan with up to 10 tables, an email waitlist, 50 guest profiles, no-show tracking, and basic analytics. It is a real free tier, not a trial that converts to a paid bill.
Is bavoli's free plan a free trial or free forever?
Free forever. The Free plan stays at $0/mo for as long as you use it. Separately, every new account also gets 30 days of the Professional plan free, with no card required, if you want to try the paid features. After those 30 days you simply stay on Free unless you choose to subscribe.
How much does OpenTable cost compared to bavoli?
As of June 2026, OpenTable starts at $299/mo (Core) and $499/mo (Pro), plus roughly $1 per seated cover through its network or about $0.25 through your own widget. bavoli's Free plan is $0/mo with $0.00 per-cover fees, and its paid plans are $20, $50, and $100 per location per month, also with zero per-cover fees.
Does the free plan charge per reservation or per cover?
No. bavoli charges $0.00 per cover and $0.00 per reservation on every plan, including Free. Your cost does not rise when you get busy. The only thing the Free plan limits is volume, at 50 reservations per month, not how much each guest costs you.
Can I use a free reservation system if I have no system today?
Yes, and that is who the Free plan is built for. If you currently take reservations by notebook, phone, or Google Form, you can move to a booking page, digital floor plan, guest list, and no-show tracking at $0/mo. No credit card and no prior software experience needed.
What happens when I go over 50 reservations a month on the free plan?
Nothing punitive happens automatically. The 50-reservation cap is the signal that the Free plan has done its job. When you consistently exceed it, you can upgrade to Starter at $20/mo to lift the cap, add features, and remove the "Powered by bavoli" badge. You decide when to upgrade; you are never auto-charged.
Do I need a credit card to start?
No. You can create an account and run the Free plan with no credit card at all. A card is only needed when you choose to subscribe to a paid plan. This is a firm promise, not a limited-time offer.