How much does a restaurant booking system cost in the UK?

It's the first question every independent owner asks, and the hardest to get a straight answer to. Booking systems rarely put a simple number on their website, because the number moves. Here's how the pricing actually works in the UK, what each model really costs once you're busy, and what a fair price looks like.

The short answer

Most UK restaurant booking systems charge in one of three ways: a fee for every guest booked (often around £1 to £2 a cover), a percentage of the covers you take, or a flat monthly subscription (commonly £50 to £200 or more a month, sometimes rising with your covers). The pay-per-cover models look cheap when you're quiet and get expensive exactly when you're doing well. A flat fee stays the same whatever you do. ClickBook is one flat £49 a month, with no per-cover fees and no commission.

Where the money actually goes

Pay per cover

You're charged for every guest who books, often somewhere around £1 to £2 a head on the covers the platform sends you. Seat 300 online covers in a month at £1.50 and that's £450, and a busier month costs more. The maths quietly works against you: the harder your tables work, the bigger the bill.

Commission on covers

Same idea, dressed differently: a cut of the booking rather than a fixed fee per head. It scales with you in the wrong direction, and it's often bundled with a marketplace listing where the guest ends up belonging to the platform, not to you.

A monthly subscription

A fixed fee, usually somewhere between £50 and £200-plus a month depending on features. Better than per-cover because it's predictable, but watch for tiers that climb as you add covers, tables or premium extras, and for setup and add-on charges on top.

Don't forget the setup fee

Plenty of systems charge a one-off to get you live, and it can run from a couple of hundred pounds to a lot more, especially if someone maps your tables and hours for you. It's worth having, but it should be a clear one-off, not a surprise. Ours is a one-off £299, and we waive it for founding venues.

The cost nobody prints: your guest list

The most expensive thing about the cheap-looking options isn't the monthly fee, it's who owns the guest. If your diners book through a marketplace, that relationship is rented. You can't easily message last month's tables to fill a quiet Tuesday, because the list isn't really yours. A system you own hands that list back, and it's worth more than the fee either way. More on the commission trap here.

So what should you actually pay?

For most independent pubs and restaurants, a flat monthly fee in the £40 to £80 range, with your own branding, no per-cover charge and no lock-in, is a fair deal. If your bill goes up every time you have a good month, or you can't take your guest list with you, you're paying too much for what you're getting.

A quick worked example

Say you seat 300 online covers in a normal month. On a £1.50-a-cover model that's £450 that month, and a strong month pushes it higher. On a flat £49 it's £49, busy or quiet. The gap is the point: one price rewards a good month, the other punishes it.

A booking on your own tables should cost the same whether it's a Tuesday or a fully-booked Saturday.

The short version

• Three models: per cover (roughly £1 to £2 a head), commission (a percentage), or a flat monthly fee (often £50 to £200+).
• Per-cover and commission cost you more exactly when you're busiest.
• Check the setup fee and whether it's a clear one-off.
• The real cost is the guest list. Make sure it's yours.
• A fair deal for most independents: a flat fee, your branding, no commission, no lock-in.

ClickBook is a flat £49 a month, set up for you, in your own branding. See the full pricing or book a quick demo.