Today's diners expect convenience at every step of their restaurant experience. From browsing menus to securing the perfect table, everything needs to run seamlessly to turn first-time visitors into regulars.
Behind the scenes, your reservation system does much more than just book tables. It shapes customer experiences, helps manage your floor, and impacts your bottom line.
With so many options available, choosing the right reservation partner can be challenging.
That’s why today we’re comparing two popular platforms: the industry giant OpenTable and the user-friendly Tablein.
Which one will better serve your restaurant's unique needs?
We'll compare their features, pricing, and real user experiences to help you make the smart choice for your business.
Let's dive in!
Key Features Comparison
First up, let’s see how these two tools compare based on their key features.
Online Booking
Online booking options are essential for modern restaurants, but not all systems are created equal.
While both OpenTable and Tablein let you embed their widgets on your website, they come with different perks.
OpenTable provides a booking widget that integrates with your website and connects to their network of diners.
This means you can get reservations directly while gaining exposure to millions of potential customers browsing OpenTable's marketplace.
The widget offers some customization to match your brand, but these options have limitations when it comes to collecting specific guest information or fully matching your restaurant's visual identity.
Source: OpenTable
However, they have an interesting feature called Experience.
Guests can make a standard reservation or book an experience that you set up (like happy hours, winery tours, multi-course tasting menus, etc.).
If you want, you can disable regular reservations during shifts that have experiences.
Either way, these can be great incentives that attract new customers.
Tablein, on the other hand, has highly customizable booking widgets that blend seamlessly with your website.
Source: Upstairs at Anna's
You can adjust colors, styles, and branding to match your restaurant's look perfectly.
You can also personalize data fields to collect information about gift vouchers, discount codes, food allergies, and more.
Diners that book through a Tablein widget can also select the dining area—if you give them the option.
Tablein integrates with major platforms like Google, Facebook, Instagram, and TripAdvisor, expanding your reach without forcing customers to use a specific app.
For restaurants with international customers, Tablein offers booking options in over 20 different languages—significantly more than the six languages OpenTable supports.
This is particularly helpful for establishments in tourist areas or those with diverse customer bases.
You can set the widget to your local language but also select a different language for international guests.
Reservation Management
OpenTable gives you a comprehensive view of your bookings through calendar and list views. Staff can easily see reservations, make changes, and identify available time slots.
Source: OpenTable
The platform sends automated email and SMS confirmations to reduce no-shows.
Staff can also see shift overview details, important guest notes, or upcoming event info, all on OpenTable’s reservation management pages.
Tablein, on the other hand, provides an intuitive dashboard designed for ease of use.
Source: Tablein
The system shows reservations in both calendar and list views, making it easy to track bookings at a glance.
The various filters are clearly displayed.
Confirmed reservations, arrived, pending, and no-shows are all color-coded, so staff can easily remember and identify them on the platform.
Source: Tablein
Tablein also has a light/dark mode toggle, which improves visibility in different lighting conditions, and is very useful during evening service.
Like OpenTable, Tablein sends automatic confirmation emails and SMS reminders to guests to reduce no-shows and late cancellations.
Both platforms offer mobile-friendly solutions for managers on the go.
However, Tablein's web-based approach means there's no need to download or update additional apps, making it more accessible for teams with varying technical skills.
Table Management
Effective table management goes beyond taking reservations—it's about optimizing seating arrangements and maximizing turnover without hurting the guest experience.
OpenTable offers visual floor plans and automated table assignments.
Source: OpenTable
Each restaurant can have a maximum of 12 floor plans, with each plan containing up to 100 tables.
Currently, there are only 5 predefined table types that restaurants can assign to any or all tables in their floor plans.
These table types are hardcoded, meaning they cannot be customized or expanded beyond the current options in the dropdown menu.
The available table types are regular, high-top, counter, bar, and outdoor.
The software can also recommend table assignment so you don’t have to make impossible calculations when you’re already at your busiest.
Source: OpenTable
OpenTable’s system helps manage waiting lists and predict turn times, potentially increasing seating capacity during peak hours.
Guests can join the waitlist remotely—they can wait from anywhere, watching the real-time place in line from their phone without the stress of having to be in the doorway.
The online waitlist is set to allow parties between one and six—but you can customize that to match your restaurant’s needs.
Now, let’s talk Tablein.
Tablein provides a straightforward yet effective floor plan editor for creating customized layouts.
You can easily join tables, modify seating arrangements, and adjust availability based on demand.
Another great tool is the color codes within the floor plan setup, where grey means available tables, blue and green are booked tables, violet are reserved for walk-ins, and so on.
Source: Tablein
For restaurants with high walk-in traffic, Tablein includes a waitlist system that notifies guests via SMS when a table becomes available.
This reduces walkaways and ensures tables are filled efficiently. The platform also offers a waiting list for phone reservations.
Both OpenTable and Tablein aim to maximize table utilization while maintaining service quality.
OpenTable provides more automation features, while Tablein focuses on creating an intuitive system that requires minimal training.
Guest Profiles and CRM
Guest Profiles and CRM features can turn your guests into loyals.
Both platforms offer tools to track customer preferences and history.
OpenTable's CRM options are robust. Restaurants can build detailed guest profiles that include spending habits, visit frequency, and dining preferences.
The system tracks allergies and special occasions, and staff can also add comments and notes about diners, as you can see below:
Source: OpenTable
This data feeds into OpenTable's marketing tools, helping restaurants segment their audience and send targeted promotions to previous customers.
Source: OpenTable
Tablein also offers practical guest tracking tools that store essential information:
- Contact details
- Visit history
- Special notes
You can tag guests as VIPs, regulars, critics, or even blacklisted customers.
That means your staff can provide the appropriate service to different diners, which means they’re more likely to return.
Source: Tablein
You can also identify returning customers by name or phone number—and when they book again, their info is saved, and you can easily remember who they are.
You can apply automatic discounts for frequent visitors, encouraging loyalty without a formal program.
While Tablein's current CRM system works well for most restaurants, we are developing a more advanced solution with deeper insights.
Both platforms help restaurants collect and use guest data, but OpenTable currently offers more extensive CRM capabilities, especially for restaurants wanting deep customer analysis.
Analytics and Reporting
Access to insights about your restaurant's performance can guide important business decisions, from staffing to marketing strategies.
OpenTable provides comprehensive analytics that help restaurants understand performance from multiple angles.
For example, you can measure your team’s performance using OpenTable’s scorecards, which show each server’s rating.
Source: OpenTable
OpenTable’s reports include metrics on table turn times, revenue per available seat hour (RevPASH), and booking channel effectiveness.
Source: OpenTable
These insights can identify operational bottlenecks and optimization opportunities.
OpenTable also offers a complex insight into how your restaurant stacks up against other local restaurants using their system.
You can compare seated guest activity, spend, reviews, and no-shows.
Source: OpenTable
Tablein, on the other hand, offers straightforward reporting focused on daily operations.
Reports cover recent reservations, booking trends by hour, international guest analysis, and customer feedback.
You can easily track total guest numbers, no-shows, cancellations, and first-time visitors over any period, as this graph shows:
Source: Tablein
With Tablein, you can also track where your guests are from.
Knowing what countries your guests come from means you can customize your widget to these languages—something that might make them return.
Source: Tablein
And speaking of customer retention, you can also see your top ten clients by number of visits, so you can reward them with a small surprise.
Source: Tablein
While currently focused on operational metrics, Tablein is developing additional reporting capabilities to help with staffing and marketing planning.
For restaurants seeking detailed, enterprise-level analytics, OpenTable currently offers a more comprehensive solution.
However, Tablein provides the essentials most restaurants need without overwhelming users with excess data.
Mobile Usability Overview
Restaurant staff are constantly moving.
So, managing reservations and tables from mobile devices is a must-have.
OpenTable offers a dedicated mobile app for restaurant management.
Staff can update table statuses, manage guest information, and view upcoming reservations from anywhere in the restaurant.
Notifications come on all of the devices at the same time, making it extra easy to stay on top of everything.
Source: OpenTable
OpenTable now also enables a floor plan tool on an iPhone app, as you can see below:
Source: OpenTable
However, some users report occasional performance issues, especially during peak hours when quick updates are most critical.
Tablein takes a different approach with a fully mobile-optimized web interface.
It works seamlessly on both iOS and Android devices, adapting to different screen sizes (phones, computers, tablets) without requiring downloads or updates.
Source: Tablein
Your staff can quickly add, modify, or cancel reservations from any mobile browser—so you have all the flexibility without additional software maintenance.
Both approaches have merits.
Your preference may depend on your staff's technical comfort and your specific operational needs.
Available Integrations
OpenTable has an extensive integration ecosystem.
It connects with numerous POS systems including Square, Toast, and Lightspeed.
These integrations allow seamless data flow between reservation and payment systems, which means less manual entry and potential errors.
OpenTable also works with various marketing platforms, CRM tools, and accounting software.
Among their booking partners are Amazon Alexa, Apple Maps, Meta, OpenAI, TikTok, and TripAdvisor.
The platform's open API makes it possible to develop custom integrations for specific technical requirements.
This is what OpenTable promises to achieve:
Source: OpenTable
However, before you can simplify your tech, you must learn how to use their app and many integrations.
Tablein, on the other end of the spectrum, provides straightforward integrations requiring no technical knowledge. There is zero coding required.
The platform connects with major online reservation widgets, including Google Business, Facebook, and Instagram.
Tablein also integrates with popular website builders like WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix, making it easy to embed the reservation system into your existing website.
Source: Tablein
For payments, the platform supports providers like Stripe, PayPal, and others.
While Tablein currently offers fewer POS integrations than OpenTable, we are actively expanding based on user feedback.
Customer Support Differences
The best reservation system is not an error-free one—but one that can address and solve each problem quickly.
OpenTable provides support through phone, email, and an online help center.
The platform offers onboarding assistance for new customers, and lots of how-tos that might give you your answer before you decide to speak to an agent.
Source: OpenTable
Tablein offers 24/7 customer support through email, live chat, and in-app messaging, and it has a self-service portal with detailed instructions for common tasks.
Source: Tablein
Other Tablein’s support options include a ticketing system, phone support, technical assistance, and installation guidance.
Tablein also provides personalized help through a settings optimization advisor to configure the platform to suit your specific needs.
User Feedback and Reviews
OpenTable receives generally positive reviews across platforms like Capterra, G2, and Trustpilot, with an average rating of around 4.2/5.
Users appreciate the platform's comprehensive feature set, particularly its marketing tools and guest network.
Restaurant owners like the exposure through its consumer-facing app, which can bring in new customers.
Source: G2
Common criticisms include the learning curve for new staff, occasional system slowdowns during peak times, and concerns about the cost structure, particularly the per-cover fees.
The review below, for example, claims OpenTable is far too expensive for what they offer, and the customer support is lacking:
Source: Capterra
Tablein, on the other hand, garners strong reviews across review platforms, averaging from 4.8 to 5 stars.
Users consistently highlight the system's user-friendly interface, quick setup process, and exceptional customer support.
Many reviewers mention the ease of integration with existing websites and the effectiveness of automated notifications in reducing no-shows.
The platform's straightforward pricing model is also praised consistently.
Basically, users like the absence of hidden fees or commissions—and that makes a lot of sense.
Some users note they would prefer a dedicated mobile app, though this is generally considered a minor limitation.
User reviews do indeed paint the right picture: while OpenTable offers more options (for more money), Tablein does an overall better job at keeping its customers satisfied.
Pricing and Subscription Plans
Cost considerations often play a significant role in choosing restaurant technology, particularly for independent establishments with tight margins.
OpenTable offers three main pricing tiers: Basic, Core, and Pro.
Source: OpenTable
The Basic plan starts at $149 monthly with a $1.50 per-cover fee for reservations made through OpenTable's network, and $0.25 for reservations made through your website.
The Core plan increases to $299 monthly with $1 per cover but adds marketing tools and more detailed reporting.
The Pro plan, at $499 monthly, maintains the same fee structure while adding premium features like table management, advanced guest profiles, and more extensive integrations.
Experiences and ticketing have a 2% service fee.
OpenTable offers a 30-day free trial for its Basic plan.
Tablein has a simpler pricing structure with three tiers: Starter, Growth, and Success.
Source: Tablein
The Starter plan, for smaller establishments, allows up to 50 reservations per month at €47 monthly, with additional reservations at €0.67 each.
The Growth plan accommodates up to 150 monthly reservations for €97, with extra bookings at €0.37 each.
For high-volume restaurants, the Success plan offers unlimited reservations for €157 monthly.
Tablein includes all features at every pricing level, and offers a 14-day free trial of its premium plan.
Another important differentiator between OpenTable and Tablein is how simple it is to upgrade or downgrade plans.
In Tablein, you have the flexibility to change your plan at any time.
For example, you can use the Success plan during the high season when you expect more reservations, and then switch to the Growth plan during the low season.
OpenTable has a more rigid structure, and customers have reported challenges when trying to downgrade plans:
Source: Capterra
All in all, the key difference is OpenTable's per-cover fee structure versus Tablein's all-inclusive approach.
For busy restaurants processing hundreds of reservations monthly, Tablein's unlimited option potentially offers significant savings compared to OpenTable's percentage-based model.
Conclusion
OpenTable offers powerful marketing reach and detailed analytics, making it a great choice for establishments seeking to attract a wider customer base.
Tablein delivers simplicity, affordability, and responsive support—perfect for restaurants that want effective reservation management without complex features they'll never use.
Remember, the best reservation system shouldn't create additional work but should seamlessly integrate into your daily operations, enhancing both staff efficiency and guest satisfaction.
Still undecided?
Take advantage of the free trials and see which system works best for you. The answer will be clear in no time!
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