Compare restaurant booking systems in the UK
Compare restaurant booking systems by how you get bookings, what the full bill includes and how you bring guests back. nollie starts from £99 a month, no per-cover fees, with email marketing built in. These guides help UK restaurants, pubs, cafes and bars weigh their options, check the source behind each price and plan a switch around service.
By Jordan Foord, Founder & CEO of nollie
nollie makes a competing product. Read this the way you would read anything written by a rival.
Choose the question you need to answer
You do not need to read every guide before a demo. Start with the decision in front of you, then use the same requirements when you talk to each supplier. A useful shortlist explains why a system might fit your venue and what you still need to establish.
Alternatives to your current system
ResDiary alternatives for UK venues
Seven alternatives, sourced prices and a practical check on whether moving from ResDiary is worth it.
Understand the options
Booking systems and marketing: together or separate?
Compare the work a diary, guest records and campaigns need to do, and when two connected systems are a good fit.
Buyer and switching guides
Best restaurant booking systems in the UK
Start with the wider shortlist: thirteen systems, their published prices and the questions each leaves open.
How to switch booking systems
Use the practical switching guide once you have a shortlist and need to plan the move around service.
Compare the job, then the feature list
Write down what happens on a busy service and on a quiet weekday. The right demonstration should cover both. A booking diary can look clear when it is empty; the more useful question is what the team does when a table is late, a party changes size or an available space needs filling.
| Decision | What to ask | Evidence to request |
|---|---|---|
| Taking bookings | Can guests complete the journey on their phone, and what happens when a sitting is full? | Walk through a real service setup with your table sizes and booking rules. |
| Running service | How does the floor team change a booking, find guest notes and manage an unexpected gap? | Let the person running service try the task, rather than only watching a prepared demo. |
| Bringing guests back | How do you choose a guest segment, send a campaign and see the resulting bookings? | Follow one campaign from audience selection to its outcome report. |
| Understanding the bill | Which charges depend on bookings, covers, channels, payments or optional services? | Request an itemised quote using your own volumes and the same assumptions for every supplier. |
| Planning the move | What happens to future bookings, guest history and existing integrations? | Agree an import check, a cutover plan and who owns each step before changing the live booking link. |
Compare a complete bill
A monthly headline is a starting point. Match the allowance to your total volume and check whether the unit is a booking, a guest or a cover. A party booking and the people at its table are different counts. If a supplier charges for a particular channel, ask which bookings are included and how the invoice shows them.
Keep subscription, setup and optional extras in separate lines. This makes an introductory offer easier to distinguish from the ongoing price, and it helps you see whether an apparently cheaper quote covers the same work. Ask about payment-related costs when you need deposits or pre-payment; a booking commission statement does not answer that question.
nollie’s UK plans include the booking system and email marketing, with the plan selected by monthly covers. SMS is a paid add-on. Read the current plan prices and allowances together, then check the UK subscription terms and the agreement offered to your venue. This hub does not calculate a saving from a price you have not been quoted.
Read the source behind the claim
Our price guides link figures to a shared claim ledger. A published label means the vendor’s own page supplies the figure. Quote only means you need to contact that vendor. Last published means a historical figure needs care; reseller reported means someone else, sometimes a competing supplier, made the claim. Those labels are not interchangeable.
A table cell that says “Ask the vendor” is a gap in our verified evidence, not proof that a feature is missing. The same applies to a currency we cannot reliably establish or a price that appears only for another region. You should be able to follow a source, understand its scope and challenge our interpretation.
The sourced UK systems comparison carries its own verification date. Treat that as a record of the review, not a promise that a supplier cannot change its pricing tomorrow. Before signing, ask for the current terms in writing and check the services your venue actually needs. The sourcing notes belong beside the decision, not hidden behind a score.
When another system is the right choice
Keep your current system if it supports the service well and a proposed replacement cannot demonstrate a useful improvement. Familiarity has value, particularly when several people share the diary. A new feature is only a reason to move if somebody will use it and you know what problem it solves.
A separate marketing tool can also be a reasonable choice when the team is happy with its workflow and can trace outcomes reliably. A marketplace may deserve a place on the shortlist if it helps you reach guests you would otherwise struggle to find. Evaluate that contribution with evidence from your own venue rather than assuming every network booking is an additional guest.
Consider nollie when you want bookings, guest records and email campaigns in one system, with campaign reporting in bookings, covers and revenue. Use the bookings overview to examine that workflow. For a small group, bring the needs of each site to the conversation instead of assuming one venue’s setup represents them all.
Questions operators ask
Where should I start comparing restaurant booking systems?
Start with the jobs your venue needs to do: take bookings, manage a service, keep useful guest records and encourage another visit. Then use the UK systems guide to make a shortlist. Ask each supplier to demonstrate the same service scenario and to quote for the same volume and requirements.
Does commission-free mean there are no other charges?
No. A commission statement describes one part of the bill. Check the subscription, usage allowance, setup, payment processing and optional extras separately. Compare the fee basis as well as the number, and ask the supplier to confirm which channels and transactions its statement covers.
Should I choose a marketplace or my own booking page?
That depends on how guests find you. If discovery is the gap, evaluate a marketplace against the bookings it can demonstrably bring your venue. If guests already find your website, look closely at the direct booking journey and the ongoing guest relationship. Ask how each source is reported before assuming either route is better.
How are prices checked in these guides?
Competitor figures come from a source ledger linking to the page where they were recorded. Published figures are distinguished from quote-only pricing, historical figures and third-party reports. A missing public figure is left as a question for the supplier; it is not filled with an estimate presented as fact.
Can I keep my current system running during a switch?
A UK venue switching to nollie can import booking and guest history and run the systems in parallel before cutting over. Plan responsibility for future bookings and availability during that period with the team. Check your current agreement separately; this guide does not promise a cancellation right or a particular contract term.
Last verified .
See whether nollie fits your venue
Bring your current setup and your questions. We’ll show you how bookings and marketing work together in nollie.
For eligible UK restaurants, pubs, cafes and bars.