Alternative to Resy: what US restaurants should use in 2026

Resy has become one of the most recognizable names in US restaurant reservations, especially in big cities and in the upscale segment. It is also one of the more expensive options: plans currently start at $289 per month, and since American Express bought first Resy and then Tock, independent restaurants have been watching the platform consolidate and asking a fair question: is there a good alternative to Resy?

The honest answer is: it depends on what you were paying Resy for. If it was the diner network and the brand cachet, the list of true substitutes is short. If it was simply a reliable reservation book, a booking widget and no-show protection, you can get all of that for a fraction of the price, or free. Full disclosure before we start: this blog is published by ViteUneTable, and our own product appears below. We build a reservation system with a free plan that has no time limit and 0% commission, so we obviously have a preference, but every fact about Resy and the other platforms in this article comes from their own websites, with retrieval dates.

What Resy actually costs restaurants in 2026

Resy publishes its pricing, which is more transparent than many competitors. Here is the lineup as shown on Resy's plans and pricing page, retrieved on August 14, 2026:

Two things stand out. First, Resy charges no per-cover fees: unlike marketplace models that bill you for every seated diner they send, your subscription is the whole software bill (standard payment processing fees still apply on top of the listed prepayment fees). Second, the "powered by Tock" tiers make the consolidation visible: prepaid experiences, deposits and ticketing now live inside Resy's own price list.

At $289 to $459 per month, a restaurant pays $3,468 to $5,508 per year before processing fees. For a Manhattan hotspot that fills every seat partly because diners browse the Resy app, that can be money well spent. For a 40-seat neighborhood restaurant whose guests book through Google and its own website, it is a lot of subscription for what is, day to day, a digital reservation book.

Who owns Resy, and why it matters

Resy has been owned by American Express since 2019, when Amex announced the acquisition to expand its digital dining offering. In June 2024, American Express went further and agreed to acquire Tock from Squarespace, the reservation and ticketing platform popular with tasting-menu restaurants and wineries, in a deal reported by CNBC at $400 million. Tock's flagship features have since been folded into Resy's own plans, as the pricing table above shows.

For restaurants, this consolidation cuts both ways. On the plus side, Resy is backed by one of the largest financial companies in the world and is clearly not going anywhere. On the minus side, two of the three big premium reservation brands in the US now answer to the same owner, which rarely puts downward pressure on prices, and Resy's incentives are naturally aligned with American Express cardmembers: exclusive access and cardmember benefits are part of the pitch to diners.

Let's be honest: what Resy does well

An honest comparison has to start with why Resy earned its position:

• Brand cachet with diners. In New York, Los Angeles, and most large US food cities, being "on Resy" is a signal in itself. Food-forward diners browse the Resy app to decide where to eat, and notify features on hard-to-get tables create real demand.
• A polished consumer app. The diner-facing experience is excellent, and the Amex connection brings a wealthy, dining-obsessed audience to the platform.
• No per-cover fees. Resy's flat subscription is genuinely more predictable than marketplace models that charge for every seated cover.
• Serious operations tooling. Table management, waitlist, POS integrations and, on the Tock-powered tiers, mature prepayment and ticketing tools for tasting menus and events.

If your restaurant's marketing strategy is built on that discovery network, no cheap alternative replaces it one-for-one. The question is whether you actually use it, or whether most of your bookings would arrive anyway through Google, Instagram and your own site.

What to look for in a Resy alternative

Before comparing names, be clear about which of these you are actually buying:

1. A reservation engine: online booking page or widget, automatic confirmations, a live reservation book your team can trust during service.
2. No-show protection: reminders, cancellation policies, and card holds or deposits for peak services. If no-shows are your main pain, start with the mechanics in our guide to credit card holds for restaurant reservations.
3. A discovery network: an app or marketplace that actively sends you new diners.
4. Guest data and CRM: profiles, visit history, marketing tools.

Most restaurants that leave Resy discover they were paying for all four but only really using the first two. That realization is what makes the economics of the alternatives interesting.

The best alternatives to Resy

ViteUneTable: the commission-free option with a real free plan

ViteUneTable takes the opposite approach to the premium platforms: the core reservation system is free, with no time limit, no commission and no per-cover fees, ever. The free plan includes your own online booking link and website widget, unlimited reservations, automatic confirmation emails and a reservation book you manage from any device. There is no contract and no commitment.

When you want more, the paid packs stay simple: the Standard pack at €29 excl. VAT per month adds automatic email reminders, Reserve with Google (so guests book directly from your Google listing), your menu, a calendar view and custom booking questions. The Standard + Anti No-Show pack at €49 excl. VAT per month adds bank card holds, the same defense mechanism Resy sells on its Tock-powered tiers, but at a flat price with 0% commission and no percentage taken on anything.

Let's be honest about the trade-off: ViteUneTable is built in France, prices are in euros, and it has no US diner discovery app. Nobody will find your restaurant by browsing ViteUneTable the way they browse Resy. It is the right choice if your guests already find you (Google, social media, walk-bys, word of mouth) and what you need is a dependable, affordable system to capture and protect those bookings. Compared with $3,468 or more per year at Resy, running on a free plan and upgrading only when a feature earns its keep is a very different financial proposition.

OpenTable: the biggest diner network in the US

OpenTable remains the heavyweight of US restaurant reservations, with the largest consumer network in the country. If you are leaving Resy because you want more diner exposure rather than lower costs, it is the first name to evaluate. Its pricing works differently from Resy's: plans are paired with fees on reservations that come through the OpenTable marketplace, so the total depends heavily on how many covers the network actually sends you. Check the current figures on OpenTable's own pricing page before signing anything, and model a realistic month of covers. We compare the full US field, with verified pricing for each vendor, in our guide to the best restaurant reservation systems in the US.

Tock: no longer really an alternative

Until 2024, Tock was the natural Resy alternative for prepaid, ticketed and tasting-menu dining. Since the American Express acquisition, Tock's technology has become the engine of Resy's Essential and Premium tiers. Choosing Tock today means choosing the same owner and, increasingly, the same platform. If prepaid experiences are your model, compare Resy's Tock-powered tiers directly against independent options rather than treating Tock as a separate escape route.

SevenRooms: for groups that live on guest data

SevenRooms positions itself around CRM, guest profiles and marketing automation, and it is popular with hospitality groups and high-end independents that want to own their guest relationships. Its pricing page lists three tiers (Starter, Growth, Premium) but publishes no prices; every plan is quote-based behind a demo request (checked on August 14, 2026). Budget accordingly: solutions sold by sales call are rarely the cheap option, and you cannot compare what you cannot see. For a single independent restaurant mostly seeking a reservation book and no-show protection, it is usually more machinery than the problem requires.

Comparing the options side by side

How to switch away from Resy without losing bookings

A reservation system migration is less dramatic than it sounds if you sequence it:

1. Export your guest and reservation data from Resy before your subscription lapses, and honor every reservation already on the books.
2. Set up the new system in parallel. Create your booking page, connect the widget to your website, and configure services, table capacity and time slots. On a free plan, this parallel run costs nothing.
3. Switch your public links. Update the reservation link on your website, Google Business Profile, Instagram bio and anywhere else guests find you. This is the moment the migration actually happens.
4. Rebuild your no-show defenses. Confirmations, reminders and a clear cancellation policy matter more than which logo is on the booking page; our playbook on reducing restaurant no-shows covers the full system.
5. Keep an eye on volume for a month. If a meaningful share of your bookings genuinely came from the Resy app rather than your own channels, you will see it quickly and can decide with real numbers instead of fear.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Resy cost for restaurants?

As of August 14, 2026, Resy's published plans run from $289 per month (Platform, and the Tock-powered Essential tier) to $459 per month (Platform 360 and Premium). Resy charges no per-cover fees; the Tock-powered tiers add a 2% to 3% fee on prepayments, plus standard payment processing. Source: Resy's own plans and pricing page.

Who owns Resy?

American Express has owned Resy since 2019. In 2024 American Express also acquired Tock from Squarespace, and Tock's prepayment and ticketing features now power Resy's Essential and Premium tiers.

Is there a free alternative to Resy?

Yes. ViteUneTable offers a free plan with no time limit: unlimited online reservations through your own booking link and widget, automatic confirmation emails, and 0% commission permanently. Paid packs (from €29 excl. VAT per month) exist only for extras like email reminders, Reserve with Google and card holds.

Does leaving Resy mean losing reservations?

It depends on where your bookings come from. Reservations from your website, Google listing and social media move with you, since you control those links. Bookings that originate inside the Resy app itself do not. Check your source data in Resy before deciding: many neighborhood restaurants find the app's share smaller than they assumed, while destination restaurants may find it substantial.

Is Tock a good alternative to Resy?

Not anymore in the strict sense: both belong to American Express, and Tock's technology now powers Resy's upper tiers. If you want a genuinely independent alternative, look at OpenTable for network reach, SevenRooms for group CRM, or a commission-free system like ViteUneTable for flat, predictable costs.