Restaurant reservation software in Canada: the honest 2026 comparison

Search for restaurant reservation software from Canada and most of what Google serves you is written for the American market: prices that turn out to be in US dollars, legal references to the FTC, and vendors that barely operate north of the border. The Canadian market deserves its own comparison, because 2026 has been a turbulent year here: OpenTable bought Montréal's Libro, Amex is folding Tock into Resy, and a new 2 % service fee quietly appeared on OpenTable transactions.

This guide compares the systems that actually matter for a Canadian restaurant, with the fees that actually land on a Canadian credit card statement. ViteUneTable is our own product, so we include it with its real strengths and real limits, and we are upfront about everyone else's too.

What to check before choosing a system in Canada

Five questions separate a good deal from an expensive surprise for a Canadian restaurant:

1. What currency is the bill in? Several major platforms price in US dollars and bill Canadian restaurants in USD. With the exchange rate, a "US$299" plan is closer to C$410 a month before fees. Always confirm the billing currency in writing.
2. Are there per-cover fees? Marketplace platforms charge for every guest their network sends you, on top of the subscription. A busy weekend can cost more than the software itself.
3. Who owns your guest data? After the Libro acquisition and the Tock-Resy merger, thousands of Canadian restaurants discovered their guest database now belongs to a different company than the one they signed with. Under PIPEDA, your reservation data (names, phone numbers, allergies) is personal information you are accountable for, wherever the platform stores it.
4. What are the no-show tools, and are they legal where you operate? Most provinces let you charge a disclosed no-show fee under ordinary contract law. Québec is the exception: since July 17, 2025, no-show fees there are capped at 10 $ per person with strict conditions, so a system's reminder and cancellation workflow matters more than the size of the penalty. Our guide to no-shows in Canada covers the details.
5. Does it work with Google? A large share of diners book straight from Google Search and Maps. Reserve with Google is available in Canada, but only through integrated providers.

OpenTable: the biggest network, the biggest bill

OpenTable is the household name in Canadian dining and, since April 2026, the owner of Montréal's Libro. Its consumer network in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montréal is unmatched: if your strategy is buying visibility, no one else delivers as many first-time diners.

Let's be honest about what that reach costs. OpenTable does not keep a public Canadian price list, and its pricing pages are built around US dollars. According to Eat App's April 2026 breakdown of OpenTable's pricing, the Basic plan runs US$149 a month plus US$1.50 for every cover booked through the OpenTable network (plus US$0.25 per cover booked on your own website, or a US$49 flat option), while Core and Pro run US$299 and US$499 a month with US$1 network covers. Contracts auto-renew yearly. On top of that, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported in January 2026 that OpenTable now applies a 2 % service fee to transactions processed through the platform, including deposits, prepaid experiences and no-show penalties. Verify current figures with OpenTable directly, and verify the currency.

For a full-room restaurant that lives on discovery traffic, the math can still work. For a neighbourhood restaurant whose guests would have come anyway, per-cover fees are a tax on your own regulars; we wrote a dedicated guide to OpenTable alternatives if that describes you.

Libro: the Montréal champion, now part of OpenTable

Libro was the Canadian success story of commission-free reservations: built in Montréal, bilingual from day one, no cover fees, and strong across Québec. On April 20, 2026, OpenTable announced its acquisition of Libro. Libro states it continues as a standalone brand with a phased integration into OpenTable's infrastructure and marketplace.

What that means for existing customers is the open question. Libro's public pricing page no longer displays prices (checked September 2026), so new restaurants must request a quote. If you are a Libro customer weighing your options while the integration unfolds, we wrote a dedicated migration guide for Libro restaurants.

TouchBistro Reservations: the Canadian POS route

TouchBistro is a Toronto-born POS company, and its Reservations add-on is the natural pick if you already run the TouchBistro till. Its own FAQ is admirably clear: "you will not be charged per booking with TouchBistro Reservations. The only cost you pay is a flat monthly software fee", with unlimited bookings, two-way SMS and email guest communication, optional credit-card no-show holds, and bookings from your website, the tbdine.com portal and Google.

TouchBistro does not publish the flat fee itself; third-party roundups such as Eat App's Canadian comparison (July 2026) cite around C$229 a month, so budget in that range and confirm on a demo. The honest caveat: Reservations is designed as a companion to the TouchBistro POS. If you run different hardware, or no POS at all, you are paying for an ecosystem you cannot fully use.

Resy and Tock: merging under Amex

Resy, owned by American Express, is the reservation book of the buzzy dining scenes in Toronto, Vancouver and Montréal. It charges no per-cover fees, which is genuinely good, but it does not publish prices; Eat App's July 2026 Canadian roundup cites flat plans around US$249 to US$399 a month, billed in US dollars.

The 2026 twist: Amex is merging Tock into Resy, with the Tock consumer app and site going dark by summer 2026 while restaurant tools continue under the Resy brand (Restaurant Business, Resy's CEO letter). Canadian Tock restaurants, especially those built on prepaid tasting menus, are being moved to a new platform whether they chose it or not. If that is you, our Tock alternatives guide walks through the options. Resy's sweet spot remains high-demand rooms that want a curated brand next to their name; a 40-seat bistro in Winnipeg is not who it is built for.

Eat App: the capped free plan

Eat App is a solid international system with a real free plan, and credit where due: it is one of the few. The free tier is capped at 100 guests a month, which a busy Friday can burn through, and paid plans (verified on eatapp.co, September 2026) run from US$99 a month (US$69 billed annually) to US$389, in US dollars, with unlimited covers and no per-cover fees. It integrates with Reserve with Google. The cap is the honest catch: 100 covers is a trial, not a plan, so treat the free tier as a way to test the product before committing to USD billing.

SevenRooms: enterprise CRM, quote-only

SevenRooms is the data-and-CRM heavyweight that hotel groups and multi-venue operators love: guest profiles, marketing automation, deep integrations. It publishes no prices anywhere and sells by demo and annual contract, which tells you the budget bracket. For an independent Canadian restaurant it is usually more platform than you need; for a group running five rooms and a rooftop, it belongs on the shortlist.

ViteUneTable: unlimited free, 0 % commission

ViteUneTable is our own system, so here is the pitch and the fine print in the same breath.

The pitch: the free version is genuinely unlimited. Unlimited reservations, unlimited covers, your own booking page, table management, and 0 % commission forever; we never charge per cover, and your guest data stays yours, exportable at any time. In a Canadian market where the "free" slot is otherwise a 100-cover cap, that is a real difference. Paid features come as flat packs: the Standard pack at 29 € a month excluding VAT adds email reminders and Reserve with Google, and the Standard + Anti No-Show pack at 49 € adds credit-card holds for high-stakes bookings. Even converted from euros, that is well under what the platforms above charge, with no contract and no per-cover meter running.

The fine print: we are a European company, so billing is in euros rather than Canadian dollars, and while the booking flow speaks French as naturally as English (which matters in Québec), we do not bring a consumer marketplace of diners the way OpenTable does. If discovery traffic is the one thing you need, we are the wrong pick; if keeping your margins and cutting no-shows with your own guests is the goal, we built ViteUneTable for exactly that.

The comparison at a glance

Prices move; every figure above is either from the vendor's own site or attributed to the named third party, as of September 2026. Check before signing.

Frequently asked questions

Which restaurant reservation system is actually free in Canada?

Two options have a real free tier: Eat App's free plan, capped at 100 guests a month, and ViteUneTable's free version, which has no cap on reservations or covers and takes 0 % commission. Everything else on the Canadian market starts at a paid subscription, often billed in US dollars.

Does OpenTable bill Canadian restaurants in Canadian dollars?

OpenTable's published pricing is built around US dollars and its plans are widely reported in USD (Basic US$149, Core US$299, Pro US$499 a month per Eat App's April 2026 analysis, plus per-cover fees). Confirm the billing currency for your account in writing before signing, and factor the exchange rate into any comparison.

What happened to Libro?

OpenTable announced its acquisition of the Montréal-based reservation platform Libro on April 20, 2026. Libro says it continues as a standalone brand with a phased integration into OpenTable's infrastructure. Its public pricing page no longer shows prices, and existing customers should watch how terms evolve during the integration.

Is Tock still available for Canadian restaurants?

Tock is being merged into Resy following the American Express acquisitions, with the consumer-facing Tock app and site winding down by summer 2026. Restaurant tools continue under the Resy brand, and affected Canadian restaurants are being migrated.

Can Canadian restaurants take reservations directly from Google?

Yes. Reserve with Google works in Canada through integrated providers, so diners can book from your Google Business Profile in Search and Maps. OpenTable, Libro and Eat App integrate with it, and ViteUneTable offers it in the Standard pack.

Can a restaurant in Canada charge a no-show fee?

In most provinces, yes, under ordinary contract law, provided the fee is clearly disclosed and accepted at booking. Québec is the exception: since July 17, 2025, no-show fees are regulated and capped at 10 $ per person, with mandatory confirmation reminders and an always-available cancellation channel. See our full guide to no-shows in Canada.