Comparison
A TheFork alternative with no per-guest commission,
with the numbers in plain sight.
Three different ways of paying to take bookings. None of them is right for everyone: it depends on whether you need new diners or margin.
- taula.ai
- From €9.99 + VAT a month
- TheFork
- Per-guest commission
- CoverManager
- Fee not published
- taula.ai lock-in
- None
Point by point
What actually changes
| taula.ai | TheFork | CoverManager | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Flat fee: from €9.99 + VAT (€12.09) a month | Commission per guest (a % of the average bill) on bookings arriving through TheFork, Tripadvisor and its partners; plan prices not published | Fixed monthly subscription per venue, on three plans; prices not published: a quote after a demo |
| What happens if you fill more | No commission: up to 60 online bookings a month on Basic from November 2026 (go over and you move to Pro the next month); unlimited on Pro | Every guest arriving through TheFork or its partners pays commission; bookings from your own site and social media are included | The fee per venue does not move; gift cards and prepayments carry a commission |
| Where bookings come from | Your site, your Google listing and the booking link you share | The TheFork portal, and your own channels too | Your own channels |
| Brings new diners | No | Yes: its site says it opens the restaurant to “millones de clientes potenciales” (millions of potential customers) | — |
| QR menu included | Yes, up to four languages | — | — |
| Restaurant website included | Yes, hosting paid; your own domain on Pro | — | No: “Web” (website) is one of the add-ons activated separately from the plans |
| Minimum term | None: stop any month | — | None, according to its site |
| Trial | 30 days free, no card | — | Demo on request |
Public pricing models checked on 27 October 2026 on each company’s pricing page. A dash (—) means their page does not say, and we do not claim it either way. Third-party rates may have changed: check them on their own site before deciding anything.
Sources: public pricing pages of TheFork and CoverManager and, for CoverManager’s booking channels, its page for independent restaurants, checked on 27 October 2026.
See the CoverManager alternativeThe part that does not favour us
When TheFork suits you better than we do
- If what you need is new diners — because you have just opened, because you are in a heavily touristed area, or because nobody knows you — a portal puts you in front of people who were not looking for you. taula.ai does not do that: it serves the guest who is already looking for you.
- If your volume is low, commission can work out cheaper than a flat fee. The maths is simple: if a month of commission would cost you less than €9.99 + VAT, the portal is the better deal.
- If the portal already brings you good business and the cost does not bother you, switching is not urgent. What is worth doing is not depending on it entirely: having a direct channel too is what turns the commission into a choice rather than an obligation.
The middle road
Running both is an option
taula.ai does not ask for exclusivity. You can keep the portal to reach new diners and take through the direct channel — your website, your Google listing and the link you share — the bookings of guests who are already looking for you: on taula.ai those pay no per-guest commission, only the plan’s fee. taula.ai does not connect to any portal: bookings that come in through one have to be added to the dashboard by hand, like phone bookings.
Questions
TheFork and taula.ai: frequently asked questions
What TheFork alternative is there with no per-guest commission?
- It depends what the restaurant wants. To stop paying per guest and take bookings through its own channels, one alternative is a direct booking system on a flat fee, such as taula.ai: €9.99 + VAT (€12.09) a month on the Basic plan, with website, QR menu and up to 60 online bookings a month, or €24.99 + VAT (€30.24) on Pro, with unlimited bookings and your own domain. If the goal is the portal as a way to reach new diners, TheFork does a job a direct system does not do: taula.ai does not bring new diners.
How much does TheFork cost a restaurant?
- According to its pricing page, TheFork charges the restaurant a commission for every guest who arrives through its portal or its partners, such as Tripadvisor — a percentage of the average bill — and does not publish its plan prices there; bookings through the widget on the restaurant’s own website pay no commission. So the cost rises with the guests the portal brings. taula.ai charges a flat fee per plan and nothing per guest: €9.99 + VAT (€12.09) a month on Basic, with up to 60 online bookings a month, or €24.99 + VAT (€30.24) on Pro, with unlimited bookings. Source: the pricing page on theforkmanager.com, checked on 27 October 2026.
Can a restaurant use taula.ai and TheFork at the same time?
- As far as taula.ai is concerned, yes: it does not ask for exclusivity. A restaurant can keep the portal to reach new diners and take its direct bookings on taula.ai — from its website, its Google listing and the link it shares — which pay no per-guest commission. taula.ai does not connect to TheFork: bookings that arrive through the portal have to be added to the dashboard by hand, like phone bookings.
What does a restaurant lose by leaving a booking portal?
- It loses visibility inside the portal, which genuinely brings new and visiting diners. What it keeps is the direct relationship: the guest record, the phone number and the booking history belong to the restaurant, and every booking through its own site or Google listing pays no commission.
Run the numbers on your own volume
Try taula.ai free for 30 days, with no card, and compare the bill with what you pay now.