VenueStack vs OpenTable
Looking for an OpenTable alternative for your nightclub or lounge? OpenTable books the dinner table. A late night also sells bottle service with deposits and minimum spends, sells tickets and works the door, so compare both on the whole night and on OpenTable’s published prices.
The short answer.
Checked against each company’s published pages in October 2026.
| VenueStack | OpenTable | |
|---|---|---|
| May suit | Nightclubs and lounges that sell VIP tables with deposits, tickets and the door on the same nights, and want staff to learn on the job | Restaurants and supper clubs that want new diners to find and book them on OpenTable’s network |
| Monthly price | $200 a month with every feature, or $180 a month billed yearly | $149 Basic, $299 Core or $499 Pro a month on its US page. In Canada, Core and Pro are priced on request. |
| Processing fees | 4% processing fees, at least $2 and at most $50 (C$2.50–C$50, €2–€50, £1.50–£50), plus Stripe’s card fees. Pass them to guests or absorb them. | Cover fees instead: $1 for each diner seated from its network on Core and Pro, $1.50 on Basic. 2% on prepaid Experiences. |
| Try it first | A 14-day free trial on your first subscription | A 30-day free trial of Basic for new US customers, month to month. Core and Pro come on a one-year contract. |
| Staff training | Hands-on virtual training with our team, plus narrated How-to guides that play on the real dashboard pages | OpenTable Academy online training, a session with an onboarding specialist and 24/7 live support |
OpenTable is a restaurant reservation platform with a diner network it says helps fill more than 160 million seats a month. Diners find and book restaurants, bars and wineries on its website and partner sites, and the restaurant pays a monthly plan plus a fee for each diner seated from that network. Core adds floor plans, POS integration and ticketed Experiences, and every plan takes deposits and card holds. It is a strong fit for restaurants and supper clubs that want new diners to find them.
VenueStack is built for the late-night side of a venue. The same night sells VIP tables and bottle service with deposits and minimum spends, sells tickets with tiers and promo codes, runs guest lists and works the door, and every ticket, booking and check-in builds one customer list. New staff learn each job inside the dashboard, with guides that play on the page they are using. One plan covers all of it.
VenueStack and OpenTable, side by side
What each includes, row by row. Checked against OpenTable’s own pages in October 2026; Not listed means their site doesn’t say, so ask.
 VenueStack | OpenTable | |
|---|---|---|
| Running the night | ||
| Event calendar and recurring nights | Included | PartlyExperiences scheduled over dates and shifts |
| Ticket tiers and promo codes | Included | PartlyTicketed Experiences on Core; no promo codes |
| VIP tables on a floor plan | IncludedFloor plan design included | IncludedCustomizable floor plans on Core |
| Table deposits and minimum spends | Included | PartlyPer-guest deposits; minimums in Event Management |
| QR scanning at the door | IncludedKeeps working offline | Not listed |
| Door headcount | IncludedThe Clicker, shared by every door | Not listed |
| The guest | ||
| Branded booking page and website widgets | IncludedEmbeds in your site, light or dark | IncludedBooking widget; website covers free on Core |
| Apple Wallet and Google Wallet | IncludedTickets, passes and table bookings | Not listed |
| Season and multi-night passes | IncludedOne-time purchase, set nights and entries | Not listed |
| Guest chat | IncludedAI concierge with handoff to staff | IncludedDirect messages between guests and staff |
| The business | ||
| Staff roles and permissions | IncludedCustom roles | IncludedUp to ten custom roles |
| Guest profiles and history | IncludedBuilt from every order and booking | IncludedGuest profiles, tags and POS spend alerts |
| Email marketing | IncludedMonthly sending allowance | Higher planAutomated campaigns on Pro |
| Promoter tracking and payouts | PartlyPortal, links and commission; payouts stay with you | Not listed |
| POS integration | Not offered | IncludedCore and Pro, at no extra cost |
| ID scanning | Not offered | Not listed |
| Sales and door reports | Included | IncludedReservation, cover and Experience reports |
| Help | ||
| Staff training | IncludedVirtual training and narrated guides | IncludedOpenTable Academy and onboarding |
| Support from their team | IncludedMessage our team from the dashboard | Included24/7 live support |
Staff onboarding in OpenTable and VenueStack
Learn the job on the screen where you do it. New hosts and door staff learn inside the dashboard, at their own pace, without a manager beside them.
| VenueStack | OpenTable | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | A six-step owner checklist. Try it opens the right page, and Show me plays that part of the guide. | A one-on-one session with an onboarding specialist, and Account Managers who come from the industry |
| Training | Narrated How-to guides that play on the real pages, filtered to each person’s role and replayable any time | OpenTable Academy, an online training program for bringing on staff on a rolling basis |
| Answers | A searchable Help Center with step-by-step articles and screenshots | A restaurant support site with step-by-step articles and training videos |
| People | Hands-on virtual training, onboarding help and floor-plan design are included. Message our team from any page. | Live support from its team by phone, 24 hours a day, seven days a week |
OpenTable pricing, cover fees and total cost
OpenTable’s US plans are $149 Basic, $299 Core and $499 Pro a month, plus $1 to $1.50 for each diner seated from its network. VenueStack is $200 a month with every feature, plus processing fees.
- VenueStack
Every feature. $180 a month billed yearly.
US only. $1.50 a network cover after 30 free days.
$1 a network cover. Floor plans, POS and ticketing.
$1 a network cover. Adds automated email campaigns.
- An estimate of a month’s cover fees from diners who book through its network
- The OpenTable service fee on deposits and no-show charges in your country
- Your price in Canada, where Core and Pro are quoted on request
- Minimum spends on regular table bookings, outside the Event Management add-on
- How ticket holders are checked in at the door
- Early exit terms on the one-year Core and Pro contract
Before processing fees and tax.
Processing fees
VenueStack adds 4% processing fees, at least $2 and at most $50 (C$2.50–C$50, €2–€50, £1.50–£50). OpenTable charges cover fees for diners from its network, and 2% on prepaid Experiences.
Card processing
VenueStack uses Stripe at your country’s rate. OpenTable’s deposits and card holds need Stripe, with Stripe’s fees on top.
Who pays
In VenueStack you choose, fee by fee, who pays. In the US, OpenTable lets you pass its service fee to guests.
Currency and billing
VenueStack bills in US dollars, monthly or yearly. OpenTable’s Core and Pro renew yearly unless you give 30 days’ notice.
Is VenueStack the right OpenTable alternative for your venue?
| VenueStack | OpenTable | |
|---|---|---|
| Choose it if |
|
|
Rehearse one real night before you switch
Bring your floor plan, your bottle-service minimums and one real late-night booking to a demo. We’ll set up the night with you, and your team can run it before anything moves.
Rebuild the night
Recreate your tables, sections, deposits and minimum spends, then add the night’s tickets and guest lists.
Check what moves
Note your contract’s renewal date, list future bookings with paid deposits, and keep your Stripe account open until they settle.
Run a rehearsal
Have hosts take a deposit, and door staff scan and count heads, for one night with the guides on, before going live.
OpenTable’s US plans page, checked 16 October 2026, lists Basic at $149 a month, Core at $299 and Pro at $499. Core and Pro add $1 for each diner seated from its network. Basic adds $1.50 after a 30-day free trial, plus $0.25 a cover or $49 a month for bookings from your own website. Core and Pro are one-year contracts that renew unless you give 30 days’ notice.
A charge for each diner seated from a booking made on OpenTable or its affiliate network. Its pricing FAQ, checked 16 October 2026, says Core and Pro charge nothing for bookings from your own website or by phone, nothing for walk-ins, and nothing for no-shows or cancellations, since you only pay for seated diners. On Basic, bookings through your own website carry a fee too.
Its pages are written for restaurants, with a page for bars and wineries. Checked 16 October 2026, they don’t describe bottle service, minimum spends on regular bookings, door guest lists, ticket scanning or a door headcount, so ask before you rely on it. VenueStack books VIP tables on your floor plan with deposits and minimum spends, runs guest lists, scans tickets and keeps a headcount every door shares.
Deposits, yes. Its Booking Policies article, checked 16 October 2026, sets a deposit as an amount per guest, needs Stripe, and has staff apply it to the bill by hand unless a POS such as Toast imports it. For bookings staff take in-house, texted requests due between 10 pm and 7 am wait until morning, unless the booking is in that window. Minimum spends appear in Event Management, a $99 a month add-on for private events, where they show as met or unmet but don’t block a booking.
Its Create an experience article, checked 16 October 2026, describes ticketed events on Core and Pro: prepaid only, with a set ticket quantity, price tiers such as VIP, and staggered entry times, plus a 2% service fee in the US. It says there is no way to offer a discount or promo code on an experience. VenueStack sells tickets with tiers and promo codes and scans them at the door, offline too once each device opened VenueStack online before doors.
Its Canadian plans page, checked 16 October 2026, lists Core and Pro with Contact us for pricing and doesn’t offer Basic, which the US page marks as only available in the US. Its cover fee FAQ matches the US one: no fee for bookings from your own website, by phone or for walk-ins on Core and Pro. Ask for the plan price and cover fee in writing, in Canadian dollars.
On the monthly price, VenueStack’s $200 sits between the $149 Basic and $299 Core plans on OpenTable’s US page, checked 16 October 2026. OpenTable then adds $1 to $1.50 for each diner seated from its network, and 2% on prepaid Experiences and tickets. VenueStack adds 4% processing fees, at least $2 and at most $50 (C$2.50–C$50, €2–€50, £1.50–£50), plus Stripe’s card fees. Compare a real month, with your table bookings and ticket sales in it.
On Core and Pro, note the renewal date: its plans FAQ asks for 30 days’ notice before the yearly renewal. List future bookings with paid deposits and confirm which guest data you can export. Its Stripe article recommends keeping your Stripe account for some months after leaving, while payments on existing bookings settle. Then rebuild one night in VenueStack and rehearse it before moving live bookings. We don’t promise an automatic import.
Your next event starts here.
Sell tickets, book tables and check guests in from one place.
Sources
By the VenueStack team, checked October 2026. Confirm prices with each company before you buy.
All 21 sources
- OpenTable plans and pricing (US)
- OpenTable plans and pricing (Canada)
- OpenTable Basic plan
- OpenTable Core plan
- OpenTable Pro plan
- OpenTable Experiences
- OpenTable for bars and wineries
- OpenTable Private Dining
- OpenTable customer support
- OpenTable Booking Policies, credit cards and deposits
- OpenTable service fees for Stripe users
- Manage your Stripe integration (OpenTable)
- Import OpenTable deposits into Toast
- Set up OpenTable Event Management
- Create and schedule an OpenTable experience
- Manage experience reservations during service
- OpenTable custom roles and user permissions
- OpenTable direct messages with guests
- VenueStack pricing
- VenueStack FAQ
- VenueStack Help Center