TheFork alternative: what TheFork's booking system charges, and when your own booking page is enough

Facts about TheFork and TheFork Manager come from their public pages, checked on 23 October 2026 (see sources). They may change. Chefzi isn't affiliated with TheFork or Tripadvisor.

Two products under one name

People say "TheFork" for two different things, and the difference matters when you're working out the cost.

• TheFork, the diner side. A website and app where people search for restaurants and book a table. The UK site is thefork.co.uk. This is where new diners come from.
• TheFork Manager, the restaurant side. The software you use to run the book: availability, a floor plan, guest notes, reviews and reminders. It also gives you a booking widget for your own website and social profiles.

You can think of the marketplace as the shop window and TheFork Manager as the till behind it. The fee model follows that split.

What TheFork Manager publishes on price

TheFork Manager's pricing page shows two plans, Performance and Enterprise. Both say "Ask for pricing". There's no monthly figure on the page. Below the plans, the page lists how bookings are charged:

So there are two numbers you need from TheFork before you can compare it with anything: the plan price and the percentage. Neither is public. We haven't guessed either of them. Third-party sites quote estimates, but they aren't TheFork's published rates, so we haven't repeated them here.

When you get a quote, ask in writing:

1. What's the monthly plan price, and is it fixed for the contract term?
2. What percentage applies to network bookings, and how is the "average bill per guest" worked out? Is it your menu average, a figure you supply or something TheFork measures?
3. Is the fee charged per guest booked or per guest seated? What happens with no-shows and cancellations?
4. Which channels count as "partners"? Does a booking that starts on Google or Instagram but finishes on TheFork count as yours or theirs?
5. What's the notice period, and how do you take your guest list with you if you leave?

How the per-guest fee adds up

Because the fee is a percentage of your average bill, it grows with every cover, not with the number of bookings. A table of six costs more than a table of two. Here's how to work it out with your own quote:

network guests per month × your average bill × TheFork's percentage = monthly booking fee

Then add the plan price. Run it for a quiet month and a busy one. December and Valentine's week will cost the most, and they're also the weeks when you'd probably fill the room anyway.

The useful question isn't "is the fee high?" but "would those guests have found me anyway?" A diner who saw your name on TheFork for the first time is new business. A regular who books through TheFork's app because that's where they last booked is a guest you're paying for twice.

Yums: the discount you help fund

TheFork's diner app runs a loyalty scheme called Yums. TheFork Manager's own page explains it for restaurants:

• Diners earn Yums for each booking. Once they hold 1,000 or 2,000, they can redeem a discount of £20 to £50 at participating restaurants.
• When they do, you take the discount off the bill at the end of the meal.
• TheFork then reimburses 50% of that discount, deducted from your TheFork invoice the following month.

So on a £20 Yums discount, you carry £10 and TheFork carries £10. In return, TheFork's page says participating restaurants get extra visibility in the app, such as badges, banners and newsletters. Taking part is a choice. If you're in the scheme, include your half of the discounts when you work out what TheFork costs per month.

When TheFork is worth keeping

TheFork does things a booking page on your own site can't:

• New diners. If you're in a tourist area, a busy city centre or a street where nobody walks past, a marketplace listing can fill tables you couldn't fill on your own.
• A full reservation book. TheFork Manager lists a floor plan, a waiting list, reminders and reconfirmation, AI no-show prediction and taking card details or pre-payments.
• Phone bookings. Its page mentions automatic call assistants for phone bookings.
• Groups. The Enterprise plan adds group reporting and suggests a sister restaurant when one is full.

If those are why you joined, an own-site booking page doesn't replace TheFork. It sits next to it.

When your own booking page makes more sense

A booking page on your own site tends to win when:

• most bookings come from regulars, locals and people who found you on Google;
• you can see from your TheFork reports that many "network" guests have booked with you before;
• you want guests' details and marketing permission to stay with you, not with a marketplace app where nearby restaurants are listed next to yours;
• you don't need a floor plan or card details to run Friday night.

Many restaurants end up doing both: TheFork for discovery, and their own page for everyone else. TheFork's own widget is one way to do that, because its pricing page lists own-website bookings as included. Another is a separate booking page that comes with your online ordering.

How Chefzi handles bookings

Chefzi is online ordering for UK restaurants, with table reservations included in the plan. It's simpler than TheFork Manager, and it doesn't try to be a marketplace.

How it works:

• Guests book on your site. They choose a date, time and party size on your restaurant website, on your own domain if you like. You set the opening times, slot length, maximum party size and covers per slot. You confirm each request.
• Bookings reach you in the Chefzi app, the same app that takes your orders, on a phone or tablet you already have.
• One site for the rest. The same page takes online ordering for collection and delivery, and QR table ordering once guests have sat down. Card orders go through card payments through your own Stripe account on the £29 plan.
• Bringing guests back. With their permission, you can send email campaigns, including automated offer emails. Optional managed help with your Google profile can help you rank higher on Google in your local area.

What Chefzi doesn't do: no diner marketplace, no floor plan, no waiting list, no card deposit on bookings, no no-show prediction and no loyalty points. The full list is on what Chefzi does not do.

Moving regulars onto your own booking page

1. Pull your TheFork reports. Look at the last 12 weeks. Note how many guests came through the network and how many through your widget.
2. Find the repeat names. Guests who have booked more than once are the ones to invite to book direct.
3. Put your own booking link where regulars look. Your website, your Instagram bio and your Google listing. Our guide shows how to add an order link to your Google Business Profile; a booking link can sit alongside it.
4. Tell guests at the table. A card with the bill or a line on the menu saying "book direct on our website" costs nothing.
5. Only email people who agreed to hear from you. Marketing permission collected by TheFork belongs to its terms, not yours. Start your own list with your own booking form.
6. Watch the numbers for a month before changing anything on TheFork. If the network still brings new faces, keep it for them.

The same idea works for delivery apps, where commission is on average up to 25% per order: see how to move customers from Just Eat to your website, and try your own figures in the commission calculator. If you're comparing booking systems more widely, including ResDiary, our guide to the best restaurant booking systems in the UK sets out what each one publishes. More platforms are in the alternatives hub. If the bookings you are leaving are on GloriaFood, the steps are in replace GloriaFood table reservations.

Try Chefzi for bookings and orders

Early Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deal: new sign-ups get 3 months free, with no setup fee. The deal ends at 23:59 on 1 December 2026.

After the free period, Chefzi is £19 a month for cash or no-card ordering, or £29 a month with online card payments through Stripe, per location, excluding VAT. Standard Stripe fees apply. There's no setup fee, no commission and no contract term. See Chefzi pricing.

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Frequently asked questions

How much does TheFork charge restaurants in the UK?

TheFork Manager doesn't publish a price. On its pricing page, checked on 23 October 2026, both plans (Performance and Enterprise) say 'Ask for pricing'. Bookings that come from TheFork, Tripadvisor and partner channels carry a 'fee based on a percentage of your average bill per guest'. The percentage isn't published, so ask for it in writing.

Does TheFork charge for bookings made on my own website?

TheFork Manager's pricing page lists reservations coming from your website, Instagram and Facebook as 'Included'. The per-guest fee applies to bookings from TheFork's own network and partner channels. Check how your contract defines each channel before you rely on that.

What are Yums and who pays for them?

Yums are TheFork's loyalty points for diners. TheFork's restaurant page says a diner with 1,000 or 2,000 Yums can redeem a discount of £20 to £50 at participating restaurants. The restaurant takes the discount off the bill, and TheFork reimburses 50% of it on the following month's invoice. So the restaurant funds the other half.

Can Chefzi replace TheFork?

Only part of it. Chefzi takes table bookings on your own site and sends each one to the Chefzi app, with no per-cover fee. It doesn't list you on a diner marketplace, and it has no floor plan, waiting list, card deposit or no-show prediction. If TheFork's diners fill tables you couldn't fill yourself, keep it, and use your own page for regulars.

What does Chefzi cost?

After the free period, Chefzi is £19 a month per location for cash or no-card ordering, or £29 a month with online card payments through your own Stripe account, excluding VAT. Table reservations are included. Standard Stripe fees apply. There's no setup fee, no commission and no contract term.

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