Yelp Guest Manager alternative
Yelp Guest Manager Alternatives for Restaurants (2026)
Yelp Guest Manager is sold through a demo, with no free plan, a 30-day cancellation notice and text wording you change through Yelp support. TablesReady starts free, you set it up yourself tonight, and you edit your own texts. Up to 2,500 parties a month, our Starter costs $60 to $120 a month less than Yelp's Basic on monthly billing. Business adds a floor plan, online bookings and automatic guest replies. Yelp earns its price when diners who search Yelp fill your tables, or when table status has to follow your Toast, Aloha or Micros checks.
By Mike Errecart · Updated · Yelp Guest Manager prices and features as of October 2026
We make TablesReady. This page also says when Yelp Guest Manager is the better choice.
Which fits your business: TablesReady or Yelp Guest Manager?
Pick TablesReady
Your guests are regulars, walk-ins and people who find you on Google
For example: a neighborhood restaurant with a weekend walk-in line
Yelp's reach beyond Google is its own app and site, plus Apple Maps and ChatGPT. If your guests don't come from there, start on our free plan and set it up yourself tonight, then edit your own text wording, which on Yelp goes through support. When you're ready for tables and bookings, Business, from $79/mo or $69/mo billed annually, adds a floor plan and an online booking page.
Pick Yelp Guest Manager
You count on people searching Yelp to fill your tables
For example: a busy full-service restaurant that wants bookings from the Yelp app
On every Yelp Guest Manager plan, your tables show in the Yelp app on iPhone and Android and on Yelp.com, where diners can filter search results to places with a waitlist. They also show on Google, Apple Maps and, since August 2026, ChatGPT. Yelp reported an average of 28 million unique devices a month on its app in 2025, and its contract has you switch on remote joining within 30 days. TablesReady has no diner network; our one outside channel is Reserve with Google on Business, where guests book or join your waitlist from Google Search and Maps.
Pick TablesReady
You want a floor plan on a mid-priced plan
For example: a full-service restaurant with a dining room, a bar and a patio
TablesReady Business adds a drag-and-drop floor plan with live table status, and the guest list with each guest's visit history is on every plan, Free included. Yelp's pricing page marks its customizable floor plan, guestbook and card holds as Plus features, left out of Basic. The table below shows our Business at $150 to $270 a month less than Plus on monthly billing, where Yelp's floor plan starts.
Pick Yelp Guest Manager
Your table status has to follow your Toast, Aloha or Micros checks
On Yelp's Plus plan, paying a check in Toast, NCR Aloha, Micros or one of several other POS systems updates that table on the floor plan, and guest profiles show spend, items, tip and server. TablesReady has no POS table-status sync; our Square integration (Business) brings orders onto the list and can send the order-ready text. If you run Toast POS, compare Toast Tables too, which keeps the host stand inside your Toast account.
Yelp Guest Manager pricing and setup vs. TablesReady
Yelp Guest Manager prices are from its pricing page.
What each plan covers
Compared with TablesReady Starter
| Guest parties a month* | TablesReady Starter, monthly (billed annually) | Yelp Guest Manager, cheapest plan at this level or above |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | $39 ($34)1,000 messages | Basic: $159 ($129) |
| 1,250 | $69 ($59)2,500 messages | Basic: $159 ($129) |
| 2,500 | $99 ($84)5,000 messages | Basic: $159 ($129) |
| 5,000 | $159 ($129)10,000 messages | Basic: $159 ($129) |
Compared with TablesReady Business
| Guest parties a month* | TablesReady Business, monthly (billed annually) | Yelp Guest Manager, cheapest plan at this level or above |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | $79 ($69)1,000 messages | Plus: $349 ($279) |
| 1,250 | $109 ($94)2,500 messages | Plus: $349 ($279) |
| 2,500 | $139 ($119)5,000 messages | Plus: $349 ($279) |
| 5,000 | $199 ($164)10,000 messages | Plus: $349 ($279) |
Its floor plan starts on Plus.
Yelp Guest Manager: Sold through a demo. No waitlist cap is listed, and Basic caps booked covers at 500 a month.
*Assumes 2 text messages per party, the median across TablesReady restaurants. TablesReady counts 160-character segments; Yelp lists no text allowance. Each row shows the cheapest published option that covers that many parties, extra-use charges included.
Texting pauses at your monthly limit. You get alerts at 80, 90 and 100%, and can add messages in one click.
On monthly billing, up to 2,500 parties a month, our Starter costs $60 to $120 a month less than Yelp's Basic. Our Business has the floor plan that Yelp keeps for Plus, and costs $150 to $270 a month less than Plus at every volume in the table, also on monthly billing. Yelp includes an iPad, and TablesReady runs on your own devices. Yelp doesn't publish what happens above Basic's 500 booked covers a month.
Yelp Guest Manager
Basic $159/mo, or $129/mo billed annually
Up to 500 booked covers a month. Online reservations and the waitlist on Yelp, Google Search and Apple Maps, booking links for Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, guaranteed seating areas, two-way texting, daily analytics, to-go orders and a free iPad. The pricing page marks the floor plan, POS integration, guestbook, guest profiles and card holds as not included.
Plus $349/mo, or $279/mo billed annually
Unlimited covers. Adds POS integration, the guestbook and in-app guest profiles, guest email capture, a customizable floor plan and credit card holds.
Enterprise Custom quote
Pitched at restaurant groups with several locations. Adds a reservation and waitlist API and a data feed.
Add-ons Kiosk $99/mo; Guest Experience Survey $129/mo
The kiosk is an iPad on a podium stand where guests check in and pick a language. The pricing page doesn't say which plans can add the survey; an April 2025 Yelp post says Plus and Enterprise.
Yelp Host (sold separately) Basic $249/mo, Plus $399/mo
AI phone answering that books tables, adds callers to the waitlist and logs each caller in the guestbook. Call limits and extra fees may apply on its Basic tier.
There are no cover fees on any plan, and the pricing page doesn't say what happens when Basic passes 500 booked covers in a month. Plans run month to month, or on an annual commitment with an early termination fee whose amount isn't published. Yelp's iPads are managed by Yelp and go back at the end of the contract, or can be bought for $600 (iPad Air) or $800 (iPad Pro). Promotions differ from page to page, from 60 days to 6 months free and up to $1,800 in Yelp Ads, with no terms published.
Getting started: Yelp sells through a demo: every Get started button opens a contact form or a booking link for a demo, and there's no card checkout. Once Yelp's iPad arrives, a Success Manager trains your staff by phone. The contract asks you to switch on remote joining within 30 days, and Yelp may end it if you don't.
TablesReady
Free $0
The waitlist, guest self check-in by QR code or link, a website embed and basic reservations; the list stays in sync live on every device. Ready texts and automated voice calls, plus automatic confirmation and next-in-line texts. 150 messages a month (US and Canada; a tenth elsewhere) and up to 100 parties a month for each location, with up to two Free locations per account.
Unlimited users on every plan, each with their own login and an Admin, Manager or User role, or one shared login if your team prefers.
Starter from $39/mo, or from $34/mo billed annually
Everything in Free, plus two-way texting (US and Canadian numbers), AI-predicted wait times that learn overnight from your location's own history (turn them off if you'd rather quote waits yourself), and detailed analytics. From 1,000 messages and 2,000 parties a month, with higher tiers raising both; outside the US and Canada, messages are a tenth.
Business from $79/mo, or from $69/mo billed annually
Everything in Starter, plus online bookings, table management on a floor plan, Reserve with Google (bookings and waitlist joins), Square order sync, and Stripe deposits (2% fee plus Stripe's).
Custom properties to track VIPs, email addresses, allergies or anything else about a guest; saved replies for quick canned answers in chat; SMS automations (guests join by text, or reply with a keyword to cancel, confirm, check in or say they're running late); geofencing that limits check-in and booking to guests nearby; the to-go list, data exports, and an API and webhooks.
Enterprise Contact us
For groups: a dedicated account manager, custom terms, invoice billing, onboarding with set-up help and data migration, and phone support.
Texts are included in every plan, with no overage fees.
Getting started: Sign up yourself and start on the free plan, or try paid features free for 14 days with no credit card.
Why restaurants look for a Yelp Guest Manager alternative
We read 125 reviews of Yelp Guest Manager in October 2026: 82 on the App Store, 42 on Capterra and 1 on G2, which were all we could reach. Yelp's Capterra listing is still filed under the old Yelp Reservations name, and most of the reviews we read there come from diners rating Yelp itself, so the operator complaints below come mainly from the App Store. There the host app shows 4.6 stars from 1,794 ratings, mostly left without a written review, and all 20 written reviews since 2022 in the feed we read are critical (App Store).
Crashes after updates, and two dinner-hour outages. Twenty reviews, the newest from May 2026, describe crashes or bugs after an update, including an app that wouldn't open or had to be reinstalled; eleven of them come from one update in May 2019, and five from 2024 to 2026 (App Store reviews). Separately, Yelp's own status page lists a full waitlist and reservations outage from 6:04pm PT on Friday, December 20, 2024, and a full Guest Manager outage from 4:54pm PT on Saturday, April 18, 2026, with recovery reported four hours later. It lists no Guest Manager incident in the 90 days to October 9, 2026 (Yelp status page).
Redesigns that moved things. Eight reviews, the newest from May 2025, found a redesign confusing, including hosts who wanted the old layout back or said new screens slowed seating or hid wait times (App Store reviews).
Options hosts asked for. Thirteen reviews, written between 2016 and July 2026, describe missing features or options, such as closing reservations days ahead, choosing a table by hand or hiding unused sidebar items (App Store reviews).
Price. Nine reviews, the newest from February 2023, call it pricey for a smaller venue or describe the price climbing after Yelp took over the app (App Store and Capterra reviews).
Support when service is busy. Six reviews, the newest from May 2026, describe support that wasn't there during service or couldn't fix a problem or a template change (App Store and G2 reviews). Yelp lists phone and email support every day.
Where Yelp Guest Manager does more than TablesReady
Yelp goes further than we do in these areas:
- Notify Me texts guests who wanted a time slot when a reservation for it cancels, so they can book it (added September 2026). TablesReady has no standby list for cancelled slots.
- Card holds on Plus let you charge a no-show or late-cancellation fee, set by shift. TablesReady Business takes Stripe deposits or full prepayment instead, and refunds a deposit automatically only when the guest cancels before your cancellation window begins.
- On Plus, a paid POS check updates the table. Tables can also show course statuses such as Appetizer, Entree, Dessert and Check Dropped, and servers can be assigned to sections. TablesReady's table statuses are fixed, its sections are colour groups on the floor plan, and round-robin seating spreads parties across tables (Business).
- Yelp Host, sold separately, answers the phone with AI. It books tables, adds callers to the waitlist and logs each caller in the guestbook. TablesReady has no phone answering.
- The Guest Experience Survey add-on texts guests a survey after the meal, with staff and NPS scores. On TablesReady, the follow-up text (every plan) can link to a survey tool you run elsewhere.
Where TablesReady does more for restaurants
- You start the same evening. Sign up yourself on the free plan and run your waitlist tonight. Yelp sells through a demo, and its contract takes 30 days' notice to cancel.
- Staff edit their own text templates, with ten merge fields such as the guest's name and quoted time (every plan). Yelp shows its templates on the web, and changing their wording goes through Yelp support.
- An automated voice call can tell a guest their table is ready, and a text can go out when a party reaches a place in line you choose (both on Free). Yelp sends an Almost Ready text, by hand or automatically since July 2026; we found no voice calls or position-based texts in its public material.
- Each text shows whether it was delivered, sends that hit a temporary carrier error are retried, and staff see why a text didn't arrive, such as a landline or a wrong number (every plan). Yelp doesn't document delivery status for its texts.
- Guests can join the waitlist by texting the TablesReady number, and replies such as "cancel", "here" or "running late" update the party automatically (Business). Yelp's reminder lets guests confirm or cancel, and we found no text-to-join.
- TablesReady runs in any browser, including Chrome on Android tablets and phones, and our native app is for iPhone and iPad. It runs on the iPads and computers you already own. Yelp's host stand is an iPhone and iPad app, and its card holds work only on the iPads Yelp supplies.
- On Business, an API, webhooks, Zapier and Square connect TablesReady to your other systems. Yelp's API and data feed come with Enterprise.
The details: TablesReady vs. Yelp Guest Manager
Key differences
| Feature | TablesReady | Yelp Guest Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Where diners find your tables | Google Search and Maps, through Reserve with Google on Business, for bookings and waitlist joins. Your website and a QR code work on every plan. | Yelp search in the Yelp app on iPhone and Android and on Yelp.com, with a filter for places that take waitlist joins, plus Google Search and Maps, Apple Maps and, since August 2026, ChatGPT (source) |
| Floor plan and live table status | Yes, on Business: you draw the floor plan by hand and see each table's live status on it. No POS table-status sync. | Yes, on Plus and Enterprise: a customizable floor plan with server sections, and table status that updates when a POS check is paid. The pricing page marks the floor plan as not included on Basic. (source) |
| Deposits and card holds | Stripe deposits or full prepayment on Business (2% TablesReady fee plus Stripe's fees), kept when a guest cancels inside your cancellation window. Card holds and no-show fees aren't offered. | Card holds on Plus: the card is charged only under your no-show or late-cancellation policy, and only on Yelp-supplied iPads. Deposits and prepayment for bookings not listed. (source) |
| Support | Email, Mon–Fri 9am–6pm ET; phone support on Enterprise | Phone and email every day, plus a Success Manager who trains staff, on every plan. Its FAQ gives 8am–6pm PT daily; a help article lists other hours. (source) |
Waitlist and texting
| Feature | TablesReady | Yelp Guest Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Predicted wait times | AI-predicted from Starter, learned overnight from each location's own history (by party size, weekday and hour); you can turn it off and quote waits yourself. Free uses a default quote you set. | Yes, on every plan: its FAQ says machine learning learns the location's waits. Hosts can shift all estimates by up to 60 minutes, and since June 2024 estimates can differ by seating preference. (source) |
| Two-way texting | Yes, from Starter (US and Canada numbers) | Yes, on every plan: staff reply to guest texts from the party or a web inbox. Whether staff can start a conversation isn't stated. (source) |
| Saved replies | Business: canned replies picked from a list in the chat window, with merge fields such as the guest's name | Not listed on the Yelp Guest Manager website |
| Waitlist joins from Google | Yes, on Business (Reserve with Google) | Yes, on every plan at no extra charge. Opting out goes through Yelp support. (source) |
| Geofencing | Business: limit check-in, the live waitlist page and booking to guests within a distance you set, with your own message for everyone else | Not listed on the Yelp Guest Manager website |
Bookings and tables
| Feature | TablesReady | Yelp Guest Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Online bookings | Basic reservations on Free; an online booking page on Business | Yes, on every plan: bookings from Yelp, Google Search, Apple Maps and ChatGPT, a website widget and booking links for social profiles. Basic caps booked covers at 500 a month. (source) |
| Bookings from Google | Yes, on Business (Reserve with Google) | Yes, on every plan (Reserve with Google) (source) |
Guest details
| Feature | TablesReady | Yelp Guest Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Custom guest fields and tags | Business: your own fields and tags on staff and guest forms (a VIP flag, email, allergies or anything else), shown as columns on the waitlist and reservations lists and, if you choose, kept on the guest's profile | On Plus: guest tags, plus seating preferences and dietary restrictions on guest profiles. Fields you define yourself aren't listed. (source) |
Plans and pricing
| Feature | TablesReady | Yelp Guest Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes: waitlist, self check-in and basic reservations, 150 messages a month for US and Canadian numbers (a tenth elsewhere) and up to 100 parties per location, up to two Free locations per account, unlimited users | None. Basic is the entry plan, bought through a demo. (source) |
| Lowest paid plan | Free plan; paid plans from $39/mo, or from $34/mo billed annually | Basic, $159/mo or $129/mo billed annually, for up to 500 booked covers a month. A free iPad is included. (source) |
| How texts are billed | Included in the plan, with no overage fees: 1,000 a month on the entry Starter and Business tiers for US and Canadian numbers (a tenth elsewhere), counted in 160-character segments. Texting pauses at your monthly limit. You get alerts at 80, 90 and 100%, and can add messages in one click. | Two-way texting is in every plan. The pricing page lists no text allowance or SMS charge. (source) |
| Per-cover fees | None | None on any plan. Basic caps booked covers at 500 a month, and the pricing page doesn't say what happens above that. (source) |
Platform and support
| Feature | TablesReady | Yelp Guest Manager |
|---|---|---|
| POS integrations | Square on Business (syncs orders for order-ready texts). No Toast or Clover integration. | On Plus: Toast, NCR Aloha, Micros 3700 and Simphony FE, Dinerware, Squirrel, Xpient and POSitouch, with table status updated when a check is paid. Square not listed. (source) |
| Apps | iPhone and iPad app, plus any browser: runs in Chrome on Android tablets and phones. No native Android app. | iPhone and iPad host app, on an iPad Yelp supplies and manages or your own, with the floor map editor, templates and analytics on the web. No Guest Manager host app on Google Play; diners use the Yelp app on iPhone or Android. (source) |
| Multiple locations | Yes; each location needs its own subscription | Yes, on Enterprise: guest profiles and analytics across a restaurant group (source) |
| Staff logins and access levels | Unlimited users on every plan, each with their own login (email or Google) and an Admin, Manager or User role per location; a shared login works too if you prefer. No SAML SSO. | Not listed on the Yelp Guest Manager website. Extra usernames are added by calling Yelp support, and User Permissions (March 2024) set what each team member can do, from changing floor plans to seeing analytics. (source) |
| HIPAA BAA | Not available | Not listed on the Yelp Guest Manager website |
Ratings
| Feature | TablesReady | Yelp Guest Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings (US) |
Yelp Guest Manager details come from its own website, help center and app store listings. Where we couldn't find a feature, the table says so rather than calling it missing. Capterra ratings checked October 2026; G2 ratings checked October 2026. See something out of date? Email support@tablesready.com.
Switching from Yelp Guest Manager
Most restaurants switch in an afternoon: import upcoming bookings by CSV, paste in your text wording, and run both side by side during the trial.
What carries over
- Upcoming reservations, typed in or loaded through our CSV import (date, time, name, party size, phone and notes), which works on every plan, Free included. We found no documented way to export bookings by date range from Yelp Guest Manager.
- Your message wording. Yelp shows its text templates on the web Customization tab; copy each one into the matching TablesReady template, which you edit yourself, using merge fields such as the guest's name and quoted time.
What you set up again
- Guest records. TablesReady can't import a customer list, so each guest's profile starts again the first time they give their phone number. On Plus, Yelp's guestbook can be downloaded if you want to keep a copy.
- Your floor plan. Draw your tables, other objects and colour-coded sections by hand in the floor plan builder (Business).
- Google. Yelp's Google integration is switched off through Yelp support; then turn on Reserve with Google in TablesReady (Business) for bookings and waitlist joins.
- Devices. TablesReady runs on the iPads, phones and computers you already have, in a browser or our iPhone and iPad app. Yelp's iPads go back to Yelp at the end of the contract unless you buy them.
Help with the move
Our email support answers set-up questions on Starter and Business, and you move the data yourself; Enterprise adds set-up help and data migration. Yelp's contract takes 30 days' notice to cancel, and an annual commitment carries an early termination fee, so run our 14-day trial (no card, up to 150 texts) next to Yelp before you give notice.
Other Yelp Guest Manager alternatives worth a look
These are the other tools we'd shortlist, and who each one suits.
OpenTable
Restaurants and groups that want OpenTable's diner network and its full reservation and table system, and accept fees on network covers and a yearly contract.
Compare TablesReady with OpenTableResy OS
Full-service and fine-dining restaurants that want Resy's diner network, American Express reach and table status fed from the POS.
Read about Resy OS in our guideToast Tables
Restaurants on Toast POS that need table status synced with orders and payments, and want the host stand in the same Toast account.
- Capterra: closest listing: 4.2/5 (554 reviews) Toast POS listing; reviews cover the whole POS, not Toast Tables.
- G2: closest listing: 4.2/5 (371 reviews) Toast POS listing; reviews cover the whole POS, not Toast Tables.
Waitly
Small US restaurants and shops on iPhones, iPads or Macs that want a low-cost waitlist with basic two-way texts, and two locations on its Professional plan.
- Capterra: No Capterra listing
- G2: Listed on G2 (no reviews yet)
Yelp Guest Manager alternative FAQ
What is the best Yelp Guest Manager alternative?
It depends on whether Yelp's diners fill your tables. If they don't, we'd pick TablesReady. The waitlist, self check-in and basic reservations are free, and Business, from $79/mo, adds online bookings, a floor plan, Stripe deposits and Reserve with Google for bookings and waitlist joins from Google Search and Maps. If you need a diner network, look at OpenTable or Resy. If you run Toast POS and need table status synced, look at Toast Tables. We built TablesReady, so read our pick with that in mind.
Is Yelp Waitlist the same as Yelp Guest Manager?
Yelp Waitlist is the earlier name. Yelp bought Nowait, a Pittsburgh waitlist app, in March 2017 and ran it as Yelp Waitlist, then combined it with Yelp Reservations as Yelp Guest Manager in September 2021. The host app on the App Store is still the original one, first released in November 2010.
Does TablesReady bring in new diners the way Yelp does?
No. TablesReady has no diner network, so we don't list your restaurant on Yelp, Apple Maps or ChatGPT. On Business, from $79/mo, Reserve with Google lets guests book a table or join your waitlist from Google Search and Maps, and on every plan you can add the check-in page to your own website. Yelp Guest Manager lists your tables on Yelp, Google, Apple Maps and ChatGPT, and that reach is the main reason to choose it.
Does Yelp Guest Manager include a floor plan?
Yes, on its Plus and Enterprise plans. Yelp's pricing page marks the customizable floor plan, POS integration, guestbook and card holds as not included on Basic. TablesReady Business, from $79/mo, includes a drag-and-drop floor plan with live table status and Stripe deposits, and the guest list with visit history is on every plan, Free included. TablesReady doesn't sync table status from a POS.
Does Yelp Guest Manager charge cover fees?
No. Yelp charges a flat monthly fee with no cover fees on any plan. Its Basic plan caps booked covers at 500 a month, and the pricing page doesn't say what happens above that. TablesReady has no per-cover fees either; each plan includes a monthly text allowance, with no overage fees. Texting pauses at your monthly limit. You get alerts at 80, 90 and 100%, and can add messages in one click.
Can I run Yelp Guest Manager on an Android tablet?
We found no Android version of the Yelp Guest Manager host app. Hosts use an iPad, either one Yelp supplies or their own, or an iPhone, and reservations and table assignments can also be edited in a browser on any phone, tablet or laptop. Diners can still join and book through the Yelp app on Android. TablesReady runs in any browser, including Chrome on Android tablets and phones, and our native app is for iPhone and iPad. Staff can save it to an Android tablet's home screen.
How do I switch from Yelp Guest Manager to TablesReady?
Start our 14-day trial (no card, up to 150 texts) and run it next to Yelp. Load upcoming reservations through our CSV import, which works on any plan, or type them in; we found no documented way to export bookings by date range from Yelp, though Plus can download its guestbook. Guest profiles start fresh, because TablesReady has no customer import, and our email support helps with setup on Starter and Business. Yelp's contract, dated June 2026, takes 30 days' notice, and an annual commitment carries an early termination fee, so check your terms before you give notice.
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