Reservation software, compared honestly
TableHelm, the flat and friendly Yelp Guest Manager alternative
Yelp Guest Manager is Yelp's reservation and waitlist platform, priced mid-market with no cover fees and Yelp's consumer traffic behind it. The documented pain points are the 500-cover monthly cap on the Basic tier that forces upgrades, and Yelp's sales machine: operators report aggressive ad bundling, relentless sales calls, and steep price jumps after Yelp acquired NoWait.
What Yelp Guest Manager does well
Credibility first: these are the genuine strengths.
- No per-cover fees at all
- Yelp's consumer traffic feeds bookings and waitlist joins
- A free iPad is included, and pricing is published
- Well rated overall (4.5/5 across 336 Capterra reviews)
When Yelp Guest Manager is the better pick: High-traffic casual spots that already live on Yelp for discovery and want waitlist plus reservations with consumer reach, without cover fees.
Yelp Guest Manager pricing and terms
| Monthly price | Basic $129/mo billed annually ($159 month-to-month); Plus $279/mo annually ($349 monthly); Enterprise custom |
|---|---|
| Usage fees | No cover fees; Basic is capped at 500 covers per month |
| Contract | Annual billing for the lower listed price; a 'Pay $0 for up to 60 days' promo has been offered |
| Free tier | None today (the old free Yelp Reservations tier is gone) |
| Guest data | Yelp markets data export: 'fully own and leverage your data with data export' |
| No-show tools | 'Reduce no shows with credit card holds, automated alerts, and two-way texting' (tier-gating unverified) |
Last verified 2026-07-03, from the sources listed on this page. Yelp Guest Managerfigures are published list prices and terms; negotiated contracts differ. Always check the vendor's site for current pricing before you decide.
Sources for the Yelp Guest Manager facts on this page
Documented, not invented
What operators say about Yelp Guest Manager
Verbatim quotes from named reviews and first-hand operator threads, each linked to its source.
“They pushed me to sign a contract with them for 6 months with a minimum amount... After 6 months of paid ads, I didn't receive any valuable leads from yelp... recieving sales calls once or twice every week!!!”
“They cost too much.”
“Two iPads to manage reservations... will not sync with each other.”
Side by side
How TableHelm compares
Swipe the table sideways for the full comparison.
| TableHelm | Yelp Guest Manager | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | Free, or $29 a month flat | Basic $129/mo billed annually ($159 month-to-month); Plus $279/mo annually ($349 monthly); Enterprise custom |
| Usage fees | Never a per-cover or per-booking fee | No cover fees; Basic is capped at 500 covers per month |
| Contract | Month to month. Cancel self-serve, keep your data. | Annual billing for the lower listed price; a 'Pay $0 for up to 60 days' promo has been offered |
| Free tier | Yes: unlimited reservations and guests, one location | None today (the old free Yelp Reservations tier is gone) |
| Guest data | Your guest book is yours. Full CSV export, free, any time, forever. | Yelp markets data export: 'fully own and leverage your data with data export' |
| No-show protection | Card holds via your own Stripe account (Pro). You keep 100% of every no-show fee; TableHelm takes nothing. | 'Reduce no shows with credit card holds, automated alerts, and two-way texting' (tier-gating unverified) |
| Signup | Self-serve. No demo call, no card to start. | See the vendor's site |
Yelp Guest Manager column: published list prices and terms, last verified 2026-07-03(sources on this page); check the vendor's site for current pricing. TableHelm column: our own published product facts.
The honest gaps
What TableHelm does not do (and Yelp Guest Manager might)
- No diner discovery network. Your guests book through your own website, Google profile and Instagram; TableHelm makes that link excellent but brings no marketplace demand.
- No POS integration yet.
- No built-in SMS yet: confirmations and reminders go by email, plus a manage link you can text from any phone.
- One location per account for now.
If any of those are dealbreakers today, we would rather you know now. Here is exactly what you get on both of our plans.
Questions
Yelp Guest Manager vs TableHelm: FAQ
Published pricing: Basic $129/mo billed annually ($159 monthly) capped at 500 covers per month, Plus $279/mo annually ($349 monthly) with unlimited covers and POS integration, Enterprise custom. No cover fees. Check Yelp's site for current pricing.
Weighing a move off Yelp Guest Manager?
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