ResDiary vs resOS: depth, or a published price?
Both of these are commission-free on bookings, so the usual marketplace argument does not apply and the comparison comes down to depth against transparency. ResDiary is the established operations system: table management, yield rules, a long EPOS integration list, and a price you can only get from a salesperson. resOS is self-serve and publishes its tiers, starting with a free one.
Side by side
| ResDiary | resOS | |
| Headline price | Quote only | Free up to 25 bookings a month, then roughly £38–£105 a month |
| Per-cover commission | No on bookings — but 1.2% on deposits and payments, and 3% on gift vouchers | No |
| Contract | Annual by default, 90 days' notice | Rolling monthly |
| Free trial | Not stated | Free tier |
| SMS reminders | Paid add-on (around £10 a month) | Paid per-message add-on |
| Gift vouchers | Paid add-on (around £35 a month) | Not a standard feature |
| Diner marketplace | Yes — Dish Cult | No |
ResDiary
Established, operations-led and group-friendly, built around table management, yield rules and floor flow. Genuinely commission-free on bookings, but the price is quote-only, payments carry a surcharge, and several capabilities other systems bundle (SMS, pre-orders, events, vouchers) are paid add-ons.
resOS
Transparent and self-serve, with a real free tier and every feature included on each paid tier except SMS. Priced in euros and dollars, so the pound figure moves with exchange rates.
So which should you choose?
If you are running several rooms, complex sittings or a group, ResDiary's depth is the reason it costs what it costs, and resOS will feel thin — that is a fair trade rather than a flaw in either. If you are one site that mostly needs bookings to land reliably, the case for a quote-only annual contract with 90 days' notice is much weaker, and resOS lets you start free and see the price before you talk to anyone. Watch two things whichever way you go: both bill SMS separately, and ResDiary adds 1.2% on deposits and payments and 3% on gift vouchers, which is easy to leave out of a comparison that looks like it is only about the monthly fee.
Full disclosure: we make a third option
This comparison is published by NomNom, a UK restaurant booking system, so you should know we have a horse in this race. We have kept our own product out of the grid above because the question you asked was about ResDiary and resOS. For completeness: NomNom is £29.99 a month, everything included, with no per-cover fee, no contract and a 14-day free trial, and unlike both systems above we publish that price. We do not run a diner marketplace.
See what NomNom does, or read the full seven-way pricing comparison.
Common questions
Do ResDiary or resOS charge commission on bookings?
Neither takes a per-cover commission, and neither runs a marketplace that would charge one. ResDiary does add 1.2% on deposits and payments and 3% on gift vouchers, so a venue taking deposits on most bookings is not quite paying a flat fee.
How much does ResDiary cost?
ResDiary is quote-only, so you have to contact sales. It defaults to an annual contract needing 90 days' notice, and several things other systems bundle are paid add-ons — SMS at around £10 a month and gift vouchers at around £35 a month.
Which is better for a single independent restaurant?
On cost shape, resOS: you can read the price, start free and leave monthly. On capability, ResDiary, which is built for complex sittings, yield rules and multi-room operations and has a much longer EPOS integration list. A single site that mostly needs bookings to land reliably rarely uses enough of that depth to justify an annual quote-only contract.
Keep reading
- All booking system comparisons
- Restaurant booking system pricing compared (seven systems)
- Commission-free restaurant booking systems in the UK
- Switching booking system without the stress
Prices and features were accurate to the best of our knowledge on 11 August 2026, summarised from each vendor's own published information and from third-party trackers. Where a vendor does not publish pricing we say so rather than quoting an estimate as though it were a list price. Booking system pricing changes often — always confirm the current figure with the vendor before you sign anything.