What does a restaurant booking system actually cost?
The monthly price is only part of it. What a booking system actually costs: setup fees, transaction costs, support, and what you should say no to.
Most booking systems say "from X kr/month" on the homepage. That's rarely the whole picture. Here's what to actually budget for when comparing systems, and where hidden costs tend to hide.
1. The monthly fee
The visible part. In the Swedish market, monthly prices for restaurant booking systems range from 395 kr (Bordflow Standard) to 1,990 kr (enterprise tier) per restaurant. That's 4,740 to 23,880 kr per year. Not pocket change for an independent.
Things to watch for:
- Per restaurant or per zone? Some systems charge per zone (inside + outside = two fees). Others include zones in the base.
- Volume cap? "Unlimited bookings" is not standard. Check the fine print.
- Number of staff accounts? Some systems charge extra per user.
2. The setup fee
Most systems charge 2,000 to 5,000 kr as a one-off "setup fee". This often means they log in, copy your current table layout from a PDF you email them, and charge for the time.
This shouldn't cost anything if the system is well-built. Adding ten tables, three zones and opening hours should take you under five minutes on your own. If it requires training to figure out, that isn't your problem. That's their design.
3. Lock-in and cancellation
One of the bigger cost traps is hidden here. Many systems have 12-24 month lock-ins, and if you cancel after 6 months you pay out the remainder.
Example: 795 kr/month × 18 months = 14,310 kr you're locked into, regardless of whether you actually use the system.
Don't accept lock-ins over 1 month. There's no reason for them to exist other than to protect the seller from customers who realise the product doesn't hold up.
4. SMS reminders
Most systems offer SMS reminders, almost always as an add-on. Budget 0.80 to 1.50 kr per SMS. If you have 30 bookings a day sending one reminder each = 30 SMS/day × 30 days = ~1,200 kr/month extra.
Usually worth it, since no-show rates drop measurably, but include it in total cost before you say yes.
5. Transaction fees (prepayment, deposits, tickets)
If the system takes prepayment for no-show protection or sells tickets for events, there's usually a fee on top of Stripe/Klarna's normal cut. Budget 1 to 3% extra on top of Stripe's 2.9%.
6. What a system should never cost
- Support: answers shouldn't come with an extra invoice. Period.
- Data export: you own the guests. If they charge for handing your own data back, leave immediately.
- Adding a table: some systems charge per "resource" or lock tables behind a higher plan. Greedy.
- Upgrading the plan: should cost the difference, not a separate "change fee".
The honest total cost
For a typical mid-size restaurant wanting a complete booking system with SMS reminders, floor plan, guest database and Google Reviews automation, budget between 500 and 1,500 kr/month total if you pick well. Anything above that, question.
We've tried to land Bordflow at 395 kr/mo (Standard) or 695 kr/mo (Pro) precisely because we think this industry should cost what it actually creates, not what competition allows.
What to ask the salesperson
- What's total monthly cost including all add-ons I actually need?
- Is there a lock-in? How do I cancel?
- What do I get when I export my data?
- Who replies when I email support, and how fast?
- Can I set the system up myself?
If the answer to the last one is "no, we do it for you", that isn't a great sign. Good software feels obvious.