Costs · Restaurants
How Much Commission Do Booking Platforms Take in Greece?
Published · 8 min read
Short answer
Restaurant booking platforms typically charge in one of three ways: a monthly subscription (commonly €50–€300 per month), a per-cover fee on marketplace bookings (commonly €1–€3 per seated guest), or a percentage commission on prepaid or ticketed bookings (commonly 3–10%). Card processing of around 1.5–2.5% plus a small fixed fee sits on top of all of them. Woltaro charges restaurants no subscription and no commission; a €1 flat service fee is paid by the diner at booking.
Key takeaways
- Compare platforms on total monthly cost per seated cover, not headline price.
- Per-cover fees scale with your success; subscriptions punish quiet months.
- Card processing fees are separate and apply almost everywhere.
- Contract length and data ownership matter as much as price.
- Your own booking page costs nothing per cover and builds a direct guest list.
The three pricing models
Most international platforms combine at least two of these: a subscription for the software plus a per-cover fee for bookings they source.
- Subscription — a fixed monthly fee for the booking software, usually tiered by features or table count. Predictable, but expensive in low season.
- Per-cover marketplace fee — a charge for each guest who arrives through the platform's own website or app. Typically €1–€3 per cover in Europe.
- Percentage commission — a share of prepaid amounts, deposits or ticket sales, typically 3–10%.
Work out your real cost per cover
Take one typical month. Add the subscription, every per-cover fee, all commission, and card processing. Divide by the number of guests who actually sat down. That single number — cost per seated cover — is the only fair way to compare offers.
A €150 monthly subscription across 600 covers is €0.25 per cover. The same subscription across 120 covers in November is €1.25. Seasonality matters enormously in Greece.
Deposits are not a cost — they are protection
A refundable deposit is not revenue to the platform; it is a commitment from the guest. Taken properly, it is returned automatically when the guest arrives and retained by the restaurant when they do not. The question to ask any platform is who holds that money, who decides the outcome, and how fast the refund reaches the guest.
What Woltaro charges
- No monthly subscription for restaurants.
- No commission on your covers.
- A €1 flat service fee paid by the diner at booking.
- Refundable deposits you configure, returned automatically when guests arrive.
- Digital menu, QR code and event ticketing included.
List your restaurant free
Woltaro is free for restaurants — no subscription, no commission — and free for diners to browse menus, book tables and buy event tickets.
Frequently asked questions
- How much do restaurant booking systems cost in Greece?
- Typically €50–€300 per month for a subscription platform, plus €1–€3 per cover for bookings the platform sources and 1.5–2.5% card processing. Percentage commission of 3–10% applies to prepaid or ticketed bookings.
- Is there a commission-free reservation system?
- Yes. Woltaro charges restaurants no subscription and no commission — a €1 flat service fee is paid by the diner when they book.
- Are card processing fees included in platform pricing?
- Almost never. Card fees of roughly 1.5–2.5% plus a small fixed amount per transaction are charged separately by the payment processor.
- What is a fair cost per cover?
- Anything under about €1 per seated guest, all costs included, is competitive for a full-service restaurant in Greece. Above €2 per cover deserves a hard look at what you are getting.
- Should a small taverna pay for a booking system at all?
- Only if it saves phone time, reduces no-shows or fills tables you would otherwise lose. A free booking page with deposits usually covers those needs without a fixed monthly cost.