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Restaurants · head to head

Square for Restaurants vs Yelp Reservations

Square for Restaurants logo

Square for Restaurants

Restaurants

Restaurant POS system that works for you

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Yelp Reservations logo

Yelp Reservations

Restaurants

Reservations powered by Yelp

From
$99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Square for Restaurants has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Square for Restaurants the Square KDS and Square Kiosk apps are not available on the free plan; Yelp Reservations basic Guest Manager plan caps at 500 covers per month; higher volume requires the Plus plan at $279/month (annual) or $349/month (monthly)
  • They diverge on capability: Square for Restaurants covers Table management, Yelp Reservations covers Online reservations.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Square for Restaurants and Yelp Reservations actually diverge.

Attributes where Square for Restaurants and Yelp Reservations differ
AttributeSquare for RestaurantsYelp Reservations
Starting priceFree$99/month
Free tierYesNo
Founded20182004

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Restaurants).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Square for Restaurants

  • Table management
  • Menu customization
  • Split checks
  • Offline mode
  • Real-time reporting
  • Kitchen display
  • Caviar
  • DoorDash

Only in Yelp Reservations

  • Online reservations
  • Waitlist management
  • Table assignments
  • Yelp integration
  • Guest messaging
  • Analytics
  • Yelp
  • Toast

Both cover

  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Square for Restaurants

  • Point of Salenot Yelp Reservations
  • Order Managementnot Yelp Reservations
  • Inventory Controlnot Yelp Reservations
  • Staff Schedulingnot Yelp Reservations

Yelp Reservations

  • Managing restaurant reservations, waitlists and AI phone call answeringnot Square for Restaurants

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Square for Restaurants

  • The Square KDS and Square Kiosk apps are not available on the free plan
  • KDS and Kiosk are billed per device per month on top of the plan, so cost scales with terminals rather than locations
  • Restaurants processing over $250,000 a year are moved to custom pricing rather than the published rates

Yelp Reservations

  • Basic Guest Manager plan caps at 500 covers per month; higher volume requires the Plus plan at $279/month (annual) or $349/month (monthly)
  • Monthly billing costs more than annual billing at every tier, for example Basic Guest Manager is $159/month billed monthly versus $129/month billed annually

Pricing, plan by plan

Square for Restaurants

Free
  • FreeFree
    • POS
    • Menu management
    • Basic reporting
  • Plus$60/month
    • Advanced features
    • Live sales
    • Seat management
  • PremiumFree
    • Custom pricing
    • Dedicated support

Yelp Reservations

$99/month
  • Basic$99/month
    • Reservations
    • Waitlist
  • Plus$299/month
    • Table management
    • Analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Square for Restaurants if

  • You need table management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want menu customization.
Square for Restaurants review

Choose Yelp Reservations if

  • You need online reservations.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want waitlist management.
Yelp Reservations review

Questions people ask

Is Square for Restaurants or Yelp Reservations better?
Neither clearly leads. Square for Restaurants starts at Free and Yelp Reservations at $99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Square for Restaurants or Yelp Reservations?
Square for Restaurants has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Square for Restaurants and $99/month for Yelp Reservations.
Does Square for Restaurants or Yelp Reservations run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Ios, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Square for Restaurants for free?
Yes. Square for Restaurants has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Yelp Reservations starts at $99/month.
What is Square for Restaurants best used for?
Square for Restaurants is most often used for point of sale, order management, inventory control, staff scheduling. Of those, point of sale and order management are not what Yelp Reservations is typically brought in for.
What can Square for Restaurants do that Yelp Reservations cannot?
Square for Restaurants covers Table management, Menu customization, Split checks, Offline mode. Yelp Reservations covers Online reservations, Waitlist management, Table assignments, Yelp integration. Both handle Web support, Ios support, Android support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Square for Restaurants: What are Square's main pricing plans for restaurants?

Square offers a free tier and Square Plus. The Free plan has $0 cost with standard processing fees. Square Plus is described as the best value tier and includes lower card processing rates than the free plan.

Source
Square for Restaurants: Does Square have locked-in contracts or can I cancel anytime?

Square explicitly states no hidden fees or locked-in contracts. Customers can cancel or switch anytime. The pay-as-you-go model means you only pay when you take a payment.

Source
Square for Restaurants: Does Square Plus include a free trial period?

Yes, Square Plus offers a free trial, though the specific trial duration is not clearly displayed on the pricing page.

Source
Square for Restaurants: What features does Square Plus add compared to the free plan?

Square Plus includes all free plan features plus advanced POS tools, a loyalty program, email and text marketing (500 free texts, then 3 cents per text), and staff management tools.

Source
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