Couvella or Zenchef?
Zenchef starts at €129 a month, above Couvella’s one price, and adds a share of card payments, with text messages, Instagram bookings and the AI assistant as paid add-ons. Couvella includes the telephone assistant and takes nothing on payments.
| Couvella | Zenchef | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $99 a month per restaurant, all software features included, excl. taxes | €129, €169 or €249 a month (Reserve, Manage, Grow) |
| Fees per guest | None, on any booking, wherever it comes from. Card guarantees: nothing to Couvella, only Stripe’s own fee. | None (“0€ de commission par couvert”). On card payments: 6%, 4% or 2% by plan; in Switzerland 6%, 4% or 3%; on AMEX 6%, 4% or 3.5%. |
| Setup | None. Set up for free; your first month of taking bookings is free, with no card needed | Not stated |
| Contract | Monthly, cancel any time | Their FAQ says: “Un engagement de minimum un an est requis … Cependant, vous êtes libre de choisir un abonnement mensuel que vous pourrez résilier à tout moment.” |
| Also charged | Text messages, WhatsApp and telephone minutes beyond the 300 included, from prepaid credit; email included. Payment processing by your own Stripe or Paystack account, and taxes, extra. | Add-ons a month: automatic text messages €49; AI concierge €99, with 500 minutes; Instagram and Facebook bookings (Meta Reserve) €19 on Reserve, included on Manage and Grow; website, marketing and groups €29 each where the plan does not include them. Text messages are also charged per message, by plan and country: confirm the current rates with Zenchef. |
Included in Couvella’s one price
- A telephone assistant that answers the calls you miss and books the table, 300 minutes a month included
- Ask: move a booking to another table, add a walk-in or find a free slot, in plain words
- Reminders by email, SMS or WhatsApp, a confirmation the day before, and card guarantees through your own Stripe account
- A shared-iPad mode on your own iPad at the door, where each of your team signs in with their own PIN
- Your own booking page under your own name, on your own domain if you like
- Private reviews after each visit, gift vouchers, paid tables and a waiting list
- Five languages for you and your guests: English, French, German, Spanish and Italian
Moving across
Export your bookings from Zenchef as a spreadsheet and Couvella reads it in, suggesting which column is which for you to check before anything is imported. Set everything up for free before you move.
Set up your restaurantFree to set up. Your first month of taking bookings is free, with no card needed.