For Venues That Have
Outgrown
The Reservation Book.
simpleERB is cheap and simple on purpose, and that works right up until you start selling events, taking memberships or letting seated guests order from their phone. BookingNinja does the reservations plus all of that, on one flat monthly fee plus 1% on payments, with no cover allowance to run out of, and we build your venue for you in about a day.
No credit card required. No contracts. Cancel anytime.
Try out what your booking page could look like.
Paste your current booking link. We’ll build a working BookingNinja demo with your venue’s details and branding.
No account or email needed. Your demo stays available for seven days.
Simple Is Fine,
Until It Is Not
simpleERB has taken restaurant bookings since 2012, it is UK-based, and it charges no per-cover fee. Neither do we: our plans are a flat monthly fee plus a 1% transaction fee on payments, with a much wider product behind them, which matters once the booking stops being the whole job.
Room to Grow Into
Guest types with their own prices, memberships, gift cards and order at table are already there when you need them. There is no evidence simpleERB offers any of the four today.
No Cover Allowance
simpleERB's Starter tier includes 300 covers a month and Plus includes 1,200. Every BookingNinja plan is uncapped, so a strong month costs you the same as a quiet one.
One Screen, Current Design
Capterra reviewers have called the simpleERB interface dated and stitched together. It is a small sample of about ten reviews, but a modern single screen for bookings, floor plan and payments is worth having either way.
We Do the Setup
simpleERB is self-serve and reviewers mention a learning curve. We build your sessions, tables and floor plan with you, normally inside a day.
You Get the Founder
Both companies are UK-based and small. Here, the person who writes the software also sets up your venue and picks up the phone when something is wrong.
BookingNinja vs simpleERB
Both take direct bookings, both are UK-based, and neither charges you per cover. What differs is how far each one goes past the reservation itself.
Table & floor-plan management
Deposits, prepayments & no-show protection
Ticketed events
Guest types with per-guest pricing
Memberships & recurring billing
Gift cards
Order at table (QR ordering)
Monthly cover allowance
Setup done for you (about a day)
| Feature | BookingNinja | simpleERB |
|---|---|---|
| Table & floor-plan management | ||
| Deposits, prepayments & no-show protection | ||
| Ticketed events | ||
| Guest types with per-guest pricing | ||
| Memberships & recurring billing | ||
| Gift cards | ||
| Order at table (QR ordering) | ||
| Monthly cover allowance | Uncapped on every plan | 300 or 1,200 on entry tiers |
| Setup done for you (about a day) | Self-serve |
simpleERB publishes its GBP tiers openly and charges no per-cover commission, and neither do we; BookingNinja adds a 1% transaction fee on payments instead. Its Pro tier lifts the cover limit; the caps above apply to Starter and Plus. Comparison drawn from publicly available information and accurate to the best of our knowledge, so check simpleERB for the current position.
The Bits You Add
After the Booking.
Most venues that move off a reservation book move for the same reasons. A supper club needs different prices for adults and children. A wine bar wants a members' scheme. The pub garden needs guests ordering without queuing at the bar. All of that sits in the same system as your bookings here.
The Room as It
Actually Is.
simpleERB gives you a drag-and-drop floor plan and table ranking, and those are genuinely good. Ours doubles as the service view: colour-coded by seated, due and finished, so the host stand reads the room off one map instead of cross-checking a list.
Fewer Clicks
To Confirm.
A recurring complaint in simpleERB's reviews is the number of clicks a guest needs to finish a booking, and simpleERB has a widget redesign on its 2026 roadmap to address it. Ours is already mobile-first: your branding, your domain, and a short path from slot to paid deposit.
When simpleERB Is the Better Buy
Cheap and simple is a real strategy, and for a decent number of venues it is the right one. Here is where I would stick with simpleERB.
- Bookings really are the whole job. If you seat covers, take the odd deposit and never sell a ticket, a membership or a gift card, simpleERB's Starter tier at £21 a month is hard to argue with.
- You are steady rather than growing. The cover allowances only bite if you are pushing past 300 or 1,200 covers a month, and the Pro tier removes the limit anyway. A predictable book on a rolling monthly contract is a perfectly sensible place to sit.
- You already know the software. Reviewers say simpleERB takes a while to learn but works once you have it. If your team is past that point, switching costs you something real and you should be getting something real back.
The moment to look at us is when the wish list stops being about reservations. Events with tiered pricing, a members' scheme, gift cards at Christmas, guests ordering from the garden. That is where a reservation book runs out of road and where we start being worth the money.
simpleERB Alternative Questions, Answered
Is BookingNinja a good alternative to simpleERB?
What can BookingNinja do that simpleERB cannot?
What happens when a busy month uses up my covers?
How hard is it to move over from simpleERB?
Do I lose the floor plan and table management I rely on?
Is there a free plan?
Switching From Something Else?
Weighing up a few booking systems? See how BookingNinja compares to the others.
ResDiary Alternative
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CompareBeyonk Alternative
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CompareBooked It Alternative
Switch from Booked It, keep charging families the same booking fee, and keep the difference. Plus where your takings land and how the move works.
CompareBookMyParty Alternative
How BookingNinja compares to BookMyParty for soft play and play centres: booking on your own site, the cafe and waivers in the same system, and how the two bills are built.
CompareBookteq Alternative
Bookteq handles facility hire. Here is what changes when your bookings are people at tables.
CompareBookwhen Alternative
How BookingNinja compares to Bookwhen for venues that seat guests at tables.
Compare
Outgrowing
Your Booking Book?
Flat monthly pricing plus 1% on payments, no per-cover fees, no contract, no cover allowance, and a Free Forever plan if you want to try it first.
Free Forever plan: 50 no-payment bookings a month. Upgrade anytime.