Eater vs DinnerElite
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Eater
Discover top restaurant and bar recommendations curated by expert editors. Find new places in any city, get personalized suggestions, and easily make reservations. Never have a bad meal again with trusted insider picks.
- Editor-curated restaurant picks
- Personalized recommendations
- Insider community connection
- Smart search functionality
- Create and share custom lists
- Direct table reservations
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The Eater app is the most trusted way to find great restaurants. Our editors have spent years eating at the best restaurants and bars so you always know where to go next. Get instant access to all of Eater’s restaurant picks in every major city, whether you're exploring a new neighborhood, planning a trip, or need a quick rec on the go. With the Eater app, you’ll never have a bad meal. What you’ll love about the Eater app: - Curated by editors: Trusted recommendations and reviews from people who know restaurants - Insider to insider: Follow and connect with editors, chefs, and friends, and be part of the Eater community - Ask anything: Smarter search that finds the places you actually want - Recommended for you: Eater’s take on restaurants near you and wherever you travel - Create and share: Browse Eater lists, make your own, and share your favorite spots with friends - Browse to book: Reserve tables directly in the Eater app so you’re one step closer to a great meal With the Eater app, the next great place to eat or drink is in the palm of your hand, no matter where the day (or night) takes you. Download the Eater app to find your next great meal.
DinnerElite
This app monitors hard-to-book New York City restaurants for table availability. Users select desired restaurants, dates, times, and party sizes to receive instant alerts when matching reservations open up. You then book the table yourself.
- Watchlist for 224 NYC restaurants
- Customizable date and time windows
- Party size filtering
- Real-time table availability alerts
- Direct booking link
- Covers Resy, OpenTable, Tock reservations
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Getting a table at New York's hardest restaurants is a timing problem. Tables open at odd hours, cancellations land without warning, and by the time you look the slot is gone. DinnerElite watches for you. Pick the restaurants you care about. Tell us which days work, what time window you want, and how many people you are feeding. When a table matching your rules appears, you get an alert. Then you book it yourself. HOW IT WORKS 1. Browse 224 hard-to-book NYC restaurants. 2. Add the ones you want to your watchlist. 3. Set your days, your time window, and your party size. 4. Get an alert the moment a matching table opens. 5. Tap through and book it. WHAT YOU CAN WATCH 224 New York City restaurants across the neighborhoods that book out fastest. The East Village is our densest coverage at 28 venues. We track rooms that take reservations through the major booking platforms, including Resy, OpenTable, and Tock. FILTERS THAT MATCH REAL LIFE Choose the days of the week you can actually go. Set a time window, so a 5:15pm table does not wake you at midnight. Set your party size, because a two-top and a six-top are different problems. Tell us whether you will take a short-notice table or whether you need a few days of warning. PLANS Every plan starts with a 3-day free trial. You are not charged during the trial. Cancel inside 3 days and you pay nothing. Premium, $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year. Watch unlimited restaurants, set the dates, times and party size you want on each, and cancel anytime. Expert, $28.99 a month or $289.99 a year. Everything in Premium, plus a human team that books tables for you on request, plus priority human support. Annual plans cost two months less than paying month to month. Browsing all 224 restaurants is free and needs no card. 30-DAY MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE If DinnerElite does not send you a single table alert in your first 30 days, email us and we refund you in full. WHAT DINNERELITE DOES NOT DO DinnerElite does not book tables automatically. There is no bot and nothing runs against your reservation account. We send you an alert and you book the table yourself. The one exception is the Expert plan, where a real person on our team books on your behalf when you ask. WHO IT IS FOR People who check Resy at 9am and find the table already gone. Anniversary and birthday planners who need one specific night. Visitors who get a single shot at dinner in New York. Anyone who gave up on a restaurant because the calendar was always grey. NEW YORK ONLY, FOR NOW DinnerElite covers New York City today. That is the whole catalog. We would rather cover one city properly than five badly. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS Premium and Expert are auto-renewable subscriptions. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription renews automatically unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Terms of Use: https://dinnerelite.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://dinnerelite.com/privacy Questions: support@dinnerelite.com DinnerElite is not affiliated with or endorsed by Resy, OpenTable, Tock, or any other reservation platform. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: DinnerElite at 5.0 against Eater's 4.1. DinnerElite also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 days vs weekly). Eater's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ratings volume (62 vs 1). On price, monetization model, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. DinnerElite sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Eater asks for nothing beyond the download.
DinnerElite holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Eater has 62 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Eater ships an update weekly, DinnerElite every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Eater | DinnerElite |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (62 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 41.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 62 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #191 — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 154 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Vox Media, Inc. | LIMED |
Customer experience
Eater
DinnerElite
Bugs and requests
Eater
Reported bugs
2 issues- Search and account icons smushed on main map page
- Location settings get stuck after disabling tracking
Requested features
3 requests- Add filters and sorting for map/list view
- Allow sharing of restaurant lists
- Improve font size and layout on map view
DinnerElite
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Eater
No in-app purchases
DinnerElite
- Premium3 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Expert3 Days trial$28.991 Month
- Premium Yearly3 Days trial$99.991 Year
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- Expert Yearly3 Days trial$289.991 Year









