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Waitly

Restaurant waitlist and reservation software with two-way texting and Reserve with Google ($99 plan); also pitched to barbers and salons.

Waitly

Starting price
Free plan · From $49 per month
Free plan
Yes
Free trial
No free trial listed
Last checked
Update activity
Active
Market presence
Established

Overview

Waitly is a waitlist and reservation app with two-way texting, a tablet kiosk and a free plan for 100 guest parties a month. Paid plans run $49 to $99 a month, and the lowest paid plan caps guest parties at 1,000.

Buying style: Self-serve How we compare

Waitly is a waitlist tool for restaurants, also pitched to barber shops and salons. At the host stand, guests can add themselves from any device, or from a tablet kiosk by the entrance. Walk-ins who step away get a text when it is their turn, and two-way messaging lets them reply while they wait. A party stuck in traffic can tell you instead of vanishing. Reservations from your website sit alongside the walk-in list, and the analytics cover average waits and peak hours. The pages do not describe a QR check-in, wait-time estimates or a table map.

A free plan covers 100 guest parties a month. Premium is $49 a month for up to 1,000 parties, and Professional is $99 for up to 3,000 and two locations, adding online reservations and Reserve with Google. Enterprise adds unlimited locations, data exports and API access. Only monthly prices are shown, and no per-message fee is listed. Past your limit the list keeps working, but text messages stop until next month. Enterprise is listed as from $249 in the cards and from $299 in the table, and contracts go through email, so confirm the figure.

Square is the one POS link: the Square App Marketplace lists Waitly, and each guest you add creates a customer record in Square. Signup is self-serve.

The numbers behind the labels

  • Update activity is Active. The iOS app shipped 13 updates in the past year, the latest on 2026-08-10.
  • Market presence is Established. The website ranks 657,779 on Tranco, Chrome UX Report has field data for it, and the domain dates from 2011.
  • Buying style is Self-serve. Prices are public and signup is self-serve. There is also an enterprise plan through sales, arranged by email.
  • App stores: the iOS app is rated 4.7 from 27 ratings. No Android app is recorded.
  • Status page: none recorded.
  • Pricing last checked 2026-09-30 on the vendor pricing page.

Pricing

Pricing
Free plan · From $49 per month
Free plan
Yes
Free trial
No free trial listed
Contract
Month to month

Source: vendor pricing page

Features

Join the waitlist remotely
Yes source
Self check-in kiosk
Yes source
SMS notifications
Yes source
Two-way SMS
Yes source
Reservations
Yes source
Multi-location management
Yes source
Analytics & reporting
Yes source
Public API
Yes source

Who it's for

Best for

  • Restaurants with one or two locations that like a flat monthly price and want a free plan to start on source
  • Hosts who want a tablet kiosk at the entrance and two-way texting with waiting guests source
  • Sellers on Square who want guests from the waitlist added to their Square customer list source

Not ideal for

  • Restaurants that need wait-time estimates or a table map, which the data does not record source
  • Multi-unit groups with more than two locations on a small budget source
  • Teams that need an Android app source

Pros and cons

Pros

  • The free plan allows 100 guest parties a month, and signup is self-serve source
  • Plans are flat monthly prices with no per-message fee listed source
  • Reserve with Google and online reservations appear in the Professional plan source
  • iOS app updated 13 times in the last 12 months and rated 4.7 from 27 ratings source

Cons

  • Past a plan's guest-party limit, texting stops until the next month unless you upgrade source
  • Enterprise is listed as from $249 in the cards and from $299 in the table, and an email is the route for contracts source
  • No QR check-in, wait-time estimates, table management or customer survey feature is recorded source
  • The help portal needs a login, so documentation could not be checked source

What reviewers mention

  • Simple to set up and tailor, with a real-time waiting list that is easy to read (positive) [1]
  • Also used for event and pickup-day queues outside restaurants (positive) [1]

Update activity and company

Update activity
Active
  • 13 iOS updates in the last 12 months
  • Last update 2026-08-10
Market presence
Established
  • Tranco rank 657,779
  • Has Chrome UX Report field data
  • Domain registered 2011
Buying style
Self-serve
  • Public pricing
  • Sign up without talking to sales
  • Custom or enterprise plan through sales

App Store rating: 4.7 from 27 ratings (Apple, checked 2026-09-30).

How these labels are calculated

Company and setup

Website
waitly.com
Headquarters
US
Integrations
Reserve with Google, Square
Square marketplace
Listed
Domain registered
2011

Frequently asked questions

How much does Waitly cost?

The free plan allows 100 guest parties a month. Premium is $49 a month and takes up to 1,000 guest parties, and Professional is $99 for up to 3,000 and 2 locations. Enterprise is listed from $249 or $299, depending on the page.

What happens when I reach my monthly limit?

The waitlist keeps working and you can still add guests, but text messages stop until next month unless you upgrade.

Does Waitly connect to my POS?

The Square App Marketplace lists it, and each guest you add creates a customer in your Square database. The data records no order-level POS sync and no Toast or Clover link.

Alternatives

6 of 28 other apps: the next ones in alphabetical order.

  • WaitQ

    Cloud queue management system where customers join by QR code, kiosk or staff entry and are notified by SMS, WhatsApp, email or push.

    From $27 per month, billed annually

    Unknown Growing

  • Waitwhile

    Waitlist, queue management and appointment scheduling software for walk-in and appointment-based businesses.

    Free plan · From $31 per month, billed annually

    Active Established

  • Yelp Guest Manager

    Reservation, waitlist and table management system for restaurants, run from an iPad and listed on Yelp and other booking channels.

    From $159 per month

    Active Established

  • Allgood Waitlist

    Restaurant waitlist app with SMS alerts: guests add themselves or a host adds them, and the system estimates the wait automatically.

    From $39.99 per month

    Low Small

  • Bzz

    Browser-based waitlist and reservation system for restaurants that shows guests their place in line without an app download.

    Free plan · From $11.99 per month

    Unknown Small

  • Carbonara

    Waitlist and reservation app for restaurants: staff add a guest's phone number, the guest gets a text, and it runs on any smartphone.

    Free plan · From $9.99 per month

    Active Established

Sources

  1. https://www.waitly.com/
  2. https://www.waitly.com/pricing/
  3. https://www.waitly.com/restaurant-waitlist-reservations-system/
  4. https://www.waitly.com/terms
  5. https://www.waitly.com/privacy/
  6. https://www.waitly.com/blog/
  7. https://support.waitly.com/
  8. https://squareup.com/us/en/app-marketplace/app/waitly