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Waitwhile

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

Waitwhile

Starting price
Free plan · From $31 per month, billed annually
Free plan
Yes
Free trial
No free trial listed
Last checked
Update activity
Active
Market presence
Established
Visit website – Waitwhile Compare alternatives

Overview

Waitwhile is a waitlist, queue and appointment product with a free plan for 50 visits a month and paid plans from $31 a month billed annually. It has no table map, charges for SMS as prepaid credits, and is owned by Allegion.

Buying style: Self-serve How we compare

Waitwhile is a general queue and booking product, used by restaurants alongside barbershops, clinics and museums. At the host stand, guests join the waitlist with a link, a printed QR code, a kiosk screen or a form embedded on your website, then follow their place in line. You text them when it is their turn, and they can reply with a trigger word, so a guest can flag that they are on the way. A TV display can show the queue in your lobby, and wait-time estimates come from a dynamic system the help center describes.

It has no table map or floor plan, so the product does not manage which table a party gets. It does handle appointments, post-visit surveys, analytics across locations and an open API.

Pricing is public. On the free plan you get one location and 50 visits a month. Starter is from $31 a month and Business from $55, both billed annually, with higher tiers priced by visits. The pricing page does not show the monthly-billed price. Enterprise is custom and sold through sales, with SSO and a business associate agreement. SMS is sold as prepaid credits and email and push are included. A Square POS sync is listed. Waitwhile is owned by Allegion plc, and the vendor says self-serve and free plans stay.

The numbers behind the labels

  • Update activity is Active. The changelog has 15 entries in the past year, the latest on 2026-08-05. The iOS app shipped 1 update in that time, and the Android app was last updated on 2026-08-03.
  • Market presence is Established. The website ranks 50,088 on Tranco, the Android app shows 10K+ installs, the site appears in Chrome UX Report field data, and the domain dates from 2015.
  • Buying style is Self-serve. Prices are public and you can sign up without a sales call. Enterprise is a custom plan through sales.
  • App stores: the iOS app is rated 3.4 from 19 ratings; the Android app has 10K+ installs and a 2.8 rating.
  • Status page: status.waitwhile.com showed 1 incident in the last 90 days.
  • Pricing last checked 2026-09-30 on the vendor pricing page.

Pricing

Pricing
Free plan · From $31 per month, billed annually
Free plan
Yes
Free trial
No free trial listed
Contract
Monthly or annual

Source: vendor pricing page

Features

Join the waitlist remotely
Yes source
QR code check-in
Yes source
Self check-in kiosk
Yes source
SMS notifications
Yes source
Two-way SMS
Yes source
Wait time estimates
Yes source
Public live wait board
Yes source
Table management / floor map
No source
Appointment booking
Yes source
POS integration
Yes source
Multi-location management
Yes source
Analytics & reporting
Yes source
Public API
Yes source
Customer feedback surveys
Yes source
Multi-language guest messages
Yes source
Single sign-on (SSO)
Yes source
Embeddable signup form
Yes source

Who it's for

Best for

  • Operations with several sites or regulatory requirements that want a walk-in queue plus bookings in one system source
  • A low-volume spot that can stay under 50 visits a month on the free plan source
  • Hosts who want guests to join by QR code, kiosk or an embedded page and text back with a reply word source

Not ideal for

  • Restaurants that need a floor plan or table map source
  • Owners who want texting included in the plan price source
  • Teams that rely on the mobile app, rated 2.8 on Android and 3.4 on iOS source

Pros and cons

Pros

  • A free plan, self-serve signup and a public API with webhooks are listed source
  • Wait-time estimates, a TV display and a kiosk mode are described in the help center source
  • Square POS sync can add a customer to the waitlist when a transaction happens source
  • The changelog lists 15 entries in the last 12 months source

Cons

  • SMS is sold as prepaid credits on top of the plan price source
  • The free plan stops new guests at 50 visits a month until the next cycle source
  • The lowest price is the annual-billed figure, and the monthly-billed price is not on the pricing page source
  • The iOS app is rated 3.4 from 19 ratings and the Android app 2.8 source

What reviewers mention

  • Staff and guests pick it up easily, and support responds quickly (positive) [1] [2] [3]
  • Texting guests and showing place in line cuts questions at the counter (positive) [1] [2]
  • Mobile app login, notification and stability problems (negative) [1] [2]

Update activity and company

Update activity
Active
  • 1 iOS update in the last 12 months
  • 15 changelog entries in the last 12 months
  • Android app last updated 2026-08-03
  • Last update 2026-08-05
Market presence
Established
  • Tranco rank 50,088
  • 10K+ Google Play installs
  • Has Chrome UX Report field data
  • Domain registered 2015
Buying style
Self-serve
  • Public pricing
  • Sign up without talking to sales
  • Custom or enterprise plan through sales

App Store rating: 3.4 from 19 ratings (Apple, checked 2026-09-30).

Google Play: 10K+ installs, last updated 2026-08-03.

How these labels are calculated

Company and setup

Headquarters
US
Parent company
Allegion plc
Integrations
Square, Zapier, Salesforce, Slack, Mailchimp, Google Calendar, Outlook, Google Sheets, Twilio, Zoom, Surveymonkey, Zendesk
SOC 2
Claimed by vendor (source)
HIPAA BAA
Claimed by vendor (source)
Status page
Public status page, 1 incident in 90 days
Domain registered
2015

Frequently asked questions

Is Waitwhile free?

The free plan is for one location and 50 visits a month; once you hit that cap, nobody new can join until the next cycle. Starter begins at $31 a month billed annually, and SMS is bought separately as prepaid credits.

Does Waitwhile have table management?

No. The pricing comparison has no table or floor-map row. Its resources feature covers staff and other bookable items, so it does not replace a seating chart.

Does it connect to my POS?

Square POS sync is listed, so a transaction can add a customer to the waitlist. No other POS is named, and the data records no Square marketplace listing.

Alternatives

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

  • 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

  • CoverManager

    Reservation system for restaurants and venues, with a virtual waitlist (OnTheGo) for walk-ins.

    Book a demo for pricing

    Moderate Established

  • Crunchtime Host

    Host-stand software for restaurant brands with table management, wait-time tools and two-way SMS that tells guests their table is ready.

    Book a demo for pricing

    Active Established

Browse the best-of lists

Sources

  1. https://waitwhile.com/
  2. https://waitwhile.com/pricing/
  3. https://waitwhile.com/solutions/queue-management-system/
  4. https://waitwhile.com/solutions/integrations/
  5. https://waitwhile.com/industries/
  6. https://waitwhile.com/product-launch-waitlist/
  7. https://waitwhile.com/company/
  8. https://waitwhile.com/press/
  9. https://waitwhile.com/security/
  10. https://waitwhile.com/privacy/
  11. https://waitwhile.com/terms/
  12. https://help.waitwhile.com/en/
  13. https://help.waitwhile.com/en/articles/11722405-waitwhile-allegion-customer-faq
  14. https://help.waitwhile.com/en/articles/11185489-upcoming-changes-to-waitwhile-plans-pricing-and-sms-credits
  15. https://help.waitwhile.com/en/articles/11408401-how-much-does-waitwhile-cost
  16. https://help.waitwhile.com/en/articles/9566821-how-much-do-sms-cost
  17. https://help.waitwhile.com/en/articles/9583512-will-waitwhile-sign-a-business-associate-agreement
  18. https://help.waitwhile.com/en/articles/7890882-how-waitwhile-complies-with-hipaa
  19. https://help.waitwhile.com/en/articles/10063320-navigating-the-queue-allow-customers-to-join-book-and-track-their-spot-with-ease
  20. https://help.waitwhile.com/en/articles/9970307-how-to-print-your-qr-codes
  21. https://help.waitwhile.com/en/articles/10067604-how-to-configure-waitwhile-on-a-kiosk
  22. https://help.waitwhile.com/en/articles/10008149-messages-overview
  23. https://help.waitwhile.com/en/articles/1112376-message-reply-triggers
  24. https://help.waitwhile.com/en/articles/6762645-how-wait-time-is-estimated
  25. https://help.waitwhile.com/en/articles/9970194-how-to-display-your-waitlist-on-a-tv-monitor
  26. https://help.waitwhile.com/en/articles/8113062-comparing-data-between-different-locations
  27. https://help.waitwhile.com/en/articles/16050899-surveys-collect-customer-feedback
  28. https://help.waitwhile.com/en/articles/5379519-security-at-waitwhile
  29. https://help.waitwhile.com/en/articles/10113314-how-to-embed-waitwhile-on-your-website
  30. https://developers.waitwhile.com/
  31. https://updates.waitwhile.com/en/
  32. https://status.waitwhile.com/
  33. https://app.waitwhile.com/signup
  34. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/waitwhile/id1601375220
  35. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.waitwhile.foclient.prod