ScanQueue alternative for walk-in shops
Looking for a ScanQueue alternative for a walk-in shop? Here's how NextUp Walk-in compares on price, texts and what's included, and when ScanQueue might suit you better.
| Feature | NextUp Walk-in | ScanQueue |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Walk-in: $29/month for your first location, $19 for each additional one. Pro, with appointments: $59 and $39. 3 team members included per location, then $10/month each | Essential $49/month for up to 1,000 queue joins (Starter is free) |
| Free plan or trial | No free plan: a 14-day free trial with every Pro feature | Yes: Starter, up to 100 queue joins a month (10 a day) |
| Texts | We pay for your first 500 a month, plus 250 for each extra location; then $0.03 each (texting switches on soon) | WhatsApp on paid plans (800 a month on Essential); SMS credits: 25 on Essential (WhatsApp fallback only), 500 on Growth ($99) |
| Online payments | Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ online, plus NextUp Walk-in's 0.5% card fee (at most $1 a payment, never on tips). Your clients pay no booking fee | Online ordering through your own Square account on Growth and up (Square’s fees apply; no ScanQueue fee per order) |
| Built for | Shops that take walk-ins and bookings: barbershops, salons, tattoo, auto service, repair, grooming | Service businesses and venues running a QR-code queue, priced by queue joins a month |
ScanQueue figures are from ScanQueue's pricing page, as of Oct 20, 2026. Prices change, so check theirs for today's. ScanQueue is a trademark of its owner; NextUp Walk-in isn't affiliated with it.
What you get with NextUp Walk-in
- Customers join from a QR code or your link on their phone: no app, no account
- Their place and wait, live on their phone (opt-in text alerts coming soon)
- A now-serving TV display for your waiting area
- A door tablet for walk-ins without a phone
- A staff screen to call, start and finish visits
- A best time to come today, each person’s own wait, and family tickets for a parent and kids
- Customer screens in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Portuguese, Haitian Creole and Chinese
- On Pro: online booking and a team calendar, with email reminders and deposits
- Checkout in cash, by pay link, with a saved card or on a Stripe card reader
- Your services and prices, and who each customer asks for
- Your trade's own words, your logo and colors
- Insights: busiest days and hours, waits, top services
- Online tips tracked for each person, and on Pro, booth rent and suite rental collected for you
- A read-only link so ChatGPT, Claude and other AI assistants can look up your live wait and hours
- Passkey sign-in: Face ID, fingerprint or device PIN
- Runs in any browser on a phone, tablet, computer or streaming stick, or in the NextUp Walk-in app for Apple TV, Roku and Fire TV
When ScanQueue might fit better
Honestly: ScanQueue may suit you better if your line is small enough for a free plan (up to 100 joins a month), or you want WhatsApp alerts working today.
NextUp Walk-in’s Pro plan runs the walk-in line and the appointment book together, with checkout, your client list and email campaigns, priced per location.
Compare other waitlist appsWhat taking payments really costs
The card rate is one line of the bill. The rest is the subscription, fees for each person on your team, and anything added on top of each payment. NextUp Walk-in is priced per location with 3 team members included at each, then $10 a month for each one after. It takes tips, bills, deposits, no-show fees, packages and memberships through Stripe, with Stripe's own fee and NextUp Walk-in's capped 0.5% card fee on top, never on tips.
ScanQueue takes online orders through your own Square account on Growth and up, at Square’s rates. NextUp Walk-in takes tips and card payments on every plan, and deposits and no-show fees on Pro, at Stripe’s rate plus NextUp Walk-in’s 0.5% card fee (never on tips, at most $1 a payment).
- Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ for a card payment online or 2.7% + 5¢ on a card reader, 0.8% by bank (at most $5)
- NextUp Walk-in's card fee: 0.5% of a card payment, at most $1, and never on tips or rent
- No booking or convenience fee for your clients: they pay the price on your menu
- Team pay statements and payroll export: what each person is owed, less rent and advances
Capped at $1
On top of Stripe's processing fee, NextUp Walk-in's fee is 0.5% of a card payment, never more than one dollar ($1). A $200 service and a $2,000 package carry the same $1 NextUp Walk-in fee.
Tips stay yours
NextUp Walk-in never charges a fee on tips. Only Stripe's processing fee applies, and you choose whether the tip or the business covers it.
Not on everything
Cash, gift-card redemptions, store credit you spend and booth rent carry no NextUp Walk-in fee. It only ever applies to card payments.
No booking fee
Your clients pay no booking fee to book with you online.
Questions about ScanQueue
Is NextUp Walk-in cheaper than ScanQueue?
As of Oct 20, 2026, ScanQueue's pricing page lists a free Starter plan for up to 100 queue joins a month, Essential at $49 a month for up to 1,000, Growth at $99 and Pro, with multi-location support, at $249. NextUp Walk-in is $29 a month for the first location and $19 for each one after, priced per location rather than by how many people join.
Does NextUp Walk-in have a TV display like a queue board?
Yes. Every NextUp Walk-in plan includes a now-serving TV display that runs in a browser, and NextUp Walk-in has native apps for Apple TV, Roku and Fire TV. You pair the TV with the six-character code on its screen.
Try it on a Saturday
14 days free, with every Pro feature. Set up a location in about two minutes.