thewaitlist alternative for walk-in shops
Looking for a thewaitlist alternative for a walk-in shop? Here's how NextUp Walk-in compares on price, texts and what's included, and when thewaitlist might suit you better.
| Feature | NextUp Walk-in | thewaitlist |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | $0/month (Free); Pro is $29/month |
| Free plan or trial | No free plan: a 14-day free trial with every Pro feature | Yes: Free is $0/month, not a trial, with no card. Its first 10 shops get Pro free for a year |
| Texts | We pay for your first 500 a month, plus 250 for each extra location; then $0.03 each (texting switches on soon) | 300 texts a month on Free; 1,000 a month on Pro, then 2¢ a text |
| Online payments | Card payments are coming soon (Early Access). 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 | Not listed on its pricing page (checked October 2026) |
| Built for | Shops that take walk-ins and bookings: barbershops, salons, tattoo, auto service, repair, grooming | Walk-in shops running a walk-in line |
thewaitlist figures are from thewaitlist's pricing page, checked October 2026. Prices change, so check theirs for today's. thewaitlist 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 (deposits coming soon)
- Checkout in cash (pay links, saved cards and Stripe card readers coming soon)
- 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
- Coming soon (Early Access). Online tips straight to each person's bank, 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 thewaitlist might fit better
Honestly: thewaitlist may suit you better if you want to run one line for free today: its Free plan is $0 with 300 texts a month and no card, and its first 10 shops get Pro free for a year. NextUp Walk-in's Pro plan has online booking beside the walk-in line, with deposits coming soon too, plus native TV apps and a door tablet in kiosk mode.
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. Card payments are coming soon (Early Access); once they’re live, 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.
Once NextUp Walk-in’s card payments switch on (coming soon, Early Access): NextUp Walk-in adds its 0.5% card fee (at most $1 a payment, never on tips) on top of Stripe's rate. thewaitlist's Pro is $29 a month for the whole shop with no per-seat fees; NextUp Walk-in is $29 for the first location and $19 for each extra, with 3 team members included per location, then $10 a month each.
- 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
- Pay your team through NextUp Walk-in for Stripe's own payout fees: $2 a month per person paid, plus 0.25% + 25¢ per deposit, and you choose who pays them
- Instant payouts to a debit card for Stripe's 1%
Questions about thewaitlist
Is thewaitlist really free?
Yes. Its Free plan is $0 a month with 300 texts a month, not a trial, and no card. Pro is $29 a month for its line board and 1,000 texts, and its first 10 shops get Pro free for a year. NextUp Walk-in starts with a 14-day free trial, then $29 a month for the first location.
Do customers need an app with either one?
No. With both, customers join from a QR code or a link in their phone’s browser and watch their place in line live. NextUp Walk-in also has a door tablet in kiosk mode for walk-ins who don’t scan.
Which one puts the line on a TV?
Both, differently. thewaitlist’s Pro line board runs on a tablet, or a laptop plugged into a TV. NextUp Walk-in has native apps for Apple TV, Roku and Fire TV, plus a TV display that runs in a browser.
Can I run appointments as well as walk-ins?
On NextUp Walk-in’s Pro plan, yes: appointments and online booking sit beside the walk-in line. Deposits for those bookings are coming soon (Early Access).
Try it on a Saturday
14 days free, with every Pro feature. Set up a location in about two minutes.