TurnQueue alternative for walk-in shops
Looking for a TurnQueue alternative for a walk-in shop? Here's how NextUp Walk-in compares on price, texts and what's included, and when TurnQueue might suit you better.
| Feature | NextUp Walk-in | TurnQueue |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | $29 one time, not a monthly fee; its first 25 businesses get it free |
| Free plan or trial | Free plan: 1 location, 1 team member, 50 check-ins a month (every app included, no texts), no card needed; paid plans have a 14-day trial with every Pro feature | Yes, a founding offer: free forever for the first 25 businesses (limited; whether spots remain was not confirmed); no trial found |
| Texts | We pay for your first 500 a month, plus 250 for each extra location; then $0.03 each (text alerts coming soon) | No texts: guests follow their place on a phone page, and TurnQueue never asks for phone numbers |
| 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 | No customer payments found on the page checked |
| Built for | Shops that take walk-ins and bookings: barbershops, salons, tattoo, auto service, repair, grooming | Walk-in businesses with one line, such as salons, clinics, government offices and sports clubs: a QR token, a live wait estimate and a phone as the dashboard |
TurnQueue figures are from TurnQueue's pricing page, as of Oct 27, 2026. Prices change, so check theirs for today's. TurnQueue 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 app for Apple TV, Roku and Fire TV
When TurnQueue might fit better
Honestly: TurnQueue may suit you better if you want a single walk-in line with no monthly fee at all: a one-time $29 (or free for its first 25 businesses), no hardware, and guests can join anonymously without giving a phone number.
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.
TurnQueue’s page checked shows no customer payments. 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 TurnQueue
Is TurnQueue really free?
As of Oct 27, 2026, TurnQueue says it is free forever for its first 25 businesses, then $29 one time with no monthly fee. We could not confirm whether those 25 spots are still open. NextUp Walk-in’s Walk-in plan is $29 a month for the first location, with a 14-day free trial. NextUp Walk-in also has a Free plan: $0 a month for 1 location, 1 team member and 50 check-ins a month, with no card needed.
Does TurnQueue send text messages?
No. TurnQueue says guests follow their place on a phone page and it never asks for phone numbers.
How does NextUp Walk-in decide who gets the next walk-in?
In the order customers joined the line. Each customer picks a team member or “Anyone” and sees that person’s wait, only people on duty are called, and for an “Anyone” walk-in the Staff Screen suggests who is free soonest. NextUp Walk-in doesn’t keep a turn count today, so a shop that shares walk-ins by straight rotation keeps that tally itself.
Try it on a Saturday
14 days free, with every Pro feature. Set up a location in about two minutes.