WaitLink alternative for walk-in shops
Looking for a WaitLink alternative for a walk-in shop? Here's how NextUp Walk-in compares on price, texts and what's included, and when WaitLink might suit you better.
| Feature | NextUp Walk-in | WaitLink |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Pro $15/month (Starter is free) |
| Free plan or trial | No free plan: a 14-day free trial with every Pro feature | Yes: Starter at $0 a month |
| Texts | We pay for your first 500 a month, plus 250 for each extra location; then $0.03 each (texting switches on soon) | Automated SMS alerts on Pro; monthly allowance not found on the pages checked |
| 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 pages checked |
| Built for | Shops that take walk-ins and bookings: barbershops, salons, tattoo, auto service, repair, grooming | Walk-in lines in the browser for barbershops, clinics, salons and restaurants, with tablet and lobby TV screens |
WaitLink figures are from WaitLink's pricing page, as of Oct 20, 2026. Prices change, so check theirs for today's. WaitLink 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 WaitLink might fit better
Honestly: WaitLink may suit you better if you want the lowest monthly price for a browser walk-in line with text alerts working today: WaitLink Pro is $15 a month.
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.
WaitLink’s pages checked show 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 WaitLink
WaitLink is $15 a month. What does NextUp Walk-in add for $29?
As of Oct 20, 2026, WaitLink's site lists a free Starter plan and Pro at $15 a month, with automated text alerts on Pro. NextUp Walk-in's Walk-in plan is $29 a month for the first location and includes a now-serving TV display with native apps for Apple TV, Roku and Fire TV, a door tablet, each customer's own wait and a best time to come today, customer screens in seven languages, insights, and 3 team members per location. Pro, at $59, adds online booking and a team calendar on the same staff screen as the walk-in line. Texts switch on soon, once carrier verification finishes; until then customers follow their place live on their phone.
Do customers need an app with WaitLink or NextUp Walk-in?
No, with either. Both run in the browser. With NextUp Walk-in, customers join from a QR code or your link and follow their place in line on their own phone, with no app to download and no account to make.
Try it on a Saturday
14 days free, with every Pro feature. Set up a location in about two minutes.