Restaurants
RecipeTonight's counter
10 per day
10 seats per day. The count resets at 5:00 AM in your time zone.
- 10 per day
- Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat 6 AM–12 PM
- 4 fields
Walk-in queue apps
Waitlist Me alternative for lines that start before people arrive.
A host-stand waitlist and reservation app with SMS paging for restaurants, salons, and clinics.
- Who Waitlist Me is for
- Businesses with a person at the door managing a live line: restaurants, barbers, urgent care, retail.
- Their price
- Free to try (no notifications); Premium from $27.99/mo billed yearly, $34.99 monthly (waitlist.me)
- Unwaited
- Free for 100 signups a month; Starter $10 a month for 2,500.
When Waitlist Me is the better choice
- Texts and calls guests when their table or chair is ready, with two-way messaging.
- Runs a self check-in kiosk and a live floor view for staff on a tablet.
- Handles reservations, table assignment, and wait-time estimates in one place.
- Reports across multiple locations.
When Unwaited is
- A link people join before they arrive, with capacity per day, week, or month and opening hours that close the form on their own.
- Time slots with a cap per slot, so eight sessions of five fill separately on one form.
- A free plan that works: unlimited waitlists, 100 signups a month, embeds, API, CSV, and joiner emails.
- An embed for your own site and a JSON API with signed webhooks from $10 a month.
Side by side
What each one does
Prices and limits are what Waitlist Me's public pages showed on 17 September 2026. Check them before you decide.
| Feature | Waitlist Me | Unwaited |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $27.99/mo billed yearly | Free; Starter $10/mo |
| SMS paging | Yes, bundled per month | No |
| Kiosk mode | Yes | No |
| Capacity per day, week, or month | No | Yes, with reset time and lead days |
| Opening hours | No | Yes, incl. overnight windows |
| Time slots with per-slot caps | No | Yes |
| Embed on your site | Widget on Premium | Script tag or iframe, all plans |
| API and webhooks | API on Platinum ($79.99/mo) | API on all plans; webhooks from Starter |
Switching
How to move from Waitlist Me
Step 1
Export your guest list from Waitlist Me as CSV so you keep the history.
Step 2
Create a waitlist from the Restaurants recipe: 10 a day, resets at 5:00 AM, Tuesday to Saturday. Change the numbers to yours.
Step 3
Print the new QR code from the Share tab and put the hosted link in your bio.
Ready-made waitlist
Start from the recipe people leaving them use
Each one is a ready-made waitlist with the capacity, hours, and fields already set. Sign in, one click, and it is live.
Barbershops
RecipeWalk-ins
12 per day
12 walk-ins per day. The count resets at 8:00 AM.
- 12 per day
- Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat 8 AM–5 PM
- 4 fields
Supper clubs
RecipeOctober dinner
24 in total
24 seats total. When the 24th is taken the form reads as full.
- 24 total
- Mon 10 AM–10 PM
- 4 fields
FAQ
Questions
Does Unwaited text guests when their table is ready?
No. Guests get an email with their number and a status link when they join, and you can send a "your turn" email from the dashboard. There is no SMS.
Can I run a daily list with Unwaited?
Yes. Set capacity per day with a reset time in your time zone and opening hours. The list fills, closes, and reopens on its own.
Is there a free plan?
Yes. Unlimited waitlists and 100 signups a month, with every feature except webhooks, badge removal, and allowed domains.
Related
Keep reading
- FeatureCapacity per day, week, or monthWaitlist capacity per day, week, or month
- How-toHow to create a restaurants waitlist10 seats per day. The count resets at 5:00 AM in your time zone.
- For your businessThe preorder waitlist for bakeries and cafésForty loaves a day, orders taken two days ahead, a cutoff at 10:00 AM.
Try it next to the tool you have.
Free for 100 signups a month. Unlimited waitlists. Your signups stay as long as you want them.
Create your waitlist