The free waitlist for every business with a line.
Customers scan a QR code to join your line, then wait wherever they like. We text them when it’s their turn. With Pro, customers can check the line at a glance on a TV in your shop.
- Free to start
- No credit card
- No app to download
- About two minutes to set up
How it works
Turn your line into a text.
Three steps. Nothing to install.
1. Post your QR code
You get a QR code and a link the moment you sign up. Print it, tape it by the door, and drop the link on your website or social bio.
2. Customers join from their phone
They scan, type a name, and they’re in line. They watch their spot and estimated wait from the sidewalk, the car, or the coffee shop next door.
3. Tap a name. We send the text.
When you’re ready for the next person, tap Notify. Their phone buzzes and they walk in on time. That’s the whole job.
In your shop
ProTap your phone. The TV calls them in.
Put your line on a screen in your shop: a tablet, or a laptop plugged into your TV. Run it from your phone. Tap Notify and their name turns green with “Come on in.” Walk-ins scan the code on the screen, type a name, and they’re in line.
You tap Notify. Within about 10 seconds, the screen calls Maya in.
Run it from your phone.
Open it once on the screen. After that, tap Notify or Done on your phone and the screen catches up within about 10 seconds. New people in line show up on their own.
Walk-ins join from the screen.
Your QR code is right on it, next to about how long the wait is if they join now.
The whole room sees the call.
First name and last initial, big enough to read across the shop. Never phone numbers. Whoever you call sees “Come on in,” even if they joined with just a name.
ProThe line board is part of Pro.
Our first 10 shops get Pro free for a year. No card needed. After a year you move to Free unless you choose to keep Pro.
The line board is for walk-in shops; it isn’t offered for clinics or school pickup lines.
How it compares
The best way to run a line.
Customers wait wherever they like, watch their place in line, and get told when it’s their turn. Free to start, nothing to buy.
| What you get | thewaitlist | Clipboard | Pagers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customers can wait anywhere | Yes. Anywhere their phone works | No. Within earshot | Partly. Within signal range |
| They can watch their place in line | Yes. Live, on their phone | Partly. Ask, or read the sheet | No. They have to ask |
| It tells them when it’s their turn | Yes. Their phone tells them | No. You call each name | Yes. The pager buzzes |
| Everyone in the shop can see who’s next | Yes. On a screen in your shop, with Pro | Partly. If they walk up and read it | No. The list stays at the counter |
| Free to start, nothing to buy | Yes. 300 free texts every month | Yes. Paper and a pen | No. You buy the set |
No card. Your first 300 texts every month are free. Pro is $29 a month for the line board and 1,000 texts. Customers can join with just a name.
Founding shops
Our first 10 shops get Pro free for a year.
thewaitlist is live and brand new. Before we chase scale, we want 10 real businesses running a real line on it and telling us what’s wrong with it. Here’s the deal.
Pro, our $29-a-month plan, free for a year
That’s everything in Pro, including the line board for a screen in your shop. No card, nothing to apply for.
A direct line to the founder
Text us and a person answers, usually the same day.
We fit it to your shop
If something doesn’t match how your place runs, tell us. Within reason — wording, settings, small features other shops would use too — we’ll change it.
What we ask: use it with real customers, and tell us what’s broken.
Sign up while a spot is open and it’s yours automatically. After a year you’re on the free plan (without the line board) unless you choose to keep Pro at $29 a month. We never charge automatically.
— Tom, founder of thewaitlist
Tell us about your line
Two fields and an optional note. We reply within one business day.
Pricing
Free to start. Pro adds the TV.
Pro is $29 a month and adds the line board, so customers can check the line on a screen in your shop. One price for the whole shop.
Free
Where everyone starts$0every month. No card.
- No limit on people in line
- QR code, shareable link, live dashboard
- Live place-in-line page with a wait estimate
- Walk-up sign-in for customers who won’t scan
Pro
Adds the TV$29a month
- The line board for a screen in your shop. See it
- Everything in Free
- No per-seat fees. No contract. Cancel anytime.
Founding shops: our first 10 shops get Pro free for a year: everything in Pro, no card. After a year you move to Free unless you choose to keep Pro. How it works
Start free, upgrade laterTexts are optional. A customer who leaves a number gets a text when it’s their turn; one who joins with just a name uses none. Free includes 300 texts a month and never charges (we email you before they run out); Pro includes 1,000, then 2¢ a text. Full pricing
Questions owners ask
Is it really free?
Yes, and it’s not a trial: Free has no time limit and we never ask for a card. Pro is $29 a month and adds the line board, so customers can check the line on a screen in your shop.
Do my customers need to download an app?
No. They scan your QR code or tap your link and join from their phone’s browser. Nothing to install.
Do they have to give a phone number?
No. Anyone can join with just a name and watch their spot on the page. Adding a number to get the text is their choice. And if you’d rather not text anyone, turn texting off in your dashboard: your join page then asks for a name only.
What about customers who won’t scan?
Sign them in yourself with just a name, on the walk-up sign-in page your dashboard links to. Nobody has to give a phone number. With Pro’s line board on a screen in your shop, they can see who’s up next there too.
Can I show the line on a screen in my shop?
Yes, with Pro. Open your line board on a tablet, or a laptop plugged into your TV. It shows who you’ve called in and who’s up next, by first name and last initial, never phone numbers, plus your QR code and about how long the wait is. You run it from your phone, and it catches up within about 10 seconds. Closing up? Pause the line and the screen says so; everyone in line keeps their place. The line board is for walk-in shops; it isn’t offered for clinics or school pickup lines.
What do I need to run it?
Any phone, tablet, or computer with a browser, and a printed QR code. There is no hardware to buy. With Pro, a spare tablet, or a laptop plugged into a TV, can show your line on a screen in your shop; that’s optional.
What is the founding-shop offer?
thewaitlist is brand new, so our first 10 shops get Pro, our $29-a-month plan, free for a year. That’s everything in Pro, including the line board for a screen in your shop, plus a direct line to the founder. No card, and nothing to apply for: it’s applied automatically when you sign up while a spot is open. After a year you’re on the free plan (without the line board) unless you choose to keep Pro. We never charge automatically.
What kinds of businesses is it for?
Barbershops, salons, food trucks, clinics, busy counters, school pickup lines, and anywhere else people wait in line.
Is there a contract?
No. Pro is month to month and you can cancel anytime.
Your line could be on their phones by this afternoon.
Start freeFree to start. No credit card. About two minutes to set up.