The 10 Best Restaurant Waitlist Apps in 2024

Get the best restaurant waitlist software for your restaurant.

The restaurant world is always changing, especially with how customers and tech mix.

Lately, restaurant waitlist software has experienced a bit of a renaissance. Thanks to new online tools, a lot of restaurants are picking up this software to keep their waitlists in check. It's making things better for customers.

Online waitlists are booming now. Both restaurants and guests are seeing the benefits.

Joseph Boston, VP of Product at Eat App

That’s where a waitlist app comes in.

How did we collect data about the best waitlist apps?

The websites we used to collect information about various waitlist apps include online comparison articles, user-generated review aggregators, and restaurant industry blogs. Most of the reviews and ratings we've included were sourced from G2.

We looked to the respective company's business website and social media pages for company data, pricing, and features.

How did we rank the waitlist apps?

Choosing the correct waitlist app for your restaurant is important. Here are a few key considerations to keep in mind to make sure you’re getting the most out of your investment. We’ll use these considerations as criteria to evaluate the best waitlist app on the market later on in this article

Essential Features

Waitlist apps range from simple to advanced, what’s best for your restaurant depends on your requirements.

Are you moving from a pen-and-paper waitlist? Do you need a system that helps improve your wait times? Or one that just helps you better organize your waitlist?

Maybe even just a tool to empower your host stand and front-of-house staff. Assess the available features of waitlist apps in the market and determine the ones that best suit your restaurant’s needs.

Price

Along with the features, the cost of a waitlist app should also be well-suited for your restaurant. While price shouldn’t be the only factor that should determine your choice, it’s an important one.

Make sure that you choose a system that fits into your budget. Also, be wary of any hidden charges or fees that might blow up your spending. Try choosing a system that charges a flat monthly fee rather than a cost per seated online cover.

Compatibility

Just like any new software, your waitlist app should have the capability to easily integrate with your existing technologies like your POS system, table management system, etc. to make your operations streamlined and efficient.

It should also be able to run on whatever smart device you and your team use, eg: a mobile device vs. a computer or tablet.

User Reviews

All of the waitlist apps on this list are present on user review websites where you can see what their customers have to say about their experience. We used these websites to evaluate the common pros and cons of each waitlist app.

The 10 best restaurant waitlist apps

Now that we’ve assessed the criteria for choosing the right waitlist app, let’s take a look at the top 10 restaurant waitlist apps on the market right now that will save your hostesses hours every day while delighting your guests.

1. Eat App
2. Yelp Waitlist
3. Waitlist ME
4. Next ME
5. Opentable Waitlist
6. Host ME
7. TablesReady
8. WaitWhile
9. Obee
10. Flexbooker

Eat App

Eat App is a cloud-based system that provides an all-in-one solution for all your restaurant management needs.

It comes with advanced features like reservation management, shift management, CRM, and reporting along with an integrated waitlist app.

Eat App's online waitlist feature allows guests to add themselves to a restaurant’s waitlist directly through the booking widget (which can be added to a restaurant's website or social media pages) if there are no available tables. You can also easily join the line at the door with a QR code.

Once added, Eat App will automatically deliver estimated wait times based on the tables and rooms in your restaurant.  

SMS notifications are easily customizable, making it easy to ping guests when their table is ready.

Price: Eat App’s table management system with waitlist functionality starts at $0/month.

Compatibility: Eat App’s waitlist app comes integrated with its built-in advanced restaurant management features like CRM, reservations, etc. It can also be easily integrated with your existing POS and phone devices.

Want to try Eat App's waitlist app at your restaurant? Sign up for the free 14-day trial now!

Capterra Rating: 4.2/5

User Review: Sven on Capterra: I used this software for a client and have been amazed with the features. I don't know of any tool like this, that helps greatly with anything restaurant-related like reservations, menus, seats, and all that good stuff.

Yelp Waitlists

Popularly known for its review website, Yelp also offers management tools like table management and reservation system and an integrated waitlist app for restaurants.

Yelp’s waitlist app (powered by Nowait) allows guests to view live wait times at a restaurant on Yelp’s app or website and join the waitlist through their Yelp profile. The guests can then track their place in the line through an SMS.

'Yelp Waitlist' also provides daily insights and accurate wait-time estimates based on history.

Restaurants could also choose to add a kiosk powered by Yelp at their restaurant through which guests can directly add themselves to the waitlist without a hostess being present.

However, the kiosk comes at an additional cost.

Price: Yelp’s table management system which comes with 'Yelp Waitlist starts at a monthly fee of $249/month

Compatibility: 'Yelp Waitlist' also comes with built-in restaurant management tools and can be integrated into your existing POS. However, POS integration is not a part of the standard package.

G2 Rating: 3.8/5

User Review: Herschel on G2: It's seamless and built into Yelp. It is easy to use and is available at many restaurants. It's a popular service already so the environment is already being used.

Waitlist ME

Waitlist Me is a dedicated waitlist management system that provides an easy and effective way to manage reservations. Restaurants can easily add guests to their waitlist and provide them with accurate wait times based on insights.

4Similar to other systems, guests also get notified when their table is ready through an SMS. They can also view the current wait times at a restaurant and add themselves directly to the waitlist through a widget

Compared to the other systems, Waitlist Me does not include advanced restaurant management capabilities like table management, reservations management, CRM, etc. 

Price: Waitlist Me’s monthly subscription starts at $23.99 and goes up to $79.99 for the more advanced package.

Compatibility: Waitlist Me is a standalone system and does not integrate with any other digital technologies.

G2 Rating: 5/5

User Review: Lorena on G2: I love the app and its way of having my tasks on the waiting list but from when we are ready to read it. You add easily to the person, entering information, time and arrival. Then notify when you're ready and serve better by reducing hikes. I love booking appointments, assignments, reports and more.

OpenTable

OpenTable is a restaurant management solution that comes with an integrated waitlist system.

The online waitlist allows people to join the queue from anywhere and notifies them when their table is ready through an SMS. They can also track their place in line in real time through the OpenTable app.

OpenTable also provides estimated wait quotes to guests based on their party size and the tables in a restaurant’s dining room.

Price: OpenTable’s waitlist system is part of its Core package and is priced at $249/month

Compatibility: OpenTable comes with many restaurant management tools like table and reservation management, email marketing, CRM, etc., and offers integration options with other technologies like POS systems.

G2 Rating: 4.1/5

User Review: Tyler on G2: I really like the fact that using their easy customer connect tools via texts helps us track our "wait list" and "incoming guests" before they are seated and while they walk around our resort property before dining. It allows us to keep a steady flow of seating and keeps us from having to put someone on the phones to manages reservation confirmations and reservation changes.

NextME

NextME is a simple waitlist management system to help restaurants serve more guests. Their easy-to-use interface allows staff to quickly add guests to the waiting list.

It also comes with a Virtual Waiting Room feature which acts as a digital storefront for guests waiting in line.

Restaurants can personalize their virtual waiting room on Next ME according to their branding and add offers, social media accounts, etc. to help engage diners while they wait.

NextME also provides daily, weekly, and monthly reports that help streamline your customer service and provide accurate wait times to your customers.

Price: NextME’s basic waitlist management system is available for free for restaurants. However, the more advanced features like the virtual waiting room are included in the standard and pro packages priced at $50/month and $125/month respectively.

Compatibility: NextME provides API integration with different loyalty apps and POS systems to help provide a more seamless experience.

G2 Rating: 5/5

User Review: Christopher on G2: Great user experience with very helpful analytics. This app helps us efficiently notify potential customers by text when their table is ready as well as lets us dive deep into the numbers in order to make better decisions. We're a small store so this helps us keep our store from being overcrowded and provide a better experience for everyone.

Hostme

Hostme is an intuitive restaurant management software that offers table management, CRM, and waitlist solutions. It provides restaurant staff with a centralized system to manage their reservations and waitlists.

Diners can join the waitlist virtually through the Hostme widget before they visit the restaurant.

They can also be updated about their wait time and when their table status is ready through an SMS and choose to skip a turn and let the next person on the waitlist go first in case they’re running late.

Hostme also gives customers loyalty points if they experience long wait times at a restaurant.

Price: Hostme’s basic waitlist management system is part of its Piccolo package prices at $39/month. However, for advanced table management, the packages start from $99/month.

Compatibility: Hostme comes with various restaurant management features and can be integrated with different digital restaurant solutions like POS systems.

G2 Rating: 4/5

User Review: Anonymous review from G2: I really liked how the entire table layout was illustrated. The description of each table on the right side was super beneficial.

TablesReady

TablesReady is an SMS focused waitlist app that gives businesses the ability to create custom online waitlists with basic reservation capabilities. Although built to adapt to any situation, one major use case of TablesReady is in the restaurant industry.

Diners can join waitlists online through the TablesReady widget and get real-time updates about their wait time as well as 2-way communication between the restaurant and guests. TablesReady also offers a display feature to allow restaurants to publicly communicate wait times in your waiting area.

Price: Restaurants that want to start using TablesReady can do so for $49/month.

Compatibility: TablesReady can integrate with your SquarePOS system.

G2 Rating: 4/5

User Review: Anonymous review from G2: We use Tablesready for a client's restaurant and app. The sheer simplicity of it really is it's great selling point as it was super easy to train the staff.

WaitWhile

WaitWhile is an online waitlist and appointment scheduling solution that is built for the modern world. Similar to TablesReady, WaitWhile is designed to support a plethora of industries - one being the restaurant industry.

WaitWhile leans into the idea of giving your customers the ability to save time while waiting by allowing them to wait from anywhere. A feature that essentially all other waitlist management systems also offer - but WaitWhile makes it their priority.

WaitWhile comes stocked with automated messaging, 2-way communication, post dining reviews but will not offer you and restaurant management features.

Pricing: WaitWhile’s plans start at $23/month and go up to $49/month for more advanced features and support for more restaurants and restaurant visits.

Compatibility: WaitWhile integrates with a host of online platforms. These include Slack, Salesforce, Mailchimp, Facebook, etc.

G2 Rating: 4.8/5

User Review: Anonymous review from G2: The end user experience was great for what we needed to use this product for. It was easy to use for guests, and we were able to get the information and communicate with them as needed.

Obee

Obee is a fully featured restaurant management system designed to serve restaurants of all sizes. The online system offers table management, waitlist management and reservations management from one system.

Obee offers most of the standard restaurant management features you’ll find in other systems, but does them very basically. Their waitlist solution is pretty rudimentary when compared to other waitlist apps, but could be useful for less tech savvy restaurants or casual dining establishments.

Pricing: Obee’s pricing starts at $99/month.

Compatibility: Obee integrates with a few marketing services like MailChimp and Campaign Monitor.

G2 Rating: No ratings found

User Review: No reviews found

Flexbooker

Maximize your appointment bookings with FlexBooker's innovative SMS-based automated waitlist system. With this feature, your customers can effortlessly join a waitlist for fully booked appointments.

In the event of a cancellation or opening, FlexBooker will send a text message to the next customer in line, allowing them to quickly book the newly available slot. This eliminates the need for manual intervention on your part and ensures that your schedule remains full and efficient, leaving you with one less thing to worry about.

Pricing: The basic plan of Flexbooker which can accommodate up to 4 employees starts at $39/month.

Compatibility: Flexbooker integrates directly with WordPress, SquareSpace, Shopify, Google Calendar, Outlook, Office 365, Microsoft Exchange, Apple Calendar and Zoom.

G2 Rating: 3/5

User Review: Anonymous review from G2: Free signup without credit card is appreciated. Integration with popular. Meetings platform is helpful. Reporting module provides the necessary dashboard view.

Conclusion

While there are many different digital waitlist management apps to choose from, the best waitlist apps for your restaurant are the ones that suit your requirements and budget. Whether you’re looking for a simple paper waitlist substitute or an advanced digital waitlist solution, there is something for every restaurant.

With the right waitlist, restaurants can capitalize on the buzz and make sure that they are able to serve as many customers as possible without impacting the overall guest experience.