Waitwhile alternative
The Waitwhile alternative with messaging included
Waitwhile is a strong platform for large, multi-site organisations. If you’re a smaller business that wants WhatsApp and text messages included in the price, Queue Join may suit you better. Here’s an honest comparison.
Facts about Waitwhile checked on 19 October 2026
At a glance
Price to start
Queue Join
Free plan, then from $29 a month
Waitwhile
Free plan, then $39 a month ($31 billed yearly) for each location or 250 visits
Text messages
Queue Join
WhatsApp, RCS and SMS included in every plan
Waitwhile
SMS bought separately as credits; WhatsApp only through Zapier
Best for
Queue Join
Independent businesses and growing chains
Waitwhile
Large organisations that need SSO, HIPAA and enterprise integrations
Which one is right for you?
Choose Queue Join if…
- You want WhatsApp and text messages included in your plan rather than bought as credits
- Your customers use WhatsApp, and you want it built in rather than added through Zapier
- You’d rather pay one price per plan than buy capacity location by location
- You want free web push notifications to customers, not only to staff
- You want booking, branding and marketing campaigns on every plan, Free included
Choose Waitwhile if…
- You need SOC 2, ISO 27001 or HIPAA compliance
- Your IT team requires single sign-on (SAML), which Waitwhile offers on Enterprise
- Your customers need pages in many languages: Waitwhile says it supports 35 or more
- You rely on integrations such as Salesforce or Zapier
Queue Join and Waitwhile, feature by feature
A tick means the feature is there; a dash means it’s there with limits. The numbers in brackets link to the Waitwhile page each fact comes from. Rows we couldn’t confirm for Waitwhile are left out rather than guessed.
| Feature | Queue Join | Waitwhile |
|---|---|---|
| Getting started | ||
| Free plan | Available50 visits and 50 messages a month | Available1 location and 50 visits a month[1] |
| Free trial of paid plans | Available14-day trial on paid plans | Not availableNo trial; the free plan is the trial[4] |
| Runs on phones and tablets you already have | Available | Available[1] |
| Several locations on one subscription | AvailableFrom Growth (3 locations) | AvailableUp to 10, each priced as a unit[2] |
| Walk-ins and booking | ||
| Appointment booking | Available | Available[12] |
| Notifications | ||
Available | Not availableOnly through Zapier and similar connectors[9] | |
| SMS | Available | AvailablePaid credits, for example $0.03509 per UK message segment[5] |
| Web push to customers | Available | Available with limitsStaff alerts only[6] |
Available | AvailableUp to 5 emails per visit on Free[1] | |
| Automated voice calls | AvailableAdd-on | Available with limitsOnly through the Twilio integration[9] |
| Text messages included in the price | AvailableIncluded in every plan, from 50 a month | Not availableSMS is bought as credits on every plan[2] |
| Running the business | ||
| Analytics and reports | AvailableGrowth and above | AvailableSingle-location stats on Free; advanced multi-location analytics on Business[1] |
| Customer surveys | AvailableBusiness and above | Available with limitsPaid plans[7] |
| Your own branding | Available | Available with limitsBasic branding; white-label on Enterprise[1] |
| Data and developers | ||
| API | AvailableBusiness and above | AvailableBusiness and above[1] |
| Webhooks | AvailableBusiness and above | AvailableBusiness and above[9] |
| Data export | AvailableEach customer’s data on every plan; CSV reports from Growth | Available with limitsBusiness and above[8] |
| GDPR compliance | Available | Available[11] |
| Single sign-on (SAML) | Not available | Available with limitsEnterprise[11] |
| Customer-facing languages | English (UK and US) | 35+ languages[10] |
Queue Join and Waitwhile prices
Prices in US dollars, as each company publishes them. Waitwhile’s prices are from its own website on 19 October 2026.
Queue Join
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Free1 location, 50 visits and 50 messages a month | $0 | $0/mo |
| Starter1 location, 250 visits and 550 messages a month | $29 | $23/mo |
| Growth3 locations, 1,000 visits and 1,650 messages a month | $69 | $55/mo |
| Business10 locations, 4,000 visits and 4,400 messages a month | $149 | $119/mo |
| Enterprise25 locations, unlimited visits and 11,000 messages a month | $399 | $319/mo |
Waitwhile
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Free1 location, 50 visits a month, a one-off $2 SMS credit | $0 | $0/mo |
| StarterPer unit: 1 location or 250 visits a month, up to 10. SMS extra | $39 per unit | $31/mo per unit |
| BusinessPer unit: 1 location or 500 visits a month, up to 10. SMS extra. API and data export | $69 per unit | $55/mo per unit |
| EnterpriseCustom limits, SSO and white-label | Custom | Custom |
Like-for-like examples
One busy location, 1,000 visits a month
Waitwhile
Business ×2 (1,000 visits): $110 a month billed yearly, or $138 monthly. Starter would need ×4: $124 or $156. Text messages extra.
Queue Join
Growth: $55 a month billed yearly, or $69 monthly, with 1,650 messages included.
Three locations, 750 visits a month
Waitwhile
Starter ×3: $93 a month billed yearly, or $117 monthly. Text messages extra.
Queue Join
Growth: $55 a month billed yearly, or $69 monthly, for up to 3 locations, with messages included.
1,000 texts a month to UK mobiles
Waitwhile
About $35 a month in SMS credit at $0.03509 a segment, on top of the plan.
Queue Join
Included: Growth comes with 1,650 messages a month.
Queue Join also bills in pounds and euros.
Where Queue Join is different
Messages in the price, not on top
Since June 2025, Waitwhile’s self-serve plans include no text messages: you buy SMS credits on top of the plan. Every Queue Join plan includes a monthly allowance of WhatsApp, RCS and SMS messages, and overage is capped so a busy month can’t surprise you.
- One allowance shared by WhatsApp, RCS and SMS
- Overage only past your allowance, up to a monthly cap you set
- Customer notifications are never cut off on paid plans
WhatsApp first, with automatic SMS fallback
Waitwhile has no built-in WhatsApp; it’s available only through connectors such as Zapier. Queue Join sends WhatsApp first and falls back to a text automatically, so the alert reaches customers on the app they already use.
- WhatsApp first, then RCS or SMS automatically
- Approved message templates, with nothing to set up
- Works on customers’ own phones, with no app to download
Free web push and email for customers
Waitwhile uses web push for staff alerts. Queue Join sends web push notifications to customers too, and push and email don’t count towards your message allowance.
- Push notifications to the customer’s phone or browser
- Email updates on every plan
- Neither one uses your message allowance
Every plan gets the essentials
Appointment booking, your own branding, marketing campaigns and staff roles come with every Queue Join plan, Free included. You upgrade for more locations, visits and messages, or for the kiosk, TV display, API and surveys.
- Walk-ins and appointments in one place
- Your logo and colours on every customer page
- Opt-in marketing campaigns, with consent recorded
Switching from Waitwhile
There’s nothing to import. Customers join by QR code, and each customer’s history builds up from their first visit.
- 1
Set up your locations
Add your locations, opening hours and any services you offer.
- 2
Print your QR codes
Download a QR code poster for each location and put it where customers queue or arrive.
- 3
Run both for a week
Keep Waitwhile running while your team gets used to Queue Join, then cancel it once you’re happy.
Waitwhile and Queue Join: common questions
Sources
Everything this page says about Waitwhile comes from Waitwhile’s own public pages, checked on 19 October 2026:
- Waitwhile pricing page
- Waitwhile help: changes to plans, pricing and SMS credits
- Waitwhile help: how much does Waitwhile cost?
- Waitwhile help: pricing FAQs
- Waitwhile help: how much do SMS cost?
- Waitwhile help: messages overview
- Waitwhile help: surveys
- Waitwhile help: exporting customer and visit data
- Waitwhile: integrations
- Waitwhile: customer communication
- Waitwhile: security
- Waitwhile homepage
Waitwhile is a trademark of its owner. Queue Join isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by Waitwhile. Plans and prices change, so check Waitwhile’s website for the latest details. If you spot something out of date, tell us through our contact page and we’ll correct it.