What happened to the NoWait app?
Updated 2026-10-02
The standalone NoWait app no longer exists. Yelp acquired NoWait in 2017 for $40 million and folded it into Yelp Waitlist, which is now part of Yelp Guest Manager, Yelp's front-of-house platform for restaurants. If you used NoWait, the "get in line from your phone" feature lives on inside Yelp today, but there is no separate NoWait app to download anymore.
What was the NoWait app?
NoWait was one of the first apps to put a restaurant's waitlist on a phone. Founded in Pittsburgh in 2010, it let diners see real-time seating availability and add their name to a restaurant's waitlist remotely, instead of writing on a paper list or carrying a handheld buzzer. It grew to more than 4,000 restaurants, including chains like Chili's and Buffalo Wild Wings, before Yelp bought it.
How did the NoWait app work?
- The diner found the restaurant in the app and saw the current wait.
- They added their name to the waitlist remotely, without standing at the host stand.
- The restaurant texted them as their table got close.
- They walked in when it was ready and were seated.
What replaced NoWait?
Yelp Guest Manager is the direct heir. It is a full front-of-house suite for restaurants: an online waitlist guests can join from home, reservations, table management, a host-stand kiosk, and two-way texting with guests. The old NoWait "get in line" experience is now one part of that larger platform.
If you are not a restaurant
NoWait and Yelp Guest Manager are built for restaurant floors, where the job is seating parties at tables and managing turns. If what you run is a barbershop, salon, clinic, or repair shop, and you mostly need to know who walked in and how long they have waited, that is a heavier tool than the job needs.
Acorn Check In is a lighter, free option for walk-in businesses. You put a QR code on the door, the visitor types their name on a web page, and your whole team watches one shared live list, with no staff accounts to set up. It does not seat parties or take reservations. If you do seat parties, Yelp Guest Manager or TablesReady is the tool built for that, and Acorn Check In is not.
Questions
Is NoWait still available?
No. The standalone NoWait app was retired after Yelp acquired it in 2017. Its waitlist technology now lives inside Yelp Guest Manager, so there is no separate NoWait app to download.
What is NoWait called now?
It is now part of Yelp Guest Manager. After the acquisition Yelp renamed the product Yelp Waitlist, then rolled it into Yelp Guest Manager, Yelp's front-of-house suite for restaurants.
Is there a free NoWait alternative?
For restaurants that seat parties, the closest heirs are Yelp Guest Manager and TablesReady. For walk-in businesses that are not restaurants, such as salons, clinics, and repair shops, Acorn Check In is free: unlimited QR self-check-in, one shared live list, and no staff accounts. It is not built for seating parties.
Who owns NoWait?
Yelp. It announced the acquisition of NoWait in March 2017 in an all-cash deal worth $40 million, after NoWait had grown to more than 4,000 restaurants from its start in Pittsburgh in 2010.