Waitlist Me alternative: why Acorn Check In might fit better
Updated 2026-08-24
Free, unlimited check-ins. Under 2 minutes to set up.
Who Waitlist Me is built for
Waitlist Me is built for businesses that want a straightforward waitlist without a platform around it, and it has been doing that across a lot of industries and countries for a long time. It reaches guests by text, by call, and through a phone browser with nothing to install, it manages multiple locations on every tier, and it is deliberately simple. Of the tools on this page it is the closest in spirit to Acorn Check In, and it is a good product.
Where Waitlist Me fits a business with one door less well
The simple tool is still a subscription
Simplicity and free are different things. The free version exists to try, and running on it long term is not what it is for. Acorn Check In treats free as the product rather than the trial: unlimited check-ins, live list, and QR code, indefinitely.
Your team still signs in
Waitlist Me is an account you log into. Acorn Check In is a link you open. No passwords on the floor, nobody locked out mid-shift, and adding a new hire means sending them a URL.
More surface than a single door needs
Multi-location management and the wider feature set earn their keep when you have several sites. With one door they are things to configure rather than things you use.
How Acorn Check In is different
Both products refuse to be a platform, so the honest comparison is narrow. Acorn Check In goes further in one direction: it drops staff accounts entirely, drops the subscription entirely, and keeps exactly one job, which is telling you someone showed up. Waitlist Me does more, for a price, with logins. If the extra ground it covers is ground you walk on, it is worth the money.
| Acorn Check In | Waitlist Me | |
|---|---|---|
| Price for one door | Free, unlimited check-ins | Free version plus paid tiers, see their pricing page |
| Staff sign-in | None, one shared link for the whole team | Account based |
| How visitors are reached | A web page opened from the QR code | Text, phone call, or phone browser |
| Multiple locations | Built around one location today | Included on every tier |
Pricing
Acorn Check In is free. Unlimited check-ins, the live staff list, and your QR code cost nothing, and staff text alerts are included up to 50 per location per month. There is no paid plan today.
Waitlist Me publishes flat subscription tiers per account rather than charging per location, and it has a free version. Check their pricing page for what each tier includes.
Who should stay with Waitlist Me
Stay with Waitlist Me if you run more than one location, if you want to reach guests by phone call as well as by text, or if you want the extra tools its paid tiers include. It is a mature product with a long track record, and "cheaper" is not a good reason to switch off something that is doing the job.
Getting started
There is no migration and nothing to import. Sign in, type your business name, print the QR sheet, and tape it where people walk in. If it does not suit you, stop using it. Nothing to cancel.
Questions
How is Acorn Check In different from Waitlist Me?
Two things mainly. Acorn Check In is free with unlimited check-ins rather than a subscription, and it has no staff accounts at all, just one shared link the whole team opens. Waitlist Me does more overall.
Is Acorn Check In free forever or just a trial?
Free is the product, not a trial. Unlimited check-ins, the live list, and the QR code cost nothing, and there is no paid plan to upgrade to today.
Do visitors need an app for either product?
No, for both. Acorn Check In opens a web page from the QR code, and Waitlist Me reaches guests by text, call, or phone browser. Neither asks a visitor to install anything.
Can Acorn Check In manage several locations?
Not today. The dashboard is built around a single location. Waitlist Me includes multi-location management on every tier.
Can Acorn Check In call a visitor as well as text them?
No. Texting only, and it is capped at 50 staff alerts per location per month on the free allotment. Waitlist Me can reach guests by phone call.
How do staff get notified when someone checks in?
Two ways, both free. Phone notifications are unlimited if you add the staff list to a home screen and allow them. Text alerts are capped at 50 per location per month.
What happens to visitor names and numbers?
Names are deleted 30 days after the visit and phone numbers within 24 hours, both by automatic jobs. Raw visitor IP addresses are never stored.