Carbonara App vs Waitwhile
Carbonara App
carbonaraapp.comWaitwhile
waitwhile.comSide by side
| Figure | Carbonara App | Waitwhile |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $9.99/mo | $31/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 7 | 5 |
| Spec score · Restaurant Waitlist Software | 8.7 (#3) | 8.5 (#5) |
| Headquarters | Oslo, Norway | The security page identifies San Francisco, California as the global headquarters and the company page gives its San Francisco address. |
| Security | Carbonara says it uses encryption in transit, access controls, role-based permissions, authentication controls, logging, and need-to-know production access restrictions. | The security page states that data in transit and at rest is encrypted with AES at 128-bit or higher and that third-party penetration tests occur annually. |
| Support | Carbonara directs users to contact its support team by email at [email protected]. | The site links to a help center and lists [email protected] as its contact email. |
Plans
Carbonara App
- FreeFree
- Starter$9.99 a month
- Light$19.99 a month
- Advanced$29.99 a month
- VIP$42.99 a month
- PX$56.99 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
Waitwhile
- FreeFree
- FreeFree
- Starter$31 a month
- Business$55 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
Carbonara App
Carbonara App provides waitlist and reservation software for restaurants and other hospitality businesses. Staff can add customers to a digital queue, send customizable confirmation and ready-by-text messages, and plan seating for waiting or reserved guests. Reservations can be accepted by phone, email, web form, or online booking form, including through Reserve with Google on Maps and Search. Online reservations have no additional per-booking fee. Customers can join a waitlist by QR code at no charge. Messaging includes two-way SMS and WhatsApp, phone-call notifications, and email. A drink-ordering flow sends a menu link by text so guests can order and pay, with orders delivered to the app. It runs on Android, iOS, and the web. The Free plan includes 50 bookings/month; Starter is $9.99/mo, and a 14-day trial is listed. SMS and WhatsApp are billed by usage. An optional AI chatbot is provided through Botpress; Carbonara says conversations are not used to train AI models.
Waitwhile
Waitwhile is a platform for handling walk-ins, queues and appointments across service locations. Customers can join a queue remotely or on-site by QR code, web, kiosk, NFC tag or SMS, then receive live updates and AI-powered wait estimates. Appointment tools cover reminders, confirmations, booking rules and matching people with resources. LineSync places scheduled appointments and walk-ins in a shared queue. Connections include a REST API, webhooks, no-code options and Zapier, alongside named integrations such as Slack, Salesforce, Mailchimp, Google Sheets, Outlook, Google Calendar, Twilio, Zendesk and Square POS. It runs on Android, iOS and web, and offers an API. The free plan is free and covers one location and 50 visits/month. Starter is $31 a month billed annually; Business is $55 a month billed annually. Enterprise pricing is custom. Waitwhile lists retail, luxury retail, government, education and healthcare among its industries, and describes its enterprise offering for businesses with 10 to 600 service points and multiple networks.