Is Deputy or Waitlist Me better?

Neither clearly leads. Deputy starts at $3.5/user/month and Waitlist Me at $27.99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Deputy or Waitlist Me?

Deputy starts at $3.5/user/month and Waitlist Me at $27.99/month.

Does Deputy or Waitlist Me run on more platforms?

Deputy runs on Web, Ios, Android. Waitlist Me runs on Web.

What is Deputy best used for?

Deputy is most often used for staff scheduling and shift management for hourly teams, time clocking, timesheets and labour cost tracking. Of those, staff scheduling and shift management for hourly teams and time clocking, timesheets and labour cost tracking are not what Waitlist Me is typically brought in for.

What can Deputy do that Waitlist Me cannot?

Deputy covers AI scheduling, Time tracking, Demand forecasting, Compliance.

Restaurants · head to head

Deputy vs Waitlist Me

Deputy

Restaurants

Workforce management for restaurants

From: $3.5/user/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

Waitlist Me

Restaurants

Waitlist, reservation and appointment management across devices and locations

From: $27.99/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Deputy a $30 monthly minimum applies to every plan, so a team of four on the $5 Lite plan pays for six; Waitlist Me entry Premium plan caps at 1,000 notifications per month with a $0.02 per-notification overage fee beyond that, as of August 2026
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Deputy and Waitlist Me actually diverge.

Attributes where Deputy and Waitlist Me differ
Attribute	Deputy	Waitlist Me
Starting price	$3.5/user/month	$27.99/month
Platforms	Web, Ios, Android	Web
Founded	2008	Unknown

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Restaurants).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Deputy

AI scheduling
Time tracking
Demand forecasting
Compliance
Team communication
Performance tracking
Toast
Square

Only in Waitlist Me

Nothing recorded that Deputy does not also cover.

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Deputy

Staff scheduling and shift management for hourly teamsnot Waitlist Me
Time clocking, timesheets and labour cost trackingnot Waitlist Me

Waitlist Me

Restaurant wait time managementnot Deputy
Service industry customer schedulingnot Deputy
Multi-location waitlist coordinationnot Deputy
Reservation and table managementnot Deputy
Real-time customer notificationsnot Deputy

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Deputy

A $30 monthly minimum applies to every plan, so a team of four on the $5 Lite plan pays for six
Auto scheduling, demand forecasting and labour optimisation all require a plan above Lite
SSO and custom access levels are Pro only at $9 per user per month
Payroll is an add on at $8 per user per month plus a $49 monthly base fee
Messaging and analytics are separately priced add ons at $1.95 and $1.50 per user per month

Waitlist Me

Entry Premium plan caps at 1,000 notifications per month with a $0.02 per-notification overage fee beyond that, as of August 2026
Monthly billing without the annual commitment costs $34.99 per month for Premium versus $27.99 on the annual plan, as of August 2026

Pricing, plan by plan

Deputy

$3.5/user/month

Scheduling$3.5/user/month
- Scheduling
- Communication
Time & Attendance$3.5/user/month
- Time clock
- Timesheets
Premium$4.9/user/month
- Full features
- Reporting

Waitlist Me

$27.99/month

Premium$27.99/month
- 1000 notifications per month
- Intuitive Waitlist View
- Reservations Calendar
Pro$47.99/month
- 2500 notifications per month
- Table and resource management
- Business hours configuration
Platinum$79.99/month
- 5000 notifications per month
- Smart floorplans
- Spatial management

Which should you pick?

Choose Deputy if

You need ai scheduling.
You work on Web, Ios, Android.
You also want time tracking.

Deputy review

Choose Waitlist Me if

Nothing in the data separates Waitlist Me from Deputy on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Waitlist Me review

Questions people ask

Is Deputy or Waitlist Me better?: Neither clearly leads. Deputy starts at $3.5/user/month and Waitlist Me at $27.99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Deputy or Waitlist Me?: Deputy starts at $3.5/user/month and Waitlist Me at $27.99/month.
Does Deputy or Waitlist Me run on more platforms?: Deputy runs on Web, Ios, Android. Waitlist Me runs on Web.
What is Deputy best used for?: Deputy is most often used for staff scheduling and shift management for hourly teams, time clocking, timesheets and labour cost tracking. Of those, staff scheduling and shift management for hourly teams and time clocking, timesheets and labour cost tracking are not what Waitlist Me is typically brought in for.
What can Deputy do that Waitlist Me cannot?: Deputy covers AI scheduling, Time tracking, Demand forecasting, Compliance.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Deputy: How much does Deputy cost per user?

Deputy offers three plans: Lite at $5/user/month, Core at $6.50/user/month, and Pro at $9/user/month. All plans are billed upfront or in monthly installments in USD, excluding taxes.

Source

Waitlist Me: How much does Waitlist Me cost?

Premium starts at $27.99/month (or $22.39/month annually). Pro tier costs $47.99/month (or $38.39/month annually). Platinum is $79.99/month (or $63.99/month annually). Additional notifications cost $0.02 each beyond plan limits.

Source

Deputy: Is there a minimum monthly charge for Deputy?

Yes, there is a minimum spend of $30 USD/AUD or £20 GBP monthly per invoice, effective September 1, 2025.

Source

Waitlist Me: Is there a free plan?

No, Waitlist Me does not offer a free plan. All pricing tiers are paid subscriptions, though the page indicates transparent billing and support for all plans.

Source

Deputy: Can I change plans or cancel anytime with Deputy monthly billing?

Monthly plans allow changes anytime without penalty, effective the first of the current month. You can cancel by paying through the current billing period with no additional penalties.

Source

Waitlist Me: What is included in all plans?

All Waitlist Me plans include multi-device syncing (iOS, Android, Web), unlimited usage within notification limits, multi-location support, and customer support.

Source

Deputy: What happens if I cancel an annual Deputy plan before 12 months?

Annual plans do not offer refunds if you cancel before 12 months expire. You may cancel before the 12 months expire, but you forfeit any unused prepaid time.

Source

Deputy: Can I use Deputy without paying for every team member?

All admins and managers count as users and are subject to per-user charges. There is no option to exclude administrative staff from billing.

Source

Deputy vs Waitlist Me

Deputy

Waitlist Me

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Deputy

Only in Waitlist Me

What people use each for

Deputy

Waitlist Me

Where each one falls short

Deputy

Waitlist Me

Pricing, plan by plan

Deputy

Waitlist Me

Which should you pick?

Choose Deputy if

Choose Waitlist Me if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Deputy

More on Waitlist Me

Keep looking

Other head to heads