# Best waitlist software, compared

> LaunchList and 7 other tools people compare for a waitlist, feature by feature, with prices billed monthly. Every other tool's facts were read on its own website (pricing page, feature pages and help docs), last checked on October 21, 2026. LaunchList makes this page, and its own column comes from the product and its live price list. Prices and plans change, so check each tool's pricing page before you buy. Web page: https://getlaunchlist.com/compare

LaunchList is pre-launch waitlist software for founders. Every LaunchList plan at every list size: https://getlaunchlist.com/pricing.md

**How to read a cell:** Yes, No or Partly (partly, or only through another tool), then any plan or detail in brackets. A price is the monthly price billed monthly.

## Price

| Feature | LaunchList | Prefinery | Getwaitlist | Waitlister | KickoffLabs | Viral Loops | ConvertKit (Kit) | Mailchimp |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Lowest paid plan | $9/mo (Collect plan, 500 contacts) | $49/mo (Lite, 1,000 users) | $15/mo (Basic, unlimited signups) | $19/mo (Launch, unlimited subscribers) | $19/mo (Hobby, 500 leads a month) | $49/mo (Start-up, 1,000 participants) | $39/mo (Creator, 1,000 subscribers) | $13/mo (Essentials, 500 contacts, US price) |
| Free plan | Yes (100 contacts) | No (14-day trial) | No (Closed to new accounts. New accounts get a 7-day trial of Basic) | Yes (100, no referrals or email) | Yes (50 leads a month. Campaign emails are off on the free plan) | No (14-day trial, 10 participants) | Yes (Up to 10,000 subscribers) | Yes (250 contacts) |
| Price for 10,000 signups | $19/mo (Collect plan) | $94/mo (Lite with extra users) | $15/mo (Basic) | $19/mo (Launch) | $145/mo (Business, 10,000 leads a month) | $229/mo (Growing) | $0/mo (Free plan, up to 10,000) | Varies by country (Essentials, 10,000 contacts) |
| What the price is based on | Size of your list (Yearly: 2 months free) | Users included per plan (Then $5/mo per 1,000) | Features (Unlimited signups on every plan) | Features (Unlimited subscribers when paid) | New leads a month (Plus features by plan) | Participants (Everyone with a referral link) | Subscribers (Free, Creator or Pro) | Contacts (Plus plan and send limits) |

## Your waitlist page

| Feature | LaunchList | Prefinery | Getwaitlist | Waitlister | KickoffLabs | Viral Loops | ConvertKit (Kit) | Mailchimp |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Hosted page, no website needed | Yes | Partly (A plain form page) | Partly (The widget and your logo) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (Landing pages) |
| Free web address for the page | Yes (yourname.launchlist.page) | Partly (A Prefinery link) | Partly (A getwaitlist.com link) | Partly (A waitlister.me/p link) | Yes (A kickoffpages.com address) | Yes (pages.viral-loops.com) | Yes (yourname.kit.com) | Partly (A mailchi.mp link) |
| Page on your own domain | Yes (From the Collect plan, $9/mo) | No (Not for the hosted page) | No | Yes (From Pro, $29/mo) | Yes (Every paid plan) | Yes (From Plus, subdomains only) | Yes (Free plan too) | Partly (Needs a paid Websites plan) |
| Own domains included | 1, 3 or unlimited (By plan. 1 on the Collect plan, 3 on the Launch plan, unlimited on the Grow plan) | None | None | 1, 3 or unlimited (Pro, Growth, Business) | 1, 1, 3 or 5 (Hobby to Enterprise) | One per campaign (Campaigns unlimited) | Multiple (Every plan) | Unlimited subdomains (With a paid Websites plan) |
| HTTPS set up for you | Yes | No (No own page domain) | No (No own page domain) | Yes | Yes | Partly (Ask support, from Growing) | Not in its setup guide (Kit's guide to connecting your own domain never mentions HTTPS or a certificate) | Partly (Stated for bought domains only) |
| Ready-made page designs | Yes | Partly (Referral page themes only) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (Campaign templates) | Yes | Yes |
| AI writes the page | Yes (From one sentence) | No | No | Yes (With monthly credits) | Yes (Drafts from a brief) | Partly (AI picks a template) | Partly (Through its MCP, paid plans) | No |
| Personal page after signup | Yes (Place in line, referral link) | Yes (Referral page you can edit) | Partly (A success screen) | Yes (Thank-you page) | Yes (Personal status page) | Yes (Personal referral dashboard) | Partly (Thank-you page, no referral place) | Partly (Thank-you page, no queue place) |

## Signup forms

| Feature | LaunchList | Prefinery | Getwaitlist | Waitlister | KickoffLabs | Viral Loops | ConvertKit (Kit) | Mailchimp |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Form for your own website | Yes | Yes | Yes (Full, mini or docked) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Popup form | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (Modal, slide-in or bar) | Yes |
| Keep your own form or code | Yes (React, headless or your form) | Yes (HTML, JS or REST API) | Yes (Signup API with no key) | Yes (Form endpoint or API) | Yes (AnyForm or REST API) | Yes (Your form, SDK or API) | Yes (Through its API) | Yes (Your form or its API) |
| No email address needed | Yes (Phone, username, wallet or none) | No (Email required) | Partly (Email or phone) | No (Email required) | Partly (Email or phone) | No (Email required) | No (Email required) | Partly (Email, or SMS from Essentials) |
| Extra questions on the form | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (Custom fields) | Yes (Custom form fields) |
| Form in other languages | 17 languages | Partly (You write each language) | No | 30 languages (From Growth, one per waitlist) | Partly (One language per campaign) | Partly (One language per campaign) | Partly (You write each language) | 51 languages (Hosted forms) |

## Referrals

| Feature | LaunchList | Prefinery | Getwaitlist | Waitlister | KickoffLabs | Viral Loops | ConvertKit (Kit) | Mailchimp |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Personal referral link | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (From Launch) | Yes | Yes | Partly (Pro, through SparkLoop) | No |
| Referral leaderboard | Yes | Yes (Top 10 widget) | Yes | Yes (From Launch) | Yes | Yes | No | No (Store loyalty only) |
| Rewards for referring | Yes (From the Collect plan) | Yes | Partly (Moving up the line only) | Partly (Points, rewards by webhook) | Yes | Yes (Not in its waitlist template) | Partly (Pro, through SparkLoop) | No |
| Start the line at a higher number | Yes | Yes (A starting position setting) | No (Only moves a signup up) | Yes (From Launch) | Yes (Jump start, up to 5,000) | Partly (Only by editing counts) | No (No queue places) | No (No queue places) |
| Referral counts after the friend confirms | Yes (On by default) | Yes (With double opt-in) | Partly (In its analytics) | Yes (With double opt-in) | Yes (Optional setting) | Yes (With double opt-in, from Growing) | No | No |
| Checks for fake referrals | Yes (Device, IP and speed checks) | Yes (IP limits, cheater flags) | No | Yes (Four strictness levels) | Yes (IP limits, bots, flags) | Yes (Risk checks, flags) | No | No |

## Email

| Feature | LaunchList | Prefinery | Getwaitlist | Waitlister | KickoffLabs | Viral Loops | ConvertKit (Kit) | Mailchimp |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Confirm email (double opt-in) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (From Launch) | Yes (Paid plans only) | Yes (From Growing) | Yes (On by default) | Yes (Per audience) |
| Welcome email | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (From Launch) | Yes (Paid plans only) | Yes | Yes (Confirmation email, every plan) | Yes (Optional, off by default) |
| Emails in your signups' language | 17 languages | Partly (You write each language) | No | Partly (Confirmation email only) | No (Emails are not translated) | Partly (You edit the text) | No | 50+ languages (Signup emails) |
| Send an email to your list | Yes (From the Collect plan) | No (Only automatic emails) | Yes (Every paid plan) | Yes (From Launch) | Partly (Listed, no send screen. Broadcasts are on its feature page, but its help center shows no screen for sending one) | Partly (Share reminders only, 3 templates) | Yes (Free plan too) | Yes (Every plan) |
| Automatic email series | Yes (From the Launch plan) | Partly (Triggered emails with delays) | No (Four fixed emails) | No (Welcome email only) | No (Reply and reward emails) | Partly (Reminder emails) | Yes (Creator and Pro) | Yes (From Essentials (4 steps). Up to 200 steps from Standard) |
| Emails included each month | Grows with your list (Set by your plan. The Collect plan: 1× your contacts, up to 5,000. The Launch and Grow plans: 2× your contacts) | Unlimited (Every plan) | No limit stated | 2,500 to 50,000 (By plan) | No limit listed (Plans count new leads) | No limit listed (Plans count participants) | Unlimited (Every plan) | 10x contacts (Essentials; Free 500) |
| Buy more emails without changing plan | $3 per 1,000 (You approve before paying) | No (Not needed: unlimited) | No | No (Move up a plan) | No (Extra leads only) | No | No (Sending is unlimited) | Yes (Overage billing, paid plans) |
| Send from your own domain | Yes (From the Launch plan) | Yes (Every plan) | Yes (Pro, $250/mo) | Yes (From Growth, $49/mo) | Yes (Business plan, via support) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Skips bad addresses when sending | Yes | Partly (Stops after a hard bounce) | No | Yes | Partly (Flags after a bounce) | No | Yes (Hard bounces unsubscribed) | Yes (Hard bounces cleaned) |

## Real signups

| Feature | LaunchList | Prefinery | Getwaitlist | Waitlister | KickoffLabs | Viral Loops | ConvertKit (Kit) | Mailchimp |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bot and spam protection | Yes | Yes (reCAPTCHA, IP blocking) | Yes (CAPTCHA, hosted page or iframe) | Yes (CAPTCHA, from Launch. On Waitlister's own pages only) | Yes (Invisible captcha, IP limits) | Yes (reCAPTCHA from Plus) | Yes (CAPTCHA and honeypot) | Yes (reCAPTCHA and honeypot) |
| Trust score on every signup | Yes (Verified, valid, risky or fake) | Partly (A "suspected cheater" flag) | Partly (CAPTCHA passed or not) | Partly (Deliverability labels) | Partly (A fraud flag) | Yes (Low, medium or high risk) | No | No |
| Catches throwaway email addresses | Yes (Flagged, never emailed) | Yes | Partly (Free email domains, Advanced) | Yes | Yes (Flagged, kept out) | Yes (Flagged, every plan) | No | No |
| Check if an email address is real | Yes (One credit per check) | No (Only bounces after sending) | No | Yes (Validate emails button) | No (Only bounces after sending) | No | No (Typo prompt on forms only) | Partly (Reviews imported lists) |

## Letting people in

| Feature | LaunchList | Prefinery | Getwaitlist | Waitlister | KickoffLabs | Viral Loops | ConvertKit (Kit) | Mailchimp |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Invite people from the list | Yes (Personal invite codes) | Yes (Invitation codes and emails) | Partly (A removal email. Its wording can be your own on Pro) | No | No | Partly (Flag early access by API) | No | No |
| One invite code for many people | Yes (From the Launch plan) | Yes (Codes with use limits) | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Track people from waitlist to customer | Yes | Partly (Fixed statuses) | No (Waiting or removed) | Partly (Tags, no stages) | Partly (Tags, no stages) | Partly (A converted mark, from Growing) | Partly (Tags and segments) | Partly (Tags and segments) |
| Launch-day tools | Yes (From the Launch plan) | No | No | Partly (A countdown on the page) | Partly (A countdown on the page) | No | Partly (Countdown timers only) | No |
| Product updates page | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Partly (Newsletter site posts) | Partly (Public archive of sent emails) |

## Analytics

| Feature | LaunchList | Prefinery | Getwaitlist | Waitlister | KickoffLabs | Viral Loops | ConvertKit (Kit) | Mailchimp |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Signup analytics | Yes | Yes (Full from Essentials) | Yes (Full analytics on Pro) | Yes (Advanced from Pro) | Yes (Advanced on Business) | Yes | Yes (List growth reports) | Yes (Audience dashboard, more on Standard) |
| Where signups come from | Yes (From the Grow plan) | Yes (UTM and channel) | Yes (UTM per signup) | Yes (Referring sites) | Yes | Yes (By sharing channel) | Yes (Source and UTM) | Partly (By form type. The signup page needs a hidden field) |
| A/B testing | No | No | No | No | Yes (From Premium) | No | Partly (Emails only, paid plans) | Partly (Emails only, from Essentials) |

## Connections

| Feature | LaunchList | Prefinery | Getwaitlist | Waitlister | KickoffLabs | Viral Loops | ConvertKit (Kit) | Mailchimp |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| API | Yes (Every plan) | Yes (From Essentials) | Yes (Small documented set) | Yes (Full from Growth) | Yes | Yes (From Plus) | Yes | Yes |
| API keys with limited access | Yes (Read-only or full access) | Yes (Per-key permissions) | No (Keys have no scopes) | No (No read-only keys) | No (One key per campaign) | Partly (Public and secret keys) | No | Partly (Key follows its user's role) |
| OpenAPI file for the API | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Partly (Per endpoint, in its docs) | Yes (In its API docs) | Yes |
| Webhooks | Yes (Signed, with retries) | Yes (From Essentials) | Yes (Signup and removal) | Yes (From Growth) | Yes (From Premium) | Yes (From Plus, signed) | Yes (Paid plans) | Yes (Standard and up) |
| Works with AI assistants (MCP) | Yes | No | No | Yes (Official, every plan) | No | Yes (Participants and rewards, from Plus) | Yes (Creator and Pro) | Yes (Standard and Premium plans) |
| Zapier app | Yes (From the Launch plan) | Yes (From Essentials) | Yes (Advanced plan) | Partly (Through webhooks, from Growth) | Yes (From Premium) | Yes (From Plus) | Yes (Paid plans) | Yes |
| Slack app | Yes (From the Launch plan) | Partly (Through a webhook or Zapier) | Yes | Yes (Signup alerts, from Growth) | Yes (Lead alerts, from Premium) | Yes (Campaign updates, every plan) | Partly (Through webhooks, paid plans) | Yes (Built by Slack) |

## Your data and team

| Feature | LaunchList | Prefinery | Getwaitlist | Waitlister | KickoffLabs | Viral Loops | ConvertKit (Kit) | Mailchimp |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Import a CSV file | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (From Growth) | Partly (Paste emails, no file) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Import from other waitlist tools | Yes (All five tools here) | Partly (A Viral Loops guide) | Partly (Mailchimp and Prefinery CSV) | Partly (Rename the email column) | No | No (CSV and email tools only) | No (Email tools only) | No |
| Export to CSV | Yes (Every plan) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Erase a person's data (GDPR) | Yes (Plus automatic deletion) | Partly (Delete users by hand) | Partly (Delete a signup by hand) | Partly (Delete by hand or API) | Yes | Yes | Yes (Through a request form) | Yes |
| Team members with roles | Yes (From the Collect plan) | Yes (From Essentials) | Yes (Pro plan) | Yes (Business plan, 5 members) | Yes (From Business) | Partly (Invites on Power, no roles) | Yes (Admin or Editor, paid plans) | Yes (More roles on bigger plans) |
| More than one waitlist | Yes (1 on the Free plan) | Yes (1, 3 or 10 campaigns) | Yes (Unlimited waitlists) | Yes (1, 3, 10 or unlimited) | Yes (Unlimited campaigns) | Yes (Unlimited campaigns) | No (One list per account) | Partly (One audience on Free. Three audiences on Essentials) |
| Remove all branding | Yes (From the Launch plan) | Yes (From Essentials) | Partly (Widget from Advanced, emails Pro) | Yes (From Launch) | Yes (Business plan) | Partly (From Growing. It needs your own page domain and sending address) | Yes (Every paid plan) | Yes (Every paid plan) |

## Sources

- **Prefinery**: https://www.prefinery.com, pricing https://www.prefinery.com/pricing, checked October 21, 2026
- **Getwaitlist**: https://www.getwaitlist.com, pricing https://www.getwaitlist.com/pricing, checked October 21, 2026
- **Waitlister**: https://waitlister.me, pricing https://waitlister.me/pricing, checked October 21, 2026
- **KickoffLabs**: https://kickofflabs.com, pricing https://kickofflabs.com/pricing, checked October 21, 2026
- **Viral Loops**: https://viral-loops.com, pricing https://viral-loops.com/pricing, checked October 21, 2026
- **ConvertKit (Kit)**: https://kit.com, pricing https://kit.com/pricing, checked October 21, 2026
- **Mailchimp**: https://mailchimp.com, pricing https://mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/, checked October 21, 2026

## More comparisons

- Prefinery alternative: https://getlaunchlist.com/alternative/prefinery.md
- Viral Loops alternative: https://getlaunchlist.com/alternative/viral-loops.md
- KickoffLabs alternative: https://getlaunchlist.com/alternative/kickofflabs.md
- Getwaitlist alternative: https://getlaunchlist.com/alternative/getwaitlist.md
- Waitlister alternative: https://getlaunchlist.com/alternative/waitlister.md