Choosing tools
Hotplate App Alternative: What to Check Before You Switch
A fair checklist for comparing Hotplate with Brevl, and what to confirm before you move your shop.
On this page
Most bakers start looking for something else after one small friction. An order gets missed. A fee shows up that you did not plan for. You want to change a photo and cannot work out how. That is a normal reason to shop around, and it is worth doing properly rather than jumping to the first thing that looks shinier.
What we could and could not confirm
When we tried to read Hotplate’s pricing page on October 17, 2026, we got page code and fonts but no readable fee or price text. That is not a criticism of the product. It simply means we will not print a monthly figure or a commission rate for Hotplate, because a number we cannot confirm is worse than no number at all. Open their pricing page yourself, or send them an email, and write the answer down before you decide anything.
Four questions to ask about any baking app
Ask these of Hotplate, of Brevl, and of anything else on your list. The answers matter more than the screenshots.
What to remember
- What is the total each month, including card processing, and is there a cut of each sale? - Who holds the money between the order and your bank, and how many days does it take to land? - Can you use your own web address, your own photos, and your own colors?
- If you leave, do you keep your orders, your customer list, and your reviews?
The first question is the one most bakers skip. A low monthly fee with a slice taken from every order can cost far more than a flat fee once you are selling steadily. Ask for the number in writing.
Where Brevl fits
Brevl is built for the way a home baker actually works. It is one flat $20 a month, with 0% commission, so the price of a cake does not shrink every time you sell one. There is a 14 day free trial and you do not need a card to start, which means you can build the shop first and decide after.
Payments are the part that surprises people. You take card payments through your own Stripe or Square account, so the money moves through an account in your name, not a pool you have to wait on. You can also record Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and cash orders in the same place, which matters if half your customers still text you.
Your shop, on the phone and on the computer
Brevl is not a phone only app. There is a full desktop workspace for when you want to sit down and load a dozen photos, and the shop works on a phone for the moments when you are standing at the counter with flour on your hands. Your shop is yours to customize, with your photos, your colors, and your own web address.
Moving your orders and photos over
This is where most switches fall apart, so plan it rather than hoping.
Finish the orders you already have
Bake and deliver anything already paid for before you change tools, so no customer is left waiting on an order that fell between two shops.
Write down what you pay now
Note the monthly fee, any cut of each sale, and your card processing rate, so you compare the real total instead of the headline number.
Gather your photos and product list
Pull your best bake photos and your current prices into one folder so the move takes an afternoon rather than a month.
Set up the new shop and take one test order
Build your shop, place a small order yourself, and confirm the money reaches your bank before you tell customers where to find you.
With Brevl, we set it up with you, and we move your old shop over: products, photos, reviews, and dates. A real person answers, usually within minutes, so you are not stuck reading help articles at ten at night.
The honest recommendation
If Hotplate is working for you and the fees are clear, there is no reason to rush. Where bakers tend to move to Brevl is when they want a shop they can make their own, card payments through their own Stripe or Square account, and the same experience on a computer and a phone, all for one flat $20 a month with no commission. It is easier to set up, and we do the moving with you.
See how the two compare side by side at Brevl vs Bakesy for a worked example of how these decisions play out, and read Switch when you are ready to move your shop over. If you are still early and working out your prices, Cottage CMS Fees is a useful read on what monthly costs really add up to, and Cottage CMS App covers what to expect from an app first setup.
Fees and payment terms change. Confirm current pricing with any service before you pay.