Choosing tools
Hotplate vs Simply Bread App: What to Compare Before You Pick
A fair, plain-English way to compare two order apps, plus the questions to ask before you move your bakes onto either one.
On this page
You bake from your own kitchen and you sell to people you mostly know. What you need is simple to say and surprisingly hard to shop for: a way for someone to see your bakes, order, and pay you, without you chasing texts all evening. Both names on this page promise that. The differences show up in the fine print.
The question behind the question
When you search for one app against another, what you are really asking is “which one will not cost me more than it earns me, and which one will still work when I am busy.” Those are the right things to worry about. Here is how to get a straight answer.
What to remember
- The monthly price and whether they take a percentage of every order. - Who holds the card payments, you or them. - Whether you can use your own photos, your own colors, and your own web address. - Whether it works properly on a computer, not just on a phone. - What happens to your products, photos, and order history if you ever leave.
Cost is more than the sticker
A low monthly fee with a slice of every sale can cost far more than a slightly higher flat fee once you are taking steady orders. Run the numbers on a normal month, not your best one. If a company takes a percentage, that percentage is on the whole order, forever.
Who holds your money
This is the part most people skip. Ask each company plainly: when a customer pays by card, does the money land in my own Stripe or Square account, or does it go to you first? If it goes to them first, ask how long a payout takes and what happens if there is a dispute. You are running a business, and knowing where your money sits is not a rude question.
Your shop should look like yours
Your photos, your colors, your name on the address. If a customer orders from you every week, they should recognize where they are. Ask whether you get your own web address or whether you are renting a spot inside someone else’s listing.
Run the comparison in an afternoon
Work out your real order volume
Write down a normal month: how many orders, and your average order total. Every fee gets measured against that number.
Price the fees at your volume
Apply each company’s monthly cost and any percentage to your real numbers. Compare the yearly totals. Small monthly differences add up fast.
Ask who holds the card payments
Find out whether card money lands in your own Stripe or Square account or sits with the company until they pay you. Ask about payout timing.
Place a test order on your own phone
Order from yourself the way a customer would. Count the taps. Check it on a small screen. See what the confirmation looks like.
Where Brevl fits
Brevl is the alternative home bakers choose, and here is the honest reason. It is one flat $20 a month with no cut of your sales. You take card payments through your own Stripe or Square account, plus Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and cash. Your shop is yours to customize, with your photos, your colors, and your own web address. It works on a computer and on a phone, with a real desktop workspace rather than a phone only app. And we set it up with you and move your old shop over, products, photos, reviews, and dates included.
You can read a side by side at Brevl vs Bakesy and see what moving over involves on the Switch page. For a wider look at the three names together, read Hotplate vs Bakesy vs Simply Bread.
A fair word on both
Both Hotplate and Simply Bread are real options, and if either one fits how you sell, that is a good outcome. This page is not here to talk you out of anything. It is here so that the choice is made on the things that affect your takings: the fee structure, the payment flow, the look of your shop, and whether you can get your work back out if you change your mind.
Questions to ask before you commit
Ask each company the same four things in writing, so you can compare the answers side by side:
- What is the total cost in a month where I sell $800?
- Does card money go into my own Stripe or Square account?
- Can I use my own web address and my own photos?
- If I leave, do I keep my product list, photos, and order history?
If an answer is vague, that is your answer.
Bottom line
Pick the one whose fee structure you understand, whose payments land in your account, and whose shop looks like your kitchen. If that turns out to be Brevl, we will help you set it up and move your old shop across. If it turns out to be one of the others, you will at least know exactly what you are signing up for. For a broader roundup of the options, see best home bakery software and home baking business app.