Choosing tools
Is Cottage CMS Free? What to Check Before You Sign Up
How to confirm what Cottage CMS really costs before you sign up, and where Brevl fits.
On this page
If you are selling bakes from your kitchen and someone tells you a tool is free, the fair question is not “is it free” but “free for what, and for how long.” Here is what I can actually confirm about Cottage CMS, what I could not confirm, and how to get a straight answer in about ten minutes.
What to remember
- Cottage CMS describes itself as a website made specifically for cottage food entrepreneurs. - The features it lists go well past a simple order form, so it is worth knowing the price before you build your shop around it. - I found no price and no free plan in the material I could check. - The only reliable answer comes from asking them directly, in writing, before you sign up. - Brevl is $20 a month flat with no cut of your sales and a 14 day free trial, if you want a number you can plan around today.
What Cottage CMS says it does
On its site, Cottage CMS lists a long set of features for cottage food sellers. That includes pre-order and availability windows, realtime inventory and holds, order fulfillment options, and pickup and payment reminders. It also lists product choices and build-your-own boxes, quantity menus and product collections, delivery route pricing, and sales tax rates. On the customer side it lists a loyalty program, customer subscriptions, and customer segments and tags.
That is a serious list. It tells you the company is aiming at bakers who sell regularly and want a lot of control over how orders come in and how customers come back.
Why “free” is hard to confirm from the outside
A website can look free in three different ways, and they are not the same thing. There is a free plan you can stay on forever. There is a free trial that turns into a paid plan after a set number of days. And there is a free listing that only becomes useful once you pay for the part that takes orders and money.
The material I could check for Cottage CMS describes what the service does. It does not give a price, and it does not mention a free plan. That is not proof there is no free option. It only means you should not build your week around an assumption.
How to check before you sign up
Open the pricing page yourself
Go to the Cottage CMS site on your phone and find the pricing link. Read the numbers on that page, not the summary on the home page.
Write down what the lowest plan includes
Look for limits. How many products can you list. How many orders can you take in a month. Whether taking card payments is part of the plan or an add on.
Ask about card fees separately
A monthly charge and a payment fee are two different costs. Ask what percentage comes out of each order, and ask who holds the money and when it reaches your bank.
Add up a normal month
Take last month’s real sales. Multiply by any percentage fee, then add the monthly charge. That total is your true cost, and it is the only number worth comparing.
Test it with your own bakes first
Set up two or three of your actual products with real photos and real prices. If it takes an evening to add three items on your phone, that tells you a lot.
Questions worth putting in an email
Ask them plainly: is there a free plan, what does it include, how long does it last, and what happens on day 31. Ask whether there is a contract and how you cancel. Ask what the payment fee is and who processes the card. Keep the reply. A written answer is worth more than a page that has not been updated in a year.
Where Brevl fits
If you want a number you can hold in your head, Brevl is one flat $20 a month and takes no cut of your sales. There is a 14 day free trial and you do not need a card to start. You take card payments through your own Stripe or Square account, plus Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and cash. Your shop is yours to set up the way you want, with your photos, your colors, and your own web address, and it works the same on a computer and on a phone. We set it up with you and move your old shop over, products, photos, reviews, and dates included.
That is not a knock on Cottage CMS. It lists far more features than many bakers will ever touch, and if you sell at volume with delivery routes and subscriptions, that depth may be exactly what you want. Just go in knowing the price. If you want the side by side, read Brevl vs Bakesy for how a simple flat fee compares, or see Switch if you are moving from another tool and want help carrying your products across.
Keep reading
- Cottage CMS vs Hotplate if you are weighing two tools against each other.
- Cottage CMS Reviews on Reddit for how to weigh what strangers say.
- Cottage CMS Promo Code before you pay full price for anything.
- Bakesy vs Cottage CMS if you are comparing three options at once.
Sources
Prices and plans change. Confirm the current cost with each company before you pay anything.