Choosing tools
My Custom Bakes vs Hotplate: What to Compare Before You Pick
A plain checklist for comparing My Custom Bakes and Hotplate, plus where Brevl fits if neither one feels right.
On this page
Most of us did not start baking because we love setting up accounts online. You started because your cinnamon rolls sell out at church and your neighbor’s sister wants a cake for Saturday. Somewhere around order number fifteen, the texting gets messy, the screenshots pile up, and you need one place where people can see what you make and pay you for it.
That is the real decision here. Not which one has more buttons.
What to remember
- We could not verify current pricing or features for My Custom Bakes or Hotplate, so treat any number you read online as a starting question, not a fact. - The four things that matter are total cost, who takes the card payment, whether your shop looks like yours, and whether it works on a computer. - Get every answer in writing before you enter a card number. - Brevl is a flat $20 a month with no cut of your sales, and it works on both a computer and a phone.
What we could confirm, and what we could not
We are being straight with you here. When we pulled Hotplate’s pricing page to check their current numbers, it returned only page styling with no pricing content, and a second attempt was blocked. That means we cannot tell you what Hotplate charges, and we will not guess.
The same caution applies to My Custom Bakes. Details that get repeated in Facebook groups are often a year old. So the honest comparison is not a side by side chart of features. It is a short list of questions you ask each one yourself.
The five questions that decide it
| Question to ask | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|
| What is the total per month, including card fees | A low monthly price with a cut of every order can cost more than a flat fee |
| Whose account receives the card payment | It changes how fast you get your money and who you call when something goes wrong |
| Can I change how my shop looks | Your photos and colors are what make people trust a home baker |
| Does it work on my laptop too | Pricing a cake is easier on a big screen than a phone |
| What happens to my old orders if I move | Losing your regulars’ details is the expensive part of switching |
Ask for the all in number
Do not ask “what does it cost.” Ask “what will I pay in a month where I sell $600 of bakes, including every fee.” Write the answer down.
Ask whose name is on the card payment
This is the question most bakers skip, and it is the one that stings later. When a customer taps their card, the money goes into an account. You want to know whose. If it is not yours, ask how long a payout takes and what happens if there is a dispute over a cake that arrived warm.
Ask whether the shop looks like yours
You are selling birthday cakes, not widgets. If the only choice is a template with someone else’s logo at the top, your customers will notice. Ask whether you can upload your own photos, set your own colors, and use your own web address.
Ask about the computer
Picture yourself on a Sunday night with eleven orders and a phone in one hand. Now picture doing that same work on a laptop with a cup of tea. Ask each one whether it works properly on a computer, not just in a phone browser that fights you.
Where Brevl fits
If those five answers leave you unsure, this is where Brevl comes in, and we will be plain about why.
Brevl is one flat $20 a month with no cut of your sales, so a good week stays a good week. There is a 14 day free trial. You take card payments through your own Stripe or Square account, plus Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and cash, which means the money lands where you can see it. Your shop is yours to customize with your photos, your colors, and your own web address. And it works on a computer and on a phone, so the Sunday night order pile is not a thumb workout.
It also handles the parts nobody warns you about. Recipes with real costing, ingredient inventory, and a weekly planner let you price a cake before you promise it. When you are ready to move, we set it up with you and move your old shop over, products, photos, reviews, and dates. A real person answers, usually within minutes.
You can see how we stack up against another common choice in Brevl vs Bakesy, and if you are already taking orders somewhere else, Switch walks through the move.
Before you decide
Whichever way you go, do three things. Place a test order yourself and pay with your own card. Look at the shop on your phone and on a computer. And read what other bakers say about getting help when something breaks, starting with My Custom Bakes reviews and complaints.
If you are still weighing phone only tools, does My Custom Bakes have an app is worth ten minutes. And if Hotplate is on your list alongside a third name, Hotplate vs Bakesy vs Simply Bread lays out the questions without picking a winner for you.
The right choice is the one you can run on a busy Saturday without wanting to throw your phone in the flour bin.