A home baker at her kitchen counter writing orders by hand in a spiral notebook, beside cooling racks of chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon rolls

The best apps for home bakers in 2026.

Thirteen ways to take orders, with their real prices.

We make Ovenbell, one of the apps below, so we’ve listed its limits too. Every price was checked on October 5, 2026 against each company’s own pages.

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Quick picks.
Then the details.

Free to startGoogle Forms + Sheets
A form and a spreadsheet. No payments.
Free this yearBakebug
Free through 2026, then $4.99 a month.
Custom cakes & cookiesBakesy
Requests, invoices and deposits in an app.
Card payments at marketsSquare
Free plan; 2.6% + 15¢ in person.
Recipe costingCakeBoss or Loafaly
Cost recipes and price your bakes.
Drops, custom orders & markets in oneOvenbell (ours)
One flat plan, with alerts and state labels.

Thirteen apps for home bakers: price, per-order or card fees, and what each is best for. Checked October 5, 2026.
App	Price	Per-order or card fees	Best for
Ovenbell	$19 a month or $190 a year, after a 30-day trial (card required)	No fee per order; Stripe’s 2.9% + 30¢ per card payment	Drops, custom orders and market days in one place
Bakesy	$9.99 a month (Standard) or $17.99 (Premium), after a 30-day trial	3.9% + 30¢ per card payment; no commission	Custom cakes and cookies, run from a phone app
Hotplate	No subscription	5% + 55¢ per order, which customers see at checkout unless you pay it; you pay 2.9% + 30¢ card processing	Scheduled drops that sell out
Crumb Coach	No subscription	5% + 55¢ per order, card processing included; you choose who pays	iPhone sellers who want Tap to Pay at markets
My Custom Bakes	$10 a month or $110 a year, after a 30-day trial (card required)	Square’s standard rate; no cut of your sales	Custom orders and presales on a budget
Simply Bread	No monthly fee	5% platform fee on storefront orders, plus 2.5% + 30¢ processing; no platform fee on point-of-sale sales	Bread microbakeries selling online and at markets
Bakebug	Free through December 31, 2026 if you sign up before December 1; then $4.99 a month or $49.90 a year	No commission; card payments through Square	Trying an order app at no cost this year
Square (Free plan)	$0 a month	2.6% + 15¢ in person; 3.3% + 30¢ online and on invoices	Card payments at markets and pop-ups
Shopify (Basic)	$39 a month, or $29 a month paid yearly	2.9% + 30¢ online with Shopify Payments; 2% more with another payment provider	Shipping and larger product catalogs
CakeBoss	$149 the first year, then $36 a year	Online payments through an optional paid PayPal module	Recipe costing and paperwork for cake decorators
Loafaly	Free, or $3.99 to $13.99 a month, with a 30-day full-access trial	The free plan adds a 2% platform fee on card sales	Bakery management and recipe costing for small bakers
Homegrown	$10 a month billed annually, or $12.50 monthly, after a 7-day trial	2.9% + 30¢ card processing; no commission	Selling through a local online farmers market
Google Forms + Sheets	Free with a Google account	No payments	Testing demand before you pay for anything
Castiron	No longer available: its shop addresses no longer load. Castiron alternative

Prices for US sellers, monthly unless noted, checked October 5, 2026 against each company's own pages, linked under each app below. Card rates are for standard domestic cards.

Ovenbell (ours)

$19 a month or $190 a year, after a 30-day trial (card required)

What it is: A shop and order system for cottage food sellers: scheduled drops with pickup windows and limits, custom requests with quotes and deposits, customer-approved order changes, email and text alerts when orders open, and cottage food guides and label kits for every state.
Fees: No fee per order; Stripe’s 2.9% + 30¢ per card payment
Best for: Drops, custom orders and market days in one place
Watch for: It costs more than Bakesy Standard or My Custom Bakes when sales are low. There’s no card reader or Tap to Pay: at markets you record table sales. There’s no Android app yet; the shop and dashboard work in any browser.

Sources: Pricing, Stripe rates.

Bakesy

$9.99 a month (Standard) or $17.99 (Premium), after a 30-day trial

What it is: An app built around order requests, invoices and deposits, with a shop page for your order forms.
Fees: 3.9% + 30¢ per card payment; no commission
Best for: Custom cakes and cookies, run from a phone app
Watch for: Instant Checkout, where customers buy and pay right away, is a Premium feature; on Standard, customers send a request and you reply with an invoice. Its card rate is a point higher than Stripe’s standard rate.

Sources: Pricing, Payments. Compare with Ovenbell.

Hotplate

No subscription

What it is: A storefront for food drops: products go on sale at a set time, and customers order for pickup.
Fees: 5% + 55¢ per order, which customers see at checkout unless you pay it; you pay 2.9% + 30¢ card processing
Best for: Scheduled drops that sell out
Watch for: The per-order fee grows with your sales, and passing it to customers adds it to their total.

Sources: Pricing. Compare with Ovenbell.

Crumb Coach

No subscription

What it is: An iPhone app with a storefront, drops, invoices, Tap to Pay on compatible iPhones and QR self-checkout.
Fees: 5% + 55¢ per order, card processing included; you choose who pays
Best for: iPhone sellers who want Tap to Pay at markets
Watch for: Its FAQ says an Android app is not available yet. Its compliance page says Texas is fully supported, with more states in development.

Sources: Pricing, FAQ, Compliance. Compare with Ovenbell.

My Custom Bakes

$10 a month or $110 a year, after a 30-day trial (card required)

What it is: A web app for quotes, deposits, scheduled presales and a simple bakery website, with card payments through Square.
Fees: Square’s standard rate; no cut of your sales
Best for: Custom orders and presales on a budget
Watch for: There’s no native app, by choice. When a pickup time fills, you remove it from the presale yourself, and adding items to a confirmed order means creating a new order.

Sources: Pricing, Presales. Compare with Ovenbell.

Simply Bread

No monthly fee

What it is: An ordering app from a bread oven maker, with a storefront, manual orders, custom-order payment links and a point-of-sale mode. Its oven isn’t required.
Fees: 5% platform fee on storefront orders, plus 2.5% + 30¢ processing; no platform fee on point-of-sale sales
Best for: Bread microbakeries selling online and at markets
Watch for: The 5% applies to every storefront order; you choose whether you, your customers or both pay it.

Sources: App and fees, Fee rules. Compare with Ovenbell.

Bakebug

Free through December 31, 2026 if you sign up before December 1; then $4.99 a month or $49.90 a year

What it is: Online orders, presales, custom requests and market sales in one place, with Square for card payments.
Fees: No commission; card payments through Square
Best for: Trying an order app at no cost this year
Watch for: Paid plans begin January 1, 2027.

Sources: Home page and pricing.

Square (Free plan)

$0 a month

What it is: Payments and a point of sale, with an online store and pickup ordering included in its plans.
Fees: 2.6% + 15¢ in person; 3.3% + 30¢ online and on invoices
Best for: Card payments at markets and pop-ups
Watch for: Online and invoice payments cost more on the Free plan than on the paid plans (2.9% + 30¢ on Plus).

Sources: Pricing, Fees.

Shopify (Basic)

$39 a month, or $29 a month paid yearly

What it is: A full online store builder, with local pickup set up per location.
Fees: 2.9% + 30¢ online with Shopify Payments; 2% more with another payment provider
Best for: Shipping and larger product catalogs
Watch for: It costs more than the bakery apps here, and its built-in pickup lets customers collect online orders “at one of your retail locations.”

Sources: Pricing, Local pickup.

CakeBoss

$149 the first year, then $36 a year

What it is: Browser-based software for orders you enter, PDF quotes and invoices, deposits, a calendar and recipe costing.
Fees: Online payments through an optional paid PayPal module
Best for: Recipe costing and paperwork for cake decorators
Watch for: There’s no free trial; purchases come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Its features page doesn’t describe an online shop where customers order themselves.

Sources: Price, Features. Compare with Ovenbell.

Loafaly

Free, or $3.99 to $13.99 a month, with a 30-day full-access trial

What it is: Bakery management software with recipe costing, plus an iPhone app.
Fees: The free plan adds a 2% platform fee on card sales
Best for: Bakery management and recipe costing for small bakers
Watch for: Features differ by plan, and the free plan adds 2% on card sales.

Sources: Pricing.

Homegrown

$10 a month billed annually, or $12.50 monthly, after a 7-day trial

What it is: An online marketplace for local vendors, with a storefront for each seller.
Fees: 2.9% + 30¢ card processing; no commission
Best for: Selling through a local online farmers market
Watch for: The $10 price is billed for the year up front; month to month costs $12.50.

Sources: Pricing.

Google Forms + Sheets

Free with a Google account

What it is: An order form that fills a spreadsheet.
Fees: No payments
Best for: Testing demand before you pay for anything
Watch for: There are no payments, pickup limits or reminders; you track everything by hand.

Sources: Google Sheets.

How we
compared them.

Ovenbell publishes this page, and Ovenbell is one of the apps on it. To keep it useful anyway, every price and fee comes from each company's own pricing or help pages, checked on October 5, 2026 and linked under each app.

We list what each app costs a US seller and what it's best for, and for each one, including ours, what to watch for. Where another app costs less, the table says so.

Three questions to ask

How do you sell?Weekly drops, custom orders, markets, or all three.
What does a typical month cost?A flat plan, or a percentage of every order.
Who pays the fees?Passing a fee to customers moves it; it doesn't remove it.

A few questions
before you choose.

What’s the best free app for a home bakery?

To test demand, a Google Form that fills a spreadsheet costs nothing. Bakebug is free through December 31, 2026 for sellers who sign up before December 1. Square’s Free plan has no monthly fee, only card rates, and Loafaly has a free plan with a 2% fee on card sales.

Which home bakery apps don’t take a cut of each order?

Ovenbell, Bakesy, My Custom Bakes, Bakebug and Homegrown charge a plan price or nothing, with no commission on orders; you still pay card processing. Shopify adds no transaction fee when you use Shopify Payments.

Which apps charge a percentage of each order?

Hotplate and Crumb Coach both charge 5% + $0.55 per order; Crumb Coach’s includes card processing, Hotplate’s doesn’t. Simply Bread charges 5% on storefront orders plus processing, and Loafaly’s free plan adds 2% on card sales.

Is Castiron still available?

When we checked on October 5, 2026, Castiron's shop addresses no longer loaded and its iPhone app was no longer in the App Store. See what to use instead.

Do I need an app to sell baked goods from home?

No. Many bakers start with messages and a form. An app helps once orders pile up: limits per pickup time, payments, deposits and reminders. Whatever you use, check your state's cottage food rules first; our state guides cover all 50 states and DC.

Why is Ovenbell on this list?

We make it. We’ve listed it with the same facts as the others, including where it costs more and what it doesn’t do. If something about another app here is out of date, write to support@ovenbell.com and we’ll correct it.

Try ours for 30 days.
Then decide.