Bakesy publishes Standard at $9.99/month and Premium at $17.99/month, with a 30-day free trial.
A Bakesy alternative when Premium features need a full cottage food website
Bakesy Standard is $9.99/month and Bakesy Premium is $17.99/month. Cottage CMS Pro is the closest comparison to Bakesy Premium at $20/month or $200/year, with a website-first storefront, local SEO, Square checkout, custom forms, quotes, and repeat-customer tools.
Choose Bakesy if
- Home bakers who prefer managing orders, invoices, and availability from the Bakesy business app.
- Sellers who want Bakesy order forms, invoices, reviews, availability, and payment-method support.
- Bakers who want Bakesy Standard at $9.99/month or Bakesy Premium at $17.99/month.
Choose Cottage CMS Free if
- Home bakeries that need a free website-first storefront with products, Square checkout, forms, pickup, image uploads, and availability windows.
- Sellers who want to start with a cottage food website customers can visit from any browser.
- Operators who want customer accounts and a site presence before paid marketing features.
Choose Cottage CMS Pro if
- Bakeries comparing against Bakesy Premium who want a true custom domain, custom branding, delivery/shipping, tips, pickup and payment reminders, coupons, loyalty, newsletters, text messaging, QR codes, and performance reports.
- Sellers who need content marketing, blog posts, custom pages, digital products, plugins, and advanced editing.
- Operators who want a $20/month or $200/year Pro plan with stronger communication and repeat-customer features tied to their site.
Feature fit
Cottage CMS vs Bakesy at a glance
Cottage CMS is listed first because these are the capabilities a cottage food seller usually needs to launch, take orders, and keep customers coming back.
Comparable paid plan
Cottage CMS Pro is $20/month or $200/year and is the closer comparison to Bakesy Premium because it includes growth, marketing, customer, and website tools.
Bakesy publishes Standard at $9.99/month and Premium at $17.99/month after a 30-day free trial.
Home bakery order forms
Product forms can collect custom details, image uploads, conditional questions, and price-changing choices.
Bakesy highlights customer order forms for home baking businesses.
Website-first storefront
Cottage CMS is built around a public cottage food website with products, pages, and local SEO.
Bakesy includes a customer-facing Bakesy Shop, but the business management experience is centered on the Bakesy app.
Browser-based business admin
Cottage CMS is managed through the web dashboard, so owners can run the account from a browser on desktop or mobile.
Bakesy says customers do not need the app, but the app is for businesses; seller-side account management happens in the Bakesy app.
Quote review and revisions
Pro supports customer quote review, accept/decline choices, revision requests, inspiration photos, and live chat.
Bakesy includes order stages and bakery communication, but Cottage CMS makes quote review part of the order path.
Square checkout
Square payment integration is included on Free.
Bakesy lists payment-method support; the researched pages do not present Square as the default checkout path.
True custom domain
Pro supports a real custom domain connected to the Cottage CMS storefront, plus theme customization, custom pages, and custom CSS.
Bakesy pricing lists custom domain connection, but its help article describes domain forwarding or an existing-site menu link that redirects to the Bakesy Shop.
Marketing and repeat customers
Pro adds newsletters, text messaging, coupons, loyalty, pickup and payment reminders, QR codes, and performance reports.
Bakesy Premium includes reminders, discounts, reviews, and related bakery tools.
Side by side
Bakesy vs Cottage CMS Free vs Cottage CMS Pro
Use the Free column for launch essentials and the Pro column for the tools most growing cottage food businesses add next.
| Decision point | Bakesy | Cottage CMS Free | Cottage CMS Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary fit | Business-owner app with a customer-facing Bakesy Shop, order forms, invoices, availability, and app-managed operations. | Website-first cottage food storefront with products, Square checkout, forms, and availability windows. | Website, browser-based business dashboard, ordering, marketing, communication, delivery/pickup, repeat-customer tools, and reporting in one Pro plan. |
| Plans | Standard is $9.99/month and Premium is $17.99/month after a 30-day free trial. | Free starter plan for launching a cottage food website and order flow. | $20/month or $200/year. This is the closer match for Bakesy Premium because it includes the growth, communication, reporting, and site tools established bakeries usually compare. |
| Forms and orders | Strong custom order forms, branded invoices, order stages, and payment-method support. Customers can use the Bakesy Shop without downloading the app. | Product forms with photo uploads, conditional questions, pricing modifiers, Square payment integration, availability windows, and pickup-focused ordering. | Adds quote review, revision requests, live chat, pickup and payment reminders, business email, text messaging, newsletters, coupons, loyalty, and subscriptions. |
| Website and marketing | Bakesy shop/website features and Premium branding controls. Its custom-domain workflow is forwarding or redirecting to a Bakesy Shop. | Cottage food storefront pages and product catalog. | True custom domain, custom pages, blog, custom CSS, performance reports, QR codes, plugins, and digital products. |
Cottage CMS Free
$0/month- Starter cottage food storefront with standard website pages, products, ordering, and pickup scheduling.
- Includes Square payment integration and availability windows for scheduled pickups and pre-orders.
- Start without a monthly subscription; Square checkout may include a small Cottage CMS service fee on the Free plan.
Cottage CMS Pro
$20/month or $200/year- Includes everything in Free.
- Fixed subscription pricing with no Cottage CMS service fee on Square checkout.
- Adds advanced website, marketing, delivery, pickup, and repeat-customer tools for growing cottage food businesses.
- Common Pro upgrades include custom domain, delivery or shipping, coupons, loyalty, pickup and payment reminders, newsletters, text messaging, QR codes, and performance reports.
Platform snapshot
What Bakesy says about its offering
Pricing and plan details can change, so these notes link back to the public pages checked for this comparison.
Bakesy pricing material lists website creation, customer order forms, imported orders, unlimited received orders, branded invoices, payment methods, push notifications, availability, receipts, reviews, QR code, support, and a custom-domain line item.
Bakesy explains custom domains through domain forwarding or an existing-site menu link that redirects to the Bakesy Shop, which is different from serving the shop directly on the custom domain.
Bakesy says the app is for businesses, while customers can order online through a Bakesy Shop and do not need a Bakesy account to receive or view invoices.
Bakesy Premium adds items such as tips, instant checkout, inventory, revenue dashboard, automated reminders, calendar sync, additional themes, logo hiding, announcement banner, and discount codes.
Bakesy describes custom order forms that gather cake flavors, fillings, dietary restrictions, delivery instructions, and other details.
Migration path
Moving from Bakesy to Cottage CMS
The easiest switch is to set up the pieces customers use most: products, pickup availability, checkout, and follow-up.
- 1
Recreate Bakesy products and custom order form questions as Cottage CMS products and product forms, including photo uploads and price-changing options.
- 2
Set availability windows and pickup rules before inviting customers to order.
- 3
Import customers with the Customer CSV import tool so your customer list is ready for pickup and payment reminders, coupons, and repeat-order marketing.
- 4
Use Pro when replacing Bakesy Premium-style tools such as branding, quote revisions, pickup and payment reminders, discounts, true custom domain support, reporting, and communication features.
Common searches from cottage food sellers
If one of these sounds like what you typed into Google, this comparison is meant to help you choose the better fit for your food business.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cottage CMS a mobile app like Bakesy?
No. Cottage CMS is a web platform for cottage food websites, ordering, and business management. Bakesy says customers do not need to download the app and can order through a Bakesy Shop, but the Bakesy app is for businesses and seller-side account management is app-based.
Can Cottage CMS handle custom bakery questions?
Yes. Cottage CMS supports product forms for product-specific order details, including conditional questions, photo uploads, and options that can change pricing. Pro adds quote review, revision requests, live chat, pickup and payment reminders, and marketing features around those orders.
How does Bakesy pricing compare with Cottage CMS?
Bakesy publishes Standard at $9.99/month and Premium at $17.99/month after a 30-day free trial. Cottage CMS Free starts at $0/month. Cottage CMS Pro is $20/month or $200/year and is the closer comparison to Bakesy Premium because it includes advanced website, marketing, customer, quote, reporting, and repeat-customer tools.
Does Bakesy support custom domains like Cottage CMS?
Not in the same way. Bakesy describes domain forwarding or an existing website link that redirects customers to the Bakesy Shop. Cottage CMS Pro supports connecting a real custom domain to the storefront.
Pages checked
Public pages reviewed for this comparison
Pricing and feature pages change over time. Check these links before making a final platform decision.
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