Why Hearth feels different
Six things that matter to independent food vendors — and how each platform stacks up.
| Hearth Community drops platform | Food aggregators Deliveroo, Uber Eats | Events & experiences Togather, Eatwith | Home cook platforms Shef | Online ordering tools Flipdish, Slerp, Square | |
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You keep more of what you earn No commission on your everyday orders. 10% on drops, 5% on events. |
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Your customers stay yours You own the data, the relationship, and the repeat business |
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You only make what's already sold Pre-order drops close when capacity is reached — no guesswork, no waste |
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You build a loyal local community Regular repeat customers, not one-off strangers from an algorithm |
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You control your schedule and capacity Sell when you want, stop when you're full, take a week off — no penalties |
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Simple to start — no technical setup Live in hours, not weeks. No developer, no setup cost |
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What does it cost? What it costs |
10% on drops only 5% on events. Everything else is free. Card payments at cost. |
25–35% per order Commission on every sale, forever. |
15–30% per booking Taken from every transaction. |
~25% commission Platform takes a cut of every order. |
£50–300 /mo Plus setup fees and third-party add-ons. |
Costs are indicative. Partial = available but with limitations or added cost.
Hearth
Community drops platform
You keep more of what you earn
10% on drops only
Your customers stay yours
Full customer ownership
You only make what's already sold
Core to how Hearth works
You build a loyal local community
Built around repeat demand
You control your schedule and capacity
Fully vendor-led
Simple to start — no technical setup
Designed for non-technical vendors
10% on drops only
5% on events. Everything else is free. Card payments at cost.
Food aggregators
Deliveroo, Uber Eats
You keep more of what you earn
25–35% commission per order
Your customers stay yours
Platform owns the relationship
You only make what's already sold
On-demand, not pre-order
You build a loyal local community
Transactional, not relational
You control your schedule and capacity
Limited — platform sets norms
Simple to start — no technical setup
Onboarding is straightforward
25–35% per order
Commission on every sale, forever.
Events & experiences
Togather, Eatwith
You keep more of what you earn
15–30% per booking
Your customers stay yours
Platform owns the relationship
You only make what's already sold
Events can be capacity-capped
You build a loyal local community
Occasional by nature
You control your schedule and capacity
Host-controlled calendar
Simple to start — no technical setup
Self-serve signup
15–30% per booking
Taken from every transaction.
Home cook platforms
Shef
You keep more of what you earn
~25% commission
Your customers stay yours
Platform owns the relationship
You only make what's already sold
Some quantity controls
You build a loyal local community
Some repeat possible
You control your schedule and capacity
Vendor sets own schedule
Simple to start — no technical setup
App-based onboarding
~25% commission
Platform takes a cut of every order.
Online ordering tools
Flipdish, Slerp, Square
You keep more of what you earn
Monthly fee, some add-ons
Your customers stay yours
Varies by provider
You only make what's already sold
Not designed for this
You build a loyal local community
Tool only — no community layer
You control your schedule and capacity
You set the rules
Simple to start — no technical setup
Setup support varies
£50–300 /mo
Plus setup fees and third-party add-ons.