Shopify for bakeries and cake shops
Shopify for bakeries: cakes for a date, bread for today
A bakery can sell on Shopify, and it shines for cookie boxes sent by post. Custom cakes are harder: the customer needs to pick a date, you need notice, and a big order often needs a deposit. Each is an app.
Free plan: 50 orders a month, 0% commission, no card needed.
Free plan, 50 orders a month, 0% commission. Paid plans from US$17 a month.
The short answer
Two businesses under one roof
Most bakeries sell two ways. Today's bakes (loaves, croissants, a slice of cake) are collected or delivered within hours. Orders for a date (a birthday cake for Saturday, 40 cupcakes for an office) need notice, a date, design details and sometimes a deposit.
Shopify handles the product side well, and its local delivery and pickup work for today's bakes. But a customer can't choose a date in Shopify's own settings, Shopify says pre-orders need an app, and a cake that costs more with "add a name in gold +$5" needs an options app.
If you mainly post biscuits and hampers across the country, Shopify fits. If most orders are cakes and bakes collected locally, a menu built for notice and dates saves you three apps.
- Shopify: strong for shipped cookie boxes and hampers
- Cake for a date: a delivery-date app
- Deposits: a deposit app
- Menuthere: notice per cake and bake days from Lite
One cake order
"8-inch chocolate cake, 'Happy 40th Priya', collect Saturday 2 pm"
What each part of a custom cake order needs, checked on 20 October 2026.
| Part of the order | On Shopify | On Menuthere |
|---|---|---|
| 6, 8 or 10 inch, each with a price | Built in: a size option, up to 3 options per product | Built in: sizes, every plan |
| Message on the cake +$5 | An options app. Easify Product Options charges for options from US$9.99 a month and adds a date picker with lead time | A priced add-on, every plan. The message goes in the order note |
| Collect Saturday 2 pm | Not in Shopify's pickup settings. Stellar Delivery Date & Pickup from US$14.99 a month for unlimited orders | Fixed time slots on the days you choose, from Lite |
| At least 2 days' notice | In the date app's settings (prep and cut-off times) | Earliest booking time per dish, from Lite |
| Only baked on Friday and Saturday | Blackout dates in the date app | "Only made on" days per dish, from Lite |
| 30% deposit now, rest on collection | A deposit app. Downpay from US$29 a month | Not available: paid in full online (from Lite) or at collection |
| A photo of the design they want | A form app with file upload. Powerful Form Builder is free for 40 submissions a month | Not available: ask them to send it on WhatsApp |
Menuthere doesn't take deposits or file uploads today. For a wedding cake with a deposit, many bakers use a paper or PDF order form; our free cake order form has deposit and balance lines.
Bakery-specific gaps
What a bakery adds to Shopify
Dates and notice
Shopify's pickup shows a "Usually ready in" time and the customer can't choose a day. Stellar Delivery Date & Pickup (free to 50 orders, then US$14.99) and Buunto (free to 10 orders, US$12.99 for 100) add dates, cut-offs and blackout days.
Pre-orders and deposits
Shopify's help pages say a pre-order app is needed to show pre-orders, and the deposit comes through that app. Downpay starts at US$29 a month for orders up to US$5,000 in value.
Flavors and fillings with prices
Each product has up to 3 options. A cake with size, sponge, filling, topping and a message needs more, and priced extras need Easify (US$9.99) or Globo (US$9.90) a month.
Allergens before they buy
In the UK, allergen information for food sold online must be available before the purchase is completed and when the food is delivered. Shopify has no allergen field; you add metafields or an app.
A worked example
A bakery with 300 orders a month, 40 of them custom cakes
Daily bakes for pickup and local delivery, plus cakes ordered for a date with notice. Monthly billing in US dollars, before card fees.
| Cost line | Shopify setup | Menuthere Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Basic: US$39 | US$17 |
| Dates, notice and bake days | Stellar Delivery Date & Pickup Starter: US$14.99 | Included |
| Priced cake options | Easify Product Options Pro: US$9.99 | Included |
| Deposits on big orders | Downpay Essentials: US$29 | Not available |
| Fee per order without Shopify Payments | 2% of sales on Basic | None |
| Monthly total before card fees | US$92.98 | US$17 |
Shopify Basic is US$29 a month billed yearly; Menuthere's yearly billing charges 10 months for 12. Leave out Downpay if you don't take deposits and the Shopify setup is US$63.98. The Lite plan has a 7-day free trial; a card is needed to start it.
When Shopify is the better choice
Posting cookies? Shopify is built for it.
Shipped bakes: biscuit tins, brownie boxes, gift hampers and Christmas cakes sent by courier. Shipping rates, product pages and a national audience are Shopify's home ground. Menuthere doesn't ship parcels.
Wedding cakes with big deposits: if most of your income is a few large commissions a month, Shopify plus a deposit app handles staged payments that Menuthere doesn't do.
Use both: Shopify for the gift boxes you post, Menuthere for local cakes and today's bakes. Link Order a cake on your Shopify store to your Menuthere page.
How to start
Your bakery's order page, ready for this weekend
- 1
Create the free page
Go to get started and find your bakery on Google, or add it by hand.
- 2
Upload your price list
A photo or PDF of your menu or cake price list. Then add sizes, flavors and allergens.
- 3
Set notice for cakes
On Lite, tick the cakes that need notice, set the earliest booking time and your bake days.
- 4
Share it
Put the link in your Instagram bio and Google Business Profile, and on your website's Order button.
Questions owners ask
Answered, plainly.
Sources (12) · checked 2026-10-20
- Shopify pricing (US dollars) · Shopify, read 20 October 2026
- Setting up pickup in store · Shopify Help Center, read 20 October 2026
- Setting up pre-orders · Shopify Help Center, read 20 October 2026
- Adding variants · Shopify Help Center, read 20 October 2026
- Metafields · Shopify Help Center, read 20 October 2026
- Delivery Date & Pickup Stellar · Shopify App Store, read 20 October 2026
- Buunto – Delivery Date Picker · Shopify App Store, read 20 October 2026
- Easify Custom Product Options · Shopify App Store, read 20 October 2026
- Globo Product Options, Variant · Shopify App Store, read 20 October 2026
- Downpay: Partial Pay & Deposit · Shopify App Store, read 20 October 2026
- Powerful Contact Form Builder · Shopify App Store, read 20 October 2026
- Allergen guidance for food businesses · Food Standards Agency, GOV.UK, read 20 October 2026
Cake orders with notice, without the apps
Make your bakery's ordering page from your price list. Free to start, 0% commission.
