Shopify for home bakers
Shopify for home bakers: worth it at 20 orders a month?
You can sell homemade cakes on Shopify, where the law lets you. The real question at home-baker volume is cost: a monthly plan plus a date app, against a handful of orders that mostly arrive in Instagram and WhatsApp messages.
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
It works. The maths is the problem.
Shopify's Basic plan is US$39 a month billed monthly, or US$29 billed yearly, before any app. A home baker taking 20 cake orders a month pays that whether the month is busy or quiet.
On top, customers can't pick a collection date in Shopify's own pickup settings, so most bakers add a date app. And most of your customers already message you. A full online store can be more than you need until you're turning orders away.
If you post shelf-stable treats such as cookies or brownies to customers where the law allows, Shopify is a good fit. If you bake to order for local collection, a free order page does the job until you outgrow it.
- Shopify Basic: US$29 to US$39 a month before apps
- Choosing a date: a date app (some are free at low volume)
- Menuthere Free: US$0, 50 orders a month
- Check your local food rules before you start
Before you sell
The rules on selling food from home
Selling from your kitchen is regulated wherever you are. These are examples from official sources, read on 20 October 2026; check your own council, state or country.
| Where | What the official source says | What it means for online orders |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Register your food business with your local council at least 28 days before you start trading. Registration is free and covers businesses trading from home. | It also applies if you only sell online. Allergen information must be available before the purchase and when the food is delivered. |
| California, US | Cottage food operations register with their local environmental health department, not the state. Class A sells direct to the public; Class B can also sell through shops and restaurants. | Class A direct sales include phone and internet transactions, with a maximum gross annual sales figure set by the state. |
| Texas, US | Cottage food production is allowed, and the annual gross income threshold was raised to US$150,000 under SB 541. | Online sales are allowed if the operator, an employee or a household member personally delivers the food. |
Rules on shipping homemade food across state or national borders are stricter than local sales. This is general information, not legal advice.
What home bakers run into
Shopify at home-baker scale
A fixed bill in quiet months
Basic costs the same in a month with 5 orders as in one with 50. Shopify's 3-day trial and small first-months fee help you try it, then the full price applies.
"Can I collect it Saturday?"
Shopify's pickup shows a "Usually ready in" time, not a date. Stellar Delivery Date & Pickup is free up to 50 orders, and Buunto is free up to 10 orders a month.
Your customers are in your DMs
Most home-baker orders start on Instagram or WhatsApp. A link they can tap from the chat, with sizes and prices, saves the back-and-forth more than a full store does.
The fee if you can't use Shopify Payments
Where Shopify Payments isn't offered, such as India, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Indonesia, Brazil or Egypt, Shopify adds 2% per order on Basic on top of your payment provider's fee.
A worked example
20 cake orders a month at about US$45 each
US$900 of orders a month, collected locally, with sizes and a priced message on the cake. Monthly billing in US dollars, before card fees.
| Cost line | Shopify setup | Menuthere Free | Menuthere Lite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan | Basic: US$39 | US$0 | US$17 |
| Customer picks the date | Stellar Free (up to 50 orders): US$0 | Date in the order note | Date and time slot picker |
| Priced extras such as a cake message | Easify Product Options Pro: US$9.99 | Included | Included |
| Pay online | Included | Not included: paid at collection | Included, through your own payment gateway |
| Monthly total before card fees | US$48.99 (5.4% of US$900) | US$0 | US$17 (1.9% of US$900) |
Menuthere Free includes 50 orders a month and 0% commission; at 50 the menu turns view-only until the 1st or an upgrade. Lite's 7-day free trial needs a card. Shopify Basic is US$29 a month billed yearly.
Two free ways to start
Start free, pay when it's busy
A free WhatsApp order page
List your cakes and sizes, and orders arrive in your WhatsApp already added up, with a date for pre-orders. No store needed. See the free WhatsApp order page.
A free Menuthere store
Your own menu link with photos, sizes, add-ons, allergens and a dashboard that rings for each order. 50 orders a month on Free. See the home bakery website.
When you need customers to choose the date themselves, Lite adds a date and slot picker, notice per cake and online payment. Our free cake price calculator helps you price each cake before you list it.
When Shopify is the better choice
Posting treats? Shopify makes sense.
You ship packed, shelf-stable bakes such as cookies, brownies or granola, to customers your local rules let you sell to. Shopify's shipping rates and product pages are made for it. Menuthere doesn't ship parcels.
You sell other products too: cake toppers, baking kits or classes. A store with a catalog suits that.
Use both: Shopify for the boxes you post, Menuthere or a free order page for local cakes.
How to start
Your cake menu, in your Instagram bio tonight
- 1
Check your rules
Register with your council or check your state's cottage food rules before your first sale.
- 2
Create the free page
Go to get started and add your bakery by hand. No card on Free.
- 3
Add cakes and sizes
Upload a photo of your price list, then add sizes, flavors, a message option and allergens.
- 4
Share the link
Put it in your Instagram bio and WhatsApp status, and send it to anyone who asks for prices.
Questions owners ask
Answered, plainly.
Sources (11) · 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
- Shopify Payments supported countries · 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
- Food business registration · GOV.UK, read 20 October 2026
- Starting a food business · GOV.UK, read 20 October 2026
- Allergen guidance for food businesses · Food Standards Agency, GOV.UK, read 20 October 2026
- Cottage Food Operations · California Department of Public Health, read 20 October 2026
- Texas Cottage Food Production · Texas Department of State Health Services, read 20 October 2026
Your cakes, one link, free
Make a cake menu customers can order from, and share it in your bio. 0% commission.
