Cenvi vs ezCater, for caterers
Pricing and fees re-checked against each provider’s public pricing page.
Keep the whole check on the clients you already had.
ezCater publishes 15% plus a 2.99% payment fee on a marketplace order. Even ezOrdering, their product for the clients you brought in yourself, takes 7% plus 2.99%. On a Cenvi paid plan those clients cost you nothing.
Your ezCater bill vs Cenvi.
Same catering program, same food cost. What changes is how much of it reaches your kitchen, and who owns the client afterwards.
- Recurring corporate lunches run through a marketplace
- You pay commission on clients who would have called you anyway
- Dietary and headcount changes route through a middleman
The bill side by side
Based on a typical 500-meal/month program.
The annual bill, side by side
Effective yearly cost to the customer for a typical program: 500 meals/month at $20 per head, $120,000.00 in base food cost. Figures from each platform's public pricing.
ezCater
15% + 2.99% out of your payout, with delivery and service fees added to the customer's bill
Commission only
No service or delivery fee added to the customer's bill
What the caterer takes home
A higher payout is what pays for better ingredients, bigger portions and the flexibility your client actually wants. Based on $120,000.00 in base food spend. Cenvi row highlighted.
| Platform | Caterer commission | Caterer payout | % kept by caterer |
|---|---|---|---|
| ezCater | 15% + 2.99% | $102,000.00 | 85.0% |
| Cenvi | 0% direct on a paid plan | $108,000.00 | 90.0% |
What is actually different
Grouped by what each difference touches: your margin, the client relationship, and how the work actually runs.
| What changes | ezCater | Cenvi |
|---|---|---|
| Money | ||
| Caterer commission | 15% + 2.99% on marketplace orders, 7% + 2.99% on ezOrdering | 0% direct on a paid plan |
| Customer-side fees | Delivery and service fees added to the customer's bill on top of your menu prices | No separate platform service or delivery fee |
| When you get paid | One payment after delivery | Deposit up front, then balance, scheduled across the booking |
| Operations | ||
| Menus | Pre-set menus with limited customisation per order | Fully custom menus, guest-count tiers, combos and add-ons |
| Dietary requirements | Vegan, gluten-free, halal and kosher often cost extra or are unavailable | Handled directly with you, at no extra platform cost |
| Headcount changes and last-minute asks | Routed through the platform, with slow response times | Real-time chat on the booking itself |
| Support | Tiered, with premium accounts getting faster help | One-hour response in business hours, from a named human |
| Ownership | ||
| What else runs on the platform | Catering only | Nine vendor categories, so one client can book your food and their venue in one place |
| Who the client talks to | A middleman sits between the office and the kitchen | Their office manager, straight to you |
The honest read
Both fit someone. Here is who.
Overflow volume, and offices that would never have found you. Their buyer network is what the 15% actually buys, and for an order that would not have existed, that is fair.
Caterers running recurring corporate programs who want custom menus, a direct line to the client, and no service or delivery fee stacked on the customer's bill. On the free plan you keep 95% of every dollar instead of 85%. On a paid plan, the clients you bring yourself cost you no commission at all.
Caterers: keep the whole check on the clients you already had.
List your catering business in minutes.
Create your account and start taking direct bookings with custom menus, deposits and scheduled balance payments. No card required to look around. If you would rather walk through your numbers first, book fifteen minutes.
Or see how Cenvi works for caterers →
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Cenvi vs ezCater for a caterer
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