ezCater is a large catering marketplace, and listing on it costs nothing upfront. The real cost shows up on every accepted order, where a 15% commission and a 2.99% processing fee both apply before a caterer sees the remainder.
What ezCater Actually Offers
ezCater is a marketplace connecting corporate and event buyers with local catering companies, with no listing fee and no contract required to join.
- Free to list, no signup fee or ongoing subscription required
- A 15% commission on every accepted marketplace order, excluding tips and taxes
- A separate 2.99% payment processing fee, also excluding tips
- ezOrdering, a lower-commission option around 7% plus processing for orders through a caterer's own website
- Weekly payouts by check or direct deposit
What ezCater Actually Costs
On a $1,000 catering order, the marketplace commission and processing fee together run close to $180 before the caterer sees the rest, a meaningful cut on an order type that already tends to carry thin margins from food cost and labor alone.
| Cost Line | Rate or Price |
|---|---|
| Listing fee | $0 |
| Marketplace commission | 15% per accepted order |
| Payment processing | 2.99% per order |
| ezOrdering (own-site orders) | Approximately 7% plus processing |
| Payout schedule | Weekly, by check or direct deposit |
What AUANI Offers Instead
AUANI starts at $0 a month with no setup fee. The Free tier carries a 10% marketplace fee, already lower than ezCater's 15%, and includes:
- A widget built for collecting event details, guest counts, and delivery windows
- Pickup, dine-in, and real courier delivery through Uber
- A punch-card loyalty program and an exportable guest list
- Reviews tied only to verified completed orders
The Monthly plan is $300 a month, drops the marketplace fee to 5%, and adds a fully hosted website with a 0% direct ordering widget, so a repeat corporate client booking directly costs nothing in commission at all.
Side by Side
| Feature | ezCater | AUANI |
|---|---|---|
| Listing cost | $0 | $0 |
| Marketplace commission | 15% + 2.99% processing | 10% Free, 5% Monthly, 3% at 2+ locations |
| Direct-order option at 0% commission | Yes, via ezOrdering at roughly 7% | Yes, via the Monthly tier's widget at 0% |
| Built for event-detail intake | Yes | Yes |
| Permanent free tier | Yes, listing only, commission still applies | Yes, at 10% marketplace fee |
A Worked Example
A catering company booking a $2,500 corporate order through ezCater's marketplace pays 15% commission, or $375, plus 2.99% processing, another roughly $75, for a combined cost near $450 on that single order, leaving about $2,050 before food cost and labor are even subtracted. Over 10 such orders a month, that's roughly $4,500 going to commission and processing alone.
The same $2,500 order booked through AUANI's Free tier carries a 10% marketplace fee, or $250, saving $200 versus ezCater on that order alone. Once that corporate client becomes a repeat booking and the caterer has moved to AUANI's Monthly tier, the same order placed through the 0% direct ordering widget costs nothing in commission at all, a tier ezCater's own ezOrdering option approaches but doesn't fully match at its roughly 7% rate.
An Honest Case for Choosing ezCater Anyway
ezCater's scale as a corporate catering marketplace is real, and a caterer that depends on discovering new corporate accounts it wouldn't otherwise reach has a genuine reason to stay listed there, even at a 15% commission, for the reach alone.
A caterer just entering the corporate catering space, with no existing list of office managers or event planners to call on, often needs that marketplace discovery more than it needs the lowest possible commission rate, at least until a base of repeat direct clients is built up.
Best For
ezCater suits a caterer that wants access to its existing corporate buyer network and is willing to pay for that discovery. AUANI suits a caterer that wants a lower marketplace fee from day one and a genuine path to 0% commission on repeat direct bookings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does ezCater charge anything just to list a business?
No, listing on the ezCater marketplace is free; the 15% commission and 2.99% processing fee only apply to accepted orders.
Is ezOrdering the same as ezCater's marketplace?
No, ezOrdering is a separate, lower-commission option for orders placed through a caterer's own website rather than the marketplace itself.
How does AUANI's marketplace fee compare to ezCater's?
AUANI's Free tier charges 10%, lower than ezCater's 15%, and drops to 5% on the Monthly tier.
Can a caterer use both platforms at once?
Yes, many caterers keep a marketplace listing for discovery while building a direct ordering channel elsewhere at the same time.
Where can I compare every platform in this series at once?
The master fee comparison table and the Catering Company online ordering guide both cover this.
Does the 15% ezCater commission apply to tips and taxes too?
No, both the marketplace commission and the processing fee exclude tips and taxes; they apply only to the order subtotal.
For the full picture against every platform in this series, see the master fee comparison table. For the catering-specific picture beyond fees, see the Catering Company online ordering guide.