Compare · Home food and taking orders
Ways to take home food orders in Singapore, compared
How should a home baker or home food seller in Singapore take orders: WhatsApp, Instagram, a form, a marketplace or an order app? Seven ways side by side, each price from the product’s own site and dated, with a full comparison one click away.
Prices checked 30 September 2026
Side by side
| Software | Price | Free plan | How customers pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SME AI Office | Free. No monthly fee and no platform fee | Yes, for good, no card | Free. The QR carries the amount and order number | See home food › |
| Tabaous | S$9.90 a month or S$99.90 a year with your own PayNow QR. S$19.90 a month with automatic payments | 30-day free trial, no card | Included. You check your bank for each order | vs SME AI Office › |
| Take App | Basic US$0. Business US$50 a month | Free plan: 50 orders a month saved to the dashboard | PayNow listed; customers can upload payment proof for you to confirm | vs SME AI Office › |
| Carousell | Personal: no selling fees. Professional: 2.5% per chat deal, capped at S$30 | Personal accounts pay no selling fees | Through Carousell by PayNow, PayLah! or card, or agreed in chat | vs SME AI Office › |
| Google Forms | Free with a Google account | Yes, with a personal Google account | Screenshot by file upload; the buyer must sign in to Google to upload | vs SME AI Office › |
| WhatsApp Business | Free app | Yes, free to download and use | Customers send a cart from your catalogue as one WhatsApp message | vs SME AI Office › |
| Free; Instagram is paid for by ads | Yes, no fee to use Instagram | Customers send a DM; you confirm each detail in the chat | vs SME AI Office › |
Food delivery apps such as GrabFood and foodpanda are on the restaurant comparisons: they take a commission on each order.
When each one fits
- SME AI Office: choose it if you take pre-orders from home and want one order link for Instagram, WhatsApp or Telegram, pickup times or delivery days, a daily limit per item, tomorrow’s prep list and every sale in your accounts, free with no limit on orders. It brings you no new customers and sends no WhatsApp messages for you. See home food ›
- Tabaous: choose it if you want to be listed where people browse home food sellers. It is S$9.90 a month (S$99.90 a year) with your own PayNow QR, or S$19.90 a month with automatic payments. Full comparison ›
- Take App: choose it if your customers order through WhatsApp and you want order updates, payment reminders and broadcasts sent there for you, or you run several stores from one dashboard. Its Business plan includes 1,000 automated WhatsApp messages a month, which SME AI Office does not send. Full comparison ›
- Carousell: choose it if you want buyers who are already browsing a marketplace, or you sell now and then from a Personal account, which pays no selling fees. Buyers can also pay through Carousell with Buyer Protection. Full comparison ›
- Google Forms: choose it if you take a handful of orders a month, already work in Google Sheets and want to design every question yourself. It costs nothing with a Google account, and responses can go straight into a spreadsheet. Full comparison ›
- WhatsApp Business: choose it if you take a few orders a week and like confirming each one by chat. It is free, shows a catalogue, lets customers send a cart as one message, and links up to 10 devices. Full comparison ›
- Instagram: choose it if you sell a few bakes a week and enjoy confirming each order in chat. Instagram is where your customers already see your photos, and it costs nothing to post or reply. Full comparison ›
Free, with no platform fee. Your PayNow QR is free; cards and automatic PayNow go through your own HitPay account.
Questions
What is the best way to take home bakery orders in Singapore?
For a few orders a week, WhatsApp or Instagram messages are free and personal. Once you are confirming dozens of orders, checking each PayNow and adding up what to bake, an order page saves the chasing: SME AI Office gives you one free, with pickup times, a daily limit per item and a prep list. Tabaous lists you where people browse home sellers; Carousell brings buyers who are already browsing.
Is there a free order app for a home food business?
Yes. SME AI Office is free with no monthly fee and no limit on orders. Of the others checked on 30 September 2026, Take App, Carousell, Google Forms, WhatsApp Business and Instagram are free too, each with the limits shown in the table.
Do I pay a fee on each order?
Not on SME AI Office: orders paid by your own PayNow QR cost nothing, and cards or PayNow that confirms itself go through your own HitPay account at HitPay’s own fee, with no platform fee from us. Take App takes no commission. Carousell charges the buyer 4.5% by PayNow or 6% by card under S$100 when they pay through Carousell.
Do I need a licence to sell food from home in Singapore?
The rules for home-based food businesses in Singapore are set by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). Check SFA’s page for home-based food businesses to see what applies to you. Any of these tools gives you a way to take orders, not the licence.
Facts about each product are from its own site, checked on 30 September 2026; each full comparison lists its sources. Names are trademarks of their owners. SME AI Office is not connected with any of them.