CaterWay wrote this guide. We describe other tools from their own public pages and say where they fit better.
The short answer
A catering quote depends on the menu and the guest count. Tools built for catering, such as CaterWay, price a request from your menu. General tools such as Jotform, HoneyBook and Dubsado leave the pricing to you, but some of them do more of the paperwork and payments.
If you want customers to see a price on your website, look at CaterWay. It has a free plan. If you only need an enquiry form, Jotform is flexible. If you need online card payments, look at HoneyBook or Dubsado. HoneyBook is only open to businesses in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. Caterease is built for established caterers and venues. If you send few quotes, a spreadsheet still works.
Why email and a spreadsheet stop working
Most caterers start with an inbox. It works until three problems show up.
- Incomplete enquiries. Customers do not know what you need. You get “how much for 50 people?” with no date, no menu and no event type, and you spend several emails getting the rest.
- No central record. Quotes are spread across email threads. When a customer calls about the price you sent last month, you search your sent folder.
- Pricing by hand every time. You work out the same per-guest prices again for each request. One wrong cell and you underquote a large event.
Quote software built for catering takes on all three. The customer fills in a calculator or a structured form, every request lands in one list, and the price comes from the menu you set up once.
What to look for
- Setup you can do yourself. You should be able to get started without hiring help.
- A calculator or form on your website. It should embed on the site you already have.
- Your menu with prices. Set prices once on your products so each quote reuses them and prices by guest count.
- One list of requests with a status. New, quoted, accepted, declined: you see where each one stands.
- A quote the customer can accept. A clear document, sent from the tool, that the customer can sign.
- Where your data lives. If you or your customers are in the EU, check where the tool stores data and whether it is open to businesses in your country at all.
- A way to try it free. A free plan or a trial lets you test it with your own menu.
The options side by side
Built for
- CaterWay
- Catering quotes.
- Jotform
- Online forms of any kind.
- HoneyBook
- Contracts, invoices and payments.
- Dubsado
- Contracts, a client portal and payments.
- Caterease
- Established caterers and venues.
- Spreadsheet
- Whatever you build in it.
Menu and per-guest pricing
- CaterWay
- Yes. Products in categories, priced for the guest count.
- Jotform
- Product lists with prices and quantities. No per-guest or menu logic.
- HoneyBook
- No menu builder. Line items typed by hand.
- Dubsado
- Not checked
- Caterease
- Not checked
- Spreadsheet
- Formulas you write yourself.
Price calculator on your website
- CaterWay
- Yes. Customers pick dishes, enter a guest count and see a price.
- Jotform
- Calculation fields you build and maintain.
- HoneyBook
- No per-guest price calculator.
- Dubsado
- Not checked
- Caterease
- Not checked
- Spreadsheet
- Excel can be embedded, but visitor input is not saved or sent to you.
Requests in one list with a status
- CaterWay
- Yes. Unlimited quote requests on every plan.
- Jotform
- Jotform Inbox. No quote statuses.
- HoneyBook
- Not checked
- Dubsado
- Not checked
- Caterease
- Not checked
- Spreadsheet
- A status column you keep up to date.
E-signature
- CaterWay
- Every plan.
- Jotform
- Jotform Sign.
- HoneyBook
- Yes, with contracts.
- Dubsado
- Yes, with contracts.
- Caterease
- Not checked
- Spreadsheet
- No.
Invoices and payments
- CaterWay
- Invoices and deposit requests on Pro. No online card payments.
- Jotform
- 30+ payment gateways.
- HoneyBook
- Invoicing and card payments.
- Dubsado
- Payments through Stripe, Square or PayPal. Payment plans.
- Caterease
- Not checked
- Spreadsheet
- Manual.
Free option
- CaterWay
- Free plan, no time limit.
- Jotform
- Free plan: 5 forms, 100 submissions a month.
- HoneyBook
- 30-day trial. No free plan.
- Dubsado
- 21-day trial. No free plan.
- Caterease
- No free plan or trial listed.
- Spreadsheet
- Excel for the web is free with a Microsoft account.
Paid price
- CaterWay
- €49/month, or €39/month billed yearly, excl. VAT.
- Jotform
- €34/month billed yearly, or €39 monthly, for the first paid plan.
- HoneyBook
- $29-129/month, by plan and billing.
- Dubsado
- $35 or $55/month ($335 or $525 a year).
- Caterease
- $99-199/month billed yearly. Extra users and modules cost extra.
- Spreadsheet
- Desktop Excel comes with Microsoft 365.
Where it runs
- CaterWay
- EU-hosted (Paris). Company in Helsinki.
- Jotform
- US company. EU data centre option (Frankfurt).
- HoneyBook
- US, Canada, UK and Australia only. Not available in the EU.
- Dubsado
- US company (Burbank, California).
- Caterease
- Not checked
- Spreadsheet
- Wherever you keep the file.
Details come from each vendor's public pages, checked 7 October 2026. “Not checked” means we did not verify it, so ask the vendor. Prices change. Check the vendor's site before you decide.
Tool by tool
CaterWay
Best for: Caterers who price by menu and guest count and want customers to see a price on their website.
Free plan. Pro €49/month, or €39/month billed yearly, excl. VAT.
You add your menu once, with prices, and embed a calculator on your website. Customers pick dishes, enter a guest count and see a price before they send a request. Requests arrive in one list with a status, already priced, and you send a quote built from the same prices.
Quote requests are unlimited on every plan. The free plan has no time limit and covers one calculator with 3 categories of 5 products. Every plan has e-signature: the customer types their name on the quote link to accept, and you get a signed PDF. Scheduled follow-up, event-prep and thank-you emails go out for you. Pro adds invoices and deposit requests and custom email templates, and lifts the menu limits. CaterWay is EU-hosted (Paris), and the company is in Helsinki.
Where it falls short
- No online card payments. You mark invoices paid yourself.
- No separate contract builder.
- No staff shift scheduling, SMS, public API or accounting sync.
Jotform
Best for: Caterers who want a flexible enquiry form and are happy to maintain the formulas.
Free plan. Paid from €34/month billed yearly, or €39 monthly.
Jotform is a general form builder. Calculation fields can add up a total, and payment fields can list products with prices and quantities. You build and maintain those formulas yourself. Jotform has no per-guest or menu logic of its own.
Submissions arrive in Jotform Inbox, where you can reply by email, and autoresponder emails can confirm receipt. Jotform has Jotform Sign for e-signatures, 40+ payment gateway integrations, 100+ app integrations and an EU server option in Frankfurt.
Where it falls short
- No quote statuses and no priced quote document.
- The free plan stops at 5 forms and 100 submissions a month.
HoneyBook
Best for: Businesses in the US, Canada, the UK or Australia that want contracts, a client portal and card payments.
$29-129/month, by plan and billing. 30-day trial.
HoneyBook handles the paperwork around a booking: contracts with e-signature, invoices, a client portal and card payments. Automations start on the Essentials plan.
It markets a catering page, but it has no menu builder and no per-guest price calculator. You type each line item as quantity times unit price.
Where it falls short
- Only available to businesses in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. A caterer in the EU cannot sign up.
- No free plan.
Dubsado
Best for: Businesses that want contracts, a client portal and payment plans in one tool.
$35 or $55/month, or $335 or $525 a year. 21-day trial.
Dubsado covers contracts with e-signature, a client portal, payments through Stripe, Square or PayPal, and payment plans. The 21-day trial has every feature.
If you want help with setup, Dubsado lists certified setup specialists. Their prices vary, so ask them directly.
Where it falls short
- No permanent free plan.
Caterease
Best for: Established caterers and venues that want a dedicated catering system.
$99-199/month billed yearly. No free plan or trial listed.
Caterease is catering software with three published plans, from Express at $99 a month to Professional at $199 a month, billed yearly. Extra users cost $28 a month and modules cost $25 a month each. There is a one-time $200 launch fee per user. Its pricing page lists Express for businesses entering automation.
Where it falls short
- No free plan.
- Plans are billed yearly.
Excel or another spreadsheet
Best for: Caterers who are just starting and send few quotes.
Excel for the web is free with a Microsoft account.
You already know how it works. A sheet can hold your prices, a list of enquiries and a status for each one, and desktop Excel works offline.
A spreadsheet does not take enquiries for you. Embedded on a website, an Excel sheet can work as a throwaway calculator, but the visitor’s input is not saved and never reaches you.
Where it falls short
- Every price, reminder and follow-up is manual.
What matters most for a small catering business
Start from the part of the job that costs you the most time, not from the longest feature list. If you send few quotes and keep track of them easily, you may not need software yet.
- Customers keep asking “how much for 50 people?” Put a price calculator on your website. CaterWay does this from your menu. Jotform can if you build the formulas.
- You lose track of quotes. Any tool with one list and a status per request helps. A spreadsheet can do it if you keep it up to date.
- You need card payments and a contract. HoneyBook and Dubsado take card payments and have contracts with e-signature. HoneyBook only serves its four countries. CaterWay has e-signature on every plan and sends invoices and deposit requests on Pro, but customers cannot pay by card and you mark invoices paid yourself.
- You run an established operation or a venue. Look at Caterease and ask for a demo with your own menu.
- You are just starting. Keep the spreadsheet, or try a free plan. Switch when you notice you are re-pricing the same menu or losing track of follow-ups.
Sources
Checked 7 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is catering quote management software?
It helps a caterer receive, price and answer quote requests in one place. It usually puts a calculator or form on your website, collects requests in a list with a status for each, and lets you send a quote from there. Software built for catering also knows about menus, per-guest prices and guest counts.
What software do small catering businesses use?
Many start with email, a spreadsheet and a contact form such as Jotform or Google Forms. Some move to a client-management tool such as HoneyBook or Dubsado. Others move to software built for catering, such as CaterWay or Caterease. The right step depends on where the work piles up: pricing, follow-up or paperwork.
Does a small catering business need software?
Not always. If you send few quotes and keep track of them easily, email and a spreadsheet are fine. Software starts to help when you re-price the same menu by hand, lose track of who you quoted, or forget to follow up. A free plan lets you test that without paying.
How much does catering quote software cost?
A spreadsheet costs nothing beyond the software you already have. Jotform has a free plan, and paid plans start at €34/month billed yearly or €39 monthly. HoneyBook costs $29-129/month by plan and billing. Dubsado costs $35 or $55 a month. Caterease costs $99-199/month, billed yearly, plus $28 a month per extra user and a one-time $200 launch fee per user. CaterWay has a free plan, and Pro costs €49/month, or €39/month billed yearly, excl. VAT.
Is Jotform good for catering businesses?
It works well as an enquiry form. Calculation fields can add up a total, but you build and maintain the formulas yourself, and Jotform has no per-guest or menu logic. Submissions arrive in Jotform Inbox, where you can reply by email. There are no quote statuses and no priced quote document.
Is Caterease good for small catering businesses?
Caterease is built for established caterers and venues. Its published pricing runs from $99 to $199 a month, billed yearly, and extra users and modules cost extra. It markets its Express plan to businesses entering automation. Its pricing page lists no free plan or trial, so ask for a demo with your own menu before you commit.
Can I manage catering quotes in a spreadsheet?
Yes, and many caterers do. A sheet can hold your prices, a list of enquiries and a status column. It cannot take the enquiry for you. If you embed an Excel sheet on your website, the visitor’s input is not saved and never reaches you as an enquiry. Pricing, reminders and follow-ups stay manual.
Can I embed a catering calculator on my website?
Yes. In CaterWay you add your menu and prices, then embed the calculator on your existing website. Customers pick dishes, enter a guest count and see a price before they send a request, so the request reaches you already priced.
Can my customer sign the quote, and can I invoice from CaterWay?
Every CaterWay plan has e-signature. The customer opens their quote link, types their name and confirms. CaterWay stores the timestamp, IP address and a snapshot of the quote, and produces a signed PDF. There is no separate contract builder. Invoices and deposit requests are on Pro. Customers cannot pay by card online, so you mark an invoice paid yourself. HoneyBook and Dubsado have contracts with e-signature and card payments, and Jotform has Jotform Sign.
