The short answer
HoneyBook is strong on the business side of a booking: contracts with e-signature, invoices, a client portal and card payments. 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.
CaterWay starts from your menu. Customers build an order in a calculator on your website and see a price before they ask for a quote. It has e-signature on every plan, and invoices and deposit requests on Pro, but no online card payments.
One practical point decides it for many caterers: HoneyBook is only available to businesses in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. A caterer in the EU cannot sign up.
Feature by feature
Menu and per-guest pricing
- CaterWay
- Yes. Your products in categories, priced for the guest count.
- HoneyBook
- No menu builder. Line items are quantity × unit price, entered by hand.
Price calculator on your website
- CaterWay
- Yes. Customers see a price before they send a request.
- HoneyBook
- No per-guest price calculator.
E-signature
CaterWay has no separate contract builder.
- CaterWay
- Every plan. The customer types their name to accept; CaterWay stores the timestamp, IP address and a snapshot of the quote, and produces a signed PDF.
- HoneyBook
- Yes, with contracts.
Invoices and deposits
- CaterWay
- Pro. Invoices and deposit requests with PDF and overdue reminders. You mark them paid by hand.
- HoneyBook
- Yes, invoicing.
Online card payments
- CaterWay
- No.
- HoneyBook
- Yes.
Client portal
- CaterWay
- The customer opens their quote from a link to read and accept it.
- HoneyBook
- Yes.
Automated emails
- CaterWay
- Scheduled follow-up, event-prep and thank-you emails. Custom templates on Pro.
- HoneyBook
- Automations on Essentials and up.
Where you can use it
- CaterWay
- Gentlio Oy, Helsinki. Caterer data stored in the EU (Paris).
- HoneyBook
- Businesses in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia only.
Free option
- CaterWay
- Free plan with no time limit: one calculator, 3 categories × 5 products, unlimited quote requests.
- HoneyBook
- 30-day free trial. No free plan.
Paid price
- CaterWay
- €49/month, or €39/month billed yearly. Excludes VAT.
- HoneyBook
- Starter $36, Essentials $59, Premium $129 per month; $29, $49 and $109 billed yearly.
HoneyBook details come from its own public pages, checked 7 October 2026. Prices change; check the vendor's site before you decide.
Where HoneyBook is the better choice
If you can sign up and you want the money side handled in one place, HoneyBook covers more of it than CaterWay does.
- Card payments. Clients pay deposits and invoices online inside HoneyBook. In CaterWay you send the invoice and mark it paid yourself.
- Contracts. HoneyBook has contracts with e-signature. CaterWay has typed-name acceptance of the quote itself, with no separate contract document.
- Client portal. HoneyBook gives clients a portal for proposals, contracts and payments.
- Other services. If catering is one part of a wider events or creative business, a general tool may suit the rest of your work better.
Where CaterWay is the better choice
A catering quote depends on the menu and the guest count. HoneyBook has no model for either, so you price every quote by hand.
- Prices on your website. Customers pick dishes, enter a guest count and see a price. The request reaches you with the order already priced.
- Quotes built from your menu. You set prices once on your products. Each quote reuses them instead of retyping line items.
- Available in the EU. CaterWay is run by Gentlio Oy in Helsinki and stores caterer data in the EU. Customers can use the calculator in 12 languages.
- A free plan. You can run one calculator on the free plan with no time limit. HoneyBook offers a 30-day trial.
What CaterWay looks like
Which one fits you
Choose CaterWay if
- Catering is your main business
- You want customers to see a price on your website before they ask
- You price by menu and guest count
- Your business is in the EU or outside HoneyBook’s four countries
- You want to start on a free plan
Choose HoneyBook if
- Your business is in the US, Canada, the UK or Australia
- You want clients to pay by card online
- You need a separate contract and a client portal
- Catering is one service among several
Our take
HoneyBook is a well-rounded tool for the paperwork and payments around a booking. It does not know what a menu or a guest count is, and it is closed to businesses in the EU.
CaterWay covers the part HoneyBook leaves out: pricing a catering order from your menu, on your own website. If you need online card payments, CaterWay does not do that today.
CaterWay wrote this comparison, so read it as one side of the story and try both products if you can.
Frequently asked questions
Can a caterer use HoneyBook?
Yes, if the business is in the US, Canada, the UK or Australia. HoneyBook markets a catering page and handles contracts, invoices and card payments. It has no menu builder or per-guest price calculator, so you enter each line item by hand.
Can I use HoneyBook in the EU?
No. HoneyBook is only available to businesses in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia.
Does CaterWay have e-signatures and invoices?
E-signature is on every plan: the customer types their name to accept the quote, and CaterWay stores the timestamp, IP address and a snapshot, and produces a signed PDF. Invoices and deposit requests are on Pro. CaterWay does not take online card payments, and it has no separate contract builder.
What does CaterWay do that HoneyBook does not?
CaterWay prices a catering order from your menu. Customers use a calculator on your website, see a price and send a request that arrives already priced. HoneyBook has no menu or per-guest calculator.
How do the prices compare?
CaterWay has a free plan with no time limit, and Pro costs €49/month or €39/month billed yearly, excluding VAT. HoneyBook has a 30-day trial and no free plan. Its plans are $36, $59 and $129 per month, or $29, $49 and $109 per month billed yearly.
