Better Cater vs Caterease vs CaterZen vs Total Party Planner
Better Cater is catering management software that runs an event from inquiry to invoice off a single event record. Caterease is catering and event management software from Horizon Business Services. CaterZen is web-based catering software from Restaurant & Catering Systems. Total Party Planner (TPP) is web-based catering management software. All four are listed under Catering Management Software. The main differences are in price, audience and integrations.
Key differences
price
On price, Better Cater at USD 83 per month, billed annually; Caterease at USD 99 per month, billed annually; CaterZen at USD 179 per month; Total Party Planner at USD 119 per month. These figures are not directly comparable because the currency or billing basis is not the same.
audience
Audience differs between the profiles. Listed by one product alone: Better Cater: Wedding and event caterers; Caterease: Caterers and event planners; CaterZen: Restaurants with a catering line; Total Party Planner: Caterers of any size.
integrations
On integrations, Better Cater names 1 integration, Caterease names 14 integrations, CaterZen names 10 integrations and Total Party Planner names 9 integrations. No partner appears in every list.
Side by side
| Field | Better Cater | Caterease | CaterZen | Total Party Planner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Better Cater is catering management software that runs an event from inquiry to invoice off a single event record. | Caterease is catering and event management software from Horizon Business Services. | CaterZen is web-based catering software from Restaurant & Catering Systems. | Total Party Planner (TPP) is web-based catering management software. |
| Best for | Wedding and event caterers; Corporate and drop-off caterers; Restaurants and franchises adding catering; Food trucks and BBQ caterers | Caterers and event planners; Restaurants with a catering side; Hotels, inns and banquet venues; Wedding venues | Restaurants with a catering line; Drop-off and full-service caterers; Venues with event space or party rooms; Restaurants adding takeout and delivery | Caterers of any size; Venues, banquet facilities and event organisers; Universities, stadiums and arenas; Food trucks and restaurants with a catering arm |
| Pricing model | Subscription per location | Subscription per user | Subscription per location | Subscription per plan, plus per extra user |
| Starting price | USD 83 per month, billed annually | USD 99 per month, billed annually | USD 179 per month | USD 119 per month |
| Free plan | Not published | No | No | No |
| Free trial | Yes | Not published | Yes | No |
| Contract | Month-to-month or annual | Annual billing (prices are quoted billed annually) | Not published | None for the software (month-to-month); TPP Pay is a one-year term |
| Platforms | Web | Web | Web | Web |
| Countries | United States | United States | United States | Not published |
| Languages | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Number of integrations | 1 | 14 | 10 | 9 |
| Certifications | Not published | Not published | PCI compliant | PCI compliant |
| Security practices | Firewall, 24/7 server surveillance and regular patching (no certification named) | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Founded | 2011 | Not published | Not published | 1997 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, United States | Naples, United States | Not published | Auburn, United States |
| Owner | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Last reviewed | 29 September 2026 | 29 September 2026 | 29 September 2026 | 29 September 2026 |
Integrations
No partner appears in every list.
Named only by Better Cater
- Swipesum
Named only by Caterease
- Allseated
- Client Point
- Constant Contact
- Costguard
- DocuSign
- Food Trak
- Reciprofity
- Sage
- Social Tables
- Yellow Dog
Named only by CaterZen
- Authorize.Net
- Burq
- CaterPay
- Chowly
- Gmail
- Nearby Now
- Tango Card
Named only by Total Party Planner
- Fullsteam
- Mailchimp
- Outlook
- prismm
Which to choose
Better Cater
Choose Better Cater if your business matches one of the audiences it is listed for: Wedding and event caterers; Corporate and drop-off caterers; Restaurants and franchises adding catering.
Caterease
Choose Caterease if you are in one of these groups: Caterers and event planners; Restaurants with a catering side; Hotels, inns and banquet venues.
CaterZen
Choose CaterZen if you fit its listed audience: Restaurants with a catering line; Drop-off and full-service caterers; Venues with event space or party rooms.
Total Party Planner
Choose Total Party Planner if you are in one of these groups: Caterers of any size; Venues, banquet facilities and event organisers; Universities, stadiums and arenas.
What we could not confirm
Better Cater
- Per-user fee amount
- Accounting, POS or other integrations
- Countries served and languages
- Team size, funding and legal registration
- Security certifications
- Whether online client payments are live in the new version (homepage says coming soon)
Caterease
- Whether the product is cloud-only or also offered as an installed desktop program (only Horizon Hub is described as cloud)
- Free trial or free plan
- Contract renewal terms and cancellation
- Founding year, founders, team size, funding
- Countries and interface languages
- What each integration add-on does (the vendor shows logos without names)
- Security certifications and hosting details
- Mobile app availability
- Independent verification of the 'over 50,000 caterers and event planners' claim
CaterZen
- Whether prices are per location, and any setup or payment-processing fees
- Contract minimum term, renewal and cancellation
- Founding year, headquarters, registration, funding and team size
- Countries where it is sold, and languages
- Mobile app names and store listings (no app store links found)
- Security certifications and hosting
- The vendor's 'thousands of catering businesses' claim
Total Party Planner
- Mobile companion app name and store listings
- Interface languages
- Employee count and funding
- Which countries the software itself is sold in (the vendor only says worldwide)
- Setup fee: pricing page ($299) and FAQ ($600 to $1,000) disagree
- The FAQ says TPP does not integrate with online ordering platforms, while the site sells TPP Order as its own add-on
Go further
Sources
Facts on this page come from the pages below. Prices and features change, so confirm with each vendor before you buy.
Better Cater, reviewed 29 September 2026
- Homepage: features, pricing, FAQhttps://www.bettercater.com/
- Founder and historyhttps://www.bettercater.com/our-team/
- Payments through Swipesumhttps://www.bettercater.com/payments/
- Term, cancellation, governing lawhttps://www.bettercater.com/terms/
Caterease, reviewed 29 September 2026
- Homepage: positioning, customers, contacthttps://caterease.com/
- Plans, prices, modules, integration logoshttps://caterease.com/pricing/
- Feature listhttps://caterease.com/features/
- Online orderinghttps://caterease.com/graze/
- Floor plan toolhttps://caterease.com/placez/
- Payment processinghttps://caterease.com/mosaic/
- Restaurant fithttps://caterease.com/restaurant-industry/
- Hotel fithttps://caterease.com/hotel-industry/
- Wedding venue fithttps://caterease.com/wedding-industry/
- Legal entityhttps://caterease.com/terms-and-conditions/
- Address in Naples, Floridahttps://caterease.com/ascend/
CaterZen, reviewed 29 September 2026
- Homepage: positioning, modules, trialhttps://www.caterzen.com/
- Plans and priceshttps://www.caterzen.com/pricing
- Integrations listhttps://www.caterzen.com/integrations
- Management featureshttps://www.caterzen.com/catering-management-software
- Delivery manager and driver apphttps://www.caterzen.com/catering-delivery-manager
- Takeout and delivery offerhttps://www.caterzen.com/takeout-food-delivery-software
- Event space bookinghttps://www.caterzen.com/event-space-party-room-booking-software
- Payment processinghttps://www.caterzen.com/caterpay
- Founder and company backgroundhttps://www.caterzen.com/about
- Legal entityhttps://www.caterzen.com/terms-of-service
- Named customershttps://www.caterzen.com/case-studies
- Named customershttps://www.caterzen.com/testimonials
- Page discoveryhttps://www.caterzen.com/sitemap.xml
Total Party Planner, reviewed 29 September 2026
- Homepage and positioninghttps://totalpartyplanner.com/
- Features and integrationshttps://totalpartyplanner.com/features/
- Plans, prices, add-onshttps://totalpartyplanner.com/catering-software-pricing/
- FAQ: contract, fees, browsers, locationshttps://totalpartyplanner.com/catering-software-faq/
- TPP Pay, countries, PCIhttps://totalpartyplanner.com/tpp-pay-catering-software-payments/
- TPP Order add-onhttps://totalpartyplanner.com/catering-online-ordering-software-tpp-order/
- Company history and founderhttps://totalpartyplanner.com/catering-software-company/
- Onboarding optionshttps://totalpartyplanner.com/total-party-planner-onboarding-options/
- Customer nameshttps://totalpartyplanner.com/catering-success-stories-total-party-planner/