Total Party Planner vs Prep Station

Total Party Planner9.1Visit Prep Station8.8Visit

Higher score Total Party Planner #3 in Event Catering Software 9.1/10 Paid ✓ 3 of 6 features Visit site

vs

Prep Station #5 in Event Catering Software 8.8/10 Paid ✓ 6 of 6 features Visit Prep Station

• Total Party Planner fits best

  Caterers needing broad integrations and documents

• Prep Station fits best

  Operations-heavy caterers needing kitchen and delivery tools

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Side by side

Feature	Total Party Planner 9.1/10 Visit ↗	Prep Station 8.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	8.8
Ranking	#3 in Event Catering Software	#5 in Event Catering Software
Best for	Caterers needing broad integrations and documents	Operations-heavy caterers needing kitchen and delivery tools
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	—	$790/yr
Free plan	—	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Mobile	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Email, Phone	Email, Phone, Docs
Integrations	12 integrations	2 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market
Features Total Party Planner 3/6 · Prep Station 6/6
Proposal builder	✓	✓
Menu management	✓	✓
Recipe management	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Staff scheduling	✓	✓
Order workflows	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Event execution tools	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Our review
Pros	Combines proposals, e-signatures, costing, orders, staffing, and BEOs Connects with tools including QuickBooks, Google, Outlook, and Mailchimp Supports payment links, deposits, partial payments, and reporting	Connects recipe costing, menus, orders, production, and purchasing Supports BEOs, staffing, time clocks, dispatch, and event execution Includes storefronts, customer payments, AI assistance, and API access
Cons	No free plan is available Additional users cost $25/month on the listed tier options TPPorder is an add-on rather than part of the listed plans	No free plan is available Operations features require the $249 monthly plan Listed integrations are Stripe and DoorDash Drive
Our verdict	Total Party Planner brings event planning and catering operations into one web-based system for caterers and other event-focused food-service teams, including restaurants, venues, food trucks, nonprofits, and universities. Its scope covers… Read the review →	Prep Station is operations software for caterers and foodservice teams managing the path from recipe to event execution. It brings together recipe costing based on yields and vendor prices, menu management, sales orders, quotes, online… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Total Party Planner — where it wins

  • Combines proposals, e-signatures, costing, orders, staffing, and BEOs
  • Connects with tools including QuickBooks, Google, Outlook, and Mailchimp
  • Supports payment links, deposits, partial payments, and reporting

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan is available
  • Additional users cost $25/month on the listed tier options
  • TPPorder is an add-on rather than part of the listed plans

• Prep Station — where it wins

  • Connects recipe costing, menus, orders, production, and purchasing
  • Supports BEOs, staffing, time clocks, dispatch, and event execution
  • Includes storefronts, customer payments, AI assistance, and API access

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan is available
  • Operations features require the $249 monthly plan
  • Listed integrations are Stripe and DoorDash Drive

• Total Party Planner9.1/10 · Paid

  A web-based catering system that brings proposals, costing, staffing, documents, and payments together.

  Visit siteFull verdict →
• Prep Station8.8/10 · Paid

  A broad catering operations suite with strong production and delivery coverage.

  Visit Prep StationFull verdict →