Guide for chefs

Private chef platforms compared: fees, countries and how you get paid

A booking platform can fill your calendar faster than word of mouth, but the fee model decides how much of each booking you keep. Some platforms take a commission from the chef, some charge the customer, some do both, and the headline number is not always the whole story.

This page compares the platforms private chefs ask us about most, using only what each one publishes on its own website, checked on 2 November 2026. UpChef publishes this page and is one of the platforms in the table, so we show our sources and say where others are stronger. Terms change: read each platform’s current terms before you sign up.

By UpChef · Published 2 November 2026

What to compare before you join a platform

Commission. The share of your price the platform keeps. Ask whether it is taken from your price or added to the customer’s bill.
Other chef-side fees. Payment processing, “system” or technology fees, subscriptions, fees at withdrawal.
Customer fees. A service fee added on top of your price changes what the customer compares, even when you keep your price.
How and when you are paid. Card payout, wallet, cash; before or after the event; how disputes are handled.
Where it works. Some platforms are strong in a few cities; check that customers in your area actually use it.
Who owns the client relationship. Rules about contact details, repeat bookings and reviews.

Private chef platform fees, as published

Chef-side fees as each platform publishes them (checked 2 November 2026)
Platform	Joining	What the chef pays	Customer side and payment	Source
UpChef	Free (Starter plan); optional Professional plan from $49 for the first year, perks only.	0% commission for every chef. 6% payment-processing fee deducted from card payouts (none in Mexico). Saudi Arabia and UAE: no fee at booking; 6% gateway fee when you withdraw from the in-app wallet.	Customer pays a 7% service fee on top of your price (15% in Mexico), plus tax on that fee (in the UAE, 5% VAT on the whole order). Card payouts are released 48 hours after the end of the service. Brazil and Colombia: the customer pays you directly; Mexico: in-app payment not live yet.	UpChef for chefs
Take a Chef	Free to sign up.	“A 20% commission on every confirmed service” (help center). Its legal terms set the commission by chef tier, shown in the chef’s dashboard, and add a System Usage Fee of 2.9% of the booking value charged to the chef.	The help center says payment processing costs are paid from the commission.	Help center, legal terms, FAQ
Yhangry	Chefs can talk to clients on the platform before a booking.	A 20% commission, charged only when a booking is made.	Chefs set their own fee and are advised to quote a fee inclusive of the commission.	Yhangry chef jobs page
ChefMaison	Free to join; commission only on confirmed bookings.	By the chef’s country and VAT status: UK 0%; EU (except the Netherlands and Italy) 15% with a validated VAT number, 18.15% without; Netherlands 18.15%; Italy 7.5% / 9.1%; outside the EU 18.15%.	A separate service fee is charged to clients and not deducted from the chef’s payout (base 7% in the UK, 2.5% to 5% elsewhere). The payout is triggered 2 days after the event.	“How much is the Commission?”, Commission and VAT policy, How do I get paid?
Cozymeal	“Free to join.”	Not published on its chef sign-up page.	Mainly cooking classes and food experiences, plus private chefs.	Become a chef
MiumMium	See its site.	A chef commission is not stated on its FAQ.	“Less than 18% of the total amount is paid at booking. The remaining sum is settled directly with the chef.”	FAQ
CookinGenie	Free; no upfront costs or membership fees.	A “small commission” on bookings, outlined during onboarding; no figure published.	Payments go through the platform; after the booking, chefs are paid by direct deposit.	Become a chef

Quoted or summarised from each platform’s own pages on 2 November 2026. Figures can depend on your country, tier or contract; the platform’s current terms always win over this table.

What a 1,000 booking leaves you, on the headline rates

Take a booking where your price is 1,000 in any currency, and apply only the headline chef-side rates each platform publishes. This ignores everything a platform does not publish, so treat it as a starting point for your own questions, not a final figure.

Platform	Published chef-side rate	You keep (before ingredients and tax)
UpChef (card-payment country)	0% commission + 6% processing fee	940
UpChef (Saudi Arabia, UAE)	0% commission; 6% gateway fee at withdrawal	940 once withdrawn
Take a Chef	20% commission + 2.9% system usage fee on the booking value	At most 800, less the system usage fee
Yhangry	20% commission	800, unless you priced the commission in
ChefMaison (UK)	0% commission	1,000
ChefMaison (EU, validated VAT)	15% commission	850

Cozymeal, MiumMium and CookinGenie are left out: they do not publish a chef-side rate we can apply.

Customer fees do not come out of your price, but they matter: the customer compares totals, so a platform that adds a large fee on top makes your menu look more expensive than the same price elsewhere. On UpChef the customer sees your price, the service fee and the total before paying.

Where other platforms are stronger

Network size. Take a Chef and Yhangry are established brands with many more customers in many cities than a newer platform. If you want volume quickly in a city where they are strong, being listed there can make sense even at 20%.
ChefMaison is also 0% in the UK. UK chefs keep their full price there too, with a 7% base fee charged to clients, close to UpChef’s model.
Specialisms. Cozymeal is built around cooking classes and food experiences; if classes are your main business, its audience fits.
Payment arrangements. MiumMium has the customer settle most of the amount directly with the chef, which some chefs prefer.

There is no rule against being on more than one platform, but each has its own rules on contact details and repeat bookings. Read them before you move a client from one to another.

How UpChef works for chefs

Countries: 15 (Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK, US, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, New Zealand, Australia), in 8 languages.
Joining: free on the Starter plan, with up to 5 open quotes on customers’ job requests. The optional Professional plan is $49 for the first year, then $99 a year (local prices in other currencies); it adds perks and never changes the 0% commission. In Brazil and Colombia chefs need it to be listed.
Verification: a government ID plus a culinary certificate or an experience letter, approved by an UpChef admin. Approved chefs build menus, appear in search and receive requests straight away.
Payouts: in card-payment countries you finish Stripe Connect onboarding (about 2 to 5 minutes) before accepting a paid booking; the payout is released 48 hours after the end of the service, and the customer can report a problem until then. In Saudi Arabia and the UAE earnings go to the in-app wallet.
Cancellations: the customer gets 100% back within 10 minutes of paying or when cancelling 7+ days before the event, and nothing inside 7 days, so you are paid for a late cancellation. If you cancel, the customer is refunded in full.
Contact details: UpChef’s chat blocks phone numbers and email addresses until a booking is paid; after payment, contact is unlocked.

UpChef cannot promise bookings, and in many cities its network is still smaller than the older platforms’. Side-by-side detail: UpChef vs Take a Chef and UpChef vs Yhangry. To see what you would take home in your own currency, read what private chefs charge and earn.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best private chef platform?

It depends on your city and your work. Larger platforms bring more customers in the cities where they are strong; lower fees mean you keep more of each booking. Compare commission, every other chef-side fee, customer fees, payout timing and how many customers use the platform where you cook.

How much commission do private chef platforms take?

As published on 2 November 2026: Take a Chef 20% on every confirmed service plus a 2.9% system usage fee in its legal terms, Yhangry 20% when a booking is made, ChefMaison 0% in the UK and 15% to 18.15% in most of the EU, and UpChef 0% for every chef. Cozymeal and CookinGenie do not publish a figure.

Does UpChef charge chefs commission?

No. UpChef takes 0% commission from every chef. In card-payment countries a 6% payment-processing fee is deducted from payouts (none in Mexico); in Saudi Arabia and the UAE a 6% gateway fee applies when you withdraw. Customers pay a 7% service fee on top of your price (15% in Mexico).

Can I list myself on more than one private chef platform?

Usually yes, but each platform has its own rules on sharing contact details and taking repeat bookings outside it. Read the terms of each one before moving a client between platforms.

How do private chef platforms pay chefs?

Most take the customer’s payment by card and pay the chef after the event, minus their fees. On UpChef, card payouts are released 48 hours after the end of the service; in Saudi Arabia and the UAE earnings go to an in-app wallet; in Brazil and Colombia customers pay the chef directly.