Comparison
PTO Homeroom vs Cheddar Up
Excellent for collecting money. Not a PTO platform — no roster, comms or books.
The short answer
Cheddar Up passes fees to the payer by default, so your PTO can bank the sticker price — but that 95¢ flat fee is brutal on small payments, and it isn't a PTO platform.
All figures below are the vendors' own published rates, checked on 22 August 2026. Pricing changes — verify with each vendor before deciding.
Pricing, side by side
| PTO Homeroom | Cheddar Up | |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | $0 | $0 – $420 / year |
| Fee on payments | 2% | Blended into the card rate |
| Fee on fundraisers | 2% | Blended into the card rate |
| Card processing | Stripe 2.9% + 30¢ | 3.95% + 95¢ free · 3.59% + 59¢ paid |
| Fees passable to the payer | Yes — shown at checkout and covered by the payer by default | Yes — and it is the default |
| Processor lock-in | No — funds settle to your PTO's own Stripe account | Yes — Stripe, through Cheddar Up |
Cheddar Up tiers: Free · Pro $15/mo billed annually · Team $35/mo billed annually · Partner custom.
What a $22,000 year actually nets
Assumes an average payment of $36.67 and that 55% of the total comes from your big fundraiser — the part vendors price differently.
PTO Homeroom
$22,000
No subscription; our 2% is covered at checkout, so you bank the sticker.
Cheddar Up
$20,875
$1,126 to subscription and fees
What to watch for with Cheddar Up
The 95¢ flat fee dominates small payments
On a $10 spirit-shirt the flat fee alone is 9.5%, before the percentage. Our 30¢ is 3%. The smaller your typical payment, the wider that gap.
The platform's own cut isn't disclosed
Cheddar Up quotes one blended “convenience fee.” The processor is Stripe, whose published rate is lower — but the split is never stated, so you can't see what Cheddar Up keeps.
It's a collection tool, not a PTO platform
There's no roster of grades, rooms and teachers, no targeted announcements, no volunteer management, no treasury with budget-vs-actual, no reimbursement queue. Most schools run it alongside other tools.
The free plan caps out quickly
Free pages allow 5 items and 1 form or sign-up each, which pushes a real school store onto a paid tier.
Where Cheddar Up is the better choice
We'd rather you pick the right tool than the one that wrote the comparison.
Genuinely free to start, with fees passed by default
Collect money at no cost to the organisation. That's a strong offer and we match rather than beat it.
Lovely, simple collection pages
For a single class collection or one-off event, it's faster to set up than any full platform, ours included.
Lower percentage on paid tiers
3.59% + 59¢ on Pro beats their free rate meaningfully at volume.
Broad payment options
eCheck/ACH is available on paid plans.
Choose Cheddar Up if…
Collect money at no cost to the organisation. That's a strong offer and we match rather than beat it.
Choose PTO Homeroom if…
You want one tool instead of three, no annual subscription, a published fee you can explain to any parent, and your fundraiser, roster, communication and books in the same place.
Sources
Checked 22 August 2026. We don't republish figures a vendor doesn't publish; anything unstated is marked “not published” rather than estimated.
See it for yourself.
Free to start, no card required. Set your PTO up in about two minutes.
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