Sourced comparison
Crafted Call vs CaFÉ
CaFÉ is a long-established call-for-entry service operated by Creative West. Crafted Call combines calls and jurying with the rest of a gallery's operating workflow.
CaFÉ facts and pricing verified July 19, 2026 against the primary sources cited below.
The quick decision
Choose Crafted Call when
Art organizations that run recurring programs and want calls, exhibitions, websites, commerce, memberships, events, and marketing to share one source of truth.
Choose CaFÉ when
Organizations that value CaFÉ's established artist audience, directory, and familiar call-for-entry workflow and are comfortable with onboarding, per-call, renewal, token, and processing charges.
CaFÉ's jury module is capable, with unlimited jurors and rounds. Crafted Call matches the review fundamentals with redaction controls and juror preview, then connects the results to artwork operations, commerce, your website, and ongoing audience relationships.
Side by side: Crafted Call vs CaFÉ
CaFÉ cells quote documented capabilities and published prices, not assumptions from a feature grid. Crafted Call cells link to the feature pages that back them.
| Capability | Crafted Call | CaFÉ |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | $0 Free plan plus 4 flat monthly plans ($19–$99/mo). Crafted Call pricing | Organization onboarding plus Pro or Plus per-call pricing, annual renewal, application tokens, and payment processing. |
| Cost to run one call | $45 activation on the Free plan; $0 on paid plans. Crafted Call pricing | $250-$475/call plus $225 onboarding. |
| Per-entry charges | 5% down to 1% of the entry fee on paid entries, by plan. Free-entry calls have no per-entry charge. Crafted Call pricing | $2.49/sub + 3.25% published payment charge. |
| Jurying and rounds | Scored rounds with rubrics, juror assignment, recusal, and redistribution. Juror and round counts scale by plan, up to unlimited on Premier. Jury & Review | Both CaFÉ Pro and Plus include unlimited jurors and unlimited jury rounds. |
| Blind review | Redaction hides the artist fields you choose, per round, and juror preview shows staff exactly what jurors will see. Jury & Review | CaFÉ includes an online jury module used for scored review of applications and artwork. |
| Artist portfolios | Artists keep reusable portfolios and hosted profile pages. Accepted work can be entered into future calls without re-uploading. Artist Portfolios | Not publicly documented. |
| Entry fees and payments | Stripe checkout for entry fees, artwork sales, tickets, and memberships, with artist payouts and 1099 tooling. Artist Payouts | Not publicly documented. |
| Exports and portability | CSV exports on paid plans for submissions, artists, payments, and financial reports, plus an API with webhooks on higher plans. API & Webhooks | Organization plans include reporting and administration tools for call and application data. |
| Publishing accepted work | Accepted pieces publish to hosted exhibition pages and online galleries, with artwork detail pages and inquiry capture. Exhibitions & Sales | Not publicly documented. |
| Labels and artwork intake | Print-ready wall labels generated from artwork data, plus QR-assisted check-in and checkout with condition notes. Exhibitions & Sales | Not publicly documented. |
| Exhibition operations | Floor plans and wall layouts, installation planning, condition reports, and sales during the show. Gallery Spaces | Not publicly documented. |
| Recurring calls | Duplicate any call or save it as a template. Each year keeps its own submissions, decisions, and reporting. Calls for Art | Not publicly documented. |
| Grants and non-art programs | Not the focus. Crafted Call is purpose-built for visual-arts calls; broad application platforms fit generic grant programs better. | Not publicly documented. |
| Memberships | Membership tiers, renewals, member pricing, and rosters tied to the same artist community as your calls. Memberships | Not publicly documented. |
| Events and ticketing | Ticketed events, registrations, check-in, and attendance reporting for openings and programs. Events & Ticketing | Not publicly documented. |
| Studio and space rentals | Rental agreements, charges, and occupancy reporting for studios, walls, and display cases. Space Rentals | Not publicly documented. |
| Email marketing | Campaigns, segments, automations, and delivery analytics through the Marketing Hub add-on. Marketing Hub | Not publicly documented. |
| Your website | A hosted, branded gallery site with calls, exhibitions, artists, shop, and events pages, plus WordPress embeds. Organization Website | Not publicly documented. |
| Admin assistant | Frida drafts calls, answers questions, and works through gallery admin with your approval at every step. Frida | Not publicly documented. |
"Not publicly documented" means the vendor does not publish that capability or number on the pages we cite. It describes their public documentation, not proof of absence. Competitor cells summarize CaFÉ's public pages; every citation is listed under Sources below.
Published pricing, both sides
CaFÉ
- Organization onboarding plus Pro or Plus per-call pricing, annual renewal, application tokens, and payment processing.
- Annual or renewal price: $120/yr.
- Onboarding: $225.
- Per call: $250-$475/call.
- Per submission: $2.49/sub.
- Published payment charge: 3.25%.
Pricing as of · sourced from CaFÉ primary pricing source
Crafted Call
- Free plan: $0/mo. Publishing a call costs a one-time $45 activation fee.
- Paid plans: $19–$99/mo (Core, Studio, Gallery, Premier) with $0 call activation.
- Platform fee on paid entries: 5% of the entry fee on Free, stepping down to 1% on Premier. Free-entry calls carry no per-entry charge.
- Sales commission when artwork sells through the platform: 4% down to 1% by plan.
- 45-day free trial on paid plans, no credit card required to start.
These are our current published prices, the same numbers you will find on our pricing page and at checkout.
Looking for a CaFÉ alternative?
A CaFÉ alternative usually comes up when the per-call math stops working, or when staff want results to flow into exhibitions, sales, and membership without re-entry. Crafted Call keeps the jury workflow galleries expect and connects everything that follows it.
Migration reality
Plan a transition around call boundaries. Preserve CaFÉ reports and media required for your files, then scope which call settings and historical fields can be imported or recreated.
A vendor export proves data portability; it does not guarantee that every field, attachment, status, or historical event maps one-to-one.
What galleries say
“We literally could not run our non-profit without Crafted Call. It saves us so much time and money every month.”
Elizabeth PieroniExecutive Director, Mosaic Art Collective
- calls hosted
- 37calls hosted
- submissions reviewed
- 1,619submissions reviewed
- members in their artist community
- 369members in their artist community
Sources and review date
Pricing and capability facts verified July 19, 2026. Product details can change, so confirm the final scope and quote before buying.
Crafted Call vs CaFÉ: common questions
Does CaFÉ include multi-round jurying?
How much does CaFÉ cost for organizations in total?
What is the $225 CaFÉ charge?
Is there a CaFÉ alternative without per-call fees?
Does leaving CaFÉ mean losing artist reach?
Why might a gallery still choose CaFÉ?
Compare with your real workflow
Bring your call count, applicant volume, jury structure, post-acceptance work, and required exports. The right answer should survive that concrete comparison.