Open Food Network review: the open-source marketplace platform for local food systems. Features for producers and hubs, pricing by region, and alternatives.
Open Food Network is an open-source online marketplace built specifically for local food systems. Founded in 2012 in Melbourne, Australia, it now operates through locally-led instances in more than 20 countries, each stewarded by an affiliate organization under the umbrella of the nonprofit Open Food Foundation.
Rather than functioning as a single company selling software, Open Food Network is a collective of affiliates that share and improve a common open-source codebase, with each country instance adapting governance, pricing, and support to its local food community while contributing back to the shared platform.
Producers can set up their own independent online shop to sell directly to consumers, while food hubs, cooperatives, and buying groups can aggregate products from many producers into a single storefront for pre-ordering or pickup and delivery coordination.
The platform supports the operational needs of short food supply chains, including multi-producer order aggregation, flexible pricing for variable-weight products, delivery and pickup logistics, and reporting tools that help hubs manage the business side of connecting producers with shoppers.
Open Food Network does not take a commission on sales the way conventional e-commerce platforms do. Instead, most country instances let shops trade for free up to a monthly turnover threshold (commonly around AUD 500 in Australia or GBP 500 in the UK), after which a small percentage fee (roughly 2-3%) applies to sales above that threshold.
Any additional admin or hub fee that a food hub charges its suppliers or customers (often in the 15-30% range) is set independently by that hub, not by Open Food Network, and goes toward the hub's own operating costs rather than the platform.
Yes, shops can trade for free up to a monthly turnover threshold that varies by country (commonly around AUD 500 or GBP 500), after which a small percentage fee applies to the amount above that threshold.
No, the platform itself does not take a percentage commission on every sale. Any admin or hub fee charged is set independently by the food hub operator, not by Open Food Network.
It is stewarded by the nonprofit Open Food Foundation, founded in 2012 in Melbourne, Australia, with locally-led affiliate organizations operating country-specific instances around the world.
Yes, the platform's source code is open source and publicly available, so technically capable organizations can self-host their own instance.
Individual farmers, food hubs, buying groups, cooperatives, and farmers' markets use it to sell directly to consumers through short, transparent supply chains.
Unlike Shopify, Open Food Network is nonprofit and purpose-built for multi-producer food hub aggregation, pre-ordering, and short supply chains, and it does not take a standard e-commerce transaction cut.
It operates in more than 20 countries; availability and specific pricing depend on whether a locally-led affiliate instance exists in your country or region.