HotLunch.com School Software vs Silo!
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HotLunch.com School Software
This app simplifies school lunch ordering and payment for parents and food service providers. It allows users to order meals, manage accounts, track transactions, and view nutritional information, saving time and reducing administrative burdens.
- Order school lunches
- Pay for orders
- Add credit to account
- Track transactions
- View nutritional information
- Flag allergens
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Simple, Fast. Accurate. School software for the 21st century For schools, parents, food service providers and offices. Take the hassle out of processing food orders and focus on what you do best. With Hotlunch iOS app you can: 1. Order school lunches for your kids 2. Pay orders and add credit to your account 3. Track transactions 4. View nutritional information and flag allergens. 5. Save time and money ….and lots more! “Hotlunch is an asset to our school lunch program. We are a small customer, yet the Hotlunch customer service department is very attentive to our specific needs. We are very grateful for Hotlunch.com.” - Connie, HotLunch Coordinator, Texas School “With Hotlunch.com I feel like I have a team behind me, ready to help my business grow. The support team has gone above and beyond to help me use their software to streamline our production and delivery. Thanks to hotlunch.com my staff and I can spend more time focusing on making great food!” - Florence, CEO - Food Service Provider, California ====================== Twitter: twitter.com/HotlunchPortal Instagram: instagram.com/hotlunchportal YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UChZvjMNuMAkfIluBPAlmuzQ Facebook: facebook.com/Hotlunchcom-School-Software-to-manage-online-Lunch-Service-93995739652/
Silo!
Discover fresh, homemade meals prepared by local home cooks. Browse and reserve limited batches of food, then pick them up directly. Support your neighbors and enjoy unique culinary creations.
- Discover local home-cooked meals
- Reserve portions before they sell out
- Simple QR code pickup verification
- Filter by cuisine, price, and distance
- Map view of nearby food drops
- Rate and review meals
- Home cooks can post drops and set prices
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Silo connects you with talented home cooks in your neighborhood who prepare and sell fresh, homemade meals legally, under California's AB 626 Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKO) law. Browse drops: limited batches of fresh food posted by your local home cooks. Reserve your portion, pick it up at the scheduled time, and enjoy a meal made with real care and craft, by a neighbor you can actually meet. FOR CUSTOMERS - Discover fresh drops from MEHKO-permitted home cooks near you - Reserve your portion before it sells out - Simple pickup with QR code verification at the drop window - Pickup-first means no delivery fees and no third-party drivers - Filter by cuisine, price, distance, or "open now" - Map view to see what's cooking nearby - Claim a seat at a cook-hosted group dinner - Rate and review your meals FOR HOME COOKS - Post your drops and set your own price - Manage orders from a clean supplier dashboard - Track potential revenue, earnings, and pickup countdowns at a glance - Upload your MEHKO permit and stay compliant - Get paid directly via Stripe Connect - Low fees: 5 to 10 percent on pickups, and your first few drops are free. You keep the rest. WHY PICKUP-FIRST Most food apps pile delivery fees and markups on customers, then squeeze cooks on margin, often taking 30 to 40 percent. Silo flips that. Customers pre-order, cooks only make what sold, and you pick up at a posted window. No drivers, no inflated prices, no food sitting in a thermal bag for 40 minutes. WHY MEHKO California's AB 626 lets home cooks legally sell food made in their own kitchens, with a county permit. Silo is built around that law. Every cook is verified with a valid permit before they can take orders. We follow AB 626 limits: no more than 30 meals per day, 90 per week, and $100,000 in annual sales per cook. Launching in Los Angeles. More neighborhoods soon. Privacy: https://www.silo.market/privacy Support: https://www.silo.market/support
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Silo! at 5.0 against HotLunch.com School Software's 4.4. HotLunch.com School Software's advantage is ratings volume (7K vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Silo! holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HotLunch.com School Software has 7K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HotLunch.com School Software | Silo! |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (7K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 8.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 7K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 28 MB | 56 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Aurora Software, Inc | CALEB SPENCER NEWTON |
Customer experience
HotLunch.com School Software
Silo!
Bugs and requests
HotLunch.com School Software
Reported bugs
4 issues- Orders not going through properly
- Inconsistent behavior when adding/removing items
- Invoicing and payment issues
- Compatibility problems on various devices
Requested features
5 requests- Allow saving of payment methods
- Improve order management and modification
- Streamline the ordering process
- Provide better user guidance and instructions
- Enhance performance and stability
Silo!
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
HotLunch.com School Software
No in-app purchases
Silo!
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is HotLunch.com School Software free?
Is Silo! free?
Which has better reviews, HotLunch.com School Software or Silo!?
Do HotLunch.com School Software or Silo! have ads?
Which is updated more often, HotLunch.com School Software or Silo!?
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