# A simpler Local Line alternative for wholesale-only farms

**Published**
27-03-2026

**Metadescription**
Comparing Local Line and Wholesale Handler for farms that sell wholesale to restaurants and shops. Pricing, features, and who each platform is for.

**Display description**
Comparing Local Line and Wholesale Handler for small farms that sell wholesale. Full pricing and feature breakdown.

## Local Line vs Wholesale Handler

Local Line is a farm commerce platform that handles CSA subscriptions, retail storefronts, farmers market POS, and wholesale ordering. It's well-known in the local food space with over 8,000 farms using it.

Wholesale Handler does one thing: lets your wholesale customers place orders themselves.

If you sell retail, run a CSA, and do farmers markets alongside wholesale, Local Line handles all of that. If wholesale is your main channel - you supply restaurants and shops and want them to order online - you're paying for features you won't use.

## Pricing comparison

|     | Local Line (Core) | Wholesale Handler |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Base price | US$99 (source) - £75 \| €86 \| CA$138 \| A$144 \| NZ$174/month | £30 \| US$39 \| €35 \| CA$55 \| A$59 \| NZ$70/month |
| Price lists | 2 included | 10 included |
| Extra price lists | US$29 (source) - £22 \| €25 \| CA$40 \| A$42 \| NZ$51/month each | \-  |
| Transaction fees | 2.9% + US$0 (source) - £0 \| €0 \| CA$0 \| A$0 \| NZ$1 | None |
| Setup fee | None | None |

Local Line's Premium (US$199 (source) - £151 | €173 | CA$277 | A$289 | NZ$350/month) and Ultimate (US$399 (source) - £303 | €347 | CA$555 | A$579 | NZ$702/month) tiers add more price lists and lower transaction fees, but the Core plan is the relevant comparison for small farms.

Local Line doesn't state the currency on their pricing page. They're a Canadian company, so these may be CAD or USD - I'm assuming USD. Either way, the comparison holds.

Local Line prices last verified on 2026-03-27.

## The price list problem

This is where Local Line gets expensive for wholesale. Local Line uses "price lists" to manage different pricing - you create a list and assign customers to it. The Core plan includes 2 price lists.

If you're a farm selling wholesale to restaurants, each account often has negotiated pricing. A farm with 10 restaurant customers needing individual pricing would need 10 price lists - 8 beyond what's included. That's US$331 (source) - £252 | €288 | CA$460 | A$480 | NZ$583/month.

Wholesale Handler includes 10 price lists on every plan at no extra cost. For most small farms, that covers every wholesale customer.

## What Local Line does that Wholesale Handler doesn't

Local Line offers a lot beyond wholesale ordering:

-   CSA subscription management with customisable boxes
-   Retail online store with drag-and-drop website builder
-   Farmers market POS (requires separate hardware)
-   Multi-vendor food hub management
-   Payment processing (credit card, ACH, SNAP-EBT)
-   Abandoned cart recovery emails
-   Built-in CRM with bulk email campaigns
-   Route planning integrations (Routific, Road Warrior)
-   Label printing

If you need even two of these alongside wholesale, Local Line is probably worth the price.

## What Wholesale Handler does differently

### Per-customer pricing included

10 price lists included - no add-on fees, no tier upgrades. Local Line's Core plan includes 2.

### No transaction fees

Wholesale ordering typically means invoicing and net terms, not card payments at checkout. Wholesale Handler doesn't process payments - your customers order, you invoice however you already do. No 2.9% cut on every order. I built it for the wholesale world where invoicing is the norm.

### Self-service, no training needed

Local Line offers onboarding managers, which is generous - but also tells you the software needs guidance to set up. Wholesale Handler has a live demo you can try in 30 seconds. Sign up, add your products, invite your restaurant customers.

### Built for the wholesale workflow

Delivery day rules, cut-off times, customer-specific pricing, order management. Nothing else. The simplicity means your restaurant customers will actually use it - they don't need to navigate a full e-commerce storefront to reorder their usual cases of lettuce.

## Feature comparison

| Feature | Local Line | Wholesale Handler |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Customer ordering portal | yes | yes |
| Order management | yes | yes |
| Invoice generation | yes | yes |
| Customer price lists | yes (2 included (Core)) | yes (10 included) |
| Per-customer pricing | yes (US$29 (source) - £22 \| €25 \| CA$40 \| A$42 \| NZ$51/month per list) | yes |
| Delivery day rules | yes | yes |
| Cut-off times | yes | yes |
| Holiday scheduling | yes | yes |
| CSA / subscription boxes | yes | no  |
| Retail storefront | yes | no  |
| Farmers market POS | yes | no  |
| Payment processing | yes | no  |
| Food hub / multi-vendor | yes | no  |
| Email marketing / CRM | yes | no  |
| Production planning | no  | yes |
| Self-service signup | no  | yes |
| Live demo (no account needed) | no  | yes |

Local Line wins on breadth. Wholesale Handler wins on the one workflow that actually saves you time every week.

## Who should use Local Line

-   You sell through multiple channels (CSA, retail, wholesale, farmers markets)
-   You want a single platform for everything
-   You need payment processing built in
-   You run a food hub or co-op with multiple vendors
-   You need a consumer-facing online store

## Who should use Wholesale Handler

-   Wholesale is your main or only sales channel
-   You have 5-15+ restaurant accounts with recurring orders
-   Each customer has negotiated pricing
-   Your customers order the same things weekly and you want them to do it themselves
-   You invoice your customers separately (net 30, pay on delivery, etc.)
-   £30 | US$39 | €35 | CA$55 | A$59 | NZ$70/month fits your budget better than US$99 (source) - £75 | €86 | CA$138 | A$144 | NZ$174/month

## The scope argument

Local Line is a farm commerce platform. Wholesale Handler is a wholesale ordering portal. Different tools for different problems.

If a farm needs CSA management, a retail store, AND wholesale ordering, Local Line does all three. But a market garden supplying 10 local restaurants doesn't need CSA boxes, a consumer storefront, or farmers market POS. They need to stop copying orders from WhatsApp messages into a spreadsheet at 6am.

That's a £30 | US$39 | €35 | CA$55 | A$59 | NZ$70/month problem, not a US$99 (source) - £75 | €86 | CA$138 | A$144 | NZ$174/month problem.

## FAQs

**Q: What is the difference between Local Line and Wholesale Handler?**
A: Local Line is a farm commerce platform that handles CSA subscriptions, retail storefronts, farmers market POS, and wholesale ordering across multiple sales channels. Wholesale Handler is a wholesale ordering portal - it only does wholesale. If wholesale is your main sales channel, Wholesale Handler is simpler and cheaper. If you need multi-channel selling, Local Line covers more ground.

**Q: Is Wholesale Handler a good Local Line alternative for farms?**
A: For farms where wholesale is the primary or only sales channel, yes. Wholesale Handler includes 10 price lists, has no transaction fees, and is designed specifically for the wholesale ordering workflow. It does not handle CSA, retail, or farmers market sales.

**Q: Does Wholesale Handler work for farms selling to restaurants?**
A: Yes. Wholesale Handler is built for suppliers with regular wholesale customers, including farms supplying restaurants and shops. Customers get their own login, see their own prices, and place orders for their next delivery. It replaces phone, WhatsApp, and email ordering.

**Q: Can I charge different prices to different customers?**
A: Yes. Create named price lists and assign each customer to one. Customers only see their own price - they never see the list name or know other prices exist. You can set prices per product per list, or use percentage discounts from your default list. Rounding settings let you control whether prices land on clean numbers.

**Q: How much does Wholesale Handler cost?**
A: Wholesale Handler costs £30 | US$39 | €35 | CA$55 | A$59 | NZ$70 per month. There are no per-user fees, no transaction fees, and no setup costs. The price is published on the website with no sales call required.

**Q: Is there a free trial?**
A: Yes. 30 days, full access, no credit card required. You can try everything before deciding.