A FilmFreeway alternative built for your own branded call for entries
A dedicated platform for your own audience, your own brand, and entry fees that go straight to you
What are the issues with FilmFreeway?
FilmFreeway is the dominant marketplace for film and screenplay submissions — if you're running a public call for entries and want access to its filmmaker audience, there's genuinely no comparable directory. But that scale comes with two problems worth naming directly, because they show up consistently across independent reviews. First, the cost structure: FilmFreeway charges a 12% commission on any festival that charges entry fees, on top of a 3% + $0.30 payment processing fee, plus a $100 one-time activation fee and $50 for every subsequent call for entries — so the more successful your paid programme is, the more of your entry revenue FilmFreeway takes. Second, and more serious for organisers: FilmFreeway's own directory model means legitimate festivals sit alongside a well-documented problem of low-quality and fraudulent listings, and multiple reviewers — both filmmakers and organisers — describe slow or unresponsive customer support when disputes come up. That reputational noise affects every festival on the platform, including yours, simply by association.
How can Dapple help?
Dapple isn't trying to be a public marketplace — it's a dedicated submission management platform for your own branded programme. You don't inherit anyone else's reputation, your entrants only see your event, and there's no 12% commission: entry fees go straight into your own Stripe account at 2% + $0.25 plus Stripe's standard processing fees, paid instantly rather than held in a lump payout at the end of your event. Pricing is public and flat from $49/month, with no activation fee and no per-call charge for running additional editions. The honest trade-off: if FilmFreeway's built-in audience of filmmakers actively searching for festivals to enter is core to how you find entrants, that's a real distribution advantage Dapple doesn't replicate — Dapple is built for organisations that already have an audience and want full control over the experience, the branding, and the economics of their own call for entries.
Side by side
Dapple vs FilmFreeway at a glance
Compare the top-level costs and features across both platforms.
| ✦ Dapple | FilmFreeway | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing structure | Flat monthly plan from $49 — unlimited programmes, no activation fee | Free if no entry fees charged; 12% commission on paid entries, plus a $100 one-time activation fee and $50 per subsequent call for entries |
| Payment processing | 2% + $0.25 via your own Stripe account, plus Stripe's standard processing fees — no commission | 3% + $0.30 processing fee, stacked on top of the 12% commission |
| Payout timing | Instant, direct to your own Stripe account | Held until event completion for first-year festivals; paid out monthly thereafter |
| Platform reputation | Your own branded programme — entrants only see your event | Shared public directory; independent reviews report a persistent problem with fraudulent or low-quality listings alongside legitimate festivals |
| Customer support | Direct support for your programme | Multiple third-party reviews describe slow or unresponsive support during disputes |
| Audience & discovery | You bring your own audience; full control over branding and experience | Large built-in filmmaker audience actively browsing for festivals — a genuine distribution advantage for public discovery |
| Best for | Organisations that want their own branded call for entries, without commission or shared reputation risk | Organisers prioritising exposure to FilmFreeway's existing filmmaker audience over cost or brand control |
FilmFreeway pricing as published on filmfreeway.com and reputation findings as reported across independent review sites in 2026 — confirm current terms directly with the vendor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, particularly for organisations that want their own branded call for entries rather than a listing inside a shared public directory. Dapple gives you a dedicated submission platform with flat monthly pricing and no commission on entry fees, at the cost of the built-in filmmaker audience FilmFreeway provides — so the right choice depends on whether you're relying on FilmFreeway's discovery traffic or bringing your own entrants.
FilmFreeway charges a 12% commission on any festival that charges entry fees, plus a 3% + $0.30 payment processing fee on top, along with a $100 one-time activation fee and $50 for each subsequent call for entries. Dapple charges no commission — entry fees go through your own Stripe account at 2% + $0.25 per transaction, plus Stripe's standard processing fees, with no activation fee.
Because FilmFreeway operates as an open public directory, legitimate festivals are listed alongside events that independent reviewers have flagged as low-quality or fraudulent, and that reputational risk isn't something an individual organiser can fully control. Running your call for entries on your own branded platform, like Dapple, means entrants only ever see your event and its record, not a shared directory.
No — this is the honest trade-off. FilmFreeway's core advantage is its large, built-in audience of filmmakers actively browsing for festivals to enter. Dapple is built for organisations that already have an audience, or generate their own through marketing and outreach, and want full control over branding, entry fees, and the applicant experience rather than public discovery.
On Dapple, entry fees settle instantly to your own Stripe account. On FilmFreeway, payouts for first-year festivals are held until the event is complete and issued as a single payment, with monthly payouts for subsequent years.
Dapple has no activation fee and no approval or quality-review process to be listed — sign up free, build your form with a template or the AI form generator, and launch the same day. FilmFreeway requires a $100 activation fee and a subjective quality review of your festival before it can be publicly listed.