Why La Piazza is different
One simple page with the real math. No tricks. No ads. No data harvesting.
For the pros without papers
People ask me why I built this.
Here's the truth: in every neighborhood there are real pros who just don't have the papers. The nonna who can fix any sweater in ten minutes. The kid who builds drones from scrap. The fisherman who reads the sea better than any university degree. The mechanic who learned from his grandfather, not from a trade school. The cook whose pasta makes you cry, but who never opened a restaurant because the bureaucracy ate her alive.
Every other platform asks them to prove themselves. Tax IDs. Business registrations. Background checks. Verified payment processors. So they stay invisible. They don't get the work. They don't get the respect.
La Piazza doesn't ask for any of that. You sign up. You list what you do. Your neighbors review you. That's the credential. That's the only one that matters.
I pay for the server out of my own pocket. The architecture is small enough that the cost is small. Nobody else would build this because there's no money in it -- and that's exactly why it had to be built.
— Angel
Four promises, no asterisks
If any of these break, the community will be the first to know.
Zero fees, ever
Sell a bike for €50? You get €50. Rent the drill for €5? You get €5. Teach a sourdough class for €30? You get €30. No "final value fee", no "transaction fee", no "processing fee". Zero means zero.
Six apps in one
To do what you do here on other platforms you need six apps: one for items, one for makers, one for events, one for raffles, one to ask for help, one for your public shop. Six subscriptions. Six profiles. Six passwords. Here: one.
Real neighbors, not avatars
Every profile has a real name, a photo, a story, a neighborhood. Trust score, badges (Newcomer → Active → Trusted → Pillar → Legend), reviews from actual neighbors. No throwaway accounts, no bots, no "PowerSeller_2847".
Local, not global
Built in Trapani, from Trapani, for Trapani. No Silicon Valley investors asking "let's scale to 100M users". Developed from a camper van, deployed from a phone, tested at the bar with neighbors.
The math, in plain sight
Public fee schedules from other platforms, compared to ours. Verified April 2026 -- always check their sites for updates.
| What you do | Typical platform | What they take | La Piazza |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell used items | eBay | 13.25% + €0.30 / ordine | 0% |
| Sell handmade goods | Etsy | 6.5% + listing fee + payment fee | 0% |
| Rent a room | Airbnb | ~14-16% (host + guest) | 0% |
| Sell event tickets | Eventbrite | 3.7% + €1.79 / biglietto | 0% |
| Services (cleaning, assembly) | TaskRabbit | 15% + 7.5% trust fee | 0% |
| Organize a meetup | Meetup | ~$24/mese per organizzatore | 0% |
| Classified ads | Craigslist / Subito | Free but: no profiles, no protection, no payments | Profiles + badges + chat + payments built in |
Fees taken from each platform's public pricing pages as of April 2026. Always check their sites for current rates.
A concrete example
You rent your drill for €10/day, 4 times a month.
On a platform that takes 13%, you get €40 → €34.80.
On La Piazza you get €40. The full amount. Every time.
So how do you stay free?
Fair question. Honest answer.
No investors, no VC
No venture capital means no growth-at-all-costs pressure. La Piazza is sustainable at 100 users or 100,000.
Minimal costs, because self-hosted
Own server (~€30/month), own database, open code. No per-call AWS Lambda, no endless SaaS subscriptions. Built in-house.
Pro Bottegas (coming soon)
For people running an actual business, an optional Pro tier (~€5/month) with advanced analytics, scheduled bookings, custom branding. Regular bottegas stay free forever.
Local sponsorships, never ads
Events sponsored by local bars, bakeries, garden centers -- transparent contributions, never banner ads. No Google Ads. No Facebook tracking. No data sales.
"My father planted gardens with a hand shovel for 60 years. He didn't need an app to do it. La Piazza is built with the same philosophy: solid, sustainable, done right the first time."
-- Angel, founder
Convinced?
Start with whatever sounds best. No credit card, no tricks.
Questions? Post on the help board.
