Overview: Two very different platforms
CraftCourses and ClassBento both let you find and book craft workshops in the UK — but they're built on fundamentally different models. CraftCourses is a marketplace where independent makers list their own classes; you're booking directly with a pottery studio or weaving teacher. ClassBento is more of a managed platform where the booking experience is standardised and ClassBento handles the customer relationship.
Neither is universally better. The right choice depends on what you're booking, where you are, and what matters to you. Here's the full breakdown.
Scale and class selection
ClassBento has the larger catalogue by raw volume — particularly since its acquisition of Obby in December 2024, which folded Obby's inventory into ClassBento. CraftCourses focuses on a curated network of independent UK makers, which translates to a smaller total number of bookable sessions but with arguably deeper quality curation.
ClassBento's scale advantage is most pronounced in major cities. If you're looking for a glass blowing class in London or a jewellery workshop in Manchester, ClassBento will almost certainly have more options with public pricing. CraftCourses often wins outside cities, where independent makers with strong local reputations list exclusively on their platform.
Pricing transparency
Both platforms now display prices publicly for most classes — a significant improvement from a few years ago when enquiry-only pricing was common. ClassBento has a slight edge on consistency: its standardised booking flow means price, duration, and group size are always displayed before you commit. On CraftCourses, some makers still use enquiry-based pricing for private group bookings.
Trust signals and reviews
Both platforms score highly on Trustpilot — ClassBento and CraftCourses both sit at 4.9★. The clearer differentiator is ClassBento's money-back guarantee, which CraftCourses doesn't match at the platform level.
CraftCourses is B Corp certified (score: 83.8) — a meaningful signal if you care about supporting an ethically run business. ClassBento is not B Corp certified.
Hen parties and group bookings
ClassBento has a dedicated hen-do booking flow with filters for group size, location, and experience type. CraftCourses doesn't have a dedicated hen-do section, though many of its makers offer private group bookings. For an organised hen party, ClassBento's flow is materially easier to use.
The Hobbycraft connection
One fact worth knowing: Hobbycraft's workshops run on ClassBento — its
/workshops URL canonicalises directly to ClassBento, meaning one of the UK's
largest craft retailers has effectively outsourced its workshop discovery to ClassBento.
This gives ClassBento significant distribution CraftCourses doesn't have.