Fat Llama alternative in the UK: camera gear fees compared

If you own camera kit in the UK and have looked into renting it out, you have almost certainly looked at Fat Llama. It is the best-known peer-to-peer rental site in Britain, it is now part of Hygglo, and it lists everything from drills to drum kits. This guide is for filmmakers deciding where their gear should live: what each option charges, what you actually get for the fee, and when a general marketplace is the right answer anyway.

What Fat Llama and Hygglo charge

Fat Llama was acquired by Hygglo, the Nordic peer-to-peer rental marketplace, and the two now run on a shared fee model. According to Hygglo's own UK page for Fat Llama users, checked in September 2026:

• Lenders pay a 20% commission on the rental.
• Borrowers pay 10%, except in higher-risk categories — cameras among them — where the borrower fee stays at 25%.
• Cover is tiered by category, with film and photo equipment covered up to £10,000.

The company describes this as roughly a 40% reduction on the older "25% lender plus 25% borrower" structure. For an owner, the number that matters is the first one: a fifth of every rental day.

What Picturental charges

Picturental is film and photo only, and the split is the other way round:

• Owners pay nothing. Your day rate is transferred to your Stripe account in full.
• Renters pay 12% on top of the day rate, minimum £1 a day, which funds Picturental Protect, dispute mediation and payment processing.

On £900 of rental days that is the difference between keeping £900 and keeping £720. Over a year of steady weekend bookings it is the price of a decent lens.

Fees are not the whole story

A cheaper split is easy to advertise and meaningless if the wrong person turns up. What is worth comparing alongside the percentage:

• Who the marketplace is for. A general marketplace lists cameras next to carpet cleaners, and its search, insurance model and support are built for that mix. Picturental only does film and photo kit, so the categories, the search — typing "a7s3" finds a Sony α7S III, "a35" finds an ALEXA 35 — and the dispute process are built around production work.
• Identity checks. Every Picturental member passes ID checks, and any listing can require Stripe Identity verification — document plus selfie — before a renter may even request it. That switch is per listing, so high-value kit can be stricter than a spare tripod.
• Evidence at handover. Pickup and return are each confirmed with a four-digit code the other party reads out, plus photographs. When a claim happens, there is a record of who was standing there and what the kit looked like.
• Crew as well as kit. Instant Match covers the "we need it today" case: post what you need and get matched with nearby gear, or crew, in about a minute.
• Cover. Picturental Protect is funded by the renter's fee and covers damage with mediation and recovery through Stripe. It is not an insurance policy, and the Terms of Service set out exactly what it does.

When Fat Llama or Hygglo is the better answer

Honestly: when your gear is not film gear. If you are renting out a pressure washer, a projector, a PA system or a party marquee, a general marketplace reaches far more people than a specialist one can. The same is true if you want a single place for a mixed pile of equipment and you value reach over a film-specific process.

The trade is reach against fit. A larger audience costs you a fifth of each booking and puts your camera in the same queue as garden tools; a specialist marketplace keeps your rate whole and speaks the language of production, with a smaller audience while it grows.

Moving your listings across

There is nothing to migrate technically — a listing is photographs, a description, a rate and availability. Three things worth doing while you copy them over:

1. Reshoot the photographs of the actual kit. The single biggest driver of requests is a renter being able to see exactly what is in the case.
2. Recheck the rate. With no owner commission, the rate you set is the rate you keep, so the number that used to net you 80% can come down slightly and still pay you more.
3. List the contents. "In the case" beats a spec sheet: media, batteries, cage, cables, the things that decide whether someone can shoot with it tomorrow.

When you are ready, listing a piece of kit takes about two minutes, or see what is already listed for hire.

Frequently asked questions

What does Fat Llama charge owners in the UK?

Under the Hygglo fee model described on Hygglo's UK page for Fat Llama users, checked in September 2026, lenders pay a 20% commission, borrowers pay 10%, and in higher-risk categories such as cameras the borrower fee stays at 25%.

What does Picturental charge owners?

Nothing out of the day rate. The renter pays a 12% platform fee on top, minimum £1 a day, and the owner's rate is transferred in full.

Is Picturental insurance?

No. Picturental Protect is damage cover funded by the platform fee, with dispute mediation and recovery through Stripe. It is not an insurance policy, and the Terms of Service set out its limits.

Can I list the same gear in more than one place?

Yes, and many owners do while they build up reviews. Keep availability in step across platforms so you never double-book a shoot day.

Does Picturental cover crew as well as gear?

Yes. Alongside standard bookings, Instant Match lets someone post what they need — gear or crew — and be matched with someone nearby in about a minute.