A Hygglo alternative in the UK for film and photo gear

If you rent film and photo gear in the UK — or rent yours out — you have probably run into Hygglo. It is the Nordic peer-to-peer rental marketplace that acquired Fat Llama, and the two now run on one platform that lists everything from cameras to carpet cleaners. This guide is for filmmakers weighing a specialist alternative: what each side charges, what you actually get, and when a general marketplace is still the better answer.

What Hygglo is

Hygglo started in Sweden as a general peer-to-peer rental marketplace — the "rent anything from your neighbour" model — and expanded into the UK, in part by buying Fat Llama. Its catalogue is deliberately broad: power tools, party gear, sports kit, and, somewhere in that mix, cameras and lenses. That breadth is the whole point of a general marketplace, and it is also the reason a filmmaker might look elsewhere.

What Hygglo charges

Fat Llama and Hygglo share a fee model. According to Hygglo's own UK page for Fat Llama users, checked in September 2026:

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

For an owner, the figure that matters is the first: a fifth of every rental day goes to the platform. We break the numbers down in detail in our Fat Llama fee comparison.

What Picturental does differently

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

• Owners keep 100%. Your day rate transfers to your Stripe account in full — no lender commission.
• 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 weekends, the price of a decent lens.

But the fee is not the real reason to choose a specialist. These are:

• Built for production, not everything. Browse is film-and-photo only: search "a7s3" and you get a Sony α7S III, "a35" an ALEXA 35. Categories, cover and the dispute process are built around shoots, not a mixed pile of household kit.
• Crew, not just cameras. Picturental hires people too — browse crew or use Instant Match to post what you need and get matched with nearby gear or crew in about a minute. A general marketplace has no answer for "we also need a gaffer today".
• Verification that scales with value. Every member passes ID checks, and any listing can require Stripe Identity — document plus selfie — before a renter can even request it. High-value kit can be stricter than a spare tripod.
• Evidence at handover. Pickup and return are each confirmed with a four-digit code read out in person, plus photographs — so a claim has a record of who was there and what the kit looked like.
• UK-focused. Owners and renters are here in Britain, and locations are shown across the UK — from London boroughs to Manchester, Bristol and beyond.

Picturental Protect is funded by the renter's fee and handles damage with mediation and recovery through Stripe. It is not an insurance policy; the Terms of Service set out exactly what it covers.

When Hygglo is the better answer

Honestly: when your gear is not film gear. Renting out a pressure washer, a projector, a PA system or a marquee? A general marketplace reaches far more people than a specialist one can, and that reach is worth the commission. The same is true if you want a single home for a mixed pile of equipment and value audience size over a film-specific process.

The trade is reach against fit. A larger, general audience costs you a fifth of each booking and lists your camera beside garden tools; a film-and-photo marketplace keeps your rate whole and speaks the language of production — with a smaller audience while it grows.

Moving your listings across

A listing is just photographs, a description, a rate and availability, so there is nothing to migrate technically. Worth doing as you copy them over: photograph each item in daylight against a plain background, set a realistic day rate (Picturental leaves it whole, so you can often price a touch lower and still earn more), and turn on verified-renters-only for anything valuable.

Frequently asked questions

Is Picturental a Hygglo or Fat Llama alternative?

Yes — for film and photo gear specifically. Hygglo (which owns Fat Llama) is a general marketplace that lists cameras alongside everything else. Picturental does film and photo kit only, so search, cover, verification and support are built around production work, and owners keep 100% of their day rate.

How do the fees compare?

Hygglo charges owners a 20% lender commission and camera renters 25%. Picturental charges owners nothing and renters 12% on top of the day rate (minimum £1/day). See our full fee comparison for worked examples.

Can I hire crew as well as gear?

Yes. Beyond renting equipment, you can browse crew or post a request on Instant Match and be matched with nearby gear or crew in about a minute — something a general rental marketplace does not do.

Is Picturental UK-only?

Yes, it is a UK marketplace. Owners, renters and pickups are across Britain, and Instant Match works by proximity to your postcode.