Passings vs Cake: How Passings Compares to What Cake Offered

What was Cake?

Cake was an end-of-life planning platform founded in 2015 in Massachusetts. It used a swipe-based interface — similar to a quiz — to help users discover and articulate their end-of-life preferences. Based on your answers, Cake created a profile divided into four categories: legacy, health, legal and financial, and funeral. Each category included action steps you could take to carry out your wishes.

Cake offered free features including basic end-of-life planning, online memorials, a post-loss checklist, and document storage. Its paid tier ($96 per year) added unlimited storage, a legal online will, and one-on-one consultations with the support team.

What happened to Cake?

Cake shut down on June 15, 2025, and its consumer end-of-life planning platform is no longer available. People who had relied on Cake to capture their wishes, store documents, and work through a post-loss checklist now need an alternative that offers the same guided experience.

This guide keeps the original feature-by-feature comparison below so former Cake users — and anyone who was deciding between the two — can see exactly which capabilities to look for in a replacement, and how Passings maps to them.

What is Passings?

Passings is a comprehensive end-of-life planning platform that combines guided checklists (270 tasks across 13 categories), a zero-knowledge encrypted document vault, a provider marketplace, an AI planning companion, an obituary writer, a budget estimator, and a legacy studio. It supports both pre-need planning and immediate-need guidance for families navigating a loss. Passings starts free with a generous feature set and offers paid plans for expanded tools.

How did the planning approaches differ?

The core difference was methodology. Cake used preference discovery — it helped you figure out what you wanted through a series of yes-or-no questions, then organized those preferences into categories. The experience was designed to be approachable and low-pressure, which worked well for people who had never thought about their end-of-life wishes before.

Passings takes a guided task management approach. Rather than just capturing your preferences, it walks you through the full planning process step by step — from identifying which documents you need, to finding professionals who can help, to storing everything securely, to sharing your plan with family. The 270-task checklist covers areas that Cake's preference quiz did not address, including detailed funeral logistics, financial arrangements, and provider coordination.

For someone who already knew their wishes and just needed to record them, Cake's approach may have felt faster. For someone who needs guidance on what a complete end-of-life plan actually requires, Passings provides significantly more structure.

How does document storage compare?

Passings offers a zero-knowledge encrypted document vault using AES-256-GCM encryption with client-side key derivation. Documents are encrypted on your device before upload — Passings cannot access your files. Categories include legal, financial, medical, personal, insurance, and property, with the ability to create custom categories.

Cake provided basic document storage as part of its platform, but it did not use zero-knowledge encryption. The storage functioned more as an attachment system for your plan rather than a dedicated secure vault. For families storing wills, insurance policies, and financial records, that security difference was meaningful — and it is one of the clearest reasons to choose a vault-first replacement.

Does either platform help you find funeral providers?

Passings includes a provider marketplace where families can browse local funeral homes, estate attorneys, florists, and celebrants. You can compare services, read reviews, and request quotes directly through the platform.

Cake had limited provider connections through partnerships (such as its partnership with Eterneva for memorial diamonds) and a funeral home search tool, but it did not offer a full marketplace experience with direct quote requests and provider comparisons.

What about legacy and memorial features?

Both platforms addressed legacy, but differently. Cake offered online memorials — shareable pages where friends and family could contribute memories and tributes after a death. This was a post-loss, community-facing feature.

Passings focuses on personal legacy creation through its legacy studio, where you can write letters to specific family members, record voice notes in your own words, and attach photos with captions and stories. These are private, creator-directed messages designed to be preserved and shared on your terms. Passings also includes an AI-assisted obituary writer to help families craft meaningful obituaries.

What about pricing?

Cake's free tier included end-of-life planning, memorials, a post-loss checklist, and basic document storage. Its paid tier cost $96 per year and added unlimited storage, an online legal will, and personal consultations.

Passings offers a free tier that includes guided checklists, family collaboration, the provider marketplace, and the AI planning companion. Paid plans unlock the encrypted document vault, obituary writer, and budget estimator.

Both platforms offered meaningful free functionality. The pricing difference that mattered was what you got for free: Passings includes its guided planning engine and provider marketplace at no cost, while Cake's free tier centered on its preference quiz and memorial features.

Which platform includes legal will creation?

Cake's paid tier ($96 per year) included an online legal will. It was generated through the platform based on your answers and intended to be printed, signed, and witnessed to become legally binding.

Passings does not currently include legal will creation — this feature is on the roadmap. In the meantime, Passings' provider marketplace connects families with estate attorneys who can draft comprehensive legal documents tailored to their state's requirements. For complex estates, working with an attorney often produces a more robust result than an automated will generator. Families comparing platforms often find it useful to work through the estate planning checklist and the end-of-life documents checklist first — both help you understand the full scope of what a plan should include, beyond just a will. The cremation vs. burial costs guide is also a useful companion when you reach the disposition-of-remains decision.

Frequently asked questions

Is Cake still available?

No. Cake shut down on June 15, 2025, and its consumer end-of-life planning platform is no longer available. If you used Cake to capture your wishes or store documents, you will need a new home for that plan.

I used to use Cake — how do I move my plan to Passings?

Start with the guided checklist, which rebuilds the structure Cake's quiz used to provide and goes further. The end-of-life documents checklist and the estate planning checklist are good first passes to make sure nothing you captured in Cake gets lost. Then re-upload any documents you had stored elsewhere into the encrypted vault.

Which is better for someone who has never planned before?

Passings is the stronger starting point. Its guided checklist tells you exactly what to do and in what order, which reduces the overwhelm of not knowing where to begin. Cake's quiz-based approach was engaging but left more of the follow-through to you.

Does Passings have an online memorial feature?

Not currently. Passings focuses on pre-loss planning and legacy creation (letters, voice notes, photos) rather than post-loss community memorials. Cake offered shareable online memorials, but that feature is no longer available now that Cake has shut down.

Which has better security for storing documents?

Passings uses zero-knowledge AES-256-GCM encryption where documents are encrypted on your device before upload. Cake offered standard document storage without zero-knowledge encryption. For sensitive legal and financial documents, Passings provides stronger protection.

Disclaimer — For informational purposes only

This article is compiled from publicly available resources and is provided solely for general informational purposes. It does not constitute and should not be relied upon as legal, financial, tax, insurance, medical, psychological, or other professional advice. Passings is a planning and organizational platform, not a licensed advisory service, and no attorney-client, financial advisor-client, or other professional relationship is created by reading this content.

Laws, regulations, financial products, and professional standards vary by state and change over time. Passings makes no representations or warranties — express or implied — regarding the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or suitability of any information contained herein. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Passings disclaims all liability for any loss, damage, or harm arising from your use of or reliance on this content. Always consult a qualified, licensed professional — including an attorney, financial advisor, CPA, or licensed counselor — before making decisions specific to your situation.

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