Square vs Toast

Verdict

Toast is our pick for a busy full-service or quick-service restaurant that wants a platform built only for food service: a kitchen display, restaurant-grade hardware, nested modifiers, payroll and a large integration network. Square is our pick for a small restaurant, cafe or food truck that wants to start on a free software plan and keep one system if the business also sells retail items or appointments. For a lower-upfront-cost alternative, see SpotOn vs Toast.

Both are point-of-sale systems that run restaurants. The price gap is not visible in the headline: it depends on devices, plan tier and card processing, so use the pricing table on this page rather than the vendors' marketing lines.

Choose Square if

• You want a free software plan to start with. Square's restaurant page lists a Free plan with branded online ordering, pickup and local delivery, and paid Plus and Premium tiers for more.

• Your business is a mix: a cafe that also sells retail items, a food truck, or a salon-and-shop combination. Square spans restaurants, retail and appointment-based services.

• You want no long-term contract language. Square's restaurant pricing page mentions none, and hardware is bought rather than leased.

Choose Toast if

• You want restaurant-specific depth: nested modifiers, real-time menu management, instant inventory syncing and a kitchen display bringing every channel into one view.

• You want support included. Toast says its support team is included in every software subscription and reachable around the clock by phone or web messaging.

• You want payroll that pulls hours and tips from the POS.

• You want a Pay-As-You-Go option that lowers upfront hardware and installation cost.

Is Toast better or Square?

Toast is better for a restaurant that lives or dies on kitchen flow and floor complexity. Square is better for a lean operation that wants a free start and one system across business types. Neither is a clear winner on price without your own device count.

Toast lists hardware including countertop terminals, handhelds, kiosks and a kitchen display, and positions itself for quick-service, full-service, bars, bakeries, food trucks, hotels and enterprise operators.

Square lists a Register, Terminal, Handheld, Stand, Kiosk and card readers, with a kitchen display app and kiosk app sold as add-ons on its paid plans.

Is it more expensive to order through Toast?

Not because of a commission. Toast describes online ordering as a way to add a revenue stream without a commission, built into the same platform as the POS and kitchen display. Square's branded online ordering pages are also described as capturing sales directly, without third-party commission fees.

The cost to compare is subscription, devices and card processing. Both also connect to delivery apps: Square lists DoorDash and Uber Eats connections, and Toast's partner directory groups delivery partners, which you would pay on their own terms.

See online ordering for how the task fits in a kit.

Is there a better POS than Square?

Possibly, if your restaurant is complex. Toast is the usual step up for food-service depth. SpotOn is worth quoting if you want a hardware-bundled plan, and TouchBistro suits table service; see Toast vs TouchBistro. For the full read on each, see Square and Toast.

Can I use my own hardware?

On Toast, no, in the general case. Its pricing page says services may only be used on approved Toast hardware, which may change over time. On Square, you buy Square's own devices from its lineup.

Neither lets you assume that an old tablet and printer will carry over, so ask before you buy.

Side by side

Limits to know

Square's restaurant page does not itemize processing rates, so check its published rates before comparing. Toast says pricing applies to new customers and single locations only, that fees such as an inactivity fee may apply, and that hardware return may be required on cancellation.

We did not confirm processing rates for either vendor on the pages checked, so they are not compared here.

Which businesses each suits

A food truck, small cafe or bakery that wants a free start and open options tends to fit Square. A full-service or quick-service restaurant with a kitchen display, many modifiers and payroll in the same system tends to fit Toast.