Toast

POSFree / from $69/mo

About

Restaurant-specific POS with AI analytics, online ordering, and workforce management.

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Key Features

Toast IQ conversational AI assistant (launched Oct 2025): asks-and-acts on data from ~148,000 locations - flags top sellers by daypart, answers questions like 'Who's working Friday night?', and can update menus or edit shifts directly from the Toast Now app or Toast Web.

Restaurant-grade proprietary hardware line: Toast Go 3 handhelds for tableside ordering and payment, Toast Flex terminals, Kitchen Display System, self-order Kiosk, and Toast Tap card reader - with an offline mode that keeps taking orders and card payments during internet outages.

Digital Storefront suite: commission-free first-party online ordering, Toast Delivery Services (on-demand local driver network), the consumer-facing Local by Toast ordering app, Toast Websites, branded mobile apps, and third-party delivery integrations managed in one place.

Toast Payroll & Team Management: payroll processing and tax filing synced to POS timekeeping, scheduling, tips manager, digital onboarding, Toast Pay Card, plus optional benefits, 401(k) and workers' comp via partners.

xtraCHEF by Toast (Supplier & Accounting suite): invoice automation, accounting sync, food-cost analytics, recipe costing and inventory management for back-office cost control.

Guest marketing stack: email marketing, loyalty program, physical/online gift cards, unified Guest CRM, Toast Tables (reservations, waitlist, table management), and AI-assisted Google/Meta advertising.

Restaurant Management suite for groups: multi-location menu and price management, advanced reporting, peer Benchmarking (compare sales, turn times, order volume against similar restaurants), analytics API, and 170+ certified integrations.

Pricing

Free / from $69/mo

Contact Toast directly for detailed pricing information, custom plans, and enterprise quotes.

What is Toast?

Toast (NYSE: TOST) is a cloud-based, restaurant-only point-of-sale and management platform used by roughly 148,000 locations, spanning single-location cafes to multi-location restaurant groups, primarily in the US. Unlike generic POS systems, it bundles the entire restaurant stack under one vendor: rugged proprietary hardware (terminals, Toast Go handhelds, kitchen displays, kiosks), built-in payment processing, commission-free online ordering and delivery dispatch, payroll, invoice/food-cost automation (xtraCHEF), and the Toast IQ AI assistant. The trade-off for that depth is lock-in: it runs only on Toast-approved hardware, payments go through Toast, and reviewers report a standard two-year contract with early termination fees.

Toast adoption: what our data shows

3,748 of 71,239 unique US restaurant locations (September 2026 scan)

41.8% of the 8,962 locations where we detected any technology.

Toast is the most-detected POS in our current scan, found on more than twice as many locations as Square, the second-most-detected POS.

Definition: Detected public website signal (embedded widget, booking link, ordering button or platform script), not a confirmed contract or install. Scan: 238,000+ restaurant websites, deduplicated to 71,239 unique locations in the United States (50 states + DC); September 2026 recount.

See the full restaurant technology adoption report

Toast pricing

Plan	Price	Notes
Starter Kit	$0/month	For single-location restaurants needing 1-2 terminals. Hardware kit with no upfront cost; the trade-off is higher payment processing (pay-as-you-go platform rate). Pricing applies to new customers and single locations on
Point of Sale	Starting at $69/month	Core POS with flat-rate processing; choose your own hardware configuration. Add-ons (online ordering, marketing, payroll, xtraCHEF) cost extra.
Build Your Own	Custom pricing	Full Toast platform - pick modules such as automated inventory, payroll and tips manager, scheduling, marketing/loyalty/gift cards, benefits.
POS + Payroll bundle (new restaurants)	$69/month + $9 per employee/month (down from $90, as of July 2026)	Everything in Point of Sale plus payroll essentials, basic scheduling, Toast Pay Card/PayOut and optional insurance/401(k) via partners.
Payment processing (not published on Toast's pricing page)	2.49% + $0.15 card-present with hardware paid upfront; 3.09% + $0.15 pay-as-you-go; 3.50% + $0.15 card-not-present	Rates per NerdWallet's review; Toast itself only advertises a 'simple, flat rate' and is a payment facilitator - processing is mandatory and built in. Hardware examples per NerdWallet: Handheld Starter Kit $449.10, Count

Vendor pricing page re-checked September 20, 2026 (vendor page last updated August 20, 2026): plan structure (Starter Kit / Point of Sale / Build Your Own), Toast-only approved hardware, Toast as payment facilitator, and included 24/7 Toast Care support confirmed; exact tier prices render dynamically - dollar figures below last fully verified July 2026; confirm with the vendor before purchase.

Toast pros and cons

Pros

+Very easy to use: 'Ease of Use' is the top-mentioned strength on G2 (93 mentions, 4.2/5 from 370 reviews) and Capterra scores ease of use 4.2/5 across 553 reviews - reviewers say new staff need minimal training.
+Restaurant-specific workflow is genuinely strong: reviewers single out tableside handheld payments ('I like the fact that it accepts payments at the table' - G2), plus reporting, tip management and online ordering as favorites (Capterra).
+All-in-one platform with 24/7/365 phone and web support included in every software subscription at no extra cost - NerdWallet lists round-the-clock support and the free-for-2-terminals entry plan among its top pros.

Cons

−Customer support is the #1 complaint: 'Poor Customer Support' (29 mentions) and 'Poor Support Access' (15) are the top negative tags on G2, and Capterra's Customer Service sub-score is just 3.7/5 - some reviewers report multi-day email response times.
−Costs climb beyond the advertised price: 'Expensive' is a recurring G2 tag (19 mentions); Capterra reviewers note add-ons, hardware and processing fees stack up, and NerdWallet flags Toast's online (card-not-present) processing rates as pricier than competitors.
−Lock-in and payment friction: Toast requires a two-year contract with early termination fees and runs only on Toast-approved hardware with mandatory Toast payments (official FAQ confirms no BYO hardware); 'Payment Issues' is a G2 con tag (13 mentions), with some Capterra reviewers reporting delayed payouts.

Top Toast alternatives

Square for Restaurants

Free $0/month plan, no contract ('upgrade, downgrade or cancel at any time without penalty' per NerdWallet) and published flat rates - better for small or counter-service spots that refuse a two-year commitment.

Clover

Restaurant POS with a large hardware ecosystem (Mini, Flex, Station Duo, KDS, Kiosk; 4M+ devices shipped) sold through Fiserv, banks and resellers - better if you want more choice in who provides your merchant services and hardware.

SpotOn

All-in-one restaurant POS with payments and marketing that operators most often compare head-to-head with Toast (Capterra maintains a dedicated Toast vs SpotOn comparison) - worth a quote if you want similar full-service coverage from a hungrier vendor.

Compare all Toast alternatives

Toast FAQ

How much does Toast cost?

As of July 2026: the Starter Kit is $0/month software for 1 location with up to 2 terminals and no upfront hardware cost (but higher processing rates); the Point of Sale plan starts at $69/month; Build Your Own is custom-priced; and a new-restaurant bundle adds payroll for $69/month + $9 per employee. Payment processing is mandatory and runs roughly 2.49%-3.50% + $0.15 per transaction depending on plan and card-present vs online (per NerdWallet - Toast doesn't publish exact rates). Budget for hardware too: roughly $450-$1,340 per starter kit if paid upfront.

What is Toast used for?

Toast runs the whole restaurant, not just the register: taking orders on terminals, handhelds and kiosks; kitchen display screens; commission-free online ordering and delivery dispatch; reservations and waitlist (Toast Tables); email marketing, loyalty and gift cards; payroll and scheduling; invoice and food-cost automation (xtraCHEF); and analytics with the Toast IQ AI assistant that answers questions and updates menus or shifts for you.

What are the best Toast alternatives?

Square for Restaurants is the go-to if you want a free plan and month-to-month terms with no early-termination fees. Clover offers a similar restaurant feature set with far more flexibility in hardware and merchant-services providers. SpotOn is the closest like-for-like all-in-one competitor for full-service restaurants and is frequently compared directly against Toast on Capterra.

Who is Toast best for - and who should skip it?

Best for US restaurants of any size (QSR to multi-location full service) that want one vendor for POS, payments, online ordering, payroll and back office, and value tableside handhelds and 24/7 support. Skip it if you're outside Toast's core US market, want to keep your own hardware or payment processor (not allowed), or can't commit to a two-year contract - reviewers also warn support quality is inconsistent once you're locked in.

Pricing and feature details verified September 2026from vendor websites and public review platforms. Adoption figures come from RestaurantTools.ai's scan of US restaurant websites and reflect detectable integrations only.