Toast vs. Square: Which Is Right for Your Restaurant in 2026?
Toast has more industry-specific features, but Square is less expensive on most fronts.
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Updated · 2 min read
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Managing Editor Square and Toast each make point-of-sale (POS) systems designed for restaurants. Their biggest difference is cost and depth of restaurant-specific features.
Toast is a better pick for full-service restaurants. Square is often sufficient and more cost-effective for cafes, quick-service restaurants and bars.
Toast is better for:
✔️ Full-service restaurants.
✔️ In-house reservation management.
✔️ 24/7 support.
Square is better for:
✔️ Quick-service restaurants, cafes and bars.
✔️ Keeping costs low.
✔️ Avoiding contracts.
Toast pros and cons at a glance
Pros
Free plan available for restaurants with up to two POS terminals.
24/7 phone and web messaging support.
Built specifically with restaurants in mind.
Cons
Requires a two-year contract and charges early termination fees.
Charges setup fee, and offline mode includes hidden cost of backup router.
Online ordering and accounting integrations cost extra.
Square pros and cons at a glance
Pros
Free plan options for full POS system setups and card readers.
No long-term contracts or termination fees.
All plans include a free online store.
Cons
Free plan processing rates can be expensive.
Complex industries might prefer a more specialized system.
Free plan only has phone support for first 90 days.
Toast vs. Square head-to-head comparison
| Toast | Square |
|---|---|
| Monthly POS software costs | |
| $0 to $69 and up per month. | $0 to $149 per month. |
| Payment processing fees | |
|
|
| Hardware costs | |
|
|
| Customer service | |
| 24/7 phone and web messaging support. | Chat and email support in all plans. Free plan includes phone support only for the first 90 days. Plus plan subscribers can access phone support weekdays 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT. Premium plan subscribers receive 24/7 phone support. |
More details on Toast's plans and pricing
Monthly POS software costs:
- $0 for Starter Kit plan.
- $69 Point of Sale plan.
- Custom plans available.
Payment processing fees:
- 3.09-3.69% plus 15 cents per transaction, if you choose a pay-as-you-go plan.
- 2.49% plus 15 cents for card-present transactions, if you pay for hardware upfront.
- 3.50% plus 15 cents for card-not-present transactions, if you pay for hardware upfront.
Hardware costs:
- $449.10 for Handheld Starter Kit (but $0 if you agree to a higher processing fee).
- $1,024.10 for Countertop Starter Kit (but $0 if you agree to a higher processing fee).
- $1,339.10 for Guest Self-Service Starter Kit (but $0 if you agree to a higher processing fee).
More details on Square's plans and pricing
Monthly POS software costs:
- $0 for Square Free plan.
- $49 for Square Plus plan.
- $149 for Square Premium plans.
Payment processing fees:
- 2.6% plus 15 cents for in-person transactions with Free plan.
- 3.3% plus 30 cents for online transactions with Free plan.
- 2.5% plus 15 cents for in-person transactions with Plus plan.
- 2.4% plus 15 cents for in-person transaction with Premium plan.
- 2.9% plus 30 cents for online transactions with Plus and Premium plans.
- 3.5% plus 15 cents for manually keyed transactions.
Hardware costs:
- $0 for Square magstripe-only card reader ($10 for each additional reader) or if using Tap to Pay for iPhone (iPhone not included).
- $59 for Square Reader contactless and chip card reader.
- $149 for Square Stand iPad POS or Square Stand Mount (iPad not included; monthly financing available).
- $149 for Square Kiosk for self-serve ordering.
- $299 for Square Terminal mobile card reader with built-in printer (monthly financing available).
- $399 for Square Handheld portable POS system with built-in barcode scanner (monthly financing available).
- $799 for Square Register two-screen system (monthly financing available).
Where Toast stands out
Overall feature set
Both Square and Toast can handle menu courses and customization, along with multiple locations. But Toast has a number of unique features that can take on even more complex demands. Some examples include add-ons for reservation management. With Square, you'd likely need to integrate with a third-party product to access that.
Toast also offers the option to join its Takeout app. Think of it as the company's version of DoorDash or Grubhub. Ultimately, it could help increase your restaurant's visibility.
Customer service
Toast provides 24/7 customer support for all subscription levels. Square does not do this unless you subscribe to its most expensive Premium plan. This around-the-clock support availability is critical for restaurants, since they often operate outside of normal business hours.
» MORE: Best restaurant POS systems
Where Square stands out
Pricing and transparency
Square displays all of its software, hardware and payment processing pricing clearly on its website. Toast's pricing can be more difficult to navigate. For example, credit card processing fees change depending on whether you pay for your hardware upfront. And after chatting with Toast representatives, I get the idea that they typically recommend custom plans. This can make costs difficult to predict.
Square also offers a range of less expensive POS software plan options from $0 to $49 per month. And they don't charge extra to integrate with accounting software. Toast's plans jump from $0 to $69 per month, and you have to pay extra to integrate with QuickBooks Online.
Square lets you use existing iPads and tablets, too. This can help cut upfront hardware costs. Toast only lets you use proprietary hardware. You can download its Toast Tables app to a tablet, but that's mainly for reservation and table management.
Free online ordering
Square and Toast both have free versions of their POS system. But Square’s has more features. Most notably, it includes online ordering. Toast's website lists online ordering as an add-on, regardless of which plan you choose. And it doesn't clearly state what the add-on costs.
» MORE: Best free POS systems
Is Toast or Square right for your business?
Toast is better for sit-down restaurants that are willing to pay extra to track food waste and recipe costs. It has stronger features than Square, but they come at a cost. Expect to pay more in either hardware or payment processing costs, along with add-ons, if you choose Toast.
Square is better for countertop-service restaurants, small cafes and bars. If you're not concerned with in-depth reporting, it offers the basics at a more affordable price.
Toast and Square alternatives
Payment processing fees 2.6% + 10¢in-person; 2.6% + 30¢ manually keyed. | Payment processing fees 2.3% + 10¢ or 2.6% + 10¢in-person; 3.5% + 10¢ online. |
Monthly fee $189for Starter plan, $189 for Essential plan, $399 for Premium plan. | Monthly fee $0and up. |
Lightspeed: Strong reporting. Lightspeed offers powerful inventory management software that feeds into its detailed reporting tools. This helps track profit margins and reduce waste costs. It also uses data creatively to identify which servers stand out and who might need more training. Read our full Lightspeed Restaurant review.
Clover: Low in-person processing rates. All of Clover's quick- and full-service restaurant plans charge 2.3% plus 10 cents per transaction. These are lower than both Toast's and Square's rates. Read our full Clover review.
TouchBistro: Also built specifically for restaurants. TouchBistro is packed with useful features for a variety of restaurant types. The POS system also includes images and upselling suggestions. This can help give service staff useful context. Read our full TouchBistro review.
The author owned shares of Square at the original time of publication.
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NerdWallet’s point-of-sale systems provider ratings reward companies whose products and services are priced well and work in a variety of payment scenarios, among other criteria.
Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including cost, system capabilities, contract requirements, customer service and integrations and add-ons. Learn more about how we rate point-of-sale (POS) systems providers.
These ratings are a guide, but services, hardware and pricing can vary widely from business to business and provider to provider. We encourage you to shop around and compare several providers.
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