Toast
The restaurant POS that owns the whole stack, hardware and contract included.
What is Toast?
Toast is a restaurant-only point-of-sale and operations platform running on its own Android hardware. It handles dine-in orders, handhelds, kitchen display screens, online ordering, delivery, payroll, gift cards, and loyalty, all stitched together for how restaurants actually work. The catch is the contracts: most plans lock you into 2-3 years with auto-renewal and early termination fees, and you must use Toast Payments.
Ecommerce, retail operations, product discovery, reviews, subscriptions, payments, and store automation tools.
See the full Ecommerce & Retail guide to compare more tools, buyer criteria, and related workflows.
Use cases to evaluate
Running front-of-house orders, handhelds, and kitchen display screens in a full-service restaurant
Accepting online orders and managing delivery through DoorDash and Uber Eats from one menu
Running restaurant payroll with tip pooling and tipped minimum wage rules
Operating gift cards, loyalty, and email marketing tied to actual order data
Fit to evaluate
Full-service restaurants and bars with 1-20 locations
Quick-service operators needing kiosks, handhelds, and KDS in one system
Restaurant groups wanting one vendor for POS, payroll, and online ordering
Operators ready to commit to a multi-year contract for bundled hardware
Business fit
Right for you if you run a full-service or quick-service restaurant, bar, or cafe that needs handhelds, KDS, and online ordering working together. Best fit for operators with 1-20 locations who want one vendor for POS, payments, payroll, and online ordering. Skip it if you can't commit to a multi-year contract, if you want to keep your existing payment processor, or if you're a small cafe doing simple counter service (Square handles that for much less). Independent operators often regret signing before negotiating processing rates, which Toast will move on if you push.
How to evaluate Toast
Use this category when store operations, conversion, retention, or fulfillment need improvement.
Confirm the exact workflow
Map Toast to one concrete workflow first, such as running front-of-house orders, handhelds, and kitchen display screens in a full-service restaurant. Avoid buying before the owner, trigger, output, and success metric are clear.
Check category fit
Compare storefront integrations, analytics, fulfillment, inventory, and customer data workflows.
Compare practical alternatives
Shortlist Toast against Recharge, Loop Returns, Tapcart so the decision is based on fit, effort, and workflow ownership rather than brand recognition alone.
Validate cost and rollout effort
Toast publishes three tiers but real cost depends on hardware bundle and negotiated processing rates. The Quick Start Bundle is $0/mo software for small single-location operators using basic hardware. The Core plan is around $69/mo and includes the full POS suite. Custom (Build Your Own) is quote-based for multi-location and enterprise. Card-not-present processing runs roughly 3.5% + 15 cents (3.89% + 15 cents for Amex); in-person rates are negotiated. Add-ons like Toast Now (online ordering, delivery, marketing) run $75-$175/mo. Contracts are typically 2-3 years with auto-renewal. Also confirm implementation time, support needs, and whether the medium setup matches your team.
Compare Toast with alternatives
Use this quick comparison before booking demos or moving data into a new system.
| Primary workflow | Running front-of-house orders, handhelds, and kitchen display screens in a full-service restaurant, Accepting online orders and managing delivery through DoorDash and Uber Eats from one menu |
|---|---|
| Best-fit team | Full-service restaurants and bars with 1-20 locations, Quick-service operators needing kiosks, handhelds, and KDS in one system |
| Implementation effort | Medium setup and maintenance profile |
| Pricing check | Published pricing |
| Closest alternatives | RechargeLoop ReturnsTapcartOkendo |
Toast pricing
| Model | Published pricing |
|---|---|
| Snapshot | Toast publishes three tiers but real cost depends on hardware bundle and negotiated processing rates. The Quick Start Bundle is $0/mo software for small single-location operators using basic hardware. The Core plan is around $69/mo and includes the full POS suite. Custom (Build Your Own) is quote-based for multi-location and enterprise. Card-not-present processing runs roughly 3.5% + 15 cents (3.89% + 15 cents for Amex); in-person rates are negotiated. Add-ons like Toast Now (online ordering, delivery, marketing) run $75-$175/mo. Contracts are typically 2-3 years with auto-renewal. |
| Checked |
Common questions about Toast
What is Toast?
Toast is a restaurant-only point-of-sale and operations platform running on its own Android hardware. It handles dine-in orders, handhelds, kitchen display screens, online ordering, delivery, payroll, gift cards, and loyalty, all stitched together for how restaurants actually work. The catch is the contracts: most plans lock you into 2-3 years with auto-renewal and early termination fees, and you must use Toast Payments.
What is Toast used for?
Common use cases: Running front-of-house orders, handhelds, and kitchen display screens in a full-service restaurant; Accepting online orders and managing delivery through DoorDash and Uber Eats from one menu; Running restaurant payroll with tip pooling and tipped minimum wage rules; Operating gift cards, loyalty, and email marketing tied to actual order data.
How much does Toast cost?
Toast publishes three tiers but real cost depends on hardware bundle and negotiated processing rates. The Quick Start Bundle is $0/mo software for small single-location operators using basic hardware. The Core plan is around $69/mo and includes the full POS suite. Custom (Build Your Own) is quote-based for multi-location and enterprise. Card-not-present processing runs roughly 3.5% + 15 cents (3.89% + 15 cents for Amex); in-person rates are negotiated. Add-ons like Toast Now (online ordering, delivery, marketing) run $75-$175/mo. Contracts are typically 2-3 years with auto-renewal.
Who is Toast best for?
Toast fits Full-service restaurants and bars with 1-20 locations, Quick-service operators needing kiosks, handhelds, and KDS in one system, Restaurant groups wanting one vendor for POS, payroll, and online ordering, Operators ready to commit to a multi-year contract for bundled hardware. Right for you if you run a full-service or quick-service restaurant, bar, or cafe that needs handhelds, KDS, and online ordering working together. Best fit for operators with 1-20 locations who want one vendor for POS, payments, payroll, and online ordering. Skip it if you can't commit to a multi-year contract, if you want to keep your existing payment processor, or if you're a small cafe doing simple counter service (Square handles that for much less). Independent operators often regret signing before negotiating processing rates, which Toast will move on if you push.
What are alternatives to Toast?
Common alternatives to Toast include Recharge, Loop Returns, Tapcart, Okendo, Triple Whale, Northbeam.