Toast vs Square for Restaurants: what each company puts in print
We sell neither of these, so nothing on this page is defending anything. Both are good systems. What separates them is transparency, contract length, and what the add ons cost you.
Square publishes plan prices of $0, $49 and $149 per location and card present rates of 2.6%, 2.5% and 2.4% plus 15 cents. Toast publishes $0 and $69 plans and no card rate. Square is the better fit for small, simple and seasonal operations. Toast is the better fit for full service groups needing payroll and multi location reporting.
| Toast | Square for Restaurants | |
|---|---|---|
| Software | $0 Starter Kit or $69 per month, first terminal only | $0, $49 or $149 per month per location |
| Card present rate | Not published | 2.6%, 2.5% or 2.4% plus $0.15 by plan |
| Keyed in rate | Not published | 3.5% + $0.15 |
| Hardware | From $0 on the first device, software and processing fees apply | Bought outright, from $59 |
| Kitchen display | Add on, price not published | $30 or $20 per device per month, not on the Free plan |
| Contract | Renews for one year terms, 30 days notice | No locked in contracts, cancel anytime |
Who tells you more before you sign?
Square puts nearly all of it on one page: plans at $0, $49 and $149 per location, in person rates of 2.6%, 2.5% and 2.4% plus 15 cents, and the per device app costs.
Toast publishes plan prices of $0 and $69 plus a custom tier, and notes the quoted price covers the first terminal with later devices costing more. No card rate appears anywhere.
How long are you tied in?
Square states there are no locked in contracts, that you can upgrade or cancel anytime, and that both paid plans come with a 30 day free trial.
Toast publishes an automatic rollover into successive one year periods, stoppable with at least 30 days written notice. A real commitment, stated openly, which beats a vague answer from a rep.
What do the add ons cost?
The Square kitchen display app runs $30 per device monthly on Plus and $20 on Premium. Kiosk runs $50 and $30. Neither one works on Free.
Toast sells its suites as modules on the Build Your Own tier and publishes none of those module prices. Harder to budget from a web page. Easier to tailor inside a quote.
A real person calls you back within two hours, Monday to Saturday, 8am to 7pm Central.
Can you keep the hardware?
Toast states its services may only be used on approved Toast hardware. Square card devices run Square as well, though Square does say iPads and general kitchen equipment may be reusable.
Toast also offers Easy Pay, a 180 day hardware lease collecting 0.75% of card sales daily from live customers, with no interest and no fees.
Which restaurant should buy which?
Food truck, coffee counter, bakery, seasonal stand: Square, almost every time. Nothing monthly on Free, hardware from $59, and no contract to sign.
Full service restaurant with payroll, scheduling, inventory costing and more than one address: Toast, almost every time. Those pieces sit on one platform and arrive on one bill.
Straight answer, no commission involved
Choose this one when
- You need payroll, scheduling, inventory costing and multi location reporting on one contract.
- You run a full service room where handhelds, kitchen displays and coursing are daily tools, not brochure features.
- You would rather have a quote built around your operation than a fixed plan off a web page.
Choose the other when
- You want both numbers, software and processing, published before you speak to a salesperson. Square is the only one here that does that.
- You want no contract. Square states there are no locked in contracts and you can cancel anytime.
- You are seasonal, mobile or low volume and cannot justify paying for software every month. Square Free is the right answer.
- You already own iPads and general kitchen equipment that Square says may be reusable.
What each side gives up
We sell neither of these, so both lists get written the same way.
What works
- Toast: point of sale, payroll, scheduling, inventory and reporting on one platform.
- Toast: 24/7 support included in every software subscription.
- Square: published pricing on software, processing, kitchen display and kiosk.
- Square: no locked in contract, and hardware bought outright from $59.
What does not
- Toast will not publish a card rate, so you cannot budget the biggest line from its website.
- Toast contracts renew every year unless you give 30 days written notice.
- Toast services may only be used on approved Toast hardware.
- Square bills you per device, every month, for kitchen display and kiosk.
- The Square plan fee lands per location, so a group pays it again and again.
Questions restaurant owners ask
Why does Toast not publish a processing rate?
Toast prices processing merchant by merchant, and the pricing page lists flat rate processing with no percentage attached. Toast also states it is a payment facilitator, not a card processor. Ask for the qualified rate and the per item fee in writing before you go further.
Is the Square Free plan really free?
No monthly subscription lands on Square Free. You pay processing at a published 2.6% plus 15 cents for cards tapped, dipped or swiped. Hardware is separate and starts at $59. The kitchen display and kiosk apps are not available on Free at any price.
Can I move Toast hardware to another system?
Toast states its services may only be used on approved Toast hardware, and that it may change which devices are approved at its own discretion. The terminals stay with Toast. Weigh that against a system that lets you keep your general equipment.
Do you sell either one of these?
No. We sell Shift4 SkyTab and Clover in Arkansas, so this page exists to be useful and not to sell you anything. If you want a neutral read on your own numbers, Judd Alsup will run it and tell you the answer even when it points somewhere we do not carry.
Vendor pricing and tax rates change without notice. Confirm current figures with the vendor, the city or your accountant before you rely on them. Not tax, legal or accounting advice.
Every number on this page traces to a primary source
- Toast Starter Kit $0 per month for one location with up to two terminals; Point of Sale plan $69 per month; Build Your Own custom pricing. Footnotes state pricing includes the first hardware terminal subscription, additional charges apply for subsequent devices, and pricing applies to new customers and single locations only. Toast services may only be used on approved Toast hardware. Page last updated July 8, 2026pos.toasttab.com / pricing
- Toast hardware starting at $0, which applies to first device hardware only, with software and processing fees additional. Page last updated July 16, 2026pos.toasttab.com / hardware
- Toast Easy Pay is a 180 day hardware lease with no interest or fees, collecting 0.75% of card sales daily from live Toast customers and 1.75% from customers not yet live, with an option to purchase the hardware at the end of the term. Page last updated July 16, 2026pos.toasttab.com / pricing payment options
- A Toast POS contract renews automatically for successive one year periods, and choosing not to renew requires at least 30 days written notice before the end of the current termsupport.toasttab.com
- Square for Restaurants plans: Free $0, Plus $49 per month per location, Premium $149 per month per location. In person card rates 2.6% + $0.15, 2.5% + $0.15 and 2.4% + $0.15 by plan; manually keyed or card on file 3.5% + $0.15; online 3.3% + $0.30 on Free and 2.9% + $0.30 on paid plans. Square KDS app $30 or $20 per device per month and Square Kiosk app $50 or $30 per device per month, neither available on Free. Hardware from $59. Custom pricing available above $250,000 processed per yearsquareup.com / pricing
- Square publishes no locked in contracts with the ability to upgrade or cancel anytime, a 30 day free trial on paid plans, and states existing devices including iPads, kitchen printers, receipt printers, cash drawers and routers may be reusablesquareup.com / restaurants