Toast has two pricing paths; Square has three plans
Toast's traditional pricing usually costs less on processing, while Square costs less to start and to leave. Toast sells its Starter Kit two ways. With pay-as-you-go, you pay nothing for the basic hardware and no monthly fee for basic software, and instead pay 3.09% on every card sale. Toast says this covers all costs except shipping and taxes, and that it is not a lease: you own the hardware from day one [3]. With traditional pricing, you pay for hardware up front, pay monthly for software, and the card rate drops to 2.49% [3].
Square keeps hardware separate and sells software as plans. Square Free has no monthly fee and charges 2.6% + 15¢ in person. Plus costs $49 per location per month and charges 2.5% + 15¢. Premium costs $149 per location and charges 2.4% + 15¢ [1].
Ask Toast one question in writing
Toast's starter-kit page states the 3.09% and 2.49% rates without a per-sale fee [3]. Ask Toast to confirm in writing whether any per-transaction fee applies to your account. At 1,000 sales a month, even 15¢ a sale would add $150.
Monthly cost at two restaurant sizes
We priced two restaurants with every card sale in person, using only the published rates and monthly fees. Toast traditional uses its $69 Point of Sale starting price [2]; hardware bought up front is not included.
| Pricing | Processing | Software | Month | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toast traditional, 2.49% [3] | $498 | $69 [2] | $567 | $6,804 |
| Toast pay-as-you-go, 3.09% [3] | $618 | $0 | $618 | $7,416 |
| Square Free, 2.6% + 15¢ [1] | $640 | $0 | $640 | $7,680 |
| Square Plus, 2.5% + 15¢ [1] | $620 | $49 | $669 | $8,028 |
| Pricing | Processing | Software | Month | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toast traditional, 2.49% [3] | $1,494 | $69 [2] | $1,563 | $18,756 |
| Square Plus, 2.5% + 15¢ [1] | $1,700 | $49 | $1,749 | $20,987 |
| Square Free, 2.6% + 15¢ [1] | $1,760 | $0 | $1,760 | $21,119 |
| Square Premium, 2.4% + 15¢ [1] | $1,640 | $149 | $1,789 | $21,467 |
| Toast pay-as-you-go, 3.09% [3] | $1,854 | $0 | $1,854 | $22,248 |
Two patterns stand out. First, Toast pay-as-you-go is cheap to start but grows with sales; at $60,000 a month it costs about $3,500 a year more than Toast traditional. Second, Square's 15¢ per sale is why Square Free trails Toast pay-as-you-go at the smaller spot even though its percent is lower. Kitchen screens add to Square's cost: two KDS devices on Plus are another $60 a month [1].
Hardware: Square lists prices, Toast lists payment options
Square publishes a price for each device: the Reader is $59, the Stand $149, the Terminal $299, the Handheld $399 (it takes tableside orders and has a barcode scanner) and the Register $899 [5]. Square Kiosk software is $99 per device per month on Plus or Premium [1].
Toast does not list device prices on its hardware page. It says hardware starts at $0, and that "$0 applies to first device hardware only" with software and processing fees applying [4]. The Starter Kit covers one location with up to two terminals [2]. Beyond paying up front, Toast offers Toast Easy Pay, which takes a daily percentage of sales to pay for hardware, setup, shipping and taxes over 180 days, with no interest or fees [6].
- Toast Easy Pay is a daily deduction from your sales. Ask what percent, and plan for it in slow weeks.
- With Square, hardware is a one-time purchase, and you can move to another processor without a hardware payoff.
- With Toast pay-as-you-go, the hardware is yours from day one, but the 3.09% rate is how you pay for it [3].
Which fits which restaurant, on cost alone
| If you | Look first at | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Are opening and short on cash for hardware | Toast pay-as-you-go | No upfront hardware or basic software fee; the cost is in the 3.09% rate [3] |
| Have steady sales over about $30,000 a month | Toast traditional | 2.49% with no per-sale fee stated [3], against Square's 15¢ on every check [1] |
| Want to test a concept and keep the option to leave | Square Free | $0 plan, no locked-in contract [1] |
| Run several kitchen screens or kiosks | Price both in full | Square charges per KDS and kiosk device [1]; Toast quotes custom setups [2] |
| Have more than one location | Ask both for a quote | Toast's listed pricing is for single locations [2]; Square's plan fee is per location [1] |
Cost is only half the choice. Features such as online ordering, payroll and offline mode differ, and both companies list them on their pricing pages. Toast advertises an offline mode that keeps taking card payments during an internet outage [2]. Ask for a demo of the screens your staff will use most, and price the whole setup, not the rate alone.
Switching later: what each page says
Square's pricing page says "No hidden fees or locked-in contracts. Cancel or switch anytime" [1]. The Toast pricing pages we read do not state a contract length or cancellation terms; they point to Toast's terms of service [4]. Get the term, renewal and any early termination fee in writing before you sign.
If you are comparing a Toast or Square quote with other restaurant processors, run it through the fee analyzer with a month of your sales. BatchOut is our own processing service; if we show it as an option, we label it as ours.