Restaurant Software
Toast vs Square for Restaurants in 2026: Published Prices, Real Differences
Toast publishes tiers from $0 and $69 a month; Square for Restaurants publishes $0, $49, and $149 per location. The real differences are hardware lock-in, processing, and contract shape. Verified August 2026, plus the third option both lists leave out.
Key takeaways
- Toast publishes Starter Kit from $0/month, Point of Sale from $69/month, and a custom Build Your Own tier. Square for Restaurants publishes Free at $0, Plus at $49, and Premium at $149, each per location, with a custom Pro tier above $250,000 a year in processing.
- The software prices are close. The platforms diverge on hardware (Toast's own, versus Square hardware from $59), processing (Toast is your processor; NerdWallet lists 3.50% + $0.15 card-not-present on its upfront-hardware plan), and contract shape (NerdWallet puts Toast terms at two to three years; Square's paid tiers advertise a 30-day free trial).
- Toast is restaurant-only and deepest at the register and kitchen. Square is general commerce with a restaurant edition, and is usually the faster start.
- Both treat your website, app, and guest marketing as modules around the register. If your growth problem is direct online orders rather than the register, that third category is the comparison neither pricing page shows.
- All prices verified on both vendors' pricing pages on August 26, 2026.
Toast versus Square is the default first question for a new independent restaurant, and most articles answering it are written by one of the two vendors. Here is the published state of both, and the question we think matters more than either.
Published pricing, side by side
| Toast | Square for Restaurants | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Starter Kit, starting at $0/month, 1 location, up to 2 terminals | Square Free, $0/month per location |
| Mid tier | Point of Sale, starting at $69/month, first terminal | Plus, $49/month per location |
| Upper tier | Build Your Own, custom pricing | Premium, $149/month per location; Pro is custom above $250k/year processing |
| Payroll | Bundle from $69/month + $9 per employee/month | $35/month + $6 per person paid |
| Hardware | Toast's own; $0-upfront kit financed through the plan | Square hardware from $59 |
Read the asterisks: every Toast tier says "starting at," and Square's tiers are per location, so a three-location group multiplies them.
Where the real differences live
- Hardware lock. Toast runs on Toast hardware. Square runs on Square readers and iPads you may already own. If you are testing a concept, the $59 reader is a different level of commitment than a terminal kit.
- Processing. Toast is also your payment processor, and the rate depends on your hardware plan; NerdWallet lists card-not-present at 3.50% + $0.15 on the upfront-hardware path. At real online-order volume the processing line dwarfs the software line, so get your exact rate in writing from either vendor before comparing subscriptions.
- Contract. NerdWallet lists Toast contract terms of two to three years. Square's paid restaurant tiers advertise a 30-day free trial, and its Free tier has no subscription at all.
- Depth versus breadth. Toast's restaurant-specific depth at the register, kitchen displays, and handhelds is the reason chains standardize on it. Square's strength is starting today, taking payments in an hour, and adding restaurant features as needed.
- The growth features are extras on both. Toast puts online ordering in Digital Storefront and websites with SEO in the Pro version of it, with no published module price. Square's restaurant tiers cover the register while online selling runs through Square Online, with kitchen displays at $30 per device per month and kiosks at $50 per device per month on its Plus tier. On both platforms, the register is the product and the guest-facing growth stack is the add-on.
The question neither pricing page answers
Both platforms price the register first. But most independent restaurants losing money in 2026 are not losing it at the register; they are losing it in third-party commissions, missed phone calls, and guests who never order direct.
That is a different product category: the website that ranks locally, ordering built like a chain app, the branded app, loyalty and email that bring guests back, and a phone that answers itself. Toast sells pieces of that around the POS. Square sells pieces of it around payments. Neither prices it as the main product.
Dinevate does only that side, and pairs with the register you keep. The shape: $499 one-time onboarding at list price, covering the website, online ordering, the branded mobile app, loyalty, local SEO content on your own domain, email marketing, and the Order Manager tablet (loaned, Dinevate property). After launch there is one ongoing arrangement, quoted to your volume: a per-order service fee or a flat monthly, with no contract. Reservations, Dinevate Voice AI, Catering Pro, and Social Media Pro are add-ons with their own pricing.
If the register is your bottleneck, compare Toast and Square head-on with the table above. If direct orders are, the relevant comparisons are Dinevate vs Toast and Dinevate vs Square Online.
Frequently asked questions
Is Toast or Square cheaper for a restaurant? On published software prices they are close: Toast from $0 or $69/month, Square from $0, $49, or $149 per location. The bill that differs is hardware, processing rate, and contract length, so compare all-in quotes, not tiers.
Does Square have a contract like Toast? Square's paid restaurant tiers advertise a 30-day free trial and a $0 Free tier. For Toast, NerdWallet lists standard terms of two to three years. Confirm your exact terms with each vendor in writing.
Can I use Toast or Square for online ordering and a website? Both sell it as an add-on around the register: Toast through Digital Storefront (websites and SEO in its Pro version, no published price), Square through Square Online. If direct online orders are the goal rather than the register, compare that stack separately; it is the product, not the accessory.
What if I already have a POS I like? Keep it. Dinevate runs the guest-facing stack alongside your existing register, which is the configuration in the Dinevate vs Toast comparison.