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Software for Restaurants SoftwareforRestaurants

Toast, Inc.

Toast

The one built for restaurants only, with the lock-in that implies.

Free, then $69 multi-year is typical

What it costs

Entry price
Free, then $69 per month
Pricing model
subscription
Card processing
2.99% + 15¢ on the free Starter Kit, 2.49% + 15¢ on the $69 plan
Contract
multi-year is typical
Detail
Starter Kit is $0/month with higher processing. The Point of Sale plan is $69/month. Modules are priced separately and add up fast: online ordering around $75, KDS around $25, payroll around $90 plus per-employee.

Pricing checked 10 Aug 2026. Vendor's own pricing page

Where it annoys people

  • 01 You are locked to Toast payment processing. There is no bringing your own processor.
  • 02 The advertised $69 is not what anyone pays. Add the modules most independents want and it lands somewhere between $200 and $400 a month.
  • 03 Their hardware only. Equipment you already own is not coming with you.
  • 04 Contracts run multi-year and early termination is not cheap.

Our take

Genuinely the best-built restaurant POS in the list, and the ruggedised Android hardware survives a kitchen in a way iPads do not. The catch is that Toast is a commitment rather than a purchase: their hardware, their processing, their contract length. If you are confident about the next three years, it is a strong system. If you are not, the exit is expensive.