Toast vs. Square: Honest POS Comparison, Pricing & Features

For cafés, bars, or food trucks, Square is hard to beat for speed and ease. But if you’re running a full-service restaurant or managing multiple kitchens, you’ll likely outgrow it. 

Key Features: Toast vs. Square 

You don’t need every advanced feature—just the few that keep service moving.

From working with restaurant owners, my test for Toast and Square comparision is simple: if a tool doesn’t save minutes or prevent mistakes during a rush, it’s not a priority.

My take: If you run full service restaurants with courses and multiple stations, Toast’s robust features remove the most friction. If you’re a first single location or counter-service concept, Square’s free plan, clear payment processing, and simple hardware get you live faster. 

Start with the features that cut minutes at peak, everything else can wait.

Toast Feature Highlights

If your dining room runs on courses and timing, Toast is the safer bet. 

The table view, coursing, and kitchen routing behave the way a busy service needs—apps fire first, mains hit the right screen, expo stays ahead. 

When you add a second bar station or another line cook, the setup doesn’t fall apart; menus, roles, and rules update once and flow everywhere.

If you’re planning to grow (or just want fewer “where’s that ticket?” moments), this is the stack that keeps the floor and kitchen management in step.

Square Feature Highlights

If you want to open fast and keep the counter moving, Square does exactly that. 

Your team learns it in minutes, the built-in online store handles pickup and delivery without drama, and the hardware is plug-and-play. 

In cafés, bars, and food trucks, that simplicity is the edge (you spend less time training and more time serving). 

If later you need more, you can flip on Loyalty, Marketing, or payroll without rebuilding the whole system.

Hardware: Toast vs. Square

POS hardware decides service speed, device uptime, and how calmly your kitchen runs.

Here’s a clean comparison with the specs and real-world details operators ask about most. 

My take: Whichever you choose, map the layout first (Handheld > POS > KDS/Expo > Printer), then buy to that map. Hardware regrets usually come from station placement, not the device badge.

Pricing: Toast vs. Square

For most restaurant owners I’ve worked with, the biggest variable isn’t the subscription but the processing rate. A few tenths of a percent difference adds up fast once you’re doing volume.

I’ve stripped it down to what actually drives your bill each month, so you can judge which one fits your restaurant’s size and growth stage.

My take: At a glance, Toast costs more upfront but offers deeper control once you’re scaling or running multi-screen kitchens. Square stays cheaper and faster to start, which makes it a natural first choice for smaller teams. 

The right fit depends less on headline price, and more on how your restaurant actually runs day to day.

Customer Service: Toast vs. Square

Support isn’t just about fixing issues, it’s about how quickly your team gets back on track when service stalls. 

Here’s a straightforward comparison of how each company handles help, training, and response times in real restaurant conditions.

My take: Toast feels more “hands-on” once you’re a client—you’ll have a rep to email or call when things go sideways, though waits can still stretch during peak hours. Square takes a self-serve approach, which fits small business owners who like fast DIY fixes.

If you value guided help and restaurant-specific training, Toast gives you that structure. If you’d rather solve issues on your own schedule, Square makes it easier to do that without opening a ticket.

Who is the winner?

There isn’t one. Toast and Square solve different problems—and that’s the point. The right choice depends on your service style, kitchen complexity, and how fast you plan to grow.

If you lean Toast

You run a dine-in service or a hybrid room where table management, ordering, and KDS routing decide the night. 

You want one source of truth for menus, roles, and reports as you add stations or locations. 

You’re okay with a longer setup, Toast Payments, and proprietary hardware because the payoff is predictable service flow and tighter control.

• What you get: deeper FOH and BOH coordination, native online ordering that respects your timing rules, and centralization that scales with multi-location ops.
• Watch-outs: quote-based pricing, contracts, and higher upfronts when you add devices.

If you lean Square

You’re opening a first single location, a café, bar, or food truck, and you value speed and clarity. 

You want to get live quickly, use a free plan or Plus if needed, and add tools (Loyalty, Marketing, Square Payroll) as you grow. 

Square hardware is plug-and-play, and prices are posted, so budgeting stays simple.

• What you get: fast setup, transparent payment processing, a built-in online store, and devices like Square Register and Square Terminal that staff learn in minutes.
• Watch-outs: flat rates can pinch at higher volume, BOH depth is lighter, and you may stack add-ons over time.

Quick decision check

• Ordering + multi-KDS + dine-in? Choose Toast.
• Counter-service + launch this week + posted rates? Choose Square.
• Scaling to multiple cities? Toast’s centralization usually wins.
• Testing a concept or seasonal pop-up? Square’s flexibility reduces risk.

Cost reality in one line

Your biggest swing isn’t the software plan—it’s processing at your actual card mix. Model last month’s in person vs. online volume for both platforms before you decide.

My guidance to wrap it up

If you’re a dining room that lives on timing, Toast gives you the structure to keep service calm and consistent. 

If you’re launching lean and want numbers you can see on a single page, Square gets you live faster and keeps ops simple while you find product–market fit. 

Start with the platform that removes minutes at peak; you can add features later, but you can’t buy back a blown service.