> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://blogs.persistence.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Toast vs Square for Restaurants: Pricing, Fees, Phone Orders

> Toast vs Square for restaurants: plans, card rates, hardware and contracts compared, plus how each POS handles phone orders and what to check before you choose.

**Product**COMPARISON·7 min read

# Toast vs Square for Restaurants: Pricing, Fees, Phone Orders

November 12, 2026

[← Back to Blog](https://blogs.persistence.dev/index.md)On this page
[Toast vs Square at a glance](#toast-vs-square-at-a-glance)
[How much does Toast cost?](#how-much-does-toast-cost)
[How much does Square for Restaurants cost?](#how-much-does-square-for-restaurants-cost)
[Which has better restaurant features?](#which-has-better-restaurant-features)
[How do phone orders work in Toast and Square?](#how-do-phone-orders-work-in-toast-and-square)
[What about Clover?](#what-about-clover)
[Toast or Square: which should you choose?](#toast-or-square-which-should-you-choose)
[How this works in Persistence](#how-this-works-in-persistence)
[Related resources](#related-resources)
[FAQ](#frequently-asked-questions)

[Persistence](https://persistence.dev) / [Blog](https://blogs.persistence.dev/index.md) / Product

![Illustration comparing two restaurant POS systems with phone orders flowing into tickets](https://mintcdn.com/persistence-76f2dd8d/nAaSjoMX-8vROkmj/images/blog/toast-vs-square/article.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=nAaSjoMX-8vROkmj\&q=85\&s=7feb37fbd735756d557980c29a847208)

Key takeaways

<ul>
  <li>Toast vs Square comes down to depth vs flexibility. Toast is built only for restaurants, with deeper restaurant features and custom-quoted rates, usually on a 2-year agreement. Square for Restaurants publishes every rate and has no long-term contract.</li>
  <li>Both start at $0 a month, and both paid restaurant plans start at $69 per location per month. Square's Premium plan is \$165.</li>
  <li>Phone orders are where most comparisons stop. Without an AI agent, staff key phone orders and cards into either POS, and keyed cards cost more than tapped ones.</li>
  <li>Square has its own AI phone-ordering feature; Toast relies on partners for phone orders. Either way, check that phone orders land as real tickets with modifiers.</li>
</ul>

**Try it on your own calls.** Build a voice agent and test it before it takes real calls. Start with \$10 in free credits. **[Start for free →](https://persistence.dev)**

Choose Toast if you're a busy full-service or multi-location restaurant that wants restaurant-specific depth (table management, coursing, Toast-built hardware) and you're comfortable with a quoted rate and a 2-year agreement. Choose Square for Restaurants if you want published, predictable pricing, no long-term contract, and a POS that also suits a cafe, food truck or counter-service spot. For phone orders, both can take them; the difference is how much your staff have to type.

Most Toast vs Square comparisons cover hardware, card rates and features. They skip something every restaurant deals with on a Friday night: the phone. Takeout and pickup orders still come in by phone, and how they get into your POS, and how the guest pays, affects your fees, your staff time and your error rate.

This guide compares Toast and Square for Restaurants on pricing, fees, hardware and contracts using each company's own pages, then looks at phone orders and how they work in each.

## Toast vs Square at a glance

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th />

      <th>Toast</th>
      <th>Square for Restaurants</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>

  <tbody>
    <tr><td>Built for</td><td>Restaurants only</td><td>Restaurants, retail, services</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Free plan</td><td>Starter Kit, from $0/month, with pay-as-you-go processing</td><td>Free, $0/month</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Paid plans</td><td>Point of Sale from $69/month; Build Your Own custom</td><td>Plus $69, Premium $165 per location/month</td></tr>       <tr><td>In-person card rate</td><td>Custom quote (Amex published: 3.29% + 15¢)</td><td>2.6% + 15¢ (Free), 2.6% + 10¢ (Plus, Premium)</td></tr>       <tr><td>Keyed or card-not-present</td><td>Custom quote (Amex published: 3.89% + 15¢)</td><td>3.5% + 15¢</td></tr>       <tr><td>Contract</td><td>2-year agreement on pay-as-you-go</td><td>No long-term contract</td></tr>       <tr><td>Hardware</td><td>Toast hardware; first device from $0</td><td>Square hardware, e.g. Terminal $299, Handheld $399</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Online ordering</td><td>Commission-free; flat fee per delivery</td><td>Online ordering site included</td></tr>
    <tr><td>AI phone ordering</td><td>Through partners</td><td>Square's own AI voice ordering, plus partners</td></tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

*Checked November 11, 2026 on Toast's and Square's own pricing pages. Toast quotes most rates individually, so confirm yours.*

## How much does Toast cost?

<ul>
  <li>**Starter Kit:** from $0 a month in software, for one or two terminals, with pay-as-you-go processing at a higher per-transaction rate. Toast says this comes with a 2-year agreement.</li>     <li><strong>Point of Sale:</strong> from $69 a month.</li>
  <li>**Build Your Own:** custom pricing.</li>
</ul>

Toast doesn't publish its standard Visa and Mastercard rates; its payments page says it builds a custom rate for each restaurant ([Toast](https://pos.toasttab.com/payments/payment-processing-fees)). It does publish American Express rates on its Starter Kit page: 3.29% + 15¢ in person and 3.89% + 15¢ card-not-present. NerdWallet reports Toast's standard in-person rate at 2.49% + 15¢ and keyed rates around 3.5% + 15¢ ([NerdWallet](https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/toast-vs-square), February 2026). Ask your Toast rep for your exact rates.

Hardware starts at \$0 for the first device, and Toast's Easy Pay option spreads hardware over 180 days by holding back 0.75% of daily card sales ([Toast](https://pos.toasttab.com/pricing-payment-options)). You generally use Toast's own hardware.

## How much does Square for Restaurants cost?

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th />

      <th>Free</th>
      <th>Plus</th>
      <th>Premium</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>

  <tbody>
    <tr><td>Monthly, per location</td><td>$0</td><td>$69</td><td>$165</td></tr>       <tr><td>In-person rate</td><td>2.6% + 15¢</td><td>2.6% + 10¢</td><td>2.6% + 10¢</td></tr>       <tr><td>Online rate</td><td>2.9% + 30¢</td><td>2.9% + 30¢</td><td>2.9% + 30¢</td></tr>       <tr><td>Kitchen display</td><td>$20/month per device</td><td>Included</td><td>Included</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Phone support</td><td>Weekdays</td><td>24/7</td><td>24/7</td></tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Keyed cards and cards on file cost 3.5% + 15¢, and Payment Links cost 3.3% + 30¢ ([Square fees](https://squareup.com/us/en/payments/our-fees)). There's no long-term contract. Extra countertop POS devices are \$50 a month each ([Square for Restaurants pricing](https://squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/restaurants/pricing)).

Many comparison pages still quote $49 and $149 for Square's paid plans. Those are Square's general online-store plans, not the restaurant plans.

## Which has better restaurant features?

**Toast** is restaurant-only, and it shows in table management, coursing, split checks and pre-authorized tabs on every plan, plus Toast-built handhelds and kitchen displays, payroll, and a large integration ecosystem. Toast says it serves about 189,000 restaurant locations (Q3 2026 results, [SEC filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001650164/000165016426000214/tost-20260930xexhibit991.htm)).

**Square for Restaurants** covers the essentials (menus, modifiers, kitchen display, online ordering, table layouts on paid plans) and is easier to start with: published pricing, consumer-style hardware, and no contract. It suits cafes, counter service, food trucks and smaller full-service spots, and businesses that also sell retail.

## How do phone orders work in Toast and Square?

This is the part most comparisons skip.

**Without AI**, a phone order works the same way in both: a staff member stops what they're doing, enters the order in the POS, reads it back, and either keys the guest's card or takes payment at pickup.

<ul>
  <li>In **Toast**, staff use the quick order or delivery mode and key the card; Toast's Text to Pay sends the guest a payment link, but it's waitlisted and its rate isn't published.</li>
  <li>In **Square**, staff key the card (3.5% + 15¢), charge a card on file, or send a Payment Link (3.3% + 30¢).</li>
</ul>

**With an AI phone agent**, the agent answers, reads your live menu (including what's 86'd), takes the order with modifiers, sends it to the POS as a real ticket, and texts the guest a payment link. Square has its own [AI voice ordering](https://squareup.com/us/en/press/square-releases-ai) for phone calls; Toast's phone AI comes from partners in its integration ecosystem. Both also work with third-party AI agents.

**What it costs you per order:** on Square's published rates, keying a card is slightly cheaper than a payment link on orders under $75, and the link is slightly cheaper above that. On a $40 order, keyed is $1.55 and a link is $1.62. So the reason to use payment links isn't fees. It's that nobody reads a card number aloud at the host stand, card data stays off the phone line, prepaid orders get picked up, and staff get their time back.

The bigger number is commission. A phone order you answer is commission-free; the same order through a delivery app costs 15-30% of the subtotal on [DoorDash](https://merchants.doordash.com/en-us/products) and [Uber Eats](https://merchants.ubereats.com/us/en/pricing/) delivery plans.

## What about Clover?

Clover (from Fiserv) is the other common restaurant POS. NerdWallet reports restaurant plans from about $89.95 to $129.85 a month, in-person rates around 2.3% + 10¢ and keyed rates around 3.5% + 10¢ ([NerdWallet](https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/toast-vs-square), February 2026). Clover is sold directly and through many banks and resellers, so contract terms vary by who sells it to you; read the term length and cancellation fees carefully.

## Toast or Square: which should you choose?

**Choose Toast if:**

<ul>
  <li>You run a busy full-service restaurant or several locations.</li>
  <li>You want restaurant-specific depth and Toast's ecosystem.</li>
  <li>You're comfortable with quoted rates and a 2-year agreement.</li>
</ul>

**Choose Square for Restaurants if:**

<ul>
  <li>You want published rates and no long-term contract.</li>
  <li>You're a cafe, counter-service spot, food truck or smaller restaurant.</li>
  <li>You want to start cheaply and upgrade later.</li>
</ul>

**Either way, for phone orders:**

<ol>
  <li>Count how many orders come by phone, and how many calls you miss during the rush.</li>
  <li>Decide how guests pay for phone orders: at pickup, keyed card or payment link.</li>
  <li>If you add an AI phone agent, ask to see a test order land in your POS as a real ticket with modifiers.</li>
</ol>

## How this works in Persistence

Persistence is a platform for building AI voice agents that answer and make phone calls. For restaurants on Toast, Square or Clover:

<ul>
  <li>**Orders into your POS:** Persistence connects to Toast, Square, Clover, OpenTable, Resy, SevenRooms and other POS and reservation systems, so phone orders land as tickets with modifiers and resos land in your book.</li>
  <li>**Payment links:** the agent texts the guest a payment link for phone orders, so card details are never read out over the phone.</li>
  <li>**Test before guests call:** simulated calls covering your menu, modifiers and transfer rules. [Testing](https://persistence.dev/features/testing/)</li>
  <li>**See every call:** recordings, transcripts and outcomes. [Monitoring](https://persistence.dev/features/monitoring/)</li>
  <li>**Price:** from $0.10 per minute, all in, with $10 in free credits to start.</li>
</ul>

**What it can handle, inbound and outbound:** reservations, changes and the waitlist, to-go orders with modifiers, catering and event leads, order status, menu and allergen questions from your menu, gift cards, hours and directions, plus outbound order confirmations, reservation reminders and guest feedback calls. Agents speak 40+ languages, answer as many calls at once as you need, and work across every location. Anything with an API can be connected, so the agent works with the rest of your restaurant stack too.

**In practice:** food businesses already run high call volumes on Persistence. A coffee chain makes more than 1,000 calls a day for its internal operations, and a food delivery brand makes more than 9,000 calls a day to collect feedback on orders.

For which calls to give an AI and which to keep with staff, see our [AI receptionist for restaurants](https://blogs.persistence.dev/blog/ai-receptionist-for-restaurants.md) guide, and compare phone options in our [restaurant phone system](https://blogs.persistence.dev/blog/restaurant-phone-system.md) list.

## Related resources

Keep going with our [restaurant phone system](https://blogs.persistence.dev/blog/restaurant-phone-system.md) comparison and the [AI receptionist](https://blogs.persistence.dev/blog/ai-receptionist.md) guide.

## Frequently asked questions

> [accordion] Is Toast or Square cheaper for restaurants?
>
> Square publishes all its rates and has no contract, so it's easier to predict. Toast quotes most rates individually; a busy restaurant may negotiate a competitive rate, but usually on a 2-year agreement. Compare the total of monthly fees, card rates on your sales mix and hardware.

> [accordion] Does Toast have a contract?
>
> Toast's pay-as-you-go option comes with a 2-year agreement. Ask about term length and early termination on any plan.

> [accordion] Does Square for Restaurants have a contract?
>
> No long-term contract is required.

> [accordion] Can Toast or Square take phone orders automatically?
>
> Square has its own AI voice ordering for phone calls. Toast relies on partner integrations. Both work with third-party AI phone agents that send orders to the POS and text a payment link.

> [accordion] What does it cost to take a card over the phone?
>
> On Square, keyed cards are 3.5% + 15¢ and payment links 3.3% + 30¢. Toast's rates for these are quoted individually.

## Start for free

> [card] [Build reliable voice AI with Persistence](https://persistence.dev)
>
> Design, test, and deploy production-ready voice agents.

## Continue reading

> [card] [Restaurant Phone System in 2026: 14 Options Compared](https://blogs.persistence.dev/blog/restaurant-phone-system.md)

> [card] [AI Receptionist for Restaurants: What It Handles and Costs](https://blogs.persistence.dev/blog/ai-receptionist-for-restaurants.md)

> [card] [AI Receptionist: How It Works, Costs, and How to Choose](https://blogs.persistence.dev/blog/ai-receptionist.md)

> [card] [AI Voice Agent for Ecommerce: Order Support at Peak Season](https://blogs.persistence.dev/blog/ai-voice-agents-for-ecommerce-order-support.md)

**Persistence**Automate your calls. Connect with us.**Product**[Home](https://persistence.dev)[Pricing](https://persistence.dev/pricing/)**Solutions**[All solutions](https://persistence.dev/solutions/)**Feature**[All features](https://persistence.dev/feature/)**Resources**[Blog](https://blogs.persistence.dev/index.md)[Docs](https://docs.persistence.dev)


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