Square vs Toast: Choose the POS That Fits How Your Restaurant Runs.

Square vs Toast: How Do They Compare Side by Side?

Toast’s listed plan prices apply to new customers and single locations only. Where Toast doesn’t publish a number, we say so instead of guessing.

Which Costs Less for a Restaurant, Square or Toast?

It depends on your card volume, your device count and which Toast package you’d land on. Square publishes its plan prices and standard rates, which our Square fees page lays out. Toast’s $69 plan advertises flat-rate processing without printing the rate, Toast builds custom rates outside its Starter Kits, and hardware and implementation are upfront costs that vary by package.

The arithmetic below uses published rates and assumes $40,000 a month in in-person card sales, 1,000 transactions at a $40 average ticket, one location, no kitchen display or kiosk, and hardware left out unless a price covers it.

At this volume, Square’s three plans land within $69 of each other, so choose a Square plan for its features, not its rate. Toast’s Pay-as-you-Go price folds basic hardware into the 3.09%, so compare it against Square plus the hardware you’d buy, such as a $299 Square Terminal.

Toast’s Traditional Starter Kit is the one published option with lower processing here: 2.49% of $40,000 is $996, which is $114 to $194 a month less than Square’s processing. Add Toast’s monthly software fee (not shown) and the hardware you buy upfront before calling it cheaper, and ask whether a per-transaction fee applies.

Square’s break-even points are simple, too. Plus’s rate is 0.1 point lower than Free’s, which covers its $49 fee at $49,000 a month in card-present sales; Premium’s extra $100 over Plus pays for itself at $100,000 a month. Below those numbers you’re paying for features. Running kitchen screens or kiosks lowers Premium’s break-even, since each KDS device costs $10 less a month on Premium than on Plus and each kiosk $20 less.

Square takes its fee from the full sale, tax and tip included, at the same rate for Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. Above $250,000 a year, ask Square about custom pricing. For how flat rates compare with other models, see credit card processing fees explained.

Does Toast Require a Contract, and How Do Square’s Terms Compare?

This is the biggest practical difference. Toast’s Merchant Agreement (last updated September 10, 2025) sets your initial term in your order, then renews automatically for one-year terms. To stop a renewal, either side must give at least 30 days’ written notice before the current term ends.

Leave early and Toast charges an early termination fee: the software subscription fees left in your term or, on Pay-as-you-Go, $150 times the months remaining, plus any software-financing processing fee. Software fees are locked during the initial term, but Toast can change card processing rates and other non-software fees with 30 days’ written notice. Our contract red-flags guide covers auto-renewal and exit fees in more depth.

Square has no locked-in contracts. You can cancel or switch plans anytime, and Square lists no early termination fee. Square also says existing customers’ pricing may change with notice, so neither company promises your rate forever.

• Before you sign with Toast: get the initial term length in writing, calendar the renewal date, and make sure the processing rate is on your quote.
• If you already use Square on an older plan: once you move to Free, Plus or Premium, you can’t switch back to your legacy subscription.

Can You Use Your Own Hardware With Square or Toast?

Toast says its services work only on approved Toast hardware: the Flex countertop terminal, Toast Go 3 handheld, a self-ordering kiosk, a kitchen display, a guest display and the Toast Tap card reader. Its hardware pages advertise $0 for the first device but list no individual prices. Before counting on a $0 device, read what free hardware really costs.

Square sells its hardware at published prices, and its software also runs on compatible iPads in Square Stand or Square Kiosk, and on phones through Tap to Pay.

Fair is fair: Toast’s handheld has specs that matter on a big patio. Toast lists the Go 3 at 0.94 lb with a 5-foot drop rating, IP65 protection, a 24-plus-hour battery, built-in swipe, tap and dip, and 4G cellular on applicable models. Square’s Handheld is lighter at 0.7 lb and IP54-rated, but it runs on Wi-Fi only and needs a plug-in reader to swipe.

Square finances hardware through Block, Inc. credit sale plans at 15% APR ($49 to $10,000, subject to approval). Toast offers 0% interest financing by application, or Toast Easy Pay: a 180-day lease repaid from 0.75% of daily card sales once you’re live (1.75% before), with a buyout option.

Which Is Better for Full-Service, Quick-Service, Bars and Food Trucks?

Toast calls itself a restaurant point of sale and management system, and its Build Your Own package adds inventory, payroll, scheduling, marketing, loyalty and gift cards. Square spreads restaurant features across three plans, so the plan you pick decides what you get. See Square for Restaurants for the full breakdown.

• Full service: Square Premium adds course and seat management, Send & Stay (firing items before payment) and OpenTable or SevenRooms integrations. Plus covers custom floor plans, split and reopened checks, and tableside ordering.
• Quick service: On Plus or Premium, Square Kiosk ($50 per device a month on Plus, $30 on Premium, plus $149 hardware) and Square KDS add self-ordering and kitchen screens, and every plan includes a commission-free online ordering profile. Toast sells a kiosk and KDS too, without published prices.
• Bars: Square Plus adds preauthorized bar tabs, tip pooling and auto-gratuity by party size, and Square offers a dark display mode for low-light rooms.
• Food trucks and patios: Square takes offline payments for up to 24 hours on every plan, though you carry the risk on any that decline. Toast’s cellular Go 3 models and its router’s paid cellular backup help where Wi-Fi is weak. Square Reader and Tap to Pay run through your phone, so they can use its cellular data.
• Delivery and mixed businesses: Every Square plan includes third-party order management that brings delivery-partner orders, such as DoorDash and Grubhub, into one place, and Square lists Uber Eats integration too. Square also runs retail and appointment businesses. Toast’s retail plan targets stores that also serve food or drink.

Toast vs Square: Which Restaurants Should Pick Which?

Neither is right for everybody. Here’s how we’d call it for most Texas restaurants; our restaurant POS buying guide covers the questions to ask.

• Pick Square if you want published prices before you sign, prefer month-to-month, want to start small on a phone or a $299 Terminal, or run a counter-service spot, coffee shop, food truck or bar where Plus covers what you need.
• Look hard at Toast if you run a high-volume, full-service restaurant or a big patio where cellular handhelds beat Wi-Fi, want a restaurant-first platform, value 24/7 phone support without paying for a top-tier plan, and are comfortable with a term agreement.
• Consider other options too if card fees are your biggest cost. Square offers custom pricing above $250,000 a year, Toast quotes custom rates, and we can show how our dual pricing program or another Lone Star Payments option compares with Square’s published costs on your real numbers.

How Do You Switch From Toast to Square?

Switching mid-season is where restaurants get hurt, so plan around your contract dates and your slowest week. Our guide to switching payment processors covers the basics; here’s the order we follow.

• 1. Find your Toast dates. Check your order for the term end date. Toast requires at least 30 days’ written notice before that date to stop auto-renewal.
• 2. Price the exit. Leaving early triggers Toast’s early termination fee. On Toast Easy Pay, check what’s left on the lease and your buyout option.
• 3. Pick your Square plan. Plus and Premium include a 30-day free trial; if you don’t choose a plan when it ends, Square moves you to Free.
• 4. Move your menu. Square can import a menu from a PDF, your website or a delivery partner. Then set modifiers, taxes and tipping.
• 5. Set up hardware. Budget for Square hardware, and pair every printer, handheld and kitchen screen before go-live.
• 6. Reconnect delivery. Link DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub through the Square App Marketplace and launch your online ordering profile.
• 7. Train and go live. Run test tickets to every station and walk servers through tabs and splits.

How Does Lone Star Payments Help With Square in Texas?

Square joined our lineup in October 2026, alongside our other platforms, so we can recommend what actually fits: sometimes Square, sometimes another option.

If Square fits, we set it up with you: plan and hardware selection, menu build, taxes, tipping, team permissions, hardware pairing, online ordering and data import where Square supports it. Across Dallas / Ft. Worth we install and train on-site; elsewhere in Texas, a live specialist handles setup remotely.

Your Square account is still a Square account; Square sets the rates, approvals and payouts. What we add is a real person in Dallas / Ft. Worth at (214) 838-1818. See how our Square setup works.

Frequently asked questions

Square and related marks are trademarks of Block, Inc., used here to identify the products Lone Star Payments offers. Square pricing and features described on this page are Square’s published information as of October 2026 and can change — confirm current terms when you sign up.