Comparisons / Toast vs Square
Comparison · Restaurant & Hospitality
Toast vs Square
Toast is built for restaurants; Square is built for small businesses that happen to serve food. For a café or counter, Square is simpler and cheaper to start. For a full-service restaurant with a kitchen, Toast's order flow, handhelds and kitchen display justify the higher cost.
| Category | Toast | Square |
|---|---|---|
| Order & kitchen flow | 92 | 87 |
| Front of house | 91 | 89 |
| Online ordering & delivery | 92 | 80 |
| Labor & reporting | 99 | 87 |
| Cost & contract | 95 | 82 |
| Overall | 96 | 83 |
Editorial scores for the Restaurant & Hospitality ranking. See the full ranking and methodology.
Our verdict
Toast for most restaurant & hospitality buyers
Full-service, fast-casual and quick-service restaurants of nearly every size.
Choose Toast if
Full-service, fast-casual and quick-service restaurants of nearly every size.
- +Built for restaurants from order to kitchen to payment
- +Strong handheld and online-ordering tools
- +Broad add-on family for payroll, loyalty and marketing
Choose Square if
Small businesses that value speed to launch, simple hardware and pay-as-you-go pricing.
- +Fast setup and no long contract
- +Clean hardware and app
- +Broad product family
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