Alternatives to Toast
Restaurant POS and management platform built for food service
Toast ranks #1 of 9 in Restaurant POS & management, with an Alt Score of 100. It is proprietary, freemium from Free and available on iOS, Android and Web. 12 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Toast is an all-in-one restaurant point-of-sale and management platform with Android-based hardware, online ordering, payroll, and payments for food-service businesses.
Toast is an all-in-one restaurant point-of-sale and management platform built specifically for food-and-beverage businesses, from single-location cafes and quick-service spots to full-service and multi-location restaurant groups. It targets restaurant operators who want front-of-house, kitchen, online ordering, payments, and staff management unified on one system rather than stitched together from separate vendors.
You get Toast's own handhelds (Toast Go) and terminals, the Toast Web back-office dashboard, and iOS/Android companion apps such as Toast Now for owners and Toast Takeout/Local for guests. Core modules include menu management, a kitchen display system, commission-free online ordering and delivery, integrated Toast Payments card processing, inventory, loyalty and gift cards, scheduling and Toast Payroll, and real-time reporting and analytics. Offline Mode keeps the POS taking orders and card payments during internet or network outages.
Restaurants build menus in Toast Web, which flow to POS terminals and Toast Go handhelds where staff ring in orders tableside; tickets route to the kitchen display system without paper. Card payments run through Toast's integrated processing, and online, delivery, and in-house orders all land in the same system. Owners monitor sales, labor, and inventory in real time from Toast Web or the Toast Now app, and multilocation groups share configurations and menus across locations via Multilocation Management.
Where Toast stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave Toast
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Clover is a POS platform with proprietary hardware and an app marketplace serving restaurants and retail, owned by Fiserv, with restaurant-specific dining plans.
Lightspeed Restaurant is a cloud-based restaurant POS covering tableside ordering, menu management, and reporting, part of Lightspeed's commerce platform.
SpotOn is a restaurant point-of-sale and management platform bundling handheld ordering, online ordering, loyalty, and marketing with integrated payments.
Lavu is an iPad-based restaurant POS covering tableside ordering, kitchen display, inventory, and online ordering, aimed at independent restaurants and bars.
Revel Systems is an iPad-based POS platform for restaurants and retail with tableside ordering, kitchen display, inventory, and enterprise multi-location management.
Square for Restaurants is Square's restaurant-specific point-of-sale package adding coursing, floor plans, and kitchen display on top of Square's payments and hardware.
TouchBistro is an iPad-based restaurant POS with tableside ordering, menu management, and add-on reservations, loyalty, and online ordering modules.
GloriaFood is a free online ordering and table-reservation system for restaurants, monetized through optional paid add-ons like a branded app and card payments.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Restaurant POS & management checklist (16 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| Restaurant POS & management checklist | Toast | Clover | Lightspeed Restaurant | SpotOn | Lavu | Revel Systems |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Tableside / handheld ordering | ||||||
| Menu management | ||||||
| Online ordering & delivery | ||||||
| Kitchen display system | ||||||
| Inventory management | ||||||
| Staff scheduling & payroll | ||||||
| Loyalty & gift cards | ||||||
| Reporting & analytics | ||||||
| Offline mode | ||||||
| Payment processing included | ||||||
| Own hardware | ||||||
| Multi-location |
Every fact and feature listed for Toast is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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License Proprietary verified 2026-07-12
Commercial proprietary SaaS plus proprietary hardware; software is licensed/paid, not open source.
Pay for hardware upfront and pay monthly for software
https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/How-customers-can-pay-for-Toast-Starter-Kits-Internal -
Pricing model Freemium verified 2026-07-12
Pay-as-you-go plan has no monthly software subscription (free-to-start tier); traditional plans add paid monthly software.
No upfront cost. No monthly subscription.
https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/How-customers-can-pay-for-Toast-Starter-Kits-Internal -
Starts at Free verified 2026-07-12
Pay-as-you-go option starts with no upfront cost and no monthly software fee. Exact paid-tier dollar amounts live only on pos.toasttab.com/pricing, which is Cloudflare-blocked and unverifiable.
No upfront cost. No monthly subscription.
https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/How-customers-can-pay-for-Toast-Starter-Kits-Internal -
Platforms iOS, Android, Web verified 2026-07-12
iOS confirmed via Toast Now App Store (Toast, Inc.); Android confirmed via Google Play (com.toasttab apps, Operating System: Android); Web via the Toast Web back-office dashboard referenced across sup
Toast Now App - App Store ... Seller: Toast, Inc. ... Category: Business
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/toast-now/id6444586410 -
Status active verified 2026-07-12
Current shipping hardware (Toast Go 3) and actively maintained support docs (2025) indicate active development.
The Toast Go® 3 handheld lets staff take orders, accept payments, and print receipts over Wi-Fi and cellular networks, switching between them automatically.
https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Set-Up-Toast-Go-3 -
Tableside / handheld ordering Yes verified 2026-07-12
The Toast Go® 3 handheld lets staff take orders, accept payments, and print receipts over Wi-Fi and cellular networks, switching between them automatically.
https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Set-Up-Toast-Go-3 -
Menu management Yes verified 2026-07-12
The menu builder is a menu tool in Toast Web that allows restaurants to easily build and manage their menus.
https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Learning-Using-the-Menu-Builder -
Online ordering & delivery Yes verified 2026-07-12
Toast Online Ordering allows guests to order pickup, curbside, or delivery directly from your restaurant's branded ordering page.
https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Getting-Started-Online-Ordering -
Kitchen display system Yes verified 2026-07-12
The Toast Kitchen Display System (KDS) connects your front-of-house and kitchen staff so orders move from the point of sale to the line without paper tickets.
https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Get-Started-With-the-Kitchen-Display-System -
Inventory management Yes verified 2026-07-12
Toast Inventory gives you the tools to manage your ingredients, track stock levels, and streamline your ordering processes, all within Toast Web.
https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Get-Started-with-Toast-Inventory -
Staff scheduling & payroll Yes verified 2026-07-12
Payroll offered via Toast Payroll & Team Management (support.toasttab.com/en/article/Toast-Payroll-Team-Management-Center).
Learn how to use Scheduling in Toast Web, including creating a shift or schedule, managing employee unavailability and time off, and forecasting for future shift needs.
https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Scheduling-by-Sling-in-Toast-Web -
Loyalty & gift cards Yes verified 2026-07-12
Loyalty confirmed separately: 'Toast Loyalty lets your guests easily enroll, earn, and redeem rewards at your restaurant.' (support.toasttab.com/en/article/Getting-Started-Toast-Loyalty)
Toast Gift Cards is a module in the Marketing Essential Suite. It lets your restaurant sell physical gift cards and digital eGift cards, track balances, and accept gift cards as payment on the POS and
https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/getting-started-with-toast-gift-cards -
Reporting & analytics Yes verified 2026-07-12
Live sales data with hour-by-hour totals and helpful breakdowns, including comparisons to the same day last week and year.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/toast-now/id6444586410 -
Offline mode Yes verified 2026-07-12
While in Offline Mode, your team can keep taking orders and accepting card payments on the POS.
https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Offline-Mode-Using-Toast-During-a-Local-Network-Outage -
Payment processing included Yes verified 2026-07-12
Integrated Toast Payments is the built-in card processor; Toast Go handhelds accept swipe/dip/tap and Apple/Google/Samsung Pay.
Toast provides processing services for all of our customers ... You must use Toast's processing services.
https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Toast-Billing-FAQ -
Own hardware Yes verified 2026-07-12
Toast designs its own branded terminals and handhelds (Toast Go, Toast Starter Kits hardware).
Set Up Your Toast Go® 3 Handheld ... The Toast Go® 3 handheld lets staff take orders, accept payments, and print receipts
https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Set-Up-Toast-Go-3 -
Multi-location Yes verified 2026-07-12
Toast Multilocation Management (MLM) allows you to create shared configurations in Toast Web and manage them across your restaurant locations.
https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Getting-Started-Master-Menu-Management
FAQ
Yes. Square for Restaurants and GloriaFood have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Clover, Lightspeed Restaurant and SpotOn — every license claim links its source.