Toast vs Square, with the cost math neither one publishes
We sell neither of these. That makes this the easiest honest page on the site, and a useful test of whether the rest of it is worth your time.
Toast and Square, on the numbers
| System | Software | Card present rate | Contract | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toast | $0 to $69per terminal, reported | 2.49% to 3.69%+ 15c, reported | 1 to 3 years | The rate climbs with add-ons. Online ordering and delivery move Starter Kit from 3.09% to 3.39%, and gift cards and loyalty take it to 3.69%. That higher rate then applies to every order, not just the online ones. Processing is mandatory and hardware is locked to Toast. |
| Square | $0 / $49 / $149per location, published | 2.6% / 2.5% / 2.4%+ 15c, published | None | The free plan carries the highest rate. Above roughly $25,000 a month in card volume it costs more than the paid one. Kitchen display and kiosk are excluded from free. |
Square, Genius and Shift4 figures are published by those vendors and were read on their own pages on 8 August 2026. Toast and Clover figures are reported by Merchant Maverick, Expert Market, POSUSA, business.com and KORONA POS, cross checked against at least two independent sources each, because neither vendor publishes them. Software units differ: Square prices per location, Toast and Shift4 per terminal, Clover per device. Rates change without notice. General guidance, not legal, tax or accounting advice.
Where each one wins
Square wins on small tickets and no contract
No contract, no termination fee, published rates, and per location software so a four terminal room pays once. For a cafe or a fast casual counter this is often the right answer outright.
Square wins on knowing what you will pay
You can price Square from its website in about two minutes. You cannot do that with Toast at all, and that is a real difference in how the two companies treat buyers.
Toast wins on restaurant depth
Coursing, kitchen routing, complex modifiers and its handheld hardware are genuinely built for full service rooms. Square strains at exactly the point where a busy dining room starts needing them.
Toast wins on the kitchen
If your bottleneck is the pass rather than the counter, Toast's kitchen tooling is stronger. Weigh that against a rate you cannot see until you are in a sales process.
Questions owners ask
Which is cheaper?
It flips on average ticket and volume. Square's fifteen cent fee punishes small tickets, and Toast's rate climbs as you add modules. Put your own numbers in the calculator rather than trusting either company's framing.
Do you sell either of these?
No. We place Shift4 Dine and Clover. We publish this page because most owners shortlist these two first and deserve a straight comparison before they call anybody.
Have your own numbers checked
Send last month's statement. We read it with you, free, and tell you straight whether we are the ones to fix it.
Send your numbers
About a minute. It goes straight to the Equip team.
It reaches Judd Alsup and the Equip team. If we have a crew near you, that is who calls. If we do not, Judd handles it himself. We never ask for card or bank details on this site.