Toast Pricing (2026): Every Plan and Hidden Costs Explained
Toast’s pricing page looks straightforward: three plans, clear monthly costs, done. But restaurant owners who’ve been through the signup process know it’s more complicated than that. Between hardware bundles, processing fee tiers, contract commitments, and add-on modules, your actual monthly bill can look very different from what you expected.
📅 Pricing last verified: June 2026. We check and update pricing quarterly. If you notice a change, email us.
Let me break down every cost so you know exactly what you’re signing up for.
Software Plans
Starter: $0/month
The free plan gives you core POS functionality: order management, menu setup, basic reporting, and payment processing. You get one terminal configuration and access to Toast’s customer support.
Here’s the catch: the $0 hardware offer (they give you a terminal for free) requires a two-year contract, and your payment processing rate jumps to 2.99% + 15¢ per transaction instead of the standard 2.49% + 15¢. For most restaurants, that 0.5% difference eats through the “free” savings fast.
At $30,000/month in card sales, that rate increase costs you $150/month: meaning you’re effectively paying $150/month for the “free” plan. At $50,000/month? That’s $250/month in extra processing fees.
The Starter plan also limits you to basic features. No online ordering, no loyalty programs, no team management tools beyond the essentials.
Point of Sale: $69/month
This is where most single-location restaurants land. You get everything in Starter plus:
- Toast Online Ordering (customers order directly from your site)
- Toast Delivery Services integration
- Toast TakeOut app listing
- Team management and scheduling basics
- Advanced reporting and analytics
At $69/month you’re paying for the features that actually make Toast useful for a modern restaurant: especially online ordering, which other platforms charge $75+ extra for.
Processing rates drop to the standard 2.49% + 15¢ for in-person and 3.50% + 15¢ for online orders. No mandatory two-year hardware contract at this tier.
Build Your Own: Custom Pricing
For multi-location restaurants or those needing enterprise features. Pricing is negotiated based on location count, volume, and which modules you need. Expect $165+/month per location for software, though large chains report negotiating better rates.
This tier adds:
- Multi-location management dashboard
- Custom API integrations
- Dedicated account management
- Advanced labor analytics
- Catering and events modules
Hardware Costs
Toast runs on proprietary hardware. You cannot use iPads, Android tablets, or any third-party devices. This is both a quality feature (the hardware is built for restaurants) and a lock-in strategy.
| Hardware | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Toast Flex terminal | $799 | Countertop, 14” touchscreen |
| Toast Flex with stand + card reader | $1,039 | Most common setup |
| Toast Terminal (full kit) | $1,339 | Terminal + card reader + printer + cash drawer |
| Toast Go 2 (handheld) | $549 | Tableside ordering |
| Toast Go 2 (full kit) | $699 | Handheld + charging dock + case |
| Kitchen Display Screen | $499 | Per screen |
| Guest-facing display | $389 | Customer-facing for tips/signatures |
| Receipt printer | $149 | Per printer |
| Cash drawer | $119 | Per drawer |
The $0 Hardware Deal
Toast offers a $0 upfront hardware package where they give you a terminal setup for free. The trade-off:
- Two-year contract (early termination fee applies)
- Higher processing rate (2.99% + 15¢ instead of 2.49% + 15¢)
- Limited to basic terminal configuration
For a restaurant doing $40,000/month in card sales, the higher rate costs ~$200/month extra. Over two years, that’s $4,800: far more than the $1,039 terminal kit you could have bought outright.
Bottom line: Buy the hardware unless cash flow is genuinely a problem. You’ll save thousands over the contract term.
Payment Processing Fees
Toast requires you to use their payment processing. No exceptions, no bringing your own processor.
| Transaction Type | Rate |
|---|---|
| In-person (card present) | 2.49% + 15¢ |
| Online ordering | 3.50% + 15¢ |
| Starter plan (in-person) | 2.99% + 15¢ |
| Keyed-in (card not present) | 3.50% + 15¢ |
These rates are competitive but not the cheapest in the industry. Clover’s base rate starts at 2.3% + 10¢, and high-volume restaurants can sometimes negotiate rates in the 1.8–2.2% range with independent processors.
Toast does offer rate negotiation for multi-location or high-volume restaurants (typically $100,000+/month in processing), but single-location spots are stuck at published rates.
Add-On Modules
This is where costs can spiral. Each add-on module has its own monthly fee:
| Add-On | Monthly Cost | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| Online Ordering | $75/mo | Commission-free ordering (included in POS plan) |
| Loyalty Program | $50/mo | Points, rewards, customer retention |
| Email Marketing | $75/mo | Automated campaigns, promotions |
| Gift Cards | $50/mo | Digital and physical gift card program |
| Payroll & HR | $6/employee/mo | Payroll, tax filing, benefits |
| Scheduling | Included w/ POS plan | Staff schedules, availability |
| Inventory Management | $0 (basic) / $75 (advanced) | Recipe costing, waste tracking |
| Catering & Events | Custom pricing | Large order management |
A restaurant that adds loyalty and email marketing is looking at $125/month in add-ons on top of their base plan. At the $69/month POS tier, that’s $194/month in software alone.
Note: Online ordering is included in the Point of Sale ($69/mo) plan. It’s only a separate $75/mo add-on if you’re on the Starter plan. This is confusing and deliberately so: it pushes Starter plan users to upgrade.
Total Cost Scenarios
Small Cafe (1 terminal, $20K/month in sales)
| Cost | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| POS software | $69 | $828 |
| Hardware (amortized over 3 years) | $29 | $346 |
| Processing (2.49% + 15¢) | $520 | $6,240 |
| Total | $618 | $7,414 |
Full-Service Restaurant (3 terminals + 2 handhelds, $80K/month)
| Cost | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| POS software | $69 | $828 |
| Loyalty + Email Marketing | $125 | $1,500 |
| Hardware (amortized over 3 years) | $147 | $1,761 |
| Processing (2.49% + 15¢) | $2,060 | $24,720 |
| Total | $2,401 | $28,809 |
Multi-Location (3 locations, $200K/month total)
| Cost | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Build Your Own software | $495 | $5,940 |
| All add-ons | $600 | $7,200 |
| Hardware (amortized) | $350 | $4,200 |
| Processing (negotiated ~2.3%) | $4,700 | $56,400 |
| Total | $6,145 | $73,740 |
The “Free” Plan Trap
Let’s be direct about this: Toast’s Starter plan is a customer acquisition strategy, not a sustainable offering for your restaurant. Here’s why:
- Higher processing fees eat your savings within months
- Two-year contract locks you in before you know if Toast works for you
- Missing features (no online ordering, basic reporting) limit your revenue potential
- Upgrade pressure is constant: the system reminds you what you’re missing
If you can afford the $69/month POS plan and buying hardware outright ($1,039 for a basic setup), that’s almost always the better financial decision. You get lower processing rates, no contract, and the features that actually drive revenue (online ordering alone can add 15–25% to a restaurant’s sales).
Is Toast Worth the Cost?
For restaurants that need sophisticated kitchen operations, built-in online ordering, and a system designed specifically for food service: yes. The processing fees are competitive (not the cheapest, but fair), the software genuinely understands restaurant workflows, and the hardware is built to survive a commercial kitchen.
For simpler operations: a coffee shop, food truck, or counter-service spot: Toast is likely overkill. You’d be paying for complexity you don’t need. Check out our comparison of restaurant POS systems to see if Square or Clover might be a better fit.
Related reading: 7shifts Pricing (2026): Free Plan vs Paid Plans for Restaur · Best Food Cost Calculator Tools for Restaurants (2026) · Best Inventory Management Software for Restaurants (2026) · Best Online Ordering Systems for Restaurants (2026)
FAQ
Can I cancel Toast at any time? If you bought hardware outright and aren’t on the $0 hardware contract, you can cancel with 30 days’ notice. If you took the free hardware deal, you’re locked into a two-year contract with an early termination fee (typically the remaining months’ worth of the rate difference). Always buy the hardware if you can.
Does Toast charge for updates and new features? Software updates are included in your plan. However, new modules and features are often launched as separate add-ons with their own monthly fees. Toast has been steadily moving features behind paywalls, so expect your costs to creep up over time as new “essentials” launch as paid add-ons.
What’s the actual processing fee if I include all transaction types? Most restaurants see a blended rate of 2.7–3.1% when you combine in-person (2.49%), online (3.50%), and occasional keyed-in transactions. If 20% of your sales come through online ordering, your blended rate is roughly 2.69% + 15¢.
Can I negotiate Toast’s pricing? Individual restaurants with under $100K/month in processing have very little negotiating power. Multi-location operations and high-volume spots ($100K+/month) can typically negotiate processing rates down 0.1–0.3% and get reduced or waived add-on fees. Everything is negotiable at scale.
What happens if Toast hardware breaks? Toast offers a hardware warranty (1 year standard, extended available for purchase). Out-of-warranty replacements cost full price. Some restaurant owners report good experiences with Toast support sending replacement units quickly. Budget for a backup terminal: when your POS goes down on a Saturday night, you need a fix in hours, not days.