Restaurants look past Toast when approved-hardware-only rules, bundled payments or a long list of paid modules do not fit their business. Most go to Square or SpotOn for published terms, TouchBistro for full service with a choice of processor, and Clover or KORONA when they want a different hardware or processing arrangement.
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placement disclosure · editorial process.
What each alternative does differently
1. Square
Free-to-start POS with its own readers and terminals · United States
Published tiers per location: Free at $0, Plus at $49 and Premium at $149 a month, with in-person card rates falling from 2.6% + 15 cents to 2.4% + 15 cents. Kitchen display is a paid per-device app at $20 or $30 a month. Square Pro is quoted.
Switch from Toast if you want published prices per location and a free tier to start on.
Pricing: Free plan with flat-rate card processing; Plus at $49 and Premium at $149 per location per month lower the processing rate and add features across restaurant, retail and appointment modes. (free plan)
Full review: #4 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Square →
2. SpotOn
Restaurant and retail POS with local service reps · United States
Two published plans per station. All-In is $0 a month with hardware included, 2.79% + 20 cents card-present and a two-year minimum term. POS Essentials is $55 a month, month-to-month, at 2.45% + 15 cents. Multi-unit and enterprise operators are quoted.
Switch from Toast if you want a choice between zero upfront cost and lower processing on a monthly term.
Pricing: Published per-station plans: a $0 plan with included hardware, higher card rates and a two-year minimum term, or a month-to-month plan with lower rates and hardware bought outright; multi-unit setups are quoted. (none)
Full review: #12 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit SpotOn →
3. TouchBistro
iPad POS for independent full-service restaurants · Canada
Full-service iPad POS with software from $69 a month, or an Essentials bundle from $119 that includes hardware and integrated payments. The page says it is compatible with various payment processors. Reservations, loyalty and online ordering are paid add-ons.
Switch from Toast if you run a full-service room and want to keep a choice of payment processor.
Pricing: Monthly software per location with paid add-ons for reservations, online ordering and loyalty; integrated payments optional in some markets. (none)
Full review: #11 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit TouchBistro →
4. Clover
All-in-one terminals and software from Fiserv · United States
Prices are set by business type, with full service dining and quick-service pages, and the site says shown prices apply only on Clover.com. Processing is advertised from 2.3% + 10 cents per transaction. Terms vary by plan and hardware, so compare quotes line by line.
Switch from Toast if you want a hardware-and-processing bundle and will compare quotes from a sales rep.
Pricing: Hardware bought outright or financed, plus a monthly software plan and Fiserv card processing; terms vary a lot by sales channel. (none)
Full review: #5 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Clover →
5. Revel Systems
iPad POS for multi-location restaurants and retail · United States
Revel's former web address now redirects to Shift4's food and beverage page, so the product is sold within a payments company's restaurant offer. We could not read that page for plan detail. Treat pricing and terms as quote-based until a rep confirms them.
Switch from Toast if you run several restaurants and want a quote bundled with Shift4 payments.
Pricing: Quote only; software per terminal with a minimum term, plus hardware and processing through Shift4 in most deals. (none)
Full review: #8 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Revel Systems →
6. Lavu
iPad restaurant POS for independent venues · United States
An iPad restaurant POS whose pricing we list as quote-based, so there is no published sheet to compare against Toast's $69 entry. Confirm the contract term and whether its own payment processing is required before you sign.
Switch from Toast if you run an independent venue on iPads and will negotiate a quote.
Pricing: Quote-based monthly software fees with higher packages adding online ordering and loyalty, usually paired with Lavu's own payment processing; check the contract term before signing. (none)
Full review: #15 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Lavu →
7. Loyverse
Free tablet POS for small cafés and shops · Cyprus
Core POS is free, including multi-store back office, kitchen display, customer display and loyalty. Paid add-ons are priced per store or per employee, such as sales history beyond 31 days at 7 euros a month. It has no payroll or restaurant management suite.
Switch from Toast if you run a small cafe or shop and want the POS itself to cost nothing.
Pricing: Core POS free, including multi-store back office and kitchen display; paid add-ons for sales history and advanced inventory per store, and employee management per employee. (free plan)
Full review: #2 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Loyverse →
8. Epos Now
UK POS for retail and hospitality with hardware bundles · United Kingdom
Provider with a UK site selling retail and hospitality hardware bundles, with the Countertop 2 terminal listed from 299 pounds and card machines from 15 pounds a month. It states more than 80,000 locations. Software plan prices were not on the page we read.
Switch from Toast if you are in the UK or Ireland and want a hardware bundle with local support.
Pricing: Hardware bundles bought or financed, plus monthly software and optional Epos Now Payments. (none)
Full review: #9 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Epos Now →
9. SumUp POS
Card reader and simple POS for micro-merchants · United Kingdom
POS Pro starts at 49 pounds a month on the UK page, with no onboarding fees and no long-term contract. Table management is included, and kitchen display and the hospitality module are 19 pounds a month each. Online ordering fees are commission-based.
Switch from Toast if you want a month-to-month contract and sell mostly through counter and table service.
Pricing: The Free POS plan costs nothing beyond pay-as-you-go card fees; POS Plus adds features for a monthly fee, and POS Pro terminals and software are sold as monthly bundles, with prices and rates varying by country. (free plan)
Full review: #13 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit SumUp POS →
10. KORONA POS
Processor-agnostic retail POS with month-to-month terms · United States
Processor-agnostic, priced per terminal: Core $59, Retail $79 and Plus $99 a month, with no forced contracts. Table service, with courses and kitchen printers, is an extra $10 per register a month. Retail-first in design, so restaurant features are add-ons.
Switch from Toast if you want to choose your own card processor and avoid a forced contract.
Pricing: Published monthly plans per register, month-to-month, with the merchant choosing among supported card processors. (free trial)
Full review: #3 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit KORONA POS →
11. Lightspeed Retail
Retail POS with purchasing and multi-store stock control · Canada
Retail POS at $89, $149 and $289 a month for Basic, Core and Plus, each with one register. Lightspeed sells restaurant POS as a separate product, which this entry does not cover. Choose it for a hybrid shop with retail inventory, not as a direct Toast replacement.
Switch from Toast if your business is mainly retail or a shop that also serves food.
Pricing: Published monthly plans per location, billed higher without Lightspeed Payments; extra registers cost more. (free trial)
Full review: #1 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Lightspeed Retail →
Questions and answers
Can I use my own tablets with Toast?
No, according to Toast's pricing page. Its services may be accessed only through devices Toast identifies as compatible and run on approved Toast hardware, and Toast may change that list. Alternatives such as TouchBistro run on iPads.
How much does Toast cost per month?
Point of Sale starts at $69 a month and the Starter Kit at $0 a month with a hardware kit, on a page last updated August 20, 2026. The Starter Kit applies to new customers and single locations only, and Build Your Own is custom priced.
Is Toast a payment processor?
No. Toast says it is a payment facilitator that partners with processors. For a restaurant this means card processing is bundled with Toast, while KORONA and TouchBistro state they work with other processors.
How do I get my sales and menu data out of Toast?
Through Toast's APIs. The developer guide lists configuration, cash management and analytics APIs, and an Analytics API is part of Restaurant Management Pro. Whether you can use them depends on your integration access type.
What does Toast include for support?
Toast Care is included in every software subscription at no additional cost, 24 hours a day, every day, by phone or web messaging. When comparing, check that a new vendor offers support at the hours you trade.
Is there a free restaurant POS?
Yes, at small scale. Square has a Free tier at $0 per location, and Loyverse's core POS is free with kitchen display and multi-store management. Both earn money from card processing or add-ons, so read those prices too.
