Toast POS Pricing: What Does Toast Really Cost Restaurants?
What does Toast POS actually cost restaurants?
Toast POS pricing in the US starts at $0 per month for the Starter Kit. But the full cost for a restaurant running Toast — hardware, software, payment processing and add-on modules — is significantly higher than any single published number suggests.
Toast expanded into the UK in 2023. For UK and Irish operators, this article breaks down every component of Toast's pricing so you can make an accurate comparison before committing.
Toast's software pricing tiers
Toast publishes four pricing plans, primarily for the US market:
| Plan | Monthly fee (US) | Suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Starter Kit | $0/month | Very small, low-volume sites |
| Point of Sale | $69/month | Single-site independent restaurants |
| Build Your Own | Custom | Operators selecting specific modules |
| Enterprise | Custom | Multi-location groups |
The Starter Kit's $0/month is offset by higher payment processing rates. For a restaurant doing more than approximately $5,000–$8,000/month in card revenue, the paid tier typically costs less overall.
UK pricing is not published and must be requested directly from Toast. Do not assume UK rates match US published rates.
Hardware: a mandatory upfront cost
Toast is a closed hardware ecosystem. The software runs exclusively on Toast-manufactured hardware. You cannot run Toast on third-party terminals — hardware must be purchased or financed directly from Toast.
Typical hardware prices (US market):
| Device | Price range |
|---|---|
| Toast POS terminal | $627–$999+ |
| Customer-facing display | $280+ |
| Toast Go 2 handheld | $409+ |
| Toast Kiosk | $799+ |
| Kitchen Display System | $489+ |
| Connectivity hub | $40+ |
A minimal single-terminal setup with one kitchen display costs around $1,100–$1,500 before installation. A full multi-terminal configuration for a busy restaurant can reach $3,000–$7,000+.
Toast offers hardware financing to spread this cost across a contract term. This reduces upfront payment but increases total expenditure and creates an early termination liability.
Payment processing fees
Toast processes payments through its own integrated payments system, charging a percentage plus a flat fee per transaction.
US published rates:
| Transaction type | Processing rate |
|---|---|
| Card present (in person) | 2.49% + $0.15 |
| Card not present (online) | 3.5% + $0.15 |
| Starter Kit pay-as-you-go | Higher rates apply |
On £600,000/year in card revenue, processing fees at 2.49% equate to approximately £14,940 per year. For restaurants with significant online order volume at 3.5%, annual processing cost rises further.
Payment processing is typically the dominant technology cost for a high-volume restaurant. The monthly software subscription is often a small fraction of the real total.
UK payment processing regulations differ from the US. Verify UK rates directly with Toast before making any comparison.
Add-on module costs: where the monthly total climbs
Toast's modular pricing means many standard restaurant functions are sold as additional monthly subscriptions rather than included in the base POS plan.
Published US add-on pricing:
| Module | Additional monthly cost |
|---|---|
| Toast Online Ordering | $75+/month per location |
| Toast Loyalty | $25+/month |
| Toast Marketing | $75+/month |
| Toast Gift Cards | $25+/month |
| Toast Delivery Services | Variable, percentage-based |
| Toast Payroll & Team | Separate subscription |
A restaurant combining Point of Sale, online ordering, loyalty and marketing pays $244+/month in software fees per site before any hardware or processing costs.
Over 12 months, that software line alone is $2,928+ per site.
Realistic total cost: 12-month model for a UK restaurant
The following estimates a single UK restaurant site with £50,000/month in card revenue, using US pricing as a reference:
| Cost component | Annual estimate |
|---|---|
| Hardware (amortised over 3 years) | ~£500–£700 |
| POS software ($69/month) | ~£650 |
| Online ordering ($75/month) | ~£710 |
| Loyalty ($25/month) | ~£237 |
| Payment processing (2.49% × £600k) | ~£14,940 |
| Year one total | ~£17,000–£18,000 |
The software subscription is less than 10% of the total. Payment processing drives the real number.
Comparing on software price alone produces a deeply misleading cost picture. Any fair comparison must include processing fees and add-on modules.
Toast in the UK: what operators need to know
Toast entered the UK in 2023 and is actively growing here. However, UK operators should understand several practical differences from the US product.
Support: Toast built its support infrastructure for US operators. UK support teams are growing but are less established than those at UK-native platforms. Ask specifically about UK support hours and response time commitments.
Feature availability: Some features available in the US may not be live in the UK. New features typically launch in the US first. If a feature is critical to your operation, confirm it is available in the UK today before signing a contract.
Contract terms: Toast contracts have historically included hardware financing agreements with early termination penalties. Review the full contract carefully, particularly around hardware and what happens if you want to leave before the term ends.
Local compliance: UK VAT reporting formats, UK card scheme requirements and UK payroll rules should be verified as fully supported in the UK version of Toast. These are areas where US platforms expanding internationally sometimes need to adapt.
Flipdish vs Toast for UK and Irish restaurants
For restaurants in the UK and Ireland, Flipdish is a purpose-built alternative covering POS, online ordering, branded mobile apps, self-service kiosks, loyalty, payments and AI phone ordering in one integrated platform.
| Toast | Flipdish | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary market | US | UK, Ireland, Europe |
| POS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Online ordering | Add-on ($75+/month) | Integrated |
| Branded mobile app | Not available | ✓ |
| Self-service kiosks | Available | ✓ |
| AI phone ordering | Limited | ✓ |
| AI marketing | Limited | ✓ |
| Loyalty | Add-on ($25+/month) | Integrated |
| Open hardware | No | Yes |
| Support | US-primary | UK and Ireland |
The pricing architecture difference is significant: Flipdish includes online ordering, loyalty and marketing as part of the platform rather than charging separate add-on subscriptions. A restaurant paying Toast $75/month for online ordering and $25/month for loyalty spends $1,200/year on modules that come built into Flipdish.
For multi-location restaurant groups, the Flipdish products overview shows how the platform manages menus, orders, loyalty and reporting across sites from a single interface.
Questions to ask before signing with Toast UK
Before committing to Toast for a UK or Irish restaurant, work through this checklist:
- Get a full written quote covering hardware, software and estimated processing fees
- Confirm which features in Toast marketing materials are available in the UK today
- Request the UK payment processing rate in writing
- Ask about UK support hours, SLA and contact details
- Read the full contract, including hardware financing and early termination terms
- Compare total 12-month cost against at least two UK-founded alternatives
The bottom line
Toast's advertised pricing significantly understates what most UK restaurants will pay in year one. Hardware, payment processing at scale and add-on module fees mean the real annual cost is typically several times the monthly software subscription.
For UK and Irish operators, Flipdish is the restaurant technology platform built for these markets. Its integrated model covers POS, online ordering, apps, kiosks, loyalty and AI without the add-on subscription structure that inflates Toast's real cost.