If you run a small restaurant, café or takeout spot, your POS shortlist is probably Toast, Square and Clover. All three take payments, run a kitchen and offer online ordering. They differ most in how you pay: monthly software, card rates, hardware and contracts.
Here's a plain-English comparison using each company's published pricing as of Oct 2026, in USD unless noted. Confirm current pricing before you sign, especially in Canada, where plans differ.
| Toast | Square | Clover | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry plan (US) | Starter Kit from $0/mo, hardware kit with no upfront cost, for 1–2 terminals | Square Free: $0/mo per location | Quick service: $135/mo for 36 months, or $849 + $89.95/mo |
| Next tier (US) | Point of Sale from $69/mo; POS + Payroll $69 + $9/employee | Plus $49/mo; Premium $149/mo per location | Full service: $179/mo for 36 months, or $1,799 + $89.95/mo |
| Canada | Starter from CA$120/mo; Essentials CA$220/mo | Free $0; Plus from $35/mo | Restaurant plan prices not shown on the Canadian page when checked |
Sources: Toast US, Toast Canada, Square restaurants, Square Canada, Clover restaurant, Clover QSR, Clover Canada; all as of Oct 2026.
| In person | Online / keyed | |
|---|---|---|
| Toast (US) | Flat rate, not published on the pricing page | Not published |
| Square Free (US) | 2.6% + 15¢ | 3.3% + 30¢ online |
| Square Plus / Premium (US) | 2.5% + 15¢ / 2.4% + 15¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ online |
| Square Canada | 2.5% card present | 2.8% + 30¢ card not present |
| Clover (US restaurant) | 2.3% + 10¢ | 3.5% + 10¢ keyed in |
On $30,000 a month in card sales, every 0.1% is $30 a month. Ask Toast for a written quote so you can compare.
All three sell commission-free online ordering, but it's a POS add-on built around their own systems:
What none of them is built for is marketing: bringing guests back, collecting reviews and ranking on Google. Many small restaurants pair their POS with a separate ordering and marketing platform.
Assume $20,000 a month in in-person card sales across 1,000 transactions, plus $3,000 online across 100 orders, US pricing, before hardware and add-ons:
Your mix of card types, ticket size and online share changes the answer, so run your own numbers.
| Restaurant | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New café or takeout, tight budget | Square | $0 plan and published card rates |
| Full-service, 1–2 locations, growing | Toast | Restaurant-specific features, Starter Kit |
| Wants one bundled monthly bill | Clover | Hardware + software bundles |
| Food truck or pop-up | Square | Mobile hardware, $0 plan. See online ordering for food trucks |
You don't have to switch POS to cut delivery-app commissions. AIOrders' Order Hub brings DoorDash, Uber Eats, SkipTheDishes, Grubhub and website orders into one system that syncs with Square, Clover and Toast (on other POS systems, orders still print and show in Order Hub) (aiorders.io/product/order-hub, as of Oct 2026). Its online ordering is 0% commission with Uber Direct delivery, and pricing is flat-monthly plan with 0% order fees.
Read the full head-to-heads: Toast vs Square, Toast vs Clover, AIOrders vs Toast, and AIOrders vs Square Online. Or see the alternatives pages for Toast, Square Online and Clover.
About AIOrders: a commission-free online ordering and restaurant marketing platform based in Vancouver, BC, serving restaurants in Canada and the USA. Pricing: a flat-monthly plan with 0% order fees, or a lower-cost entry plan with a per-order fee.
Square has a $0/month plan with published card rates (2.6% + 15¢ in person in the US, as of Oct 2026). Toast's US Starter Kit is also from $0/month, but its processing rate isn't published. Clover's restaurant bundles start at $135/month on 36-month terms.
Clover's monthly restaurant bundles are priced "for 36 months," and its hardware credit offer requires a 3-year contract (as of Oct 2026). You can also buy hardware upfront and pay $89.95/month.
Yes, if you want restaurant-specific features. Its Starter Kit is designed for 1–2 terminals. Get a written processing quote.
Yes. Many ordering platforms, including AIOrders' Order Hub, sync orders into Square, Clover and Toast.
They advertise commission-free online ordering; you pay card processing and any plan or delivery fees instead.