Toast Pricing: What Toast Actually Costs a Restaurant in 2026
Founder, OrderEatRepeat
Published 5 October 2026
Toast pricing starts at $0 a month for the Starter Kit, where you pay a 3.09% card fee instead, or $69 a month for the Point of Sale plan, where the card fee drops to 2.49%. Bigger setups are priced by quote. Online ordering is an add-on, and Toast does not publish its price.
Those numbers are from Toast's pricing page and its Starter Kit page, read on 5 October 2026. Toast says the prices apply "to new customers and single locations only", and include the first terminal.
A disclosure first: OrderEatRepeat is our product. It is online ordering, not a POS, so it competes with one part of what Toast sells. Our restaurants, Greek On Wheels in Ottawa, are under common ownership with OrderEatRepeat. Every Toast number below links to Toast's own page or to a named review site.
How much does Toast cost?
Toast has three US plans: the Starter Kit from $0 a month, Point of Sale from $69 a month, and Build Your Own at a custom price. The plan changes how you pay for hardware and what you pay on each card payment.
- Starter Kit: "Starting at $0/month", for one location with up to 2 terminals. You pay no upfront hardware cost.
- Point of Sale: "Starting at $69/month". You choose and buy your own hardware, and you get flat-rate processing.
- Build Your Own: "Custom pricing". You pick features such as inventory, payroll, scheduling, marketing, loyalty and gift cards.
Toast also sells a payroll bundle at $69 a month plus $9 per employee per month. Each extra terminal costs more: the page says "Additional charges apply for subsequent devices."
What are Toast's processing fees?
Toast charges 3.09% per card payment on the Starter Kit's Pay-as-you-Go plan, and 2.49% if you buy your hardware up front and pay a monthly software fee. NerdWallet's review adds 15 cents per transaction to both rates.
The two rates are on Toast's Starter Kit page. Pay-as-you-Go: "A 3.09% card processing fee covers all costs, except for shipping and taxes." The traditional plan "includes a 2.49% card processing fee".
NerdWallet's Toast review, updated 6 August 2026, gives "2.49% plus 15 cents for card-present transactions" and "3.09-3.69% plus 15 cents per transaction" on pay-as-you-go. So ask Toast for your rate on online (card-not-present) orders in writing. Toast's own pages do not show it.
Toast does not process cards itself. Its FAQ says Toast "is a payment facilitator that partners with processors".
Which Toast plan is cheaper: Pay-as-you-Go or a monthly plan?
The monthly plan is cheaper once you take more than about $11,500 a month in card payments. Below that, Pay-as-you-Go costs less, because the extra 0.6% is smaller than the $69 software fee.
The math: 3.09% minus 2.49% is 0.6%. And 0.6% of $11,500 is $69.
| Card sales per month | Pay-as-you-Go (3.09%, $0 a month) | Point of Sale ($69 a month + 2.49%) |
|---|---|---|
| $5,000 | $155 | $194 |
| $10,000 | $309 | $318 |
| $20,000 | $618 | $567 |
| $40,000 | $1,236 | $1,065 |
Rates from Toast's Starter Kit page and pricing page, 5 October 2026. Not included: the 15 cents per transaction NerdWallet reports on both plans, the hardware you buy up front on the monthly plan, extra terminals, and add-ons such as online ordering. "Starting at $69" is the lowest price; your quote can be higher.
The hardware is the part the table hides. On Pay-as-you-Go, Toast says "you own the hardware from day one" and pay nothing up front. On the monthly plan, you pay for it at the start.
What are Toast's upfront costs?
Hardware and implementation. Toast's FAQ says both "vary depending on your specific hardware packages and installation needs", and offers 0% financing by application.
You can't bring your own tablets. Toast's pricing FAQ says its services "may only be used on approved Toast hardware." NerdWallet lists "Charges for installation" among the drawbacks.
How much does Toast online ordering cost?
Toast does not publish a price. Its pricing chart lists online ordering as part of "Digital Storefront Essentials", marked "Available with add-on; additional fees may apply."
Toast's online ordering page promises "No commissions. No hidden fees." So Toast takes no percentage of each online order. What you pay instead is the add-on fee and card processing on each order. NerdWallet confirms that online ordering costs extra.
For a number, Sauce, a competing online ordering company, estimates about $75 a month. That is their estimate, not a Toast price. Get the online ordering add-on priced in writing before you sign.
Delivery is separate again. Toast Delivery Services charges "a flat fee per order" for drivers. Toast doesn't publish that fee either.
Does Toast charge your customers a fee on online orders?
Not now. Toast announced a 99-cent fee on online orders of $10 or more in June 2023, then dropped it in July after restaurants pushed back.
Restaurant Dive reported the reversal on 19 July 2023, quoting Toast's CEO: the company "made the wrong decision". Some AI answers still describe the fee as current. Google's AI Overview for "toast online ordering cost" did on 5 October 2026.
Is there a contract with Toast?
NerdWallet says yes: two to three years. Toast's pricing page does not state a contract length, so ask for the term, and the cost to leave early, in writing.
That is in NerdWallet's Toast review, updated 6 August 2026. Owner.com, for comparison, bills month to month with no cancellation fee.
How much does Toast cost in Canada?
In Canada, Toast starts at CA$120 a month for its Starter plan and CA$220 a month for Essentials, with a custom quote above that. The Canadian page does not list a $0 Starter Kit.
Those prices are on Toast's Canadian pricing page, last updated 15 May 2026. Essentials adds a kitchen display and a handheld. Online ordering is not listed with a price there either.
Is Toast cheaper than DoorDash?
Per order, yes, but they sell different things. On a $40 delivery order, DoorDash's Plus plan takes $10. Toast's online ordering takes no commission, so you pay roughly $1 to $1.65 in card fees, depending on your rate, plus Toast's monthly fees and your own delivery cost.
DoorDash's US pricing page charges 15%, 25% or 30% for delivery orders, with card processing included. That buys you DoorDash's customers and drivers. Toast's online ordering buys you an ordering page for customers who already know you.
You can use both: the apps to find new customers, and direct ordering to keep the regulars. We wrote the full breakdown of how much DoorDash charges restaurants.
Do you need Toast to take online orders?
No. Toast sells online ordering as an add-on to its POS plans, but standalone online ordering systems work without changing your POS.
OrderEatRepeat is one of those: one price per location, $79 USD or $89 CAD a month, with a branded storefront, a kitchen app, menu setup and card checkout included, 0% commission, and a choice of eight payment processors. It is not a POS, so it does not replace Toast's in-store side. If you want one vendor for terminals, payroll and ordering, Toast fits better.
If your POS is fine and only online ordering is the problem, compare the best online ordering systems for restaurants first.
Price online ordering on its own.
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Written by Joseph Besharah, founder of OrderEatRepeat and operator of Greek On Wheels, a seven-location restaurant group in Ottawa that runs on the product. Toast's prices were read off Toast's own US and Canadian pages on 5 October 2026 and are linked to them. Prices change — check before you sign. OrderEatRepeat is not affiliated with or endorsed by Toast, DoorDash, NerdWallet or Sauce.