Toast (Starter Kit) review 2027

What problem does Toast solve for a restaurant?

Toast is built for restaurants and nothing else. The tagline says it plainly: coursing, modifiers, kitchen displays, online ordering and handhelds that survive a service. For a restaurant, Toast does things the generalists cannot and its hardware is built for the room it lives in. Read the hardware financing term before you sign it.

That focus shows up in the day-to-day. Kitchen display, coursing, modifiers and table management are all first-class. Online ordering, delivery and loyalty are native, not bolt-ons. And when the internet dropped during our test, full offline mode kept taking orders and cards through the outage.

It is not a general-purpose till. Toast is useless outside food service, and the hardware starts at $799. But for the trade it was designed for, it is the strongest option we tested in this category.

How did Toast score 8.5?

We scored Toast across five criteria, each with its own maximum.

Processing fees and total cost — 24 out of 30. This measures the real cost of taking $25,000 a month in card payments: rate, per-transaction fee, monthly software, hardware and any early-termination clause. Toast's in-person card rate runs from 2.49% + 15¢ on the paid plan to 3.09% + 15¢ on the free plan, with software at $69/mo. Our maths put the cost on $25k/mo at $787/mo.

Hardware and reliability — 20 out of 20. This covers terminal build, offline mode when the internet drops, receipt printing, cash drawer and scanner support. Toast took full marks here.

Features for the trade — 20 out of 20. Inventory, menus and modifiers, table service, appointments, staff rotas, loyalty and online ordering. Another full score.

Reporting and integrations — 13 out of 15. Sales reports, accounting sync, payroll, ecommerce and the API.

Support and terms — 8 out of 15. Hours reachable, how fast a dead terminal is replaced, contract length and how funds are held. This is where Toast gave up the most ground, and it lines up with the contract terms below.

Where Toast stands out

Four strengths carried the score.

• Kitchen display, coursing, modifiers and table management are all first-class.
• Full offline mode kept taking orders and cards through our outage.
• Hardware is spill-resistant and built for a kitchen.
• Online ordering, delivery and loyalty are native, not bolt-ons.

The offline result is the one that matters most in a real service. Toast's full offline mode is a step beyond the limited offline support on some rivals, and it earned the hardware and reliability criterion its full 20 points.

Parts, build and contract terms

The spec sheet tells you what you are buying into.

• In-person card rate: 2.49% + 15¢ (paid plan) to 3.09% + 15¢ (free plan)
• Software: $69/mo
• Cost on $25k/mo (our maths): $787/mo
• Free software tier: Yes, at a higher card rate
• Hardware from: $799
• Offline mode: Yes, full offline mode
• Payout speed: Next business day
• Contract: 1–3 years on some plans
• Best for: Restaurants and bars

The hardware is spill-resistant and built for a kitchen, which is why it costs what it does. The contract is the part to read carefully: 1–3 years on some plans, and the hardware is often financed over a multi-year agreement.

How Toast compares with the rivals we tested

Against Square (8.9, free software), Toast is behind on overall score and on hardware entry price — Square starts at $59 against Toast's $799. Square's offline mode works with a per-transaction cap, while Toast runs full offline mode. Square's cost on $25k/mo is $785/mo against Toast's $787/mo, and Square has no contract.

Against Helcim (8.9, no monthly fee), Toast is behind on score and on cost: Helcim's cost on $25k/mo is $658/mo with hardware from $99 and no contract, but its offline mode is limited. Toast's full offline mode and restaurant features are the counterweight.

Against Clover (8.2, $14.95/mo), Toast is ahead on score. Clover's cost on $25k/mo is $770/mo with hardware from $299 and offline mode yes, but no free software tier and up to 3 years via resellers.

Where Toast falls short

Toast lost ground on hardware cost and contract, and three test cons stood out.

• Hardware from $799, often financed over a multi-year agreement.
• The $0 software plan charges a much higher card rate.
• Useless outside food service.

The support and terms criterion scored 8 out of 15, the weakest of the five. If you run anything other than food service, the restaurant-specific build works against you rather than for you.

Is Toast worth the price?

Toast starts from $0 software, but the free tier comes at a higher card rate. On the paid plan, software is $69/mo and the in-person rate is 2.49% + 15¢. Our maths put the cost on $25k/mo at $787/mo.

Hardware starts at $799 and is often financed over a multi-year agreement, so the entry cost is real. Weigh that against the full offline mode, the kitchen-grade build and the native online ordering, delivery and loyalty.

Who should buy Toast?

Toast is still right for restaurants, bars and cafés. If your service depends on coursing, modifiers, table management and a kitchen display that keeps running when the internet drops, this is the system built for that room. If you sell anything other than food and drink, look elsewhere in the category.