Toast vs Clover
Toast is a restaurant system first, with table management, tip handling, kitchen display and payroll from one supplier. Clover is general-purpose hardware with an app market, sold in plans for restaurants, shops and service businesses, often through your bank. Both tie hardware to processing. Restaurants wanting depth choose Toast; businesses that want their bank to supply the till choose Clover.
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Choose Toast ifyou run a restaurant and want a system where table and order management, tip handling, kitchen display, payroll and online ordering all come from one restaurant specialist.
Choose Clover ifyou are not a restaurant, or you prefer to buy the till through your acquiring bank, and want a range of hardware plus an app marketplace to extend it.
Toast and Clover side by side
| Toast | Clover | |
|---|---|---|
| Our point of sale rank | #8 of 12 | #9 of 12 |
| Established in | United States | United States |
| Pricing | Starter Kit from $0/month; Point of Sale from $69/month, published; processing extra, rate not listed | Per month by plan, quoted through resellers; payments extra |
| Free tier | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | A restaurant that wants everything built for restaurants | A business that wants to buy the till through its bank |
| Not for | A general retailer, or anyone outside the five countries Toast serves | A buyer who wants to compare rates properly |
Both are reviewed in full in our point of sale ranking: Toast and Clover.
Where they differ
Toast 2 · Clover 1 · open 1- 01
Fit for a restaurant
Toast assumes a restaurant in every part, from table and order management to tip handling, kitchen display and add-ons for payroll, scheduling and recipe costing. Clover is closer than its general image suggests: its full-service plans include table mapping, open tabs, bill splitting, tipping and QR order and pay, with tableside ordering from the Standard bundle up. Toast remains the deeper specialist.
Edge: Toast
- 02
Fit for everything else
Clover sells dedicated plans for retail shops and for professional, personal and home and field services, with returns, exchanges, inventory categories and scale integration on the retail side. Toast's pricing page has a retail option, but its platform and add-ons are described in restaurant terms throughout. A salon, clinic or tradesperson has little reason to consider Toast, so Clover wins here.
Edge: Clover
- 03
Hardware lock-in
Neither scores well. Toast says you must use its processing services and that its software runs only on approved Toast hardware. Clover says its devices cannot be used with other payment processors, and that hardware subscriptions are non-cancelable and not refundable, though they can be paid off early. Treat the counter equipment as part of the contract with either one.
Depends on the buyer
- 04
Comparing the offer
Toast publishes starting prices: a Starter Kit from $0 a month and Point of Sale from $69 a month, with further devices extra and larger setups quoted. Clover shows plan prices per business type on its own site, but notes those apply only there, while contract terms and termination fees vary across the banks and partners that sell it. Toast has fewer moving parts to compare.
Edge: Toast
When neither fits
A business that wants published rates, no contract and hardware it can walk away from fits neither. Square offers free software and a cheap reader with a published rate, and Zettle sells hardware outright with one published percentage and no monthly commitment.
Toast or Clover: questions
4 answersShould a restaurant choose Toast or Clover?
A restaurant wanting one specialist for front of house, kitchen, payroll and online ordering should look at Toast first.
Clover is a credible alternative: its full-service plans include table mapping, bill splitting, open tabs and QR order and pay, and it suits owners who prefer to buy through their bank.
Are Toast and Clover terminals locked to their payment processor?
Yes, both. Toast states that you must use its processing and that its software only runs on approved Toast hardware. Clover states that its devices cannot be used with other payment processors. With Clover, the equipment is bought or returned when a subscription ends.
Which has clearer pricing, Toast or Clover?
Toast lists a Starter Kit from $0 a month and Point of Sale from $69 a month, with processing on top.
Clover describes a monthly software fee plus a percentage and a flat fee per transaction, with amounts that depend on business type and on which bank or partner sells it.
Can I cancel a Clover or Toast hardware plan?
Clover says its subscriptions are non-cancelable and not refundable, though they can be paid off at any time, and termination fees vary by the provider.
Toast points to the merchant agreement you accept at sign-up for rates and terms, so read that agreement before ordering either system.
Sources
Checked 30 September 2026- Toast pricing page: Toast plan prices, restaurant features, add-ons and the approved-hardware requirement.
- Toast support: card processing and billing FAQ: Toast requiring its own processing and pointing to the merchant agreement for terms.
- Clover pricing page and FAQ: Clover FAQ: devices tied to Clover processing, non-cancelable subscriptions, terms varying by provider.
- Clover full-service restaurant pricing: Clover full-service restaurant plan features.
- Clover retail pricing: Clover retail plan features.