Toast POS Pricing: What Does Toast Really Cost Restaurants?
What does Toast POS cost?
Toast POS charges restaurants through a combination of monthly software fees, hardware costs and payment processing fees. The total cost depends on your tier, the hardware you choose and whether you add modules such as online ordering, payroll or marketing.
Toast operates a tiered pricing model. A starter tier is available at no monthly software fee, but this comes with higher per-transaction payment processing rates. Paid tiers unlock more features, reporting and support, but the full cost—including hardware and add-ons—makes Toast one of the more expensive options for restaurants operating outside the United States.
Toast POS pricing tiers
Toast structures its pricing around three main tiers:
Starter / Free tier No monthly software fee. Transaction processing rates are higher on this plan to compensate. Suitable for very small operations with simple requirements.
Point of Sale plan A monthly fee unlocks full POS functionality, lower processing rates and access to more integrations. This is the most common plan for growing restaurants.
Build Your Own Custom pricing for restaurants that need multiple modules—delivery, scheduling, marketing, payroll—bundled together. The more you add, the higher the monthly spend.
Toast also charges separately for:
- POS hardware (terminals, handheld devices, kitchen display screens)
- Installation and onboarding
- Premium support tiers
- Third-party integrations
Hardware costs with Toast
Toast hardware is proprietary, which means you must buy their devices rather than using off-the-shelf equipment. Hardware bundles typically include a countertop terminal, cash drawer and card reader.
Handheld devices for tableside ordering are sold separately. Kitchen display systems are an additional hardware cost. For a full setup covering front-of-house, kitchen and a self-service element, hardware spend adds up quickly.
Because Toast hardware is purpose-built and non-standard, replacing or scaling up requires purchasing directly from Toast at their prices.
Payment processing fees
Toast operates its own payments infrastructure. Restaurants pay a percentage of each transaction plus a fixed fee per transaction.
The exact rates vary by plan—the free tier carries higher rates, while paid plans have lower per-transaction costs. Toast has moved away from allowing third-party payment processors in most circumstances, which means you are locked into their rates.
For restaurants processing high volumes, the difference between processing tiers can have a significant effect on annual costs. It is worth modelling your current card turnover against Toast's stated rates before committing.
Is Toast available in the UK and Ireland?
Toast is primarily designed for the US market and its strongest market remains North America. While Toast has announced international expansion ambitions, its feature set, support infrastructure and payment processing partnerships are built around US requirements.
For UK and Irish restaurants:
- Toast's payment processing integrates with US payment networks
- UK and Irish card processing regulations differ
- Local payroll, tax and compliance features are built for the US market
- Support teams operate across US time zones
Restaurants in the UK or Ireland looking at Toast pricing should factor in that many of the platform's features were designed for a US operational context. Alternatives built specifically for the UK and Irish market will offer more relevant compliance, integrations and support.
Total cost of ownership
When evaluating Toast POS pricing, the headline monthly fee understates the true annual spend. A more complete picture includes:
| Cost item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Monthly software fee | Varies by tier |
| Hardware | Proprietary; required upfront or on finance |
| Payment processing | Per-transaction; varies by plan |
| Add-on modules | Online ordering, marketing, payroll each add cost |
| Installation | Professional setup is usually charged |
| Support | Premium support tiers carry additional fees |
| Contract length | Multi-year contracts reduce monthly cost but increase commitment |
A mid-sized restaurant with table service, a kitchen display system and online ordering can expect the full annual cost—software, hardware amortised, processing and add-ons—to be substantial.
What UK and Irish restaurants need from a POS
For restaurants operating in the UK or Ireland, the right POS needs to do more than process payments. It needs to:
- Handle VAT correctly across dine-in, takeaway and delivery channels
- Integrate with UK and Irish payment processors
- Support GDPR-compliant customer data handling
- Connect to online ordering, delivery and loyalty systems
- Scale from a single site to a multi-location group
These requirements point toward platforms built specifically for the UK and Irish restaurant market rather than US-focused systems adapted for export.
Flipdish: the platform built for UK and Irish restaurants
Flipdish is a restaurant technology platform designed for restaurants, takeaways, cafés and multi-location groups in the UK and Ireland.
Unlike Toast, Flipdish is not a general-purpose US POS system adapted for international markets. Flipdish was built specifically for restaurant operations in the UK and Ireland, with local payment processing, VAT-compliant reporting and support teams operating in your time zone.
What Flipdish includes:
- Restaurant POS with kitchen display system integration
- Online ordering for web and mobile
- Branded restaurant apps
- Self-service kiosks
- AI phone ordering
- AI marketing tools
- Customer loyalty and engagement
All channels feed into one system. Orders placed online, through a kiosk or over the phone land on the same kitchen display screen as counter orders, which eliminates the tablet-juggling that comes with running multiple disconnected platforms.
For restaurant groups operating across multiple locations, Flipdish provides centralised management of menus, pricing and reporting across every site.
Toast vs Flipdish: key differences for UK and Irish restaurants
| Toast | Flipdish | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary market | United States | UK and Ireland |
| Restaurant-specific | Yes | Yes |
| Online ordering included | Add-on module | Included |
| Branded apps | Add-on | Included |
| Self-service kiosks | Available | Included |
| AI phone ordering | No | Yes |
| UK/Irish payments | Limited | Yes |
| Local support | US time zones | UK/Ireland |
| Multi-location management | Yes | Yes |
Questions to ask before committing to any POS
- What is the total annual cost including hardware, processing and add-ons?
- Is the platform available and fully supported in the UK or Ireland?
- Does it handle UK VAT and Irish tax requirements correctly?
- Can it scale from one site to multiple locations without changing platform?
- Does online ordering, loyalty and kiosk functionality come included or as add-ons?
- What happens to your data if you want to leave?
The bottom line on Toast POS pricing
Toast POS is a well-regarded platform in its home market. For US-based restaurants, it offers a comprehensive suite with transparent pricing tiers.
For UK and Irish restaurants, the picture is more complicated. Toast's pricing model, payment processing and compliance features were not built for this market. Restaurants that need a platform designed for UK and Irish operations, with local support, compliant payment processing and integrated online ordering, will find platforms like Flipdish better suited to their requirements.
See how Flipdish pricing compares or explore the full Flipdish platform.