◆ Point of sale, head to head

Toast vs Square, side by side, by Zayos

Published July 2026 · Updated October 4, 2026

The short answer

Neither Toast nor Square charges commission on a direct online order. The cost difference is software plus card processing. Square lists $0, $49 and $149 per month plans with its card rates beside them. Toast lists plans from $0 and $69 and no processing rate, so the Toast side of the comparison comes from a written quote.

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Sources for the prices and rates in this section: Square pricing and plans; Toast pricing, read 4 Oct 2026. A company can change them; its own page is what counts.

Do Toast and Square take a cut of my online orders?

No. Both are commission free on your own site. Toast states its online ordering has no commissions and that orders land in the Toast point of sale the same way an in house ticket does. Square states you can take orders on your restaurant website with no monthly fees and no commissions.

That settles the question everybody asks first, and it narrows the rest of this page. If neither takes a percentage of the order, the entire cost gap between them lives in two lines: what you pay per month, and what you pay the card networks.

What does one $30 order actually cost in processing?

Same order, same restaurant, three different ways it can be taken. These use Square's listed rates because Square lists them. Toast's pricing page lists no processing rate, which is exactly the point of this section.

Taken at the counter

$0.93

Square Free in person, 2.6% + $0.15. That is $0.78 of percentage plus the $0.15 fixed fee.

Taken on your website

$1.29

Square Free online, 3.3% + $0.30. That is $0.99 plus $0.30, about 39% more than the same order at the counter.

Taken on a marketplace

$4.50 to $9.00

15% to 30% published base commission on the same $30, before the blended real cost of delivery, marketing and processing fees is added.

The middle number is the one to argue about with your rep. Card not present costs more than card present nearly everywhere in payments, and online ordering is entirely card not present. Square lists 3.3% + $0.30 online on Square Free and 2.9% + $0.30 on Plus and Premium. Toast does not list an online rate on its pricing page, so a quote that only mentions an in person percentage is describing the register, not the website.

Source for the prices and rates in this section: Square pricing and plans, read 4 Oct 2026. A company can change them; its own page is what counts.

What does each one list?

Read on each company's own pricing page on 4 Oct 2026. Where a company does not list a figure, this table says so.

Line item

Toast

Square

Published software plans

Starter Kit from $0/month. Point of Sale plan from $69/month. Build Your Own is a custom quote.

Square Free $0/month per location. Square Plus $49/month per location. Square Premium $149/month per location. Square Pro is custom pricing.

In person card rate

Not listed on the pricing page. The rate arrives in the quote, so get it in writing.

2.6% + $0.15 on Free. 2.5% + $0.15 on Plus. 2.4% + $0.15 on Premium.

Online card rate, the one people miss

Not listed on the pricing page. Ask for the card not present rate in writing.

Listed: 3.3% + $0.30 on Square Free. 2.9% + $0.30 on Plus and Premium.

Keyed in card rate

Not listed on the pricing page.

3.5% + $0.15 across Free, Plus and Premium.

Commission on a direct online order

0%. Toast states its online ordering has no commissions and orders land in the point of sale like an in house order.

0%. Square states you can take orders on your restaurant website with no monthly fees or commissions.

Who it is built for

Restaurants only. Every module assumes a kitchen, a line and a ticket.

General commerce, with a restaurant configuration on top. The same account also runs retail, appointments and invoicing.

Restaurant add ons that cost extra

Online ordering (Digital Storefront) is an add on with no price shown on the pricing page.

Kitchen display app $30/month per device on Plus and $20 on Premium. Kiosk app $50/month per device on Plus and $30 on Premium.

Delivery on a direct order

Toast Delivery Services runs through Uber Direct. The pricing page shows no per delivery price, so ask for it with the quote.

Delivery on Square Online is fulfilled through partner couriers. A flat per delivery figure is not published on the pricing pages.

Contract

Hardware, rate and term are quoted per restaurant, so the terms are in your agreement rather than on the pricing page.

Square states no hidden fees or locked in contracts, cancel or switch anytime. Plus and Premium each carry a free 30 day trial.

High volume path

Build Your Own is a custom quote.

Custom pricing available if you process over $250,000 per year.

Swipe the table sideways to see both columns.

Sources for the prices and rates in this section: Square pricing and plans; Toast pricing, read 4 Oct 2026. A company can change them; its own page is what counts.

Which one fits the restaurant you actually run?

Pick Square if the register is simple and the capital decision is scary

Counter service, a food truck, a cafe, a bakery, a second concept you are testing, a place with a $9 average ticket, or any operator who wants to try online ordering without buying hardware. Square Free is $0 per month, states no locked in contracts, and runs on devices you may already own. If you are not sure, this is the lower risk answer, and being able to walk away cheaply is worth real money in year one.

Pick Toast if the floor is complicated

Full service with a bar, coursing, tab transfers, handhelds at the table, a real prep line. Toast builds only for restaurants, which shows up in the parts of the job a general commerce platform treats as an edge case. If your problem is the floor rather than the website, Toast is the better tool and the rate stops being the deciding factor.

Pick neither yet if you have not asked for the online rate in writing

This is the single most common way a restaurant gets surprised. Both quotes will lead with an in person percentage. Online ordering does not use that percentage. Send one email to each rep that says: what is my card not present rate, in writing, including the per transaction amount. The answers will move your comparison more than any feature list on this page.

Source for the prices and rates in this section: Square pricing and plans, read 4 Oct 2026. A company can change them; its own page is what counts.

Where does Zayos fit in this?

We wrote this page, so here is the disclosure. Zayos does not sell you a register. Toast and Square both do that job well and this comparison is a real one worth making on its own terms.

Zayos is for the operator whose register is already settled and whose problem is that most of the online volume still arrives from the delivery apps at 15% to 30% base commission, or 25% to 35% blended real cost once delivery, marketing and processing fees stack. It is $399, $499 or $599 per month per location, month to month, no setup fee. Direct orders carry a small service fee the diner pays at checkout, $0.99 pickup, $0.99 delivery, $0 dine in, 10% catering. The restaurant never pays it and keeps 100% of food revenue, and 100% of tips on pickup and dine in. On delivery the tip goes to the driver.

Naya Grill in Pompano Beach runs its direct ordering on Zayos. Farooj Abo Alabed, also live on Zayos, is on pace for $40k+ a year in commission not paid to a marketplace: its direct food sales after discounts from 10 Aug to 3 Oct 2026 (55 days), annualized at a 35% blended marketplace cost. If your register question is still open, settle that first with Toast or Square. We are the layer that comes after.

Toast and Square, the questions that come up in the demo

Does Square or Toast take a commission on my online orders?

Neither one does. Toast states its online ordering carries no commissions and that orders land in the Toast point of sale like an in house order. Square states you can take orders on your restaurant website with no monthly fees or commissions. Both are genuinely commission free on your own site. That is what separates them from a marketplace, where 15% to 30% base commission is the published rate and the blended real cost lands at 25% to 35% once delivery, marketing and processing fees stack.

If neither takes a commission, why is one cheaper than the other?

Because the money moves to two other lines: the monthly software fee and the card processing rate. Square lists $0, $49 and $149 per month per location with in person rates of 2.6%, 2.5% and 2.4% plus $0.15. Toast lists a Starter Kit from $0 and a Point of Sale plan from $69 per month, and its pricing page shows no processing rate. So one side of the comparison is public and the other side arrives in a quote.

Can I work out which one is cheaper from the two pricing pages?

Only half of it. Square lists its monthly plan prices and its card rates, so you can price Square for your own volume today. Toast lists its plan prices, with no processing rate and no price for the online ordering add on, so the Toast side is whatever your written quote says. Ask Toast for the in person rate, the card not present rate, the online ordering price and the contract term, then set that quote beside Square’s listed numbers.

Why does the online card rate matter more than the in person rate?

Because an online order is a card not present transaction and card not present costs more nearly everywhere in payments. Square lists it plainly at 3.3% + $0.30 on Square Free. On a $30 online order that is $1.29 in processing, against $0.93 for the same $30 taken in person at 2.6% + $0.15. That is about 39% more per order, on the exact channel you are trying to grow. Toast lists no processing rate on its pricing page, so ask for the online rate in writing before you sign.

I already have iPads. Does that change the answer?

Yes, quite a lot. Square runs on hardware you may already own and starts at $0 per month in software, so the cost of trying it is close to zero. Toast is a restaurant hardware platform, and the hardware, the rate and the term all come in its quote. If you want to test online ordering without a capital decision, Square is the lower risk experiment.

I run a full service restaurant with a bar. Which one?

Toast, in most cases. Tab transfers, seat level coursing, firing a second course from a handheld at the table, and shift level labor reporting are the things a restaurant only platform builds first and a general commerce platform builds second. If your ticket flow is complicated, that depth is worth more than a small rate difference. If your ticket flow is a counter, a card and a bag, Square does that job and charges you less to do it.

Which one is better for a coffee shop or a small counter service place?

Square is the easier one to price. Square Free is $0 per month per location with its card rates listed, it states no locked in contracts, and it runs on devices you may already own. A small counter can read the whole cost off the pricing page before signing anything. Toast is built for busier, more complicated floors, and its cost for a small counter depends on a quote.

Sources for the prices and rates in this section: Square pricing and plans; Toast pricing, read 4 Oct 2026. A company can change them; its own page is what counts.

Sources

Square plans and online rates: Square Free $0, Square Plus $49 and Square Premium $149 per month per location, online card payments at 3.3% + 30¢ on Free and 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus and Premium. squareup.com/us/en/online-store/plans, read 4 Oct 2026.
Square for Restaurants: in person 2.6%, 2.5% and 2.4% + 15¢ on Free, Plus and Premium, 3.5% + 15¢ keyed in, kitchen display app $30 per month per device on Plus and $20 on Premium, kiosk app $50 per month per device on Plus and $30 on Premium, custom pricing above $250,000 processed per year. squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/restaurants/pricing, read 4 Oct 2026.
Toast plans: Starter Kit from $0 per month, Point of Sale plan from $69 per month, Build Your Own custom quote, online ordering (Digital Storefront) as an add on with no price shown, and no processing rate on the page. pos.toasttab.com/pricing, read 4 Oct 2026.
Zayos pricing: zay-os.com/pricing.

The $30 order figures are our arithmetic on Square's listed rates, not vendor claims. This page states no Toast processing rate because Toast's pricing page lists none. Vendor pricing changes, so confirm on each vendor's own page before signing. If a number here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.

Sources for the prices and rates in this section: Square pricing and plans; Toast pricing, read 4 Oct 2026. A company can change them; its own page is what counts.

Keep reading

How much Toast online ordering costs →

The Toast side on its own, with every published fee.

Point of sale integration guide →

What actually pushes back to the register, and what does not.

Commission calculator →

Put your own order mix in and see the yearly number.

Also: Zayos vs Toast · Zayos vs Square for Restaurants · online ordering systems · pricing · what is Zayos