Toast vs Clover: Complete Comparison 2026

An in-depth comparison of features, pricing, and user experience to help you make the right choice.

Toast

8.4(31,200 reviews)

Restaurant-focused POS with kitchen displays, online ordering, and tableside payments. Free Starter plan; paid plans from $69/mo.

7.9(22,400 reviews)

Flexible POS hardware ecosystem with app marketplace for retail, restaurants, and services. Plans from $14.95/mo plus hardware.

Aspect	Toast	Clover
Best For	Full-service restaurants that need kitchen display systems and tableside ordering	Businesses that want premium-quality dedicated POS hardware instead of tablet-based setups
Pricing Model	Freemium	Subscription
Starting Price	Free	$14.95/mo
Deployment	cloud	cloud
Platforms	WEB, ANDROID	WEB, ANDROID
Rating	8.4/10	7.9/10

Purpose-built for restaurants with kitchen display systems, coursing, and auto-86 functionality
Built-in online ordering eliminates expensive third-party delivery commissions of 15-30%
Tableside ordering with Toast Go handhelds speeds up service and increases table turnover
Free Starter plan lets small restaurants get started without upfront software costs
Comprehensive payroll and team management tools designed specifically for restaurant staff

Proprietary hardware is mandatory — you cannot run Toast on an iPad or any third-party device
Early termination fees can reach $5,000-10,000+ if you try to leave your contract early
Customer support quality is inconsistent — some reps are great, others clearly read from scripts
The system depends heavily on internet connectivity and offline mode has significant limitations
Hardware costs for a full restaurant setup can hit $2,500-4,000 before you serve your first customer

Premium hardware lineup with modular options from a $49 pocket reader to a $1,699 full station
App marketplace with 400+ apps lets you customize functionality without switching platforms
Competitive processing rates (2.3% + 10¢ on Register plan) when purchased directly from Clover
Works for retail, restaurants, and service businesses with industry-specific plan configurations
Hardware build quality is noticeably better than generic tablet-based POS setups

Reseller model creates wildly inconsistent pricing — some ISOs overcharge by $200+/month
Hardware is tied to your merchant account and becomes useless if you cancel — you don't truly own it
App marketplace costs stack up quickly at $10-50/month per app if you need multiple extensions
Restaurant features aren't as deep as Toast's purpose-built kitchen workflow tools
The initial hardware investment is significant — a full Station Duo setup runs $1,699+

Product	Pricing Model	Starting Price
Toast	freemium	Free0
Clover	subscription	$14.95/mo

Choose Toast if...

Full-service restaurants that need kitchen display systems and tableside ordering

Choose Clover if...

Businesses that want premium-quality dedicated POS hardware instead of tablet-based setups

Explore more alternatives or read in-depth reviews to make your decision.