Toast vs. Clover: Which POS is right for you in 2026?
Choosing the right POS can have a real impact. Revenue at Toast restaurants is, on average, more than 47% greater than the average US restaurant.
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Toast and Clover both offer cloud-based POS systems, but their approaches to supporting restaurants differ. Explore the key differences, and see Toast in action with a live demo.
![[US] Toast vs. Clover Hero Image](https://images.ctfassets.net/tgv5pu8pgmos/5JloeKV5vnIo9pNuT6ZcmF/416c00f92485b305c462f2363df18641/Hero_clovervstoast__1_.png?fm=avif&w=2254&fit=scale)
Toast vs. Clover: How key POS features compare
This comparison focuses on the Toast Restaurant Platform vs. Clover's Restaurant Growth Plan, Clover's primary restaurant offering available directly on Clover's website. For information on Toast’s Retail solution, click here.
A note on restaurant integrations: Toast and Clover often take different approaches to providing restaurant management capabilities. Toast offers many products directly within its platform, while Clover makes some capabilities exclusively available through integrations with third-party providers. Throughout this comparison, we identify how each capability is offered so business owners can determine which approach best fits their needs.
POS feature | Toast | Clover |
|---|---|---|
Pricing | Sold directly by Toast, keeping pricing consistent | Pricing, contract terms, and termination fees may vary across its network of partners/resellers |
Entry-level software plans | Toast offers entry-level plans at $69/mo, with options available for $0/mo2 with no upfront costs** | Clover entry-level Restaurant Growth plan is $89.95/mo before the cost of hardware10 |
Support | Support is provided directly by Toast for every customer | Support provider and experience may vary depending on where you purchase Clover |
Payroll | Native Toast Payroll, available as an add-on | No native payroll; requires third-party integration |
Scheduling | Sling by Toast, the scheduling solution, included12 | No native scheduling; requires third-party integration like Homebase |
Social media | Posting directly through Toast Web via an integration with Meta | Relies on third-party social media management tools |
AI chat assistant | Toast IQ available; takes action in chat | No confirmed launch date for a native Clover AI agent, not listed on Clover's site as of September 2026 |
Benchmarking | Menu-item-level insights, table turn times, sales projections, with peer groups you can select by region, available as an add-on | Peer comparison limited to average ticket size, revenue, and transaction volume vs. similar businesses |
AI Marketing | Toast IQ Grow, available as an add-on, pairs AI Marketing Agent + dedicated human support | A native Clover Agent for this type of marketing service hasn't launched as of September 2026; No current tool pairs AI-driven marketing campaigns with dedicated human support |
Gift cards | Toast Gift Cards, available as an add-on, carry zero load fees | "Pay-per-action" fee of $.05 for every $2 loaded |
Recipe management | Built-in recipe management capabilities available as an xtraCHEF add-on | No built-in recipe management for restaurant or retail plans |
Retail invoice scanning | AI Invoice Scanning available as an xtraCHEF add-on, accessible via Toast Web and the Toast Now mobile app | Requires third-party app |
Branded app | Offers a fully branded app + Toast Local marketplace, available as an add-on | Only offers a shared consumer marketplace app; no native branded app |
Restaurant Commission Per Order | $0—Toast offers a commission-free online ordering add-on8 | $0—Clover also offers commission-free online ordering9 |
Handheld hardware durability and battery | Toast Go® 3 rated IP65, drop-rated to 5 ft, and all-day (24+ hr) battery life | No durability ratings provided for handhelds or the majority of its hardware; Handhelds provide "at least 8 hours of use" |
3 reasons restaurants should choose Toast vs. Clover
Consistent pricing and support
Toast's pricing, support, and onboarding are consistent, and because everything comes directly from Toast, you'll always know exactly what you're paying and the services you'll receive.
Native tools that work as one
Toast’s all-in-one platform combines powerful native capabilities with evolving innovation to help your business thrive.
Geared for growth
With Toast Multi-location Management, open your second location, or your tenth, on the same platform.*
A closer look at the Toast vs. Clover difference
A closer look at the Toast vs. Clover difference
Consistent pricing and support
Pricing direct from Toast
Toast customers always buy directly from Toast, not a reseller. Clover notes that pricing, contract terms, and termination fees vary across its network of partners.
Predictable costs
Toast pricing is predictable with no hidden fees. Clover products can be purchased through resellers, with prices varying depending on where you choose to purchase.
Consistent support for all plans
All US Toast customers receive support directly from Toast 7 days a week, from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. ET. At Clover, support channels depend on which product you use and where you purchased it.
A truly unified platform
Toast delivers a fully integrated restaurant platform with add-on native tools available to manage your team, including payroll and scheduling. For payroll and scheduling, Clover requires operators to add third-party apps through its App Market.
Toast also offers social media posting directly through Toast Web via an integration with Meta, allowing customers to post to Instagram and Facebook directly from Toast. Clover only offers third-party social media management tools.
Advanced insights and data-driven AI
Toast IQ helps you not only find the opportunities hidden in your data, but also take action without leaving the chat. A native Clover Agent for this type of marketing service hasn't launched as of September 2026.
Toast's Benchmarking, available as an add-on, also provides robust insights into menu-level performance, table turn times, and sales projections, with customizable peer groups so you can benchmark against restaurants like yours or explore broader market trends. Clover’s peer comparison is limited to average ticket size, revenue, and transaction volume vs. similar businesses.
Built to scale with business growth
Toast is designed to grow alongside businesses, supporting evolving needs.*
Flexible starting point, tailored to today
Restaurants can choose the products and suites that fit their current operations.*
A single growth partner driving revenue from every angle
Toast IQ Grow, available as an add-on, pairs powerful software, our specialized AI Marketing Agent, and dedicated human support to drive customers directly to your ordering channels, with less manual work. Clover's own AI Agent isn't live as of September 2026, and none of Clover's native marketing tools pair AI-driven campaigns with dedicated human support.
Which restaurant types fit best with Toast vs. Clover?
Toast can be a better choice for quick service, full service, and multi-location restaurants that want one connected platform with native payroll, scheduling, and AI-powered insights with human support, plus consistent pricing and support across every plan; Clover may suit restaurants who prefer assembling their own tech stack through a broad third-party app marketplace over one single system.
Different service models lean on different parts of the Toast platform:
- Quick service runs on speed: self-ordering kiosks, Toast Mobile Order & Pay®, and Toast Go® 3 handhelds keep lines moving and send orders straight to the right prep station.
- Full service runs on pacing and hospitality: customizable course management, Toast Tables for waitlist and reservations with zero cover fees, and guest profiles that surface visit history.
- Expanding groups run on consistency: multi-location management updates menus across locations from one dashboard, copies settings like discount rules across locations, and reports at either the group or individual level.
The true Toast value is that all these features run on the same, singular system. With Clover, several of these features come from third-party apps in its App Market, if offered at all.
You'll currently find Toast in over 180,000 ¹ locations of all sizes and styles of service. * To see how Toast works for your operation, explore full service, quick service, and enterprise.
How does Toast pricing compare to Clover?
Both Toast and Clover offer plans that cover a wide range of budgets. Both Toast 8 and Clover 9 offer commission-free online ordering, with $0 restaurant commission charged per order. You can get started on Toast for as little as $0 per month in software costs, with options available online for little to no upfront hardware costs as well.
Compare Toast pricing plans below to find the best fit for your restaurant.
Point of Sale
Ideal for restaurants looking to get started with core functionality and flat-rate processing.
Monthly software subscription. Choose your own hardware.
Build your own
Ideal for all restaurants ready to drive more revenue and optimize operations with the full Toast platform.
You choose the features that fit your needs. Solutions include, but not limited to:
Retail store?13 Toast has you covered.
Alongside the restaurant platform above, Toast offers an all-in-one retail POS that replaces a patchwork of separate retail tools. Clover for Retail requires operators to add third-party apps for core functions like invoicing.13 Whether you're selling grab-and-go items, branded merchandise, or pantry staples, Toast is built to help retailers succeed. Rebel Cheese in NYC grew retail sales by 20% in its first year while using Toast Retail.4
Toast Retail can scan a supplier invoice with AI to create items and update your quantities, costs, and catalog — new arrivals go from invoice to shelf in minutes. Clover’s retail solution has no native invoice-scanning capability; operators need to add a third-party app through Clover's App Market to get similar functionality.13
Toast Retail hardware works as hard as you do. Integrated barcode scanners, label printers, and weighted scales all help enable a seamless checkout experience.13 And, with the Toast Go® 3, staff can scan barcodes right from the floor to ring up items on the spot, no extra equipment, no delays.
Learn more about Toast Retail for:
Toast Restaurant Platform vs. Clover's Restaurant Growth Plan FAQs
Toast offers plans for a wide range of budgets, including options with no2 or limited upfront hardware costs. Total costs vary depending on your software plan, hardware package, implementation needs, and payment option.3
To help restaurants manage upfront expenses, Toast offers flexible payment options, including payment as a percentage of your sales** or a fixed monthly payment through a third-party financing partner. These solutions aren't limited to businesses with excellent credit; there are no interest charges or fees, and Easy Pay offers a 100% approval rate with no credit check.***
Within the Starter Kit, Toast also offers the Pay-as-You-Go plan,****which reduces upfront hardware and installation costs through an all-in-one platform rate.
Get a personalized look at Toast
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