Toast vs Clover 2026: POS Features, Cost, and UX Comparison

Toast is a stronger option for hospitality businesses than Clover, based on our latest round of POS research.

This is because of the vast array of advanced functionality offered by Toast, such as robust inventory management features to help businesses track stock better, and generous free hardware and software packages that are ideal for smaller establishments looking for a good value POS that still offers the necessary core features to thrive in 2026.

If neither Toast or Clover suit your business needs, you can use our handy comparison tool to get quotes from other top POS providers.

In this guide:

• Toast vs Clover: At a Glance
• Toast Pricing vs Clover Pricing
• Toast vs Clover: Head-to-Head
• How Do Toast and Clover Compare With Alternatives?
• How Did We Evaluate Toast and Clover?
• Verdict: Why is Toast Better Than Clover?
• FAQs

Toast vs Clover: At a Glance

Here’s how Toast and Clover line up, at a glance, based on the results of our research and testing.

Who are Toast and Clover Best for?

Toast

• Best for established restaurants with complex operations
• Price from: $69 per month
• Free plan available
• Contract lengths: 1-3 year minimum (has early termination fees)
• Check out our full Toast POS review

Clover

• Best for high quality and durable hardware
• Price from: $14.95 per month (virtual terminal)
• No free plan available
• Contract lengths: 36 month minimum (has early termination fees)
• Check out our full Clover POS review

Toast vs Clover: Pricing Breakdown

Below, I outline the pricing for each provider, including monthly costs and transaction fees. I also evaluate which provider offers best value for money overall.

How much does Toast cost?

The starting price for Toast is free, with one of the provider’s Starter Kits, while paid plans start at $69 per month, including transaction fees. Here’s how the plans line up:

• Starter Kit: Free | 3.09% + 15¢ (starts from)
• Point of Sale: $69 per month | 2.49% + 15¢ card | 3.5% + 15¢ keyed-in
• Build Your Own: Custom | 2.49% + 15¢ card | 3.5% + 15¢ keyed-in

The amount of transaction fees users pay on the Starter Kit plans is determined by the feature package you select at checkout. Through these transaction fees, you’ll also pay off the cost of hardware. Here at the feature packages and their respective fees:

• Basic: 3.09% + 15¢ per card transaction
• Core: 3.39% + 15¢ per card transaction
• Growth: 3.69% + 15¢ per card transaction

How much does Clover cost?

Users can get started with Clover for $14.95 per month with a virtual terminal, and restaurant-specific plans start at $135 per month, plus transaction fees, with a 36 month contract attached. Here’s how all of Clover’s restaurant plans stack up, at a 36-month contract:

• Quick Service Starter: $135 per month | 2.3% + 10¢ card | 3.5% + 10¢ keyed-in
• Quick Service Standard: $185 per month | 2.3% + 10¢ card | 3.5% + 10¢ keyed-in
• Quick Service Advanced: $245 per month | 2.3% + 10¢ card | 3.5% + 10¢ keyed-in
• Full Service Starter: $179 per month | 2.3% + 10¢ card | 3.5% + 10¢ keyed-in
• Full Service Standard: $239 per month | 2.3% + 10¢ card | 3.5% + 10¢ keyed-in
• Full Service Advanced: $354 per month | 2.3% + 10¢ card | 3.5% + 10¢ keyed-in

Is Toast or Clover better value for money?

Toast’s entry-level paid plan costs $69 per month, which is 48% less than Clover’s cheapest hospitality plan at $135 per month. However, taking into account transaction fees, hardware packages, and alternative providers, I would say both Toast and Clover provide value for money in different ways.

In terms of transaction fees, Clover’s are amongst the lowest of all the providers we researched, at 2.3% + 10¢, second only to SpotOn, at 1.99% + 25¢.

Toast charges a standard transaction fee of 2.49% + 15¢ for card payments, while Clover offers lower rates starting at 2.3% + 10¢.

But Toast’s fees can become much steeper if you opt for one of its Starter Kits, with transaction fees reaching as high as $3.69% + 15¢. Businesses that process a high number of sales, therefore, are better off with Clover.

On the other hand, Clover’s paid plans come with hardware included, somewhat justifying the higher price tag. You can also purchase hardware separately from Clover, with The Clover Flex, for example, available for $749 upfront or $40 per month.

While you’ll get hardware with a Toast Starter Kit, you’ll have to pay high transaction fees to pay it off. Meanwhile, a standard plan with Toast doesn’t come with hardware, so businesses will have to factor this in to their overall costs.

You can see how Toast and Clover compared with another one of our top hardware choices, Square, in our dedicated versus guide.

Does Toast or Clover have a better free plan?

Clover doesn’t currently offer a free version. Toast, however, offers a generous free plan, with its Starter Kit offering every feature vendors need to get off the ground.

If you’re intent on trying out Clover’s software before you buy, you can trial the virtual terminal for up to 90 days. You won’t be able to integrate hardware, but all software features will be available, including sales.

Toast vs Clover: Features Comparison and Test Results

Below, I reveal the results of our testing and why Toast came out as a stronger option than Clover. Use the links below to jump to each category we tested Toast and Clover against.

• Best Software Features: Toast
• Best Help and Support options: Clover
• Best Hardware: Clover
• Best for Usability: Toast

Toast vs Clover: Software Features Comparison

Toast provides superior hospitality software through automatic tip sharing, ingredient-level inventory tracking, and integrated customer engagement tools. However, Clover is not so far behind, offering strong table management features and low/no stock alerts.

• Toast allows users to automatically share tips between employees, which Clover doesn’t. As the hospitality industry looks to keep up with demand, this feature is a highly valuable time-saving tool that businesses should leverage.
• Both Toast and Clover offer low/no stock alerts and a cost/profit management tool, which is beneficial for businesses managing big inventories or multiple locations, and for removing the manual need for staff to keep up with stock, saving their time.
• Toast and Clover both have strong table management and floor plan capabilities, as both give users the option to customize floor plans, with Clover’s drag-and-drop functionality standing out as particularly intuitive in our tests.

Toast has plenty of table management features on offer, which is great for businesses that need to be able to customize their floor plans. Source: Tech.co testing

• Toast offers an option to track ingredient stock, unlike Clover. As prices for stock rise, this is a powerful tool for hospitality businesses to keep an eye on their bottom line, by providing a solid understanding of how ingredients are being used.
• You won’t have to pay for Toast’s reservation tools, but you will have to pay for Clover’s. Our research shows that Toast offers this built-in, giving your customers more personalization when it comes to reserving tables, which is a key element for hospitality businesses in 2026.
• Clover offers integrations for floor management and ecommerce platforms, whereas Toast doesn’t, which is a potential hurdle for businesses that want to monitor operations from a single platform.
• Toast’s customer engagement tools are some of the best we tested, an essential addition for hospitality businesses as customers seek more personalized experiences in 2026.

Clover’s reporting and analytics tools were highly customizable, allowing hospitality businesses to fully understand key cost metrics, such as sales performance. Source: Tech.co testing

Toast vs Clover: Customer Support and Training Resources

Clover has stronger help and support options than Toast, because it gives users a bigger range of channels to access expert support, such as through email. These channels ensure businesses can have queries handled swiftly and with ease.

• Both providers offer support via phone, live chat, knowledge center, and through video/image tutorials.
• Both Toast and Clover offer an initial tutorial for new users, meaning that new staff can be onboarded quickly to make up for any shortages. In particular, our testers enjoyed the initial step-by-step guide offered by Toast, which made getting started easy.
• Clover’s knowledge center was easier to navigate than Toast’s according to our testing, with our researchers struggling to find certain elements and suggesting that more visual signposting would be beneficial.

Toast’s help and support center was a great resource for our researchers during testing, enabling businesses to quickly find the answers to the queries they were looking for. Source: Tech.co testing

Toast vs Clover: Hardware Quality and Durability Comparison

Clover offers better hardware than Toast, because of the sheer quality and appearance of devices during our testing, and their unbeatable intuitiveness and responsiveness when carrying out basic tasks.

• In our testing, Clover’s hardware demonstrated higher responsiveness and included specific time-saving features like fingerprint scanning. I’d also recommend Square for high-quality hardware, without the price tag of Clover.
• Both Toast and Clover have a kitchen display system, receipt printer, and terminal, as well as cash drawers, scales, stands, docks, and cases. On-brand hardware options are essential for ensuring devices remain connected and compatible, and can help save time that would be wasted connecting third-party accessories for businesses.
• Both Toast and Clover have hardware and software packages which offer flexibility for hospitality businesses on a budget.

Clover’s hardware suite was the most impressive out of all the providers we researched, being equal parts responsive and durable in our tests, making it a reliable option for bars or family restaurants that might have to deal with frequent spills. Source: Tech.co testing

Is Toast or Clover Easier to Use?

Toast earned a higher usability score than Clover in our tests due to its intuitive search tool and distinct order sections. Our testers complimented Toast’s clean design, clear and separate sections for orders, and an intuitive search tool. These elements are a great fit for hospitality businesses running a quick service, such as bars.

• Our testers complimented Toast’s clean design, clear and separate sections for orders, and an intuitive search tool. These elements are a great fit for hospitality businesses running a quick service, such as bars, as it allows orders to be processed quickly, increasing customer satisfaction.
• We found it easy to select items and split bills with Clover, and our testers also highlighted that the touchscreen interface of each device was responsive and intuitive. Once familiarized with the system, we found it straightforward and capable of handling many POS functions.
• Some of our researchers had to rely on Toast’s search bar tool because the system didn’t feel as clearly signposted as Clover. This prevents staff members from being able to carry out tasks efficiently, which affects the service of your business. For a clear and minimalist interface that requires little to no learning curve, I’d recommend SumUp.
• Clover’s backend wasn’t as strong as its frontend, because our testers felt that actions weren’t placed in areas where they expected them to be, such as applying discounts. This will make the system harder for staff members to navigate.

We found it easy to navigate functions in Toast such as payroll. The interface is clear and signposts areas so that users can quickly navigate to them. Source: Tech.co testing

How Do Toast and Clover Compare With Other Providers?

Toast and Clover are two of the best restaurant POS systems we’ve tested, because of their advanced, hospitality-focused features, high-quality hardware offerings, and flexible pricing options.

However, if you’d like to explore other options, check out the list below to see how other providers fill the gaps that Toast and Clover have, or you can view our table.

• Square: Square is our best POS for small businesses, offering a feature-rich free plan that Clover lacks, and a system that we found easier to use in our tests, compared with Toast. For small businesses that want a fuss-free and reliable method to scale and grow, you can’t go wrong with Square.
• SpotOn: SpotOn is an ideal option for businesses that want to prioritize staff communications, because of its labor-focused integration, Teamwork. Likewise, it offers more affordable hardware options than Clover, but fewer accessories.
• SumUp: I recommend SumUp for smaller businesses, like cafes, that need a quick and efficient system to put out orders as soon as possible, because of a minimalist interface that provides a short learning curve, compared with the likes of Toast and Clover.

For the most up-to-date quotes from the best providers, refer to our comparison tool.

How Did We Evaluate Toast and Clover?

After identifying the most relevant, popular POS platforms on the market, we put them through their paces with hands-on testing to better understand their strengths and weaknesses.

In total, we put 16 POS systems to the test, with a vigorous research and testing methodology. In our testing sessions, participants were asked to carry out tasks on POS software and describe their user journey, to help us understand what it’s like to use the systems first-hand.

In addition to first-hand testing, we developed a detailed methodology that focuses on six categories of investigation, including criteria like software features and help and support centers.

These categories were broken down into further subcategories, so we were able to drill down further into certain topics, to make our insights as granular and useful as possible. Here’s an overview of our main testing categories for POS systems:

When it comes to calculating a product’s final score, not all testing areas are weighted evenly, as we know some aspects matter more to our readers than others.

For example, we’ll prioritize certain industry-specific features for specific reviews, like an offline mode when reviewing POS systems for food trucks or KDS when reviewing restaurant POS systems.

At Tech.co, we have a number of full-time in-house researchers who re-run this testing process regularly to ensure our results remain up to date.

Learn more about our research.

FAQs