The bottom line
Toast is a restaurant POS, and its price depends on one choice. Pay-as-you-Go costs 3.09% per card sale with no upfront hardware cost. Traditional costs 2.49% per card sale, but you buy the hardware and pay monthly for software.
On $10,000 a month in card sales, that gap is about $60 a month. Toast also locks you into its own hardware and doesn’t publish its online or keyed-in rates.
Toast fees at a glance
Visit Toast- Pricing model
- mixed
- Contract
- Not published for restaurants; retail requires 12 months
- Payouts
- Not published
| Payment type | Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| In person (card present) | 2.49% | pos.toasttab.com |
Monthly fees and plans
- Starter Kit: $0/month
- Point of Sale (restaurant): $69/month
- New restaurant POS + Payroll bundle: $69/month
- Build Your Own: price not published
- Point of Sale (retail): $90/month
Checked October 19, 2026 on pos.toasttab.com. Prices change, so confirm with Toast before you sign.
The in-person rate in the table is Toast’s Traditional rate. Toast doesn’t say whether either rate carries a fixed fee per sale.
Who it’s for
- Restaurants. Toast says its payment processing is “built specifically for restaurants.”
- New restaurants short on cash. Pay-as-you-Go has no upfront hardware cost. Toast says the 3.09% “covers all costs, except for shipping and taxes,” and that you own the hardware from day one.
- Single-location spots with one or two terminals. That’s who Toast says the Starter Kit is for.
Who should skip it
- Owners who already have POS hardware. Toast runs only on approved Toast hardware.
- Restaurants with big online or phone order volume. Toast doesn’t publish those rates, so you can’t compare them before you talk to sales.
- Anyone who wants all the costs up front. Hardware and setup costs vary by package, and monthly prices are “starting at.”
The catch
Your hardware is locked to Toast. Toast says its services “may only be used on approved Toast hardware.”
The no-upfront option costs more every month. Pay-as-you-Go charges 3.09% on every sale, against 2.49% on Traditional.
Online and keyed-in rates aren’t published. Neither is any fixed per-sale fee.
Starting prices cover one terminal. Toast says “Additional charges apply for subsequent devices.”
Setup costs vary. Toast says upfront costs for hardware and implementation “vary depending on your specific hardware packages and installation needs.”
Toast isn’t the processor. Toast says it “is not a payment card processor, but it is a payment facilitator that partners with processors.”
Contract and payout terms aren’t published for restaurants. Retail customers sign up for at least 12 months, according to Toast’s hardware offer terms.
What it costs at your size
These are estimates. They use only the percentages Toast publishes for its Starter Kits. They leave out any fixed per-sale fee, since Toast doesn’t publish one.
Example: $10,000 a month in card sales.
- Pay-as-you-Go: 3.09% × $10,000 = $309 a month, with no upfront hardware cost
- Traditional: 2.49% × $10,000 = $249 a month, plus hardware up front and a monthly software fee
The difference is $60 a month, or $720 a year. At $30,000 a month, it’s $180 a month, or $2,160 a year.
So Traditional wins if the hardware and software you’d pay for cost less than that gap. Ask Toast to price both options for the same setup, then compare them in the fee calculator.
Compared with
Beyond the rate
What the rate table doesn't show, taken from Toast's own terms and help pages.
Can they hold your money?
Toast says it can pause or delay your payouts at any time and can require a reserve of your money for any reason to protect itself from losses.
Source: pos.toasttab.comWorks offline?
Yes. Needs background card processing turned on (on by default). Payments show as Pending until the device reconnects. You are responsible for any declined, expired, or disputed offline payments. Pre-authorization does not work offline unless done before the outage.
Source: support.toasttab.comHardware lock-in
Toast says you must use Toast's own card processing and cannot use a different processor with Toast.
Source: support.toasttab.comLeaving
Toast's retail plan has a minimum 12 month term, and no early termination fee is published.
Source: pos.toasttab.comSupport
Chat 24/7; US phone 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. ET, seven days a week (the pricing page separately claims 24/7/365 by phone or web messaging). chat,phone
Source: support.toasttab.com
Common questions
How much does Toast charge per transaction?
For its Starter Kits, Toast lists two rates. Pay-as-you-Go is 3.09% per card sale, with no upfront hardware cost. Traditional pricing is 2.49%, but you pay for hardware up front and pay monthly for software. Toast doesn't publish a per-sale fixed fee, or its online and keyed-in rates.
How much does Toast cost per month?
Toast lists its Starter Kit from $0 a month, for one location with up to two terminals. Its restaurant Point of Sale plan starts at $69 a month, and its retail plan starts at $90 a month. Toast says the price covers the first terminal, and more devices cost extra.
Can I use my own hardware with Toast?
No. Toast says its services do not work with every device and may only be used on approved Toast hardware. If you already own an iPad or a card reader from another provider, plan on buying approved Toast hardware instead. Ask Toast which devices your setup would need.
Does Toast have a contract?
Toast doesn't publish a contract length for restaurants on the pages we checked. Its hardware offer terms say retail customers sign up for a minimum 12-month term. Toast doesn't publish an early termination fee. Ask for the term length and the exit cost in writing before you sign.