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Choosing a restaurant POS comes down to more than features — the pricing structure itself can determine your total cost just as much as the software tier you pick. Some vendors publish every number on a public page; others require a sales conversation before you see a dollar figure. Here’s exactly what we captured.
Pricing Comparison Table
| Tool | Plan | Price | Billing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toast | Starter Kit | $0 | Billed monthly |
| Toast | Point of Sale | $69 | Billed monthly |
| Square | Locations – Free | $0 | Billed monthly |
| Square | Locations – Plus | $49 | Billed monthly |
| Square | Locations – Premium | $149 | Billed monthly |
| Square | Square KDS app – Plus tier | $30 | Per unit (billing term not captured) |
| Square | Square KDS app – Premium tier | $20 | Per unit (billing term not captured) |
| Square | Square Kiosk app – Plus tier | $50 | Per unit (billing term not captured) |
| Square | Square Kiosk app – Premium tier | $30 | Per unit (billing term not captured) |
| Square | Square Restaurant Inventory by MarketMan – Plus | $99 | Billed monthly |
| Square | Square Restaurant Inventory by MarketMan – Premium | $99 | Billed monthly |
| Lightspeed | Starter | $69 | Billed monthly |
| Lightspeed | Essential | $189 | Billed monthly |
| Lightspeed | Premium | $399 | Billed monthly |
| Lightspeed | Enterprise | Contact sales | — |
| UpMenu | Basic | $49 | Billed monthly |
| UpMenu | Standard | $89 | Billed monthly |
| UpMenu | Premium | $169 | Billed monthly |
Note on Square processing rates: Square’s captured plans include multiple payment-processing rate line items (tap/dip/swipe, online, manual entry, Afterpay, ACH, Bitcoin, international card fee, and others). The actual percentage rates were not captured in our research — check Square’s pricing page directly for the current figures, as those rates will affect your real cost.
Per-Tool Pricing Breakdown
Toast
Toast publishes two software plan prices. The Starter Kit is $0/month (billed monthly), and the Point of Sale plan is $69/month (billed monthly). No promotional pricing was captured. Toast’s pricing page notes that hardware kits, flat-rate processing, and payroll bundles are also part of the picture, and the page offers a custom quote — so your all-in cost will depend on the hardware and add-ons you configure beyond the base software fee.
We don’t have third-party review data for Toast to reference here.
Square for Restaurants
Square’s restaurant pricing has a location-based software tier structure plus separately priced add-on applications.
Location (software) tiers:
– Free: $0/month (billed monthly)
– Plus: $49/month (billed monthly)
– Premium: $149/month (billed monthly)
Add-on apps are priced per unit and vary by your software tier:
– Square KDS app: $30/unit at Plus, $20/unit at Premium
– Square Kiosk app: $50/unit at Plus, $30/unit at Premium
– Square Restaurant Inventory by MarketMan: $99/month (billed monthly) at both Plus and Premium tiers
Physical and eGift cards, payment processing rates (tap/dip/swipe, online, ACH, manual entry, Afterpay, Bitcoin, international card fees), gift card load fees, and Bitcoin conversion fees are all listed as separate line items, but the actual rates were not captured in our research — visit Square’s pricing page for those figures.
No promotional pricing was captured. We don’t have third-party review data for Square to reference here.
Lightspeed Restaurant
Lightspeed publishes three tiers and routes larger operations to a sales conversation for a fourth.
- Starter: $69/month (billed monthly)
- Essential: $189/month (billed monthly)
- Premium: $399/month (billed monthly)
- Enterprise: pricing requires contacting their sales team
No promotional pricing was captured. We don’t have third-party review data for Lightspeed to reference here.
UpMenu
UpMenu publishes three flat monthly tiers with no promotional pricing captured.
- Basic: $49/month (billed monthly)
- Standard: $89/month (billed monthly)
- Premium: $169/month (billed monthly)
We don’t have third-party review data for UpMenu to reference here.
Transparent Pricing vs. Sales-Quoted Pricing
Every tool in this roundup publishes at least some pricing publicly — which is worth noting, since many restaurant POS vendors require a full sales process before revealing any numbers.
That said, “published pricing” doesn’t always mean the full picture. Toast starts at $0 but points to a custom quote for hardware and processing bundles. Square lists its software tier prices clearly but keeps payment processing rates off the captured page. Lightspeed publishes three of its four tiers; only the Enterprise tier requires a sales call. UpMenu is the most straightforward of the group — three tiers, all prices on the page, no quote required for any plan.
If you need a precise total cost of ownership, the software subscription fee is just the starting point. Hardware, payment processing rates, and per-unit add-ons (like Square’s KDS and Kiosk apps) all layer on top. For any tool where those numbers weren’t captured here, visit their pricing page directly or request a quote with a full list of your hardware and volume requirements.