Softwr

E-Commerce · head to head

Drip vs Toast

Drip logo

Drip

E-Commerce

Ecommerce email marketing and automation priced purely on contact count

From
$39/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Toast logo

Toast

E-Commerce

Cloud POS platform for restaurants and hospitality

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Toast has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Drip drip SMS is closed to new accounts and was US-only when it was open, so the multichannel positioning that competitors offer is not actually available to a new customer.; Toast starter tier lacks advanced features; most capabilities require paid plans above $69/month
  • They diverge on capability: Drip covers Ecommerce data sync, Toast covers Point of sale.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Drip and Toast actually diverge.

Attributes where Drip and Toast differ
AttributeDripToast
Starting price$39/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month by contact countUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, iOS, Android, Tablets, Web browsers
FoundedUnknown2011

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Drip

  • Ecommerce data sync
  • Visual workflow builder
  • Behavioural segmentation
  • Onsite forms and popups
  • Unlimited sends
  • No feature gating
  • Product recommendations
  • A/B testing

Only in Toast

  • Point of sale
  • Order management
  • Kitchen display system
  • Employee scheduling
  • Customer management
  • Inventory tracking
  • Analytics & reporting
  • Delivery integration

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Drip

  • A Shopify retailer wants abandoned cart, winback and post-purchase automation without the tier-by-tier feature gating that makes Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign quotes unpredictable.not Toast
  • A store with a mid-sized list finds Klaviyo expensive for the volume it sends and wants a comparable ecommerce data model at a lower monthly cost.not Toast
  • A marketer needs onsite capture forms and popups included rather than paying separately for a popup tool alongside the email platform.not Toast
  • A team sends high email volume to a modest list, such as daily deals or frequent restocks, where unlimited sends on a contact-based price is materially cheaper than send-metered plans.not Toast

Toast

No use cases recorded yet. See the Toast review.

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Drip

  • Drip SMS is closed to new accounts and was US-only when it was open, so the multichannel positioning that competitors offer is not actually available to a new customer.
  • Pricing scales on total contacts regardless of engagement, so an unpruned list of lapsed subscribers costs the same as an active one and list hygiene becomes a direct budget item.
  • Analytics and revenue attribution are thinner than Klaviyo, with no predictive lifetime value or churn scoring, so a data-led ecommerce team hits the ceiling on measurement before it hits it on sending.
  • The integration catalogue is far smaller than Klaviyo or Mailchimp, and outside the main ecommerce platforms and Zapier you will often be writing against the API yourself.
  • It sits inside Leadpages rather than being an independent company, and as the smaller of the two products its roadmap is subject to a parent whose primary business is landing pages rather than ecommerce email.

Toast

  • Starter tier lacks advanced features; most capabilities require paid plans above $69/month
  • No free tier for advanced features like employee scheduling, inventory, or loyalty programs
  • Setup and training time required for complex multi-location deployments
  • Payment processing tied to Toast ecosystem; limited flexibility for alternative payment processors
  • Hardware costs can be substantial for full-featured setups with multiple terminals and kitchen displays

Pricing, plan by plan

Drip

$39/month
  • Up to 2,500 contacts$39/month
    • Unlimited email sends
    • All workflows and segmentation
    • Onsite forms and popups
  • Up to 5,000 contacts$89/month
    • Identical feature set
    • Unlimited email sends
  • Up to 10,000 contacts$154/month
    • Identical feature set
    • Unlimited email sends
    • Price continues to scale with contact count above this

Toast

Free
  • Starter KitFree
    • Cloud-based POS
    • Payment processing
    • 1-2 terminals
  • Point of Sale$69/month
    • Custom hardware configurations
    • Advanced reporting
    • Core POS features

Which should you pick?

Choose Drip if

  • You need ecommerce data sync.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want visual workflow builder.
Drip review

Choose Toast if

  • You need point of sale.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Tablets, Web browsers.
  • You also want order management.
Toast review

Questions people ask

Is Drip or Toast better?
Neither clearly leads. Drip starts at $39/month and Toast at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Drip or Toast?
Toast has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $39/month for Drip and Free for Toast.
Does Drip or Toast run on more platforms?
Drip runs on Web, API. Toast runs on Web, iOS, Android, Tablets, Web browsers.
Can I use Toast for free?
Yes. Toast has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Drip starts at $39/month.
What is Drip best used for?
Drip is most often used for a shopify retailer wants abandoned cart, winback and post-purchase automation without the tier-by-tier feature gating that makes mailchimp and activecampaign quotes unpredictable., a store with a mid-sized list finds klaviyo expensive for the volume it sends and wants a comparable ecommerce data model at a lower monthly cost., a marketer needs onsite capture forms and popups included rather than paying separately for a popup tool alongside the email platform., a team sends high email volume to a modest list, such as daily deals or frequent restocks, where unlimited sends on a contact-based price is materially cheaper than send-metered plans.. Of those, a shopify retailer wants abandoned cart, winback and post-purchase automation without the tier-by-tier feature gating that makes mailchimp and activecampaign quotes unpredictable. and a store with a mid-sized list finds klaviyo expensive for the volume it sends and wants a comparable ecommerce data model at a lower monthly cost. are not what Toast is typically brought in for.
What can Drip do that Toast cannot?
Drip covers Ecommerce data sync, Visual workflow builder, Behavioural segmentation, Onsite forms and popups. Toast covers Point of sale, Order management, Kitchen display system, Employee scheduling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Drip: Does Drip do SMS?

Not for new customers. Drip SMS is closed to new accounts and was only ever available in the United States, so treat Drip as an email and onsite platform.

Toast: What is the cost of Toast POS?

Toast offers a free Starter Kit tier for one or two terminals with POS and payment processing at no upfront cost, though costs are built into payment processing rates. Paid plans start at $69/month for the Point of Sale plan, with Custom tier available via quote for advanced features.

Source
Drip: How is Drip priced?

Entirely by contact count, from 39 US dollars a month for 2,500 contacts. Email sends are unlimited and no features are held back on lower tiers.

Toast: Does Toast include online ordering?

Yes. Toast offers online ordering capabilities where customers can order via QR code while seated (Order & Pay) or through standalone online ordering integrated with the POS for kitchen automation.

Source
Drip: Who owns Drip?

Leadpages, which acquired it in 2016. Drip retains its own name, site and product.

Toast: Does Toast offer drive-through capabilities?

Yes. In April 2026, Toast launched a drive-thru product supporting voice ordering through integrations, allowing restaurants to automate drive-through workflows.

Source
Drip: How does it compare to Klaviyo?

Cheaper at small and mid list sizes with a similar ecommerce data model, but weaker on analytics, predictive segmentation and the breadth of its app ecosystem.

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