Is SamCart or Toast better?

Neither clearly leads. SamCart starts at $79/month and Toast at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, SamCart or Toast?

Toast has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $79/month for SamCart and Free for Toast.

Does SamCart or Toast run on more platforms?

SamCart runs on Web. 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. SamCart starts at $79/month.

What is SamCart best used for?

SamCart is most often used for increasing average order value through automated order bumps and upsells, recovering failed subscription payments with retry logic and dunning management, generating sales pages, emails, and ads with ai from product descriptions, sending cart abandonment recovery emails without customer re-entry. Of those, increasing average order value through automated order bumps and upsells and recovering failed subscription payments with retry logic and dunning management are not what Toast is typically brought in for.

What can SamCart do that Toast cannot?

Toast covers Point of sale, Order management, Kitchen display system, Employee scheduling.

E-Commerce · head to head

SamCart vs Toast

SamCart

E-Commerce

The number one checkout platform

From: $79/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

Toast

E-Commerce

Cloud POS platform for restaurants and hospitality

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Toast has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: SamCart no feature differentiation between CORE and PRO tiers, pricing tier based on expected transaction volume only; Toast starter tier lacks advanced features; most capabilities require paid plans above $69/month
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which SamCart and Toast actually diverge.

Attributes where SamCart and Toast differ
Attribute	SamCart	Toast
Starting price	$79/month	Free
Pricing model	subscription	Unknown
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	Web	Web, iOS, Android, Tablets, Web browsers
Founded	Unknown	2011

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 SamCart

Nothing recorded that Toast does not also cover.

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.

SamCart

Increasing average order value through automated order bumps and upsellsnot Toast
Recovering failed subscription payments with retry logic and dunning managementnot Toast
Generating sales pages, emails, and ads with AI from product descriptionsnot Toast
Sending cart abandonment recovery emails without customer re-entrynot Toast
Migrating existing customer bases from competing platforms without data lossnot 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.

SamCart

No feature differentiation between CORE and PRO tiers, pricing tier based on expected transaction volume only
Transaction fees of 2.9% plus $0.30 apply to all plans

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

SamCart

$79/month

CORE$79/month
- All features included
PRO$199/month
- All features included

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 SamCart if

Nothing in the data separates SamCart from Toast on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

SamCart 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 SamCart or Toast better?: Neither clearly leads. SamCart starts at $79/month and Toast at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, SamCart or Toast?: Toast has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $79/month for SamCart and Free for Toast.
Does SamCart or Toast run on more platforms?: SamCart runs on Web. 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. SamCart starts at $79/month.
What is SamCart best used for?: SamCart is most often used for increasing average order value through automated order bumps and upsells, recovering failed subscription payments with retry logic and dunning management, generating sales pages, emails, and ads with ai from product descriptions, sending cart abandonment recovery emails without customer re-entry. Of those, increasing average order value through automated order bumps and upsells and recovering failed subscription payments with retry logic and dunning management are not what Toast is typically brought in for.
What can SamCart do that Toast cannot?: Toast covers Point of sale, Order management, Kitchen display system, Employee scheduling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SamCart: How much does SamCart cost?

SamCart offers two subscription tiers: CORE at $79/month and PRO at $199/month. Both plans include all features with no restrictions between tiers.

Source

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

SamCart: What are SamCart's transaction fees?

SamCart charges a transaction fee of 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction on all payments processed through the platform.

Source

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

SamCart: Does SamCart offer a free trial?

Yes, SamCart offers a 7-day free trial available for both the CORE and PRO plans, allowing customers to test the platform before committing to a subscription.

Source

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

SamCart: Does SamCart offer migration services from other platforms?

Yes, SamCart offers done-for-you migration services for customers switching from Kajabi, ThriveCart, ClickFunnels, Shopify, and Teachable. Specific pricing for migration services is not listed on the main page.

Source

SamCart vs Toast

SamCart

Toast

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in SamCart

Only in Toast

What people use each for

SamCart

Toast

Where each one falls short

SamCart

Toast

Pricing, plan by plan

SamCart

Toast

Which should you pick?

Choose SamCart if

Choose Toast if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on SamCart

More on Toast

Keep looking

Other head to heads