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Square for Restaurants vs Caviar

Square for Restaurants logo

Square for Restaurants

Software

Restaurant POS system that works for you

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Caviar logo

Caviar

Software

Premium restaurant delivery service

From
$20/order
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Square for Restaurants has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Square for Restaurants the Square KDS and Square Kiosk apps are not available on the free plan; Caviar limited availability to 20 major metropolitan areas
  • They diverge on capability: Square for Restaurants covers Table management, Caviar covers Premium delivery.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Square for Restaurants and Caviar actually diverge.

Attributes where Square for Restaurants and Caviar differ
AttributeSquare for RestaurantsCaviar
Starting priceFree$20/order
Pricing modelsubscriptiontransaction
Free tierYesNo
Founded20182012

Identical on both: platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Square for Restaurants

  • Table management
  • Menu customization
  • Split checks
  • Offline mode
  • Real-time reporting
  • Kitchen display
  • Caviar
  • Postmates

Only in Caviar

  • Premium delivery
  • Curated marketplace
  • Order management
  • Quality-focused
  • Analytics
  • Toast
  • Square

Both cover

  • DoorDash
  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

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

Square for Restaurants

  • Point of Sale
  • Order Management
  • Inventory Control
  • Staff Scheduling

Caviar

  • Point of Sale
  • Order Management
  • Inventory Control
  • Staff Scheduling

Both are used for point of sale, order management, inventory control, staff scheduling, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

Where each one falls short

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

Square for Restaurants

  • The Square KDS and Square Kiosk apps are not available on the free plan
  • KDS and Kiosk are billed per device per month on top of the plan, so cost scales with terminals rather than locations
  • Restaurants processing over $250,000 a year are moved to custom pricing rather than the published rates

Caviar

  • Limited availability to 20 major metropolitan areas
  • Service fee of 18 percent applied to all orders
  • Not available in all regions as standalone service

Pricing, plan by plan

Square for Restaurants

Free
  • FreeFree
    • POS
    • Menu management
    • Basic reporting
  • Plus$60/month
    • Advanced features
    • Live sales
    • Seat management
  • PremiumFree
    • Custom pricing
    • Dedicated support

Caviar

$20/order
  • Standard$25/percent
    • Premium delivery
    • Curated placement

Which should you pick?

Choose Square for Restaurants if

  • You need table management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want menu customization.
Square for Restaurants review

Choose Caviar if

  • You need premium delivery.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want curated marketplace.
Caviar review

Questions people ask

Is Square for Restaurants or Caviar better?
Neither clearly leads. Square for Restaurants starts at Free and Caviar at $20/order, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Square for Restaurants or Caviar?
Square for Restaurants has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Square for Restaurants and $20/order for Caviar.
Does Square for Restaurants or Caviar run on more platforms?
Square for Restaurants runs on Web, Ios, Android. Caviar runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Square for Restaurants for free?
Yes. Square for Restaurants has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Caviar starts at $20/order.
What is Square for Restaurants best used for?
Square for Restaurants is most often used for point of sale, order management, inventory control, staff scheduling.
What can Square for Restaurants do that Caviar cannot?
Square for Restaurants covers Table management, Menu customization, Split checks, Offline mode. Caviar covers Premium delivery, Curated marketplace, Order management, Quality-focused. Both handle DoorDash, Web support, Ios support, Android support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Caviar: What does Caviar charge for delivery?

A service fee of 18 percent is applied to each Caviar delivery order. The delivery fee ranges from $1.99 to $8.99 depending on distance and demand. Customers ordering for pickup pay no order minimums, service fee or delivery fee.

Source
Caviar: Is Caviar available as a standalone service?

No. Caviar was acquired by DoorDash in October 2019 and now operates as part of the DoorDash platform. DoorDash members with DashPass enjoy waived delivery fees and reduced service charges on Caviar orders.

Source
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Related pages

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