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Food & Restaurant · head to head

Toast POS vs Upserve

Toast POS logo

Toast POS

Food & Restaurant

All-in-one restaurant management platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Upserve logo

Upserve

Food & Restaurant

Restaurant management platform with insights

From
$59/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Toast POS free tier limited to one or two terminals; Upserve offline terminals can only store credit card payment data for 48 hours before requiring internet connection
  • They diverge on capability: Toast POS covers Menu management, Upserve covers Guest insights.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Toast POS and Upserve actually diverge.

Attributes where Toast POS and Upserve differ
AttributeToast POSUpserve
Starting priceOn request$59/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, iPad, Android, Custom POS terminals
Founded20112013

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Food & Restaurant).

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 Toast POS

  • Menu management
  • Real-time reporting
  • Employee management
  • Online ordering
  • DoorDash
  • Uber Eats

Only in Upserve

  • Guest insights
  • Menu intelligence
  • Server performance
  • Reputation management
  • 7shifts

Both cover

  • Cloud POS
  • Inventory tracking
  • Grubhub
  • QuickBooks
  • Xero
  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

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

Toast POS

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

Upserve

  • 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.

Toast POS

  • Free tier limited to one or two terminals
  • Setup fees and hardware requirements for paid plans
  • Mobile ordering requires additional configuration
  • Reporting and analytics features limited on entry-level plans

Upserve

  • Offline terminals can only store credit card payment data for 48 hours before requiring internet connection
  • Customers cannot add tips when the system operates in offline mode
  • $400 monthly penalty for using alternative payment processors instead of Lightspeed
  • No global ability to change menu items across all locations at once, requiring per-location updates
  • Mandatory 2.6% + $0.10 per transaction payment processing fee with Lightspeed

Pricing, plan by plan

Toast POS

On request
  • Starter KitFree
    • Cloud-based POS
    • Order management
    • Reporting
  • Point of Sale$69/month
    • Menu management
    • Reporting & analytics
    • 24/7 support
  • Build Your Own$165/month
    • Online ordering
    • Delivery
    • Marketing

Upserve

$59/month
  • Core$59/month
    • Cloud-based point of sale
    • Basic reporting
    • Guest insights
  • Pro$199/month
    • All Core features
    • Inventory management
    • Online ordering

Which should you pick?

Choose Toast POS if

  • You need menu management.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want real-time reporting.
Toast POS review

Choose Upserve if

  • You need guest insights.
  • You work on Web, iPad, Android, Custom POS terminals.
  • You also want menu intelligence.
Upserve review

Questions people ask

Is Toast POS or Upserve better?
Neither clearly leads. Toast POS starts at On request and Upserve at $59/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Toast POS or Upserve?
Toast POS starts at On request and Upserve at $59/month.
Does Toast POS or Upserve run on more platforms?
Toast POS runs on Web, Ios, Android. Upserve runs on Web, iPad, Android, Custom POS terminals.
What is Toast POS best used for?
Toast POS is most often used for point of sale, order management, inventory control, staff scheduling.
What can Toast POS do that Upserve cannot?
Toast POS covers Menu management, Real-time reporting, Employee management, Online ordering. Upserve covers Guest insights, Menu intelligence, Server performance, Reputation management. Both handle Cloud POS, Inventory tracking, Grubhub, QuickBooks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Toast POS: Does Toast POS have a free tier?

Yes. Toast's Starter Kit is free and designed for small restaurants with one or two terminals. It includes cloud-based POS, payment processing, order and table management, real-time reporting, and 24/7 customer support.

Source
Upserve: Does Upserve support offline mode?

Yes. Upserve is a hybrid cloud-based system where reporting data is stored in the cloud but offline mode allows the software to store important data locally on your device in case the internet goes down, allowing transactions to continue.

Source
Toast POS: What integrations does Toast POS support?

Toast integrates with payment processors, online ordering platforms, delivery services, accounting software, and customer data platforms for comprehensive restaurant operations management.

Source
Upserve: What is Upserve's pricing structure?

Upserve offers three plans: Core at $59/month, Pro at $199/month with advanced features like inventory management and loyalty programs, and Pro+ with custom pricing for enterprise customers. Hardware is sold separately.

Source
Upserve: Does Upserve offer a free trial?

Yes, Upserve offers a 14-day free trial for new users to test the platform before committing to a paid plan.

Source
Upserve: What delivery platforms does Upserve integrate with?

Upserve integrates with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub through partner middleware services like Chowly and Deliverect, which provide real-time menu syncing and order management.

Source
Upserve: What are the payment processing requirements?

Upserve requires using Lightspeed payment processing at 2.6% + $0.10 per transaction. Using alternative payment processors incurs a $400 monthly fee, making Lightspeed the mandatory choice for most restaurants.

Source
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