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Restaurants · head to head

Square for Restaurants vs Tock

Square for Restaurants logo

Square for Restaurants

Restaurants

Restaurant POS system that works for you

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tock logo

Tock

Restaurants

All-in-one reservation and events platform

From
$199/month
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; Tock tock To Go pickup/delivery takes a 3% cut of orders from restaurants, with the separate $5 to $10 delivery charge passed to the consumer, per a case study reproduced on the vendor's own site (Internet Archive capture, 25 December 2022)
  • They diverge on capability: Square for Restaurants covers Menu customization, Tock covers Reservations.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Square for Restaurants and Tock differ
AttributeSquare for RestaurantsTock
Starting priceFree$199/month
Free tierYesNo
Founded20182014

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Restaurants).

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

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

Only in Tock

  • Reservations
  • Prepaid bookings
  • Event ticketing
  • Experiences
  • CRM
  • Toast
  • Square
  • Stripe

Both cover

  • Table management
  • 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

Tock

  • 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

Tock

  • Tock To Go pickup/delivery takes a 3% cut of orders from restaurants, with the separate $5 to $10 delivery charge passed to the consumer, per a case study reproduced on the vendor's own site (Internet Archive capture, 25 December 2022)

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

Tock

$199/month
  • Basic$199/month
    • Reservations
    • Basic features
  • Plus$699/month
    • Events
    • Prepaid
    • Marketing
  • ProFree
    • Custom pricing
    • Full features

Which should you pick?

Choose Square for Restaurants if

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

Choose Tock if

  • You need reservations.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want prepaid bookings.
Tock review

Questions people ask

Is Square for Restaurants or Tock better?
Neither clearly leads. Square for Restaurants starts at Free and Tock at $199/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Square for Restaurants or Tock?
Square for Restaurants has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Square for Restaurants and $199/month for Tock.
Does Square for Restaurants or Tock run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Ios, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Square for Restaurants for free?
Yes. Square for Restaurants has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Tock starts at $199/month.
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 Tock cannot?
Square for Restaurants covers Menu customization, Split checks, Offline mode, Real-time reporting. Tock covers Reservations, Prepaid bookings, Event ticketing, Experiences. Both handle Table management, Web support, Ios support, Android support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Square for Restaurants: What are Square's main pricing plans for restaurants?

Square offers a free tier and Square Plus. The Free plan has $0 cost with standard processing fees. Square Plus is described as the best value tier and includes lower card processing rates than the free plan.

Source
Square for Restaurants: Does Square have locked-in contracts or can I cancel anytime?

Square explicitly states no hidden fees or locked-in contracts. Customers can cancel or switch anytime. The pay-as-you-go model means you only pay when you take a payment.

Source
Square for Restaurants: Does Square Plus include a free trial period?

Yes, Square Plus offers a free trial, though the specific trial duration is not clearly displayed on the pricing page.

Source
Square for Restaurants: What features does Square Plus add compared to the free plan?

Square Plus includes all free plan features plus advanced POS tools, a loyalty program, email and text marketing (500 free texts, then 3 cents per text), and staff management tools.

Source
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