TouchBistro vs Toast: Price, Features & What’s Best in 2022

Toast and TouchBistro are excellent point-of-sale (POS) systems designed especially for restaurants. Both are great choices, but when considering TouchBistro vs Toast, we found Toast had more features and integrations and was better suited for most restaurants, especially sit-down restaurants with a lounge and a busy kitchen. Meanwhile, TouchBistro is, in general, cheaper, lets you choose your own payment provider, and works on an iPad—making it simpler to learn and deploy. In a nutshell:

• TouchBistro: Best for smaller operations, restaurants with simpler inventories, and those preferring iPads
• Toast: Growing restaurants of all types, especially those wanting a hardy POS system and intense inventory tools

TouchBistro vs Toast At a Glance

*Toast’s Starter Plan comes with a higher payment processing fee.
**User scores are averaged from multiple third-party user review sites.

When To Use Each

Most Affordable: TouchBistro

TouchBistro, in general, is the cheaper POS system. It costs $69 per terminal, per month, compared to Toast’s monthly plans which cost $69–$165 per terminal, per month (unless you choose the Starter plan with a pay-as-you-go option). Its online ordering system is also $25 per month cheaper. TouchBistro has interchange-plus payment processing fees and lets you choose your own payment processor from the built-in TB Payments, TSYS, or Square, so you can shop for the best rates, which may save you money over Toast’s payment processing fees.

For hardware, it runs on most iPads, so you may be able to use hardware you already own. However, TouchBistro does offer peripherals like stands and card readers. You need to call for a custom quote for these.

When Toast Is More Affordable

If you have a very small restaurant that only needs one terminal, Toast has a Starter Plan that gives you the basics (including a countertop or handheld terminal) for free with a payment processing fee of 2.99% + 15 cents per transaction. Otherwise, prices start at $50–$69 per month (depending on your terminal selection) with a payment processing fee of 2.49% + 15 cents per transaction. The free plan comes with a POS terminal, tap payment device, router, software, and support. You’ll need to pay for peripherals like a kitchen printer or cash drawer.

You may also find Toast a more affordable option if you are looking for additional tools, such as for marketing and loyalty.

Best for Taking Orders: Toast

Toast ranked No. 1 on our list of best restaurant POS software because of its excellent functionality, which includes customizable menus, tableside ordering and payment, and the ability to reopen checks. It also has slightly more robust drive-thru management than TouchBistro. Its inventory system can track and automatically 86 items—another way it stands apart. Overall, it’s an excellent system.

When To Use TouchBistro

Again, price and choice come into consideration when choosing TouchBistro. While it lacks the ability to auto-86 items, you can still 86 items manually and the stockout will reflect throughout the system. It has its own Reservations add-on for $299 per month, which is competitive compared to Toast’s third-party integrations.

Best for Online Takeout & Delivery: Tied

When it comes to online ordering, TouchBistro and Toast are closely aligned—in fact, both make it to our list of the top delivery POS systems. Both have an online ordering system that handles pickup or delivery and lets people order from your website or social media pages. Both have tools to help you manage orders. For example, you can add wait times to throttle orders so your kitchen staff does not get overwhelmed. They also have features for managing your drivers. The information integrates with your marketing and loyalty programs (if you have them).

Both systems integrate with delivery systems through third-party apps. Toast has 11 integrations. Some are direct, such as Grubhub or DoorDash, and some are aggregators like ItsaCheckmate. Toast, meanwhile, only uses the aggregators Deliverect and Ordermark.

TouchBistro, however, is $25 per month cheaper. Toast does include some online ordering in its $165 per month Essentials Plan, but the full Online Ordering tool is only free for the first three months.

Best for Inventory Tracking: Toast

In July 2021, Toast acquired xtraCHEF, replacing its strong inventory system with one on overdrive. Set up ingredients by location—down to the shelf, if desired—and even assign people responsibility for a section (such as bartender or line cook). Add products by group, individually, or by recipe. It offers multiple ways to set unit price, either by last cost or an average of the last three, seven, or nine purchases. In addition to low stock levels, you can set par levels, which takes into account regular deliveries when forecasting scarcity. You can manage vendors on the software as well as track waste. Overall, it’s a stronger software for inventory than TouchBistro (and made our best food service POS inventory system list), though it does come at an extra, custom-quoted cost.

When To Use TouchBistro

TouchBistro’s inventory system is simpler, and you need an integration if you want vendor management, but if you have a coffee shop selling prepackaged goods, or a restaurant or pub with a more basic menu, then TouchBistro should fit the bill. If not, you can add integrations like MarketMan for vendor management.

Best for Customer Management: Toast

Toast overall offers better customer management tools and at cheaper prices than TouchBistro. For $75 a month or 0.4% per transaction, you can get the online ordering and digital marketing plan, which includes marketing and loyalty programs. Toast lets you text customers through its phone while TouchBistro only allows you to text customers through its online ordering web app—something they need to sign up for. Toast ties rewards points to the customer’s credit card, so there are no loyalty cards needed. Toast also tracks customer orders—a great feature for eateries like pizzerias where the customer is likely to order the same thing each time.

When To Use TouchBistro

One thing we did not see in Toast that TouchBistro includes in its loyalty program is the ability to make special notes, such as if a customer is vegan or has allergies. Toast records purchase history, which may reveal customer dietary restrictions, but does not have a place for you to add notes. TouchBistro’s ability to create a more personal profile could be an asset for family restaurants or those working to build a group of loyal regulars.

Best for Employee Management: Toast

While both systems are good for employee management, with time clocks and training, plus top-rated integrations for scheduling, Toast takes the lead because it has its own payroll system as an add-on service. Toast Payroll is custom-priced per location, based on pay groups, with a monthly minimum. It charges extra for services like tips management or off-cycle payroll.

While both offer training, we were more impressed with Toast’s videos and its Toast Classroom, where managers can get extra training not only on the software but on running a restaurant in general. Toast also offers live training and written training materials in both English and Spanish.

When To Use TouchBistro

Real-world users say that they can teach their employees how to use TouchBistro in a matter of hours, so you may not need additional training like Toast offers. In addition, TouchBistro integrates with QuickBooks for payroll or Push Operations for scheduling and payroll. The integrations may be cheaper than Toast Payroll.

Best for Back-office Functionality: Toast

Toast outpaces TouchBistro in back-office operations. While both have an excellent variety of reports, Toast goes a bit further with guest engagement and kitchen operations reports. It has compliance checks for wages and more if you add Toast Payroll. It also offers dozens more integrations than TouchBistro. Toast also offers business assistance, like capital funding for which it charges a fixed fee. You repay automatically through a percentage of every guest payment. TouchBistro does not offer this service.

When To Use TouchBistro

TouchBistro still offers an excellent variety of reports for sales, labor, staff, menu, payments, and more. You can customize these as well. It does check for tip-credit compliance, but other compliance matters could be covered with an integrated payroll or HR software.

Best for Payment Processing: TouchBistro

TouchBistro takes the lead here because it offers the most variety. You can select your payment provider to get the best deal. You can even add PayPal to your online ordering to make it more convenient for customers. TouchBistro itself offers interchange-plus payment processing, which is often cheaper than fixed pricing. You need to call for a quote.

When To Use Toast

Toast’s payment processing rates are competitive: 2.4% + 15 cents if you have a monthly plan or 2.99% + 15 cents if you use the Starter (pay-as-you-go) plan. If you prefer Toast to TouchBistro, then payment processing is not the reason to reject it. Toast is also working on an invoicing tool, which is an asset for restaurants that cater. TouchBistro has no such tool.

Best Hardware: Toast

Toast offers robust POS hardware designed to handle the heat and other stresses of a busy restaurant and kitchen. It also offers more variety than TouchBistro, including barcode scanners and scales. However, you do need to purchase Toast hardware from them. You cannot bring in your own system.

When To Use TouchBistro

If you love iPads, then give TouchBistro serious consideration. You can use your own iPads or purchase them from TouchBistro. Then you can add other tools like routers, mini servers, kitchen printers, monitors, and more. It has recently discontinued its self-service kiosks and digital menu boards, however. Prices are custom, so contact TouchBistro for a quote.

Best for Ease of Use: Tied

*We looked to third-party-user-review sites like Capterra, taking into account only the scores in the ease-of-use category.

If you want an easy-to-use POS software for your restaurant, you can’t go wrong with either solution. Both have excellent user interfaces for your waitstaff and administrators. Toast may take longer to get established than TouchBistro, but that depends on the complexity of your menu and inventory. TouchBistro, meanwhile, will require you to integrate with a payment provider.

Even real-world users give them a tie when looking at ease of use. Both earned a 4.2 out of 5 just on customer support. This is an excellent score for SaaS in general and above average for restaurant POS systems.

Best for Customer Support: Tied

*We looked to third-party-user-review sites like Capterra, taking into account only the scores in the customer support category.

We give kudos to both Toast and TouchBistro for having 24/7 year-round live help via phone, email, or online chat. Their help sections are thorough and include illustrations and videos. Both services go beyond how to use the software with white papers on many aspects of restaurant management. Toast provides some additional help, such as with online setup. TouchBistro offers personal help remotely, while Toast has in-person assistance and training available for a fee. Coincidentally, both have the same user score when it comes to customer support, just like they did with ease of use.

Bottom Line

When it comes to Toast vs TouchBistro, Toast is overall a more complete software and better suited for larger restaurants, like sit-down eateries with large menus or with a bar or lounge attached. TouchBistro, meanwhile, is a little cheaper and simpler, but by no means meager in its features. It’s a great choice for smaller restaurants, food trucks, as well as for those who don’t need extensive inventory and like the convenience of an iPad-run software.