Clover vs Toast: published prices, contract terms and who each one suits
One publishes its processing rate and locks you into a 36 month subscription. The other publishes its software price and renews a year at a time. Read both carefully.
Clover publishes both numbers: full service bundles at $179 to $354 per month on 36 month terms, and 2.3% plus 10 cents for cards tapped, swiped or inserted. Toast publishes $0 and $69 plans but no card rate. Clover suits owners wanting a published rate and owned hardware. Toast suits groups needing payroll and inventory in one platform.
| Clover | Toast | |
|---|---|---|
| Software and hardware | Full service bundles at $179, $239 or $354 per month for 36 months | $0 Starter Kit or $69 per month, first terminal only |
| Buy outright instead | $1,799, $2,548 or $4,447 plus $89.95 to $129.85 per month | From $0 on the first device, or a 180 day Easy Pay lease |
| Card present rate | 2.3% + $0.10 | Not published |
| Keyed in rate | 3.5% + $0.10 | Not published |
| Contract | Subscriptions non cancelable, terms vary by seller | Renews for one year terms, 30 days notice |
| Hardware | Clover devices, sold by Clover and thousands of banks | Approved Toast hardware only |
“We are not mosquitoes. You will not be swatting us away. But we are not disappearing after the install either.”
What Clover costs on Clover.com
Clover publishes full service bundles at $179, $239 and $354 per month across 36 months, or the same systems outright at $1,799, $2,548 and $4,447 plus monthly software.
Quick service bundles start lower, at $135, $185 and $245 per month. Clover states plainly that these prices are only available on Clover.com, which matters because thousands of banks also sell Clover.
What Toast costs
Toast publishes a $0 Starter Kit for one location with up to two terminals and a $69 monthly plan, noting the price covers the first terminal only.
Toast does not publish a card processing rate. Its pricing chart lists flat rate processing with no percentage, so the figure that dominates your bill arrives only inside a quote.
The contract difference is the biggest one
Clover states subscriptions are non cancelable and ineligible for refunds, though an agreement can be broken during a buyout or upgrade and paid off early. At term end you buy or return the equipment.
Toast publishes that a POS contract renews automatically for successive one year periods and needs 30 days written notice to stop. Neither is a bad deal. They are different commitments.
A real person calls you back within two hours, Monday to Saturday, 8am to 7pm Central.
Who sells you the Clover changes the deal
Clover says contract terms and termination fees vary by provider, and that Citi, PNC, Wells Fargo and three thousand other institutions sell Clover. The device is the same. The paperwork is not.
That is the most useful thing to know about Clover. Compare the merchant agreement, not the hardware, and ask what happens to the rate after the first year.
Which one fits which restaurant
Toast is the deeper platform for a growing group. Payroll, scheduling, inventory costing and multi location reporting sit on one contract, which is hard to assemble elsewhere.
Clover fits an independent wanting a published rate, modular hardware and the option to buy outright. Judd Alsup puts both quotes in front of an Arkansas owner side by side.
Where each one wins
Choose this one when
- You want a published rate. Clover lists 2.3% plus 10 cents on its own site.
- You want to buy the hardware outright instead of renting it for 36 months.
- You need a single counter device rather than a full platform rollout.
Choose the other when
- You need payroll, scheduling, inventory costing and multi location analytics on one contract.
- You want a published renewal rule. Toast states one year renewals and a 30 day notice window in writing.
- You want one company answerable for the whole system. Clover terms vary across thousands of resellers.
- You run a high volume full service room where Toast handhelds and kitchen displays are proven at scale.
Clover: the weak spots we raise before anyone signs
We sell Clover in Arkansas, so owners deserve this list up front.
What works
- Clover publishes its card present rate at 2.3% plus 10 cents.
- You can buy the hardware outright instead of paying monthly for three years.
- Hardware is modular, so a small counter can start with one device.
What does not
- Clover states subscriptions are non cancelable and ineligible for refunds.
- The 36 month bundles total more than buying the same system outright.
- Terms and termination fees vary by whoever sold you the Clover.
- The published Clover.com price is not what every bank reseller offers.
- Restaurant depth trails Toast on payroll, inventory costing and multi location reporting.
Questions restaurant owners ask
Is Clover cheaper than Toast?
On software alone Toast looks cheaper, at $0 or $69 monthly against Clover bundles from $135. On processing, Clover publishes 2.3% plus 10 cents and Toast publishes nothing, so a full comparison is impossible until Toast puts a rate in writing for your restaurant.
Can I cancel a Clover subscription?
Clover states that subscriptions are non cancelable and ineligible for refunds. It also says an agreement can be broken during a buyout or upgrade, and that subscriptions can be paid off at any time. Terms and termination fees vary by the provider that sold it.
Does Clover cost the same everywhere?
No. Clover says the prices shown are only available on Clover.com, and that Citi, PNC, Wells Fargo and more than three thousand other financial institutions also sell Clover in the United States on their own terms. Compare the agreement, not just the device.
What is the Toast processing rate?
Toast does not publish one. Its pricing page lists flat rate processing as a feature with no percentage attached, and its hardware page notes only that software and processing fees apply. Ask for the qualified rate, per item fee and every monthly line item in writing.
Vendor pricing and tax rates change without notice. Confirm current figures with the vendor, the city or your accountant before you rely on them. Not tax, legal or accounting advice.
Every number on this page traces to a primary source
- Clover full service restaurant systems: Starter $179 per month for 36 months or $1,799 plus $89.95 per month; Standard $239 per month for 36 months or $2,548 plus $109.90 per month; Advanced $354 per month for 36 months or $4,447 plus $129.85 per month. Transaction fees 2.3% + $0.10 for cards tapped, swiped or inserted and 3.5% + $0.10 for card information typed in. Prices shown are only available on Clover.comclover.com / restaurant
- Clover quick service restaurant systems: Starter $135 per month for 36 months or $849 plus $89.95 per month; Standard $185 per month for 36 months or $1,899 plus $89.95 per month; Advanced $245 per month for 36 months or $2,648 plus $109.90 per month, with the same 2.3% + $0.10 and 3.5% + $0.10 transaction feesclover.com / quick service restaurant
- Clover states subscriptions are non cancelable and ineligible for refunds but can be paid off at any time or broken during a buyout or upgrade; at the end of the term you may purchase or return the equipment; contract terms and any termination fees vary by service provider, including Citi, PNC, Wells Fargo and more than 3,000 other financial institution partners that sell Clover in the USclover.com / pricing
- Toast Starter Kit $0 per month for one location with up to two terminals; Point of Sale plan $69 per month; Build Your Own custom pricing. Footnotes state pricing includes the first hardware terminal subscription, additional charges apply for subsequent devices, and pricing applies to new customers and single locations only. Toast services may only be used on approved Toast hardware. Page last updated July 8, 2026pos.toasttab.com / pricing
- Toast hardware starting at $0, which applies to first device hardware only, with software and processing fees additional. Page last updated July 16, 2026pos.toasttab.com / hardware
- Toast Easy Pay is a 180 day hardware lease with no interest or fees, collecting 0.75% of card sales daily from live Toast customers and 1.75% from customers not yet live, with an option to purchase the hardware at the end of the term. Page last updated July 16, 2026pos.toasttab.com / pricing payment options
- A Toast POS contract renews automatically for successive one year periods, and choosing not to renew requires at least 30 days written notice before the end of the current termsupport.toasttab.com