Clover POS vs Toast POS (2024): Which is Best?

Choosing between Clover POS vs Toast POS isn’t easy. Both point of sale systems have plenty to offer for business owners trying to manage transactions offline.

However, as you dive a little deeper into the capabilities of Clover and Toast, you’ll notice some significant differences.

Today, we’re going to be taking a closer look at the hardware and software of Clover and Toast POS, the features they can offer, and the pricing packages available.

Clover POS vs Toast POS: An Introduction

All point of sale systems have some overlap. These solutions are built using a combination of hardware and software to ensure companies can accept and process payments in the real world.

However, a point of sale system can also sync with your online store, help with inventory management, provide employee management tools, and so much more.

What is Clover POS?

Clover is a Point of Sale solution designed to support all kinds of businesses in taking payments in the physical and digital worlds.

While enterprise options are available, the company seems to focus more heavily on small to mid-sized businesses.

Comprehensive and feature-rich, Clover can support various types of business operation. There are table service and counter service tools, as well as simple systems for retail management.

You’ll also have access to dashboards, mobile apps, and virtual terminals.

What is Toast POS?

Toast is a slightly different solution for point of sale management. The tool does help you to mange your staff and track payments, like Clover, but it focuses specifically on the food service landscape.

With Toast, you get more focused capabilities associated with things like menu management.

Toast has a simple online ordering system for people who want to start their purchase online and then visit you in-person.

There’s also plenty of opportunities to integrate with third-party delivery groups like UberEats and GrubHub.

Clover POS vs Toast POS: Software Features

On the surface, Clover and Toast POS have a lot in common.

Both of these tools offer feature-rich environments, with easy-to-use technology to ensure you can sell effectively offline.

Clover POS and Toast POS also offer a wide range of bonus features to consider, such as the option to create reports tracking your sales, or keep an eye on team performance.

Let’s take a closer look at what each solution can offer from a software perspective.

Clover POS Features

Designed to make it easier for business leaders to run their companies effectively, Clover POS has everything you might need to create a successful store.

You’ll be able to accept any kind of payments, anywhere, with in-person transactions, tap, chip, and online payments supported.

Clover also offers a host of tools for building loyalty with your target audience, including gift cards and discount codes, as well as loyalty programs.

Plus, you’ll have access to extensive tracking to help you understand consumer buying trends, and make sure you always have the inventory you need.

Clover’s solution allows for synchronized selling online and offline. You can access two different kinds of online sales solution.

There’s ecommerce support for retail companies, and online ordering for restaurants, with integrations to popular food delivery companies.

Clover also allows for online invoicing, if you need help making sure you get paid for various big items or services. There’s also built-in cash flow management.

Despite a huge range of features, Clover keeps everything intuitive and easy-to-use with its convenient backend environment.

Some of the features available include:

• Virtual terminals to accompany your point of sale system
• Ecommerce options, online invoicing, and support for online ordering
• Cashflow management and tracking, alongside in-depth financial reports.
• Inventory management with automatic syncing across online and offline channels.
• Employee management and tracking with support for performance reports.
• Integrations with various leading tools, including accounting services and food delivery
• Loyalty programs, gift cards, and extensive customer profiling features.
• Security and privacy tools implemented to ensure peace of mind and compliance

Toast POS Features

Similar to Clover, Toast offers an extensive approach to managing payments and sales. The solution is one of the most popular point-of-sale tools on the market for companies specializing in food service and restaurant management, with fantastic integrations to leading food delivery groups.

Toast makes it quick and easy to set up a comprehensive restaurant or café, complete with table and floor organization, employee management, and menu development.

In fact, the menu tools from Toast are some of the most extensive on the market, ensuring you can easily change your menu on a daily basis and keep track of customer favorites.

There are helpful tools available for kiosk mode, which ensures your customers can stroll into your location and order for themselves if you don’t want to have staff on-hand to seat and serve your clients.

Toast also supports a wide range of payment options, which include contactless payments, ideal for the current post-pandemic environment.

Similar to Clover, Toast will also ensure you have everything you need to track important information about your restaurant.

This includes employee performance tracking, inventory tracking, and various customizable financial reports.

Features include:

• Convenient contactless and online ordering with UberEats and GrubHub integrations
• Purchase ordering with multiple vendor support for simplicity
• Comprehensive payment processing, with countless options for your customers
• Kiosk functionality to allow customers to order for themselves
• Modifiers, upsells, and cross-selling opportunities built into your POS
• Offline mode to ensure you can continue selling in the event of an internet outage
• Reporting and analytics, with insights into cashflow and employee performance
• Guest feedback and customer profile management
• Payroll and team management for employee support
• Contactless ordering functionality
• Marketing built-in for improve lifetime order value

Clover vs Toast POS: Hardware Options

Both Clover and Toast come with a multitude of hardware solutions to help you with running your store and making sales.

Once you’ve evaluated which software solution works best for you, it’s time to look at the all-in-one POS systems and card readers available from both services.

Like competing solutions such as Square, Clover makes it simple to take a range of credit card payments with simple tools.

The Clover Go allows for on-the-go payments with a convenient handheld solution. This solution can support card payments for a cost of only $49.

Alternatively, if you’re looking for something more comprehensive, with real-time reports and insights, you can access Station Solo with a 14-inch screen for $1349, or the Clover Station Duo with a front-facing POS at $1649.

There’s also the Clover Flex for $499 with a more portable design, or the Clover Mini, which combines a range of tools into one compact restaurant POS.

The POS software from Toast can run on an iPad, Android tablet, and a range of other tools.

Similar to Clover, Toast comes with a huge number of solutions to choose from, including Toast Go, for handheld mobile payments, the Toast Flex comprehensive screen, and a Kiosk system.

You can choose from a range of tap and swipe payment solutions to add to your hardware kit from Toast, and there are various solutions like Impact printers available too.

The best way to decide exactly what you need with Toast is to reach out to the team and discuss your POS hardware needs.

Remember, these tools are specifically designed for the restaurant industry, so they’re best-suited to anyone in the food service landscape.

Clover vs Toast: Performance and Analytics

When it comes to choosing between solutions like Toast and Clover, you’re going to want to make sure your monthly fee is actually paying off.

Clover and Toast both come with access to a range of tools for performance and analytics, so small businesses can keep track of important metrics.

You’ll be able to keep track of notifications when you’re running low on stock and create reports showing your most popular items.

Toast is particularly well-suited to anyone in the food services landscape, because it’s capable of running reports on all kinds of important metrics, from how well your no-contact guest experience is going, to what you’re selling the most through digital ordering.

There are various tools available for permissions too, so you can set up different accounts for various people within your workforce, depending on what they need to do.

Clover offers relatively comprehensive sales tracking and analytics, organized into easy-to-follow, clear, and efficient reports.

The powerful analytics tools from Clover make it easier to gain real-time insights into the data and trends driving business decisions.

You can track important metrics like revenue and performance, keep an eye on your employees, and even set up important tax reports.

In the same reporting environment, you’ll also get an insight into how your customers are using gift cards and vouchers.

Clover vs Toast: Pricing

Pricing will always be a major concern for anyone investing in new technology. You need to make sure the software and hardware you’re investing in is affordable for your team.

While there are multiple factors which can affect the price you pay for both Clover and Toast, each solution is relatively affordable, considering what you get.

Clover POS Pricing

The best way to get a comprehensive breakdown of your costs with Clover is to contact the team and discuss all of your software, hardware, and add-on requirements.

Some of the options available from Clover currently include:

• Payments Plus: $4.95 per user/ month
• Register Lite: $9.95 per user/ month
• Counter service: $39.95 per user/ month
• Register: $39.95 per user/ month
• Table service: $69.95 per user/ month

There are processing fees involved with Clover too. Your transaction fees with keyed payments will start at 3.5% plus 10 cents.

Toast POS Pricing

Alternatively, Toast is one of the few POS solutions which comes with a “free” package for beginners. The “Starter” plan gives you access to a point of sale technology system in the cloud, with one terminal, and hardware configuration available.

You can also access features like online ordering, Toast delivery services, and Toast takeout.

The cheapest paid plan is the “Essentials” package, with 3 months of free online ordering included for a price of $165 per month. This solution has full access to online ordering features and custom hardware configurations.

Finally, if you’ve got very specific requirements as a growing business, you can access the “Custom” package, which provides extensive access to customizable features for a custom quoted price.

You’ll also have access to a huge range of additional integrations for software related to restaurant performance, and a custom hardware setup.

Currently, there’s an offer available from Toast called “New Restaurant Basics”, for $110 per month, which includes cloud based point of sale solutions, scheduling, additional employee management, and payroll functionality. There’s also an extra fee of $4 per employee per month.

Clover vs Toast: Which is Best for You?

For any restaurant owner or retailer looking for simple credit card processing, Clover and Toast are excellent providers.

There are multiple software modules to choose from, kitchen display options, and comprehensive iPhone and android access when you want to connect via mobile.

Each tool comes with great customer service and FAQs if you need help linking things like your CRM system or tools for user reviews to your POS solution.

Plus, the customer support you can offer your own clients through these services is great too, with excellent customer profiles and loyalty features.

Toast is likely to be the choice for you if you’re looking for a specific, dedicated solution in the food service industry.

Alternatively, you’re likely to appreciate Clover more if you’re searching for a solution that’s a little more flexible and versatile.