Toast vs Clover (2026): Which Lock-In Costs Less
3 November 2026 · 9 min read · SwitchYourPOS is published by KwickPOS, a restaurant POS company. Neither Toast nor Clover is affiliated with this page.
Toast and Clover are the two systems most full-service restaurants end up choosing between. Both handle tables, tabs, handhelds and the kitchen. Feature tours won't separate them much. What separates them is how each one holds on to you once you've signed: the term, the renewal, who can change prices, and what your hardware is good for if you leave. This page lays those side by side, using Toast's public merchant agreement and both companies' pricing pages.
The lock-in, side by side
| Toast | Clover | |
|---|---|---|
| Card rate | Quoted, not published | 2.3% + 10¢ in person; 3.5% + 10¢ keyed |
| Software price | Starter Kit from $0/month (single location, 1–2 terminals, new customers); Point of Sale from $69/month; Build Your Own, custom | Full-service bundles $179, $239 or $354/month for 36 months, or $1,799, $2,548 or $4,447 upfront plus $89.95, $109.90 or $129.85/month |
| Term | Initial term set in your order, then "shall automatically renew for successive one (1) year periods" | 36 months on the bundle pricing; the hardware promotion "Requires a 3-year contract" |
| Stopping renewal | "at least thirty (30) days' written notice of its intent not to renew" | Not stated on the pricing page; ask the seller |
| Leaving early | Remaining software subscription fees for the term, or $150 × months left on Pay-as-you-go | Not stated on the pricing page; ask the seller |
| Price changes | Software fees fixed in the initial term; card rates and non-software fees can change "at any time during the Term" with 30 days' notice | Not stated on the pricing page; ask the seller |
| Hardware | "May only be used on approved Toast hardware" | Clover devices in the bundle; shipped "only after the application is approved" |
| Who processes | Toast, which describes itself as "a payment facilitator that partners with processors" | Clover/Fiserv, or the bank or reseller that sold it |
Sources: Toast pricing, Toast Merchant Agreement (last updated September 10, 2025), Clover full-service restaurant pricing (read in a browser), all checked 3 November 2026.
The rate Toast has to beat
Toast doesn't publish its card rate, so you can't total it up from public pages. You can work out the number its quote has to beat. Take Clover Standard (counter station plus a Flex handheld) and add its card fees at a $40 average ticket; then subtract Toast's $69 Point of Sale subscription. What's left, divided by your card sales, is the most Toast's all-in rate can be before Clover comes out cheaper.
| Card sales | Clover's effective card rate | Toast must quote under (vs Clover Standard bought) | Toast must quote under (vs Clover Standard subscription) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $20,000/month | 2.55% | 3.11% | 3.40% |
| $40,000/month | 2.55% | 2.83% | 2.97% |
| $80,000/month | 2.55% | 2.69% | 2.76% |
Chart of the table above.
Two things are left out, and both favor Clover: Toast hardware (the $69 plan includes software only and runs on approved Toast hardware, priced separately) and any extra Toast devices or modules. Ask Toast for its hardware price too and subtract it from the target. Our sister site's effective rate calculator turns any quote into a single percentage.
What to check in each contract
- Toast: the initial term on your order, the renewal date, and where written notice must go. Read clause 6.2 on price changes: a card-rate increase can only be refused by terminating, in writing, before it takes effect.
- Clover: the full agreement from whoever sells it, not just the pricing page. Look for the same three things: what leaving early costs, how renewal works, and whether the card rate can change mid-term. Clover's own prices "are only available on Clover.com"; banks and resellers in Fiserv's partner programs set their own.
- Both: what happens to the hardware if you leave, and whether your menu, customer and gift-card data can be exported first.
The fine print that changes the answer
- Clover Starter can't take tap. Clover's table lists tap cards and mobile wallets as not included in Starter, Flex only in Standard, and Flex and Station Duo only in Advanced.
- Clover's promotion has conditions: new merchants only, a 3-year contract, credit approval by 1/31/27, and $10,000 or more in card transactions within the first four billing cycles; it expires December 31, 2026.
- Toast's $0 Starter Kit is for single locations with 1–2 terminals and new customers, and "includes first hardware terminal subscription. Additional charges apply for subsequent devices." Toast's Pay-as-You-Go plan covers hardware "through an all-in-one platform rate", and the agreement says such subscriptions "may be subject to an inactivity Fee" if card processing minimums aren't met.
Which one fits
- Choose Clover if you want a published card rate you can model today, and you're comfortable with a 36-month bundle. Pick Standard or Advanced if guests tap.
- Choose Toast if you want its restaurant-focused system and dedicated hardware, and its written quote beats the target above for your volume.
- Look further if you want to keep your own processor or agent: Toast processes through itself, and Clover through its seller.
Related: Toast vs Square: cost to get in and out and Square vs Clover over 36 months. KwickPOS works with your choice of processor; for a third quote, find a KwickPOS reseller and ask for the same terms in writing.
Sources
- Toast: pricing; Toast Merchant Agreement (last updated September 10, 2025)
- Clover: full-service restaurant systems pricing (read in a browser 3 November 2026; the page blocks automated checks)
- Fiserv: ISO partnerships
Prices and terms checked 3 November 2026. Rate targets are illustrations at a $40 average ticket, in-person payments only, before taxes and Toast hardware. Photos: khezez and Cytonn Photography / Pexels. Not legal advice.