Toast is a capable, restaurant-grade POS — wrapped in a ~2-year contract, a four-figure exit fee, and hardware that only works with Toast. Shisu has no contracts, every price published, and ships an AI host that answers the phone today — in Chinese, Spanish and English, not in beta.
Every figure is real and public.
| Best valueShisu$0–$299/mo | Toast$0–$69+/mo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & fees | ||
| Plans & monthly software | $0 · $129 · $299Starter · Growth · Autopilot | $0 · ~$69 · custom+$150–$400/mo add-ons typical |
| Free $0 plan to start | full POS, $0/mo | Starter Kit; higher processing |
| Pricing you can read without a sales call | Partialmost things by quote | |
| Card-present rate | from 2.2% + 15¢ | 2.49% + 15¢~2.99%+ pay-as-you-go |
| Online / keyed rate | from 2.9% + 30¢ | 3.50% + 15¢ |
| Mid-contract rate hikes | Flat, published | 30 days' notice |
| Surprise / junk fees | None | PCI · service · SMS overage |
| Contract & lock-in | ||
| Term | No contract | ~2 yearsauto-renews |
| Early-termination fee | None | $1k–$5k+ |
| Hardware locked to the vendor | No lock-in | "Only works with Toast" |
| Free on-site setup & menu build | we fly out, free | $500–$2,000~$95/hr install |
| Hardware | ||
| Counter terminal | $500financing available | $799–$1,199Flex · proprietary |
| Handheld | $375 | $409–$699Toast Go 2 |
| Kitchen display (KDS) | $250 once | $499–$1,199 + $25/mo |
| Self-order kiosk | $700 | $1,099–$1,899 |
| Extra devices included | Unlimited | ~$50/mo per handheld |
| Restaurant-grade POS | ||
| Coursing & seat management | ||
| Custom floor plans | ||
| Split, merge & reopen checks | ||
| Reservations & waitlist | Toast Tables $50/mo | |
| Self-order kiosks & offline mode | ||
| Online ordering, marketing & team | ||
| Your own website + online ordering | included | Toast Now $75/mo+ |
| Loyalty + email & SMS marketing | included on Growth | ~$50 + $75/mo add-ons |
| Scheduling & timekeeping | included on Starter | team-mgmt add-on |
| Payroll & tax filing | $25–39 + $5–8/emp | ~$69–90/mo + ~$9/emp |
| New-hire onboarding & careers page | Add-on | |
| Inventory, vendor POs & multi-location | xtraCHEF $149/mo+ | |
| AI that runs the shift Only on Shisu | ||
| AI phone host books tables & catering | Betavoice ordering beta / partner drive-thru | |
| Multilingual voice Chinese · Spanish · English | English; Chinese on tickets only | |
| AI shift coverage | ||
| AI inventory & auto-ordering | SuggestsToast IQ, human-confirmed | |
| AI hiring & screening | ||
| AI staff training | ||
| AI Google review response | ||
| All AI working together across the whole shift | Toast IQ = back-office co-pilot | |
| Shows its work full audit trail | ||
| Support & language | ||
| 24/7 support | quality varies | |
| Chinese-language support | voice + menus | Tickets only |
| Book a Demo | ||
Toast pricing, contract and processing terms compiled from Toast's own pages and public reviews (Merchant Maverick, NerdWallet, POS USA, BBB) as of June 2026 and subject to change. Toast pushes most buyers to custom quotes, and its native AI voice is in beta / partner-run — confirm current terms at toasttab.com.
Toast typically signs you to ~2 years with auto-renewal; leaving early runs $1,000–$5,000+, and it can raise your processing rate on 30 days' notice. Shisu has no contract — turn features on for a busy season, off when it's over.
Toast hardware is proprietary — "even after you pay it off, it only works with Toast." Shisu Terminal is $500 with financing, and your software isn't held hostage to it.
Toast's native voice ordering is still in beta, and its drive-thru voice runs on a partner. Shisu's AI host answers every call now — in Chinese, Spanish and English — books the table, and rings the order into the POS.
Toast has a deep, mature ecosystem, a large first-party hardware lineup, strong multi-location management, and a genuinely capable AI analytics assistant in Toast IQ — a proven fit for big groups with a dedicated back office. If you want published, contract-free pricing, no hardware lock-in, and AI staff that answer the phone in your guests' language today, Shisu is the lighter, more modern fit.