Square for Retail vs Toast
Side-by-side from the Top 11 rankings of Shopify POS vs Lightspeed Retail vs Square for Retail: 11 Best POS Systems for Retail 2026 and Toast vs Square for Restaurants vs Lightspeed Restaurant: 11 Best Restaurant POS Systems 2026. Last verified June 17, 2026.
The short answer
Toast ranks higher on Top 11 (#1 vs #3) for Retail store owners choosing a point-of-sale system / Restaurant owners choosing POS + kitchen management. The most complete, purpose-built POS platform for nearly any restaurant type.
At a glance
| Square for Retail | Toast | |
|---|---|---|
| Top 11 rank | #3 / Shopify POS vs Lightspeed Retail vs Square for Retail: 11 Best POS Systems for Retail 2026 | #1 / Toast vs Square for Restaurants vs Lightspeed Restaurant: 11 Best Restaurant POS Systems 2026 |
| Score (out of 9.4) | 8.8 | 9.3 |
| Best for | Best for small businesses | All-in-one restaurant platform |
| Pricing | $ ($0 to $60/mo) | $$ ($69 to $300+/mo) |
| HQ | San Francisco, USA | Boston, USA |
| Founded | 2009 | 2011 |
Square for Retail
The top choice for new retailers due to its powerful free plan and simple setup.
squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/retailMethodology and scoring weights live at /methodology. No vendor pays for placement — see about.