Toast online ordering: what it costs, how it works, and when it fits
Toast online ordering is the ordering page that comes with the Toast POS. Toast takes no commission on these orders; you pay the card rate on each one, reported at 3.5% + $0.15 for online cards when you bought your hardware upfront [1], and a monthly add-on that Toast prices by quote, most often reported at about $75 a month [1][2][3]. On a $25 order that's about $1.03 in card fees.
It only works if you run Toast as your POS. Below: every fee with where it comes from, one $25 order and a month worked out, how Toast Local differs from your own ordering page, what Toast delivery costs per trip, how to set it up, and when a restaurant is better served by something else.
What Toast online ordering is
Toast sells its restaurant POS with optional add-ons. Online ordering is one of them, part of what Toast calls its Digital Storefront: a page with your menu where guests order pickup or delivery, and the orders print in the kitchen or show on your screens like any order taken at the counter [4][5].
Once it's on, the same menu, hours and discounts feed three places at once [4][6]:
- Your ordering page, a Toast web address you link from your website, Instagram and Google.
- Toast Local, Toast's own app and site for guests (it used to be called Toast Takeout), where diners find places that use Toast.
- Order with Google, the Order button on your Google listing in Search and Maps.
You can't buy Toast's online ordering on its own. If your POS is Square, Clover or a cash register, you're looking at a different tool: we cover Square online ordering for restaurants and the wider field in commission-free online ordering.
Toast online ordering fees
Toast doesn't publish a public price for online ordering; NerdWallet's review says the subscription is quote-based [1]. These are the costs as Toast and the reviews state them:
| Cost | Amount | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Commission per order | None | Toast Local FAQ: the only card charge is your online rate [4] |
| Card fee, online orders | 3.50% + $0.15 (hardware bought upfront) | NerdWallet review, Aug 2026 [1] |
| Card fee, in person | 2.49% + $0.15 (hardware bought upfront) | NerdWallet [1] |
| Card fee, pay-as-you-go hardware | 3.09% to 3.69% + $0.15 | NerdWallet [1] |
| Online ordering add-on | Quote-based; about $75 a month as reported | NerdWallet [1]; Sauce and Restolabs, both rivals [2][3] |
| POS plan you need first | $0 Starter Kit or $69+ a month Point of Sale | NerdWallet [1] |
| Contract | Two to three years | NerdWallet [1] |
| Delivery by Toast | $6.99 to $9.99 a trip (Uber Direct), $7.49+ (DoorDash Drive) | Toast support, Oct 2026 [5] |
| Order with Google, Toast Local | No extra fee | Toast support [4][6] |
Two cautions on those numbers. First, the $75 figure comes from review and rival sites, not from Toast; your quote may be higher or lower, and some Toast bundles add a website for more. Second, card rates are negotiated per account, so read the rate on your own Toast statement before you work out a month.
Does Toast online ordering charge a fee per order?
Not as a commission. Toast keeps the card fee on each online order, and that's it for pickup orders [4]. Online cards cost about one point more than cards dipped at your counter (3.50% against 2.49% on the same plan [1]), because the card isn't present.
Diners sometimes ask whether Toast adds a fee on their side. It did, briefly: from July 10, 2023, Toast added a 99-cent fee to online orders over $10, paid by the guest. After pushback from restaurants, Toast dropped it in under two weeks, and its CEO wrote, "We made the wrong decision" [7]. Any service charge a diner sees on your Toast page today is one your restaurant set, such as the $3.99 delivery charge Toast turns on by default for delivery orders (you can change it) [5].
One $25 pickup order, worked out
Here is what a $25 pickup order costs you through Toast and the common alternatives. Toast's line uses the reported online rate [1]; the app lines use each app's lowest plan, from our guides on DoorDash pickup commission and Uber Eats commission.
| Where the order is placed | Fee on $25 | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| Toast online ordering, card online | $1.03 (3.5% + $0.15) | $23.97 |
| Toast, paid by card at the counter instead | $0.77 (2.49% + $0.15) | $24.23 |
| DoorDash Marketplace pickup | $1.50 (6%) | $23.50 |
| Uber Eats pickup, prices matched | $1.75 (7%) | $23.25 |
| Uber Eats pickup, prices not matched | $2.50 (10%) | $22.50 |
| A page where the diner pays at pickup | $0 to the page; your counter card fee if they tap a card | $24.23 to $25 |
Per order, Toast is cheaper than the apps' pickup rates. The monthly add-on is what decides whether it's cheap overall.
A month on Toast online ordering
Take a place already on Toast's Point of Sale plan that takes 300 online pickup orders a month at $25, $7,500 in online sales:
| Line | Month |
|---|---|
| Card fees, 3.5% of $7,500 | $262.50 |
| Card fees, $0.15 × 300 orders | $45.00 |
| Online ordering add-on (reported, quote-based) | about $75.00 |
| Total for online ordering | about $382.50 |
| Same 300 orders paid by card at the counter | $231.75 |
| Same 300 orders on DoorDash pickup at 6% | $450.00 |
So the online part costs about $150 a month more than if those diners paid at the counter: about $75 of higher card fees and about $75 of add-on. At 60 orders a month the add-on matters far more: $75 spread over 60 orders is $1.25 an order before card fees, which is close to an app's pickup rate. For a slow month or a small place, the fixed fee is the real price.
A place that doesn't need online card payment can skip both. A menu page that sends orders to your phone, with diners paying when they pick up, has no card fee online and no add-on. That's what Full Room builds free from a photo of your menu, and it works next to any POS, Toast included.
Toast online ordering vs Toast Local
They're the same system with two front doors. Toast's FAQ is clear on the main points [4]:
| Toast online ordering (your page) | Toast Local (Toast's app and site) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Your restaurant's own ordering page | Toast's guest app listing many Toast restaurants; formerly Toast Takeout |
| Fee | Online card rate | Same online card rate; no commission, and Toast says it has no plans to charge one |
| Menu, hours, discounts | Set in Toast Web | The same; you can't give Toast Local its own menu or hours |
| Kitchen | Prints or shows like any order | The same workflow |
| Guest account | One login works on both | One login works on both |
| Where guests find it | Your link: website, Google, social | Browsing the app; US guests only |
| Reservations | No | Yes, with Toast Tables or Resy |
Toast Local needs online ordering turned on; it's switched on with it. To take your place off Toast Local, Toast's steps are: Toast Web, Takeout & delivery, Toast order sources, Toast Local App, turn the listing off, then save and publish [4]. Some owners in Toast's community report that the two can read hours from different settings (Online Ordering Hours versus Services) [8], so after any hours change, check both.
Should you keep Toast Local on? It costs nothing extra and can bring a guest who browses the app. The risk is small: a regular who orders through the app may come to think of it as Toast's rather than yours, so point your own customers to your own link.
Toast online ordering delivery: what each trip costs
Toast doesn't have its own drivers. Toast Delivery Services sends your delivery orders to Uber Direct or DoorDash Drive drivers, and you pay a flat fee per trip, plus the driver's tip and a Toast service fee, all taken out of your card payouts [5]. Toast's support page, updated October 26, 2026, lists [5]:
| Provider | Distance | Fee per delivery |
|---|---|---|
| Uber Direct | Under 6 miles | $6.99 |
| Uber Direct | 6 to 8 miles | $8.74 |
| Uber Direct | 8 to 9 miles | $9.49 |
| Uber Direct | 9 to 10 miles | $9.99 |
| DoorDash Drive | Within 5 miles | $7.49 |
| DoorDash Drive | 5 to 10 miles | $7.49 + $0.50 per mile over 5 |
Extra city fees apply: $2.00 in California, about $3.00 in New York City and about $5.00 in Seattle [5]. The radius is 10 miles by default; Toast Customer Care can cut it to 6 miles (Uber Direct) or 5 (DoorDash Drive), which is worth doing if your food doesn't travel well. Uber Direct preselects a 20% tip for the driver at checkout [5].
Who pays is your choice: Toast adds a $3.99 delivery charge to guests by default, and you decide how much of the trip fee to pass on [5]. On a $30 order under 6 miles by Uber Direct, the trip is $6.99; with the default $3.99 charge, you carry $3.00 plus card fees, about 10% of the order before card fees. That's well below a marketplace's delivery commission, but it isn't free. Problems go to you: guests contact the restaurant for refunds, and you file delivery refunds in Toast Web [5]. Our guide to DoorDash Storefront fees compares the same kind of per-trip delivery for places not on Toast.
Order with Google through Toast
When Toast online ordering is on, Toast turns on Order with Google by itself, at no extra fee [6]. Diners who tap Order on your Google listing order from your Toast menu, and items you mark sold out in Toast show sold out on Google within moments [6]. Delivery appears on Google only if delivery is on in your Toast ordering.
Two things to check. Google lists the providers that say they take your orders, so make sure Toast is set as preferred in your Google Business Profile, not a delivery app [9]. And Toast says changes can take up to 48 hours to show on Google [6]. Our guide to Google Business Profile for restaurants walks through the Order button settings.
How to set up Toast online ordering
Toast's own launch checklist [10], in order, with what to watch at each step:
- Get the add-on turned on. Ask your Toast rep for the online ordering quote and the contract terms, in writing.
- Check your online menu in Toast Web. Hide items that don't travel, set modifiers, and add photos and short descriptions. Our guide on how to write a restaurant menu helps here.
- Set hours and how orders arrive. Pick how orders are approved and which printer or screen fires them, so no order sits unseen.
- Place a test order and follow it from the guest's phone to the kitchen ticket to your payout.
- Decide on delivery. If you want it, start the Toast Delivery Services checklist in Toast Web and set the radius and the guest charge.
- Go live on a slow day. Toast suggests a Tuesday or Wednesday, and using snooze or delay (throttling) while the kitchen gets used to it.
- Tell people. Put an Order Online button at the top of your website, the link on Google and your social profiles, and send an email to your list.
For the same steps on any system, with five test orders and a script for telling regulars, see how to set up online ordering for your restaurant.
The Toast online ordering apps
"Toast app" means three different things, which confuses owners and diners alike:
- Toast Local is the app diners download to order from Toast restaurants (iOS and Android, US only) [4].
- Toast Now is the owner's app: you can snooze online orders or turn them off from it [4].
- A branded app with your restaurant's own name is a separate product; ask your Toast rep whether it's offered and at what price.
Most independents don't need a branded app. Regulars order from a link they've saved or from Google; an app is worth it only when you have many loyal guests ordering every week.
When Toast online ordering fits, and when it doesn't
It fits when you already run Toast as your POS and want online orders in the same kitchen flow, with Google ordering and delivery available from one place. For a busy takeout place, a single system is worth a fixed fee.
Think twice when:
- You'd buy Toast only for online ordering. The POS contract is two to three years [1], with hardware to buy or rent.
- You take few online orders. A monthly add-on divided by 50 or 80 orders costs more per order than many apps.
- Your diners pay at pickup anyway. Then you're paying online card rates and an add-on for a payment step you don't need.
- You want your own website, not only an ordering page. The Toast page is a menu and checkout; a full site is extra.
The free and low-cost options for each of these cases are in free online ordering systems for restaurants.
Common mistakes
- Leaving a delivery app as the Google Order button when Toast ordering is live. Each order through the app pays its commission.
- Signing without the add-on price in writing. The price is quote-based; get it, and the contract end date, on paper.
- Changing hours in one setting only. Check that your ordering page, Toast Local and Google all show the new hours.
- Keeping the 10-mile delivery radius for food that's cold after 15 minutes. Ask Toast to shorten it.
- Forgetting driver tips in payroll. Toast records them under a "TDS Driver" employee; take them out before paying staff tips [5].
- Hiding the link. An ordering page nobody can find takes no orders. Put the button at the top of your website.
Questions
How much does Toast charge for online ordering?
No commission. You pay the online card rate, reported at 3.5% + $0.15 per order with hardware bought upfront, plus a monthly add-on priced by quote, most often reported around $75 [1][2][3].
Is Toast online ordering free?
Not fully. There's no commission, and Toast Local and Order with Google cost nothing extra [4][6], but card fees apply to every order and the add-on is a monthly charge.
What is the difference between Toast online ordering and Toast Local?
Toast online ordering is your own page; Toast Local is Toast's app that lists many restaurants. They share your menu, hours, discounts and fees, and orders arrive the same way [4].
Can I use Toast online ordering without the Toast POS?
No. It's an add-on to the Toast POS. On another POS, use that system's ordering or a separate ordering page.
Does Toast charge customers a fee for online orders?
Not today. Toast tried a 99-cent guest fee in July 2023 and dropped it within two weeks [7]. Any fee a diner sees is one the restaurant set, like a delivery charge.
How much is Toast delivery per order?
$6.99 for Uber Direct under 6 miles, or $7.49 for DoorDash Drive within 5 miles, rising with distance, plus the tip and a service fee [5].
Not on Toast, or not ready for a contract? Build your menu site free: a real menu page with pickup orders that ring your phone and no fee per order. More answers are in all our guides.
Sources
- Toast POS review: pricing and features, NerdWallet, updated Aug 6, 2026, read Nov 4, 2026 (plans, card rates, quote-based online ordering, contract length, hardware).
- Toast online ordering pricing and fees, Sauce, read Nov 4, 2026 (a rival; online add-on about $75 a month, as reported).
- Toast online ordering cost explained, Restolabs, read Nov 4, 2026 (a rival; plans, hardware and add-on prices, as reported).
- Toast Local FAQ, Toast support, read Nov 4, 2026.
- Toast Delivery Services overview, Toast support, updated Oct 26, 2026, read Nov 4, 2026.
- Manage Order with Google, Toast support, read Nov 4, 2026.
- Toast drops 99-cent online order fee after pushback from restaurants, The Boston Globe, July 19, 2023.
- Online ordering: which Toast platform?, Toast Community, read Nov 4, 2026 (owners' reports, not Toast's documentation).
- Manage online ordering options, Google Business Profile Help, read Nov 1, 2026.
- Online ordering launch best practices checklist, Toast support, read Nov 4, 2026.