Toast got expensive. Fast. What started as a sleek cloud POS system turned into a subscription treadmill with hidden fees stacked on top of hardware costs, processing markups, and mandatory long-term contracts. Single-location restaurants running $50K–$150K in monthly card volume are bleeding $10,000–$15,000 every year just to keep the lights on. The question isn't whether to switch anymore. It's whether you can afford not to.
SkyTab exists because restaurants got tired of overpaying. Zero software fees. Free hardware placement. Mobile credit card processing bundled at 2.75% + $0.15. Support staff who actually pick up the phone at 2 AM. These aren't marketing angles—they're the operational reality driving restaurants out of Toast in 2026. If you're evaluating the switch, here's what you need to know about cost, migration, and whether SkyTab actually delivers.
Toast's model works until it doesn't. The software fee starts at $99/month for smaller locations. Add online ordering, labor management, guest WiFi, integrations—and you're at $300–$400/month before you ring a single order. Then comes hardware: terminals, printers, displays. Then payment processing with spreads that quietly eat margin on every transaction. Then contract renewal time, and you realize you're locked in for three years.
The frustration isn't new, but 2026 has made it unbearable. Restaurants with thin margins can't absorb another price hike. Toast users on forums cite the same pattern: fees creep up, support gets slower, and switching costs feel too high to justify the jump.
Toast's pricing is transparent on paper. Monthly software subscription. Per-feature add-ons. Processing fees on top. But the real trap is the contract. Three-year terms lock you in while Toast raises prices every 12–18 months. You can't exit without penalties. You can't negotiate if a competitor offers better rates. The hardware lease? That's separate. The integrations you rely on? Monthly fees for each one. By month 24, a restaurant that signed up for $150/month is paying $320/month for the same system.
SkyTab flips this. Zero monthly software fees means no subscription hike next quarter. No long-term contract means you evaluate your vendor annually, not in 2029. Processing is bundled at 2.75% + $0.15 for qualifying merchants—no hidden markups.
Toast hardware is solid, but you're renting it. Equipment failures trigger a ticket queue. Support responses depend on priority level and time of day. During a Friday dinner rush when your main terminal locks up, a ticket-based system feels like a luxury you can't afford. SkyTab provides same-day or next-day onsite service with 24/7 live support—actual humans, not escalation loops.
Hardware placement is another leak. Toast charges for terminal installation and configuration. SkyTab covers it for eligible locations. That's typically $500–$1,500 saved before you even open the registers.
SkyTab started as a response to Toast's bloat. The team asked: what do independent restaurants actually need? Not a hundred integrations. Not AI-powered labor forecasting. Core POS that works. Reliable payments. Support when things break. The result is a system that's leaner, faster, and cheaper to operate.
SkyTab's pricing model removes the subscription trap. You pay for processing, period. 2.75% + $0.15 per transaction bundled with payment gateway, processor, and hardware leasing. That's it. No monthly software fee. No per-integration surcharge. No surprise renewal notices.
For a restaurant averaging $100K in monthly card volume, that's roughly $2,750 in processing fees per month. Toast's equivalent: $200–$300 software + $150–$200 integrations + $1.5K–$2K processing, depending on markup. You're looking at $4,000+ annually in direct savings before accounting for contract lock-in risk.
Flexibility means month-to-month terms. If SkyTab doesn't deliver, you move. That accountability forces good service.
SkyTab runs on Shift4 Payments' infrastructure. That's not a small detail. Shift4 is a Tier 1 processor with direct bank relationships, meaning lower processing rates and faster settlement. No middleman markup. The hardware is enterprise-grade but restaurant-friendly: terminals boot fast, offline mode works (usually), and integration with kitchen displays and guest checks is seamless.
Free hardware placement for eligible merchants removes a capital barrier. You don't buy terminals. SkyTab deploys them and leases them as part of the processing agreement. Setup is typically 3–5 business days.
Tableside payments matter. Skytab customer service teams help restaurants deploy mobile payment flows that reduce check close times by 30–40%. Servers can process payments at the table instead of running cards through a central terminal. For high-volume locations, that's a 10–15 minute gain per server per shift. Over a year, that's significant labor savings.
Mobile processing also reduces cash handling and associated security risks. Integrates with SkyTab's reporting so you see transaction data in real time.
Both systems handle core POS operations. Both integrate with third-party apps. Both scale to multi-location chains. But the operational and financial differences compound quickly.
For a single-location restaurant with $50K–$150K monthly card volume, the annual savings range from $3,800 to $9,300. Multi-location operators see $10,000–$15,000+ savings. That's real money that flows to your bottom line.
What's harder to quantify: contract risk. Toast's three-year lock-in means if they raise prices or service degrades, you're stuck. SkyTab's month-to-month flexibility removes that trap.
Switching POS systems sounds risky. Data loss. Downtime. Staff retraining. But the cost of staying on Toast—both financial and operational—often exceeds the switching cost by year two.
Migration costs for SkyTab are minimal. No data loss fees. No setup surcharges beyond standard hardware deployment (which is free). Training is included. Most single-location restaurants complete the switch in 2–5 business days with minimal operational disruption.
Here's the timeline:
Downtime is usually 4–6 hours during off-peak times (late morning or early afternoon). You can schedule it around your slowest period to minimize revenue impact.
SkyTab's onboarding team handles the heavy lifting. They pull your menu, customer data, and transaction history from Toast via API. Nothing is manual-entry unless you request customization. Your historical reports and customer profiles transfer directly, so you don't lose insight into sales patterns or customer preferences.
Post-launch support is where SkyTab differentiates. Most POS vendors hand you off after go-live. SkyTab assigns a dedicated representative who checks in weekly for the first month. If something breaks or your team needs clarification, there's a human on the other end within hours, not days.
The decision to switch is emotional. You've invested time into Toast. Your team knows it. Change feels risky. But the financial reality is clear: staying costs more than switching, especially if your monthly card volume supports SkyTab's model ($50K+).
SkyTab provides transparent quotes with no hidden fees. You'll see: hardware cost (typically $0 for eligible merchants), processing rate (2.75% + $0.15), and any custom integration setup. The quote is binding for 30 days, so you can compare it directly to Toast's renewal notice without pressure.
Request a demo to see the interface. It's more streamlined than Toast, especially for menu management and reporting. Your team should spend 30 minutes in the system before committing.
Typically 2–5 business days from hardware delivery to go-live. Multi-location migrations take longer (1–2 weeks) depending on complexity and coordination across sites.
No. SkyTab imports your customer database, transaction history, and preferences directly from Toast. Your loyalty program data and guest profiles transfer without loss. You'll have access to historical reports immediately after go-live.
SkyTab includes on-site or remote training for all staff members. Sessions are typically 2–3 hours per shift. You'll cover core POS functions (ringing orders, processing payments, managing modifiers), reporting, and troubleshooting. Training is included in your contract; there are no per-person fees.
Month-to-month contracts mean you're not locked in. If you need to switch back to Toast or try another vendor, you can. That flexibility exists because SkyTab is confident in the product and support. Most restaurants that switch stay within the first year because the financial and operational benefits are immediate and measurable.
The numbers are simple. The support is real. The commitment to independent restaurants is genuine. If you're bleeding money on Toast, the switch to SkyTab pays for itself in the first six months. After that, it's pure margin recovery.
