You're running a restaurant. Every dollar counts. Your POS system either saves you money or bleeds it away—there's no middle ground. SkyTab and Toast dominate the market, but they work completely differently. One locks you into a predictable $29.99 per station. The other starts free but stacks fees until your processing bill makes you sweat. This comparison cuts through the noise and tells you which one actually fits your operation.
Both systems handle the basics: orders, payments, inventory. But the devil lives in the details—hardware philosophy, fee structure, integration limits, support speed. If you're running a 40-seat bar with $60K monthly revenue, SkyTab's inclusive model wins. If you're a multi-location chain chasing data analytics and 100+ third-party tools, Toast's ecosystem pulls ahead. The reality is neither system is objectively "better." It depends on your revenue, your tech comfort, and how much you're willing to pay for flexibility.
We've dug into pricing, features, real-world performance, and 2026 market data. What follows is a breakdown that restaurant owners actually use when making the call.
Toast bakes online ordering into its ecosystem. You pay $75/month base, then integrate with DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub. It works. No friction. SkyTab lets you add online ordering, but it's not as tightly woven—you're stitching third-party tools together. For a 20-table restaurant doing $8K/day, this difference is noise. For a ghost kitchen running 70% delivery volume, Toast's native ordering saves setup headaches and sync errors.
Here's the real issue: when online orders hit during lunch rush, does your kitchen display system (KDS) choke? Toast's integration is tested at scale. SkyTab's works, but you're relying on middleware. Check this during your demo—place a test order and watch the KDS fire. If it lags, you've found your answer.
SkyTab's loyalty is straightforward. Points accumulate. Customers get email offers. Gift cards work. It's functional, not fancy. Toast offers tiered rewards—spend $100, jump to platinum status—plus birthday automations and segment-based promotions (breakfast regulars get different offers than dinner crowds). If your margin depends on repeat visits and upsells, Toast's psychology-driven loyalty edges ahead. If you just want to say "thank you" to regulars, SkyTab suffices.
Both systems track inventory. Toast's menu engineering analytics tell you which dishes are profit killers—margin per item, popularity trends, food cost variance. SkyTab gives you counts and alerts. For a 50-item menu, the difference is marginal. For a restaurant with 200+ SKUs across multiple locations, Toast's data becomes a profit lever. You spot that appetizer that costs $4 but sells for $9—and nobody orders it. Kill it. Or adjust price. That's the kind of insight Toast delivers out of the box.
SkyTab's reporting is operational: sales by daypart, labor costs, table turn times. Sufficient. Toast's goes deeper: predictive labor scheduling, which prep tasks correlate with slower service, menu performance benchmarks. Again, relevance scales with your operation. A 15-seat wine bar? SkyTab's reports answer what matters. A 120-seat multi-concept with breakfast, lunch, dinner services and a bar? Toast's analytics justify the cost.
SkyTab ships dedicated terminals. You pay per station. No surprises. Upfront, it's higher than Toast. Toast runs on Android—you can BYOD (bring your own device) or lease their hardware. The catch is hardware leasing adds $50–$100/month per terminal in processing fees. Over three years, that compounds. SkyTab's $29.99/station all-inclusive often undercuts this, especially if you're running 4–6 terminals. If you're running 15 terminals across two locations, the math flips—Toast's volume pricing becomes competitive.
SkyTab bundles everything into that $29.99. Software, support, security updates, PCI compliance—all included. Toast's model is modular. Base: free (if you process through them). Add online ordering: $75/month. Add loyalty: $30/month. Add payroll integration: $50/month. By the time you've built a full-featured setup, you're paying $59–$165/month minimum. The difference: SkyTab's fee is predictable. Toast's is not. Some owners prefer predictability (SkyTab). Others prefer paying only for what they use (Toast).
Both systems are tied to payment processors. SkyTab works with Shift4 Payments—no markup, standard interchange rates. Toast partners with multiple processors but incentivizes their own via lower rates. If you're already with Shift4 or prefer their terms, SkyTab is seamless. If you want to shop processors, Toast gives flexibility. This is where TCO analysis matters. A mid-sized restaurant switching to SkyTab with the Advantage Program sees 15–30% lower total cost of ownership over three years. But if you're comparing SkyTab at standard rates vs. Toast at negotiated rates, the gap narrows.
Table management is your heartbeat. SkyTab's color-coded table view (occupied, ready to order, closed check, etc.) and auto seat-split checks are built for floor operations. You see guest count, time seated, and pending items at a glance. Toast does this too, but through more clicks. For a 60-seat FSR, SkyTab's tableside ordering workflow (servers taking orders on handheld tablets) is smoother. Toast's strength here is payroll integration—you can clock staff in/out at the terminal and cross-reference labor to sales. Honestly, both work. The question is: do you need Toast's advanced integrations (payroll, HR, accounting sync), or does SkyTab's focused feature set suffice? If you're running a French bistro with tight margins and no multi-location ambitions, SkyTab is the smarter choice. If you're a 5-location casual dining group with centralized HR and accounting, Toast wins.
One more thing: check how each handles table modifications during service. During peak, a guest adds wine to their check. A server adjusts the check without closing it. Does your POS handle this without breaking the floor's workflow? Both do, but the UX differs. Demo this with your actual staff, not just the sales rep.
Speed is oxygen. Quick-service restaurants POS solutions need to process 200+ transactions per hour without lag. Both SkyTab and Toast claim 99%+ uptime. But here's the edge: Toast's Android ecosystem and 100+ integrations let you bolt on self-service kiosks, mobile ordering, and AI-driven upsell prompts. SkyTab's dedicated hardware is bulletproof for reliability but less flexible for add-ons. If you're a Chipotle-style assembly line with 8 order points and mobile pre-pay, Toast's modular approach is natural. If you're a 3-register casual cafe with tight space and offline resilience as priority, SkyTab's dedicated terminals don't choke when internet hiccups. Choose Toast if you're chasing tech innovation. Choose SkyTab if you're chasing consistent lunch rush performance.
High transaction velocity, split checks (every round), tipping, credit card saturation. SkyTab's strength here: auto seat-split checks and quick tip screens. You're not managing tables—you're managing the bar rail. SkyTab's simplicity shines. Toast's upsell analytics help identify which shots pair with which beers (profit optimization), but does a bartender care? Probably not. For bars under $100K/month revenue, SkyTab's predictable fee saves money. For upscale cocktail bars with premium inventory management and age verification, Toast's ecosystem adds value. Verdict: SkyTab for volume-driven neighborhood bars. Toast for concept-driven, multi-location hospitality groups.
There's no universal winner. Here's how to decide:
Choose SkyTab if: You're a single-location operator under $100K/month revenue. You want predictable, all-in pricing ($29.99/station). You value reliability and simplicity over integration breadth. You're already using Shift4 for payments. You need your system to work offline when internet fails.
Choose Toast if: You're multi-location or planning rapid expansion. You need advanced analytics (menu engineering, labor scheduling, predictive insights). You want deep integration with 100+ third-party tools (accounting, HR, delivery platforms). You're comfortable with modular pricing and willing to pay for premium features. You value innovation and frequent updates.
The 15–30% three-year TCO advantage swings to SkyTab for mid-sized single-location restaurants using the Advantage Program. But if you're a growing group with $500K+ monthly revenue across 3+ locations, Toast's ecosystem and analytics justify its higher cost. Neither system is mediocre. Both handle payments, inventory, and reports competently. The difference is in growth philosophy: SkyTab locks in value. Toast scales with ambition.
For a single 40-seat restaurant: yes, usually. $29.99/station at 4 terminals = $120/month. Toast's comparable setup (accounting for online ordering, loyalty, and processing) runs $200–$250/month. Over three years, SkyTab saves $3,000+. For a 3-location chain, the math flips. Toast's volume pricing and bundled features become competitive. Don't assume—model your own scenario.
SkyTab is designed for Shift4 Payments integration. You can use other processors, but you lose optimization. Toast is agnostic—it works with multiple processors, though they incentivize their preferred partner. If you have a legacy processor relationship, verify compatibility before signing.
SkyTab. You're running 2–3 registers, $30K–$50K monthly revenue, and tight margins. POS systems for restaurants in this category benefit from predictability. SkyTab's $29.99/station flat fee and built-in support mean no surprise bills. You get a proven system, not a platform you're still configuring after six months. The trade-off: you won't access Toast's analytics or 100+ integrations. That's fine—your cafe doesn't need them yet.
The bottom line: choose based on your revenue, location count, and growth trajectory—not based on marketing claims. Both systems will process your orders and payments correctly. The difference is in cost predictability, feature depth, and ecosystem flexibility. Test both during a free trial. Run your actual menu, your actual payment flows, your actual staff workflows. Then decide.
