Choosing the right Point of Sale (POS) system is one of the most critical decisions restaurateurs face. Two major players dominate discussions in this space: NCR’s Aloha and Toast POS. For restaurant owners navigating this decision, understanding these differences is essential to finding the right technological foundation for their business.
Aloha, developed by NCR (now NCR Voyix), has established itself as a veteran in the restaurant POS market, serving over 75,000 restaurants worldwide with its cloud-enabled platform. Known for its robust performance in high-traffic environments, Aloha offers a comprehensive suite of features including fixed and mobile POS, contactless dining, analytics, online ordering, and third-party delivery integrations. The system provides hybrid capabilities, ensuring critical data remains safe even if hardware fails.
Toast has emerged as a formidable competitor with its cloud-based platform specifically designed for food service establishments of all sizes, from small cafes to large restaurant chains. Built from the ground up as a modern solution, Toast excels in user-friendly design and comprehensive reporting capabilities. The system offers tableside ordering and checkout capabilities, allowing staff to take orders and process payments directly at the table.
Both systems adapt well to modern needs by incorporating online ordering, QR code payments, and self-ordering kiosks. However, their approaches and strengths differ significantly across multiple dimensions—from core functionality and user experience to pricing structures and customer support. This analysis will help you determine which system better aligns with your restaurant’s unique needs and growth objectives.
Both Aloha and Toast POS offer extensive feature sets designed specifically for restaurant operations, but their approaches and strengths create distinct advantages. Aloha POS provides a cloud-enabled platform with hybrid capabilities that keeps operations running smoothly even during technical difficulties. The system includes both fixed and mobile POS functionality, which helps speed up table turns and reduce order errors significantly. Aloha accepts all primary forms of payment, including EMV technology, and makes menu-building and tab-splitting straightforward for staff.
Toast POS was built specifically as a cloud-based solution for restaurants, offering sophisticated tableside ordering and checkout capabilities. Staff can take orders and process payments directly at tables using handheld devices, streamlining service and improving customer satisfaction. While this feature enhances efficiency, Toast’s offline mode doesn’t allow payment processing, which could create challenges during internet outages. The system provides robust online ordering and delivery options, though these advanced features require upgraded plans beyond the basic offering.
Menu management capabilities showcase each system’s strengths clearly. Aloha’s menu-building feature is notably intuitive, allowing restaurants to easily create separate menus for in-house dining, delivery, pickup, and third-party services. Toast allows quick menu updates and changes, making it ideal for seasonal adjustments or daily specials, though it lacks built-in nutrition information features. Both systems support inventory management with varying depths depending on the specific package selected and integrations implemented.
The user interface and overall experience significantly impact both staff adoption and operational efficiency in busy restaurant environments. Aloha POS is known for its user-friendly interface that many restaurant staff are already familiar with, as more employees are trained on Aloha than any other POS system. This familiarity reduces training time substantially and makes it easier for new hires to get up to speed quickly. The system features an attractive, intuitive interface that makes finding menu items convenient during busy service periods.
Toast POS receives high marks for its modern, clean interface that’s specifically designed to be learned quickly. This design philosophy benefits restaurants with high staff turnover, as new employees can become productive faster. Toast’s interface is optimized for speed and efficiency, with shortcuts and features that streamline common tasks throughout the day. The tableside ordering feature is particularly well-designed, allowing servers to input orders directly at tables on handheld devices, increasing both order accuracy and table turnover rates.
Both systems offer comprehensive mobile POS capabilities, allowing staff to take orders and process payments from anywhere in the restaurant. Aloha provides mobile alerts that notify managers of important events or irregularities, while Toast’s mobile app gives owners and managers access to real-time data even when away from the restaurant. Toast offers more flexibility to tailor the interface to specific restaurant needs, while Aloha provides solid preset options that work well for most standard restaurant operations.
While traditional POS systems handle transactions and basic operations, restaurants need specialized solutions for managing customer communications efficiently. Loman provides a comprehensive AI for restaurants platform that transforms how establishments handle phone orders and customer interactions. This 24/7 AI phone agent integrates seamlessly with existing POS systems like Square, Toast, and Clover, creating a unified operational ecosystem that reduces missed calls and improves overall sales performance.
Loman’s AI system is specifically trained on restaurant menus, policies, and customer preferences to ensure accuracy in every interaction. Unlike generic POS solutions that focus primarily on in-restaurant transactions, Loman addresses the critical gap in phone-based ordering and customer service that both Aloha and Toast leave largely unaddressed. The platform reduces missed calls significantly, shortens customer wait times, and provides built-in analytics with real-time insights for better decision-making—all while positioning itself as a specialized solution that complements rather than competes with existing POS infrastructure.
The hardware requirements and flexibility of a POS system significantly impact both initial investment costs and long-term operational adaptability. Aloha POS requires proprietary hardware, meaning restaurants must purchase NCR-approved equipment rather than bringing their own devices. This approach ensures consistency and reliability but increases costs substantially, with typical terminals costing around $1,000 each. The hardware includes durable touchscreen terminals built specifically for restaurant environments, kitchen display systems, and proprietary mobile devices like the Orderman for tableside ordering.
Toast POS offers more hardware flexibility while primarily using its own purpose-built equipment. Toast hardware is designed specifically for kitchen environments, featuring spill-resistant surfaces and hardwired connections for reliability in demanding conditions. The company offers various hardware packages including terminals, handheld devices, kitchen display screens, and customer-facing displays. Unlike Aloha, Toast provides some options for using existing hardware, particularly for less critical system components, making it more affordable for new restaurants or those operating on tighter budgets.
Both systems provide mobile hardware options for tableside ordering and payment processing, which enhance service speed and efficiency significantly. Aloha’s mobile solutions are built on proprietary platforms, ensuring seamless integration but at higher costs. Toast’s mobile hardware tends to be more affordable and versatile, with options ranging from full-featured handheld devices to simpler units focused on payment processing. While both systems require significant hardware investments, Toast generally offers more scalable options that allow restaurants to start with essential components and add more as needs evolve.
In today’s digital-first dining environment, robust online ordering capabilities and seamless third-party integrations have become essential for restaurant success. Both systems address these needs but with notable differences in implementation and cost structure. Aloha POS provides online ordering capabilities as an additional feature rather than including it in the core package, integrating well with third-party delivery platforms and offering contactless dining experiences where customers can order and pay using QR codes. The system boasts over 200 third-party integrations, including popular options for accounting, inventory management, and customer relationship management.
Toast POS has made online ordering a centerpiece of its offering, providing a commission-free online ordering platform that integrates directly with the POS system. However, this feature isn’t available with Toast’s free plan, requiring an upgrade to access full functionality. Toast’s delivery management system can connect with local delivery drivers when restaurants don’t have their own delivery staff. Toast excels in third-party integrations with connections to popular services like SpeedETab, Chowly, and Checkmate—integrations that Aloha notably lacks.
Both systems offer customer-facing features that enhance the digital ordering experience significantly:
For restaurants heavily dependent on takeout and delivery, Toast’s more comprehensive online ordering ecosystem may provide advantages, though it comes at a higher price point for full functionality.
Comprehensive data reporting and analytics capabilities are crucial for making informed business decisions in the restaurant industry. Both systems offer robust reporting features but with different strengths and user accessibility levels. Aloha POS provides access to reporting data from external locations, allowing owners and managers to analyze different data sets including labor costs, sales, and employee trends. The system includes 380 standard reports and an export builder that enables extensive customization for specific business needs.
Toast POS is renowned for its extensive real-time reporting and analytics capabilities, accessible and downloadable on any internet-connected device. The reporting software automatically stores all important data in the cloud, from inventory management to customer data to sales tracking. Toast’s reporting system is particularly praised for its visualization tools and intuitive interface, making it easier for non-technical users to derive actionable insights quickly. The system allows for custom report generation to address specific business questions and provides detailed insights into menu performance.
While both systems offer strong reporting capabilities, they differ in complexity and accessibility:
Understanding the total cost of ownership involves looking beyond initial setup fees to include ongoing subscription costs, payment processing fees, and potential hidden charges. Aloha POS’s pricing structure lacks transparency, with no publicly available pricing information making it difficult for restaurant owners to accurately budget for implementation. The system typically requires a significant upfront investment for hardware (approximately $1,000 per terminal) plus ongoing software subscription fees. Additionally, Aloha appears to prefer that restaurants use NCR’s in-house payment processing solutions, potentially limiting flexibility on processing rates.
Toast POS offers more transparent pricing with several publicly disclosed tiers that restaurants can evaluate more easily. Their starter option begins at $0/month for basic POS functionality but includes payment processing fees of 2.99% + $0.15 per transaction. Their premium plan starts at $175/month per terminal with reduced payment processing fees of 2.25% + $0.15 per transaction. Toast requires contracts typically lasting one to three years, with potentially significant cancellation fees for early termination.
For both systems, the total cost extends beyond base subscriptions to include implementation, training, ongoing support, and potential integration costs:
The quality of customer support and training resources can significantly impact the success of a POS implementation and ongoing operations. Aloha POS offers 24/7 customer support via telephone every day of the year, providing critical assistance during system issues or outages that could impact revenue. The company employs trainers with actual restaurant and hotel experience, bringing valuable industry knowledge to their support efforts. However, customer reviews indicate mixed experiences with Aloha’s support quality, with some users reporting difficulties getting timely assistance for complex technical issues.
Toast POS receives consistently positive feedback for its customer support, with many users noting the professionalism and responsiveness of the support team. Unlike some larger POS providers, Toast has relatively few negative reviews about difficulty reaching support representatives when needed. Their customer service is available 24/7 at all price levels, providing equitable support regardless of a restaurant’s size or package tier. Toast also offers comprehensive onboarding and training resources, including video tutorials, webinars, and documentation that helps new users get operational quickly.
For implementation and onboarding, Toast generally provides a smoother experience with dedicated specialists who help with menu setup, staff training, and system configuration. Aloha’s implementation process can be more complex, often requiring third-party resellers or consultants to manage the setup properly. Both companies offer remote and on-site training options, though these may come at additional cost depending on the service package selected. Restaurants with high staff turnover may find Toast’s self-service training resources particularly valuable for quickly onboarding new employees without significant operational downtime.
The ideal POS system varies significantly based on restaurant type, size, and operational model, making it essential to match system capabilities with specific business needs. Aloha POS has traditionally excelled in high-volume, full-service restaurants and larger chains where stability and consistent performance are paramount. Its robust architecture handles peak traffic periods reliably, making it suitable for busy establishments that can’t afford system crashes during rush periods. Multi-location operations benefit from Aloha’s centralized management capabilities and standardized reporting across venues, while the system particularly excels for table service restaurants with complex menu structures.
Toast POS offers more versatility across restaurant types, with particularly strong adoption among independent restaurants, cafes, bakeries, and bars. Its feature-rich platform with detailed reporting works well for specialized restaurants and small to mid-sized chains looking for comprehensive functionality. Toast’s more affordable entry-level packages make it accessible to new restaurants with limited capital, while its scalability accommodates growth without requiring expensive system replacements. Quick-service and fast-casual restaurants appreciate Toast’s speed and efficiency at the point of sale.
For franchise operations, Aloha provides enterprise-level controls and standardization that corporate offices typically require, though at higher implementation and support costs. Toast has made significant inroads in the franchise market with more modern tools and typically lower total costs. Food trucks and pop-up concepts generally find Toast’s flexibility and mobile capabilities more suitable for their changing environments, while bars and nightclubs may prefer Aloha’s tab management and quick transaction processing during high-volume periods.
After thoroughly comparing Aloha and Toast POS across multiple dimensions, both systems offer robust solutions for restaurant management, but each excels in different environments and operational contexts. The right choice ultimately depends on your specific restaurant type, operational needs, budget constraints, and growth plans for the coming years. For established, high-volume restaurants and larger chains with complex operations, Aloha POS provides the stability, reliability, and comprehensive feature set needed to manage busy service periods without interruption.
For new restaurants, independent operations, and those seeking more affordable entry points with modern features, Toast POS generally offers a more accessible solution. Its intuitive interface, detailed reporting, and superior online ordering capabilities make it particularly well-suited to restaurants focused on building their digital presence and delivery operations. Toast’s more transparent pricing model, despite its subscription structure, allows for better initial budgeting, though restaurants should carefully consider how add-on features will impact long-term operational costs.
Before making a final decision, restaurant owners should request comprehensive demos of both systems, speak with current users operating similar establishments, and carefully review contract terms, particularly regarding payment processing rates and termination conditions. Consider not just current needs but where your restaurant will be in 3-5 years, as switching costs can be substantial once a system is fully implemented and integrated with other business operations. Many successful restaurants find that combining a solid POS foundation with specialized solutions works best—using systems like Toast for superior customer-facing features while implementing targeted third-party solutions for specific operational areas.
For restaurants ready to streamline operations with cutting-edge technology, Loman offers fast setup (live in under a day) and scalable solutions perfect for single locations, chains, or franchises wanting to improve efficiency and customer experience dramatically.
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