Toast compared with Omni for front-of-house work
Toast runs the register. Omni runs the book and the guest drafts around it. Most rooms that pick Omni keep Toast.
Toast Starter Kit starts at $0 a month and Point of Sale at $69. Omni connects your Toast account for orders. Shift and payment writes are not implemented.
Compared on October 21, 2026 from public information. Prices change, so check each vendor page before you decide.
Which one fits
Pick Omni
you want reservation, waitlist, and catering drafts with manager approval next to your POS.
Pick Toast
you need POS hardware, kitchen display, payments, and online ordering as one purchase.
Use both
the normal setup: Toast stays your POS with your account connected for orders, and Omni drafts the guest work.
Side by side
| Job | Omni Studio | Toast |
|---|---|---|
| Point of sale | NoNot a POS, keep Toast as register | YesPOS from $0 and $69 plans |
| Kitchen and online orders | PartlyOrders import with your account | YesKitchen display, online ordering |
| Reservations | YesOwn book, waitlist, floor plan | PartlyReservations via integrations |
| Guest messages | YesDrafted for manager approval | PartlyMarketing tools and add-ons |
| Phone bookings | YesMia answers, manager approves | NoNo phone answering listed |
| Catering | PartlyQuotes, calendar, events form | YesCatering and events product |
| Payments and hardware | PartlyStripe invoice pay, Toast writes excluded | YesHardware and flat-rate processing |
| Payroll and scheduling | NoKeep your scheduler, no Toast shift writes | YesPayroll bundles from $69 plus $9 each |
| Approval before sending | YesGuest messages wait for the manager | NoStaff act inside Toast tools |
| Published price | YesPilot $497 a month on Pricing | Yes$0 Starter Kit, $69 Point of Sale |
| Free trial | Yes14 days on sample data, no card | PartlyDemo-led buying on paid plans |
Toast facts come from its own public pages, dated in Sources. Omni facts come from omni.studio. Yes means the job is covered. Partly means part of the job stays in the other tool.
What it costs
Omni starts with a free 14-day workspace on sample data, no credit card. Pilot is $497 a month. Custom Build is from $4,500 a month. Enterprise: talk to a person. As on the pricing page. AI usage is included in every plan.
Toast: Starter Kit from $0 a month. Point of Sale from $69 a month. Build Your Own by quote. Hardware and processing extra. Read October 21, 2026. See Sources.
What the front-office work is worth a month
- Missed calls turned into jobs (profit)About 0.1 extra jobs a month$17
- Staff hours taken onAbout 117 hours a month across front desk, scheduling, admin, and billing$3,413
- Agency work replacedSEO, reviews, social, ads, and content$1,143
- Apps and tools retired$1,056 a month of tools today$211
- Answering service replaced$240
- Owner time back17 hours a month at $75 an hour$1,299
Estimated value a month$6,324
Of that, cash a month$1,612
Omni Pilot a month$497
Pays for itselfMonth 1
- Missed calls turned into jobs (profit)About 0.3 extra jobs a month$43
- Staff hours taken onAbout 286 hours a month across front desk, scheduling, admin, and billing$8,624
- Agency work replacedSEO, reviews, social, ads, and content$2,370
- Apps and tools retired$2,640 a month of tools today$528
- Answering service replaced$640
- Owner time back26 hours a month at $75 an hour$1,949
Estimated value a month$14,154
Of that, cash a month$3,581
Omni Pilot a month$497
Pays for itselfMonth 1
- Missed calls turned into jobs (profit)About 0.6 extra jobs a month$104
- Staff hours taken onAbout 572 hours a month across front desk, scheduling, admin, and billing$17,248
- Agency work replacedSEO, reviews, social, ads, and content$4,470
- Apps and tools retired$6,336 a month of tools today$1,267
- Answering service replaced$1,280
- Owner time back35 hours a month at $75 an hour$2,598
Estimated value a month$26,967
Of that, cash a month$7,121
Omni Pilot a month$497
Pays for itselfMonth 1
Estimate only, for a restaurant business. It is not a promise or a customer result. Staff hours count as freed capacity, not cash, unless you cut hours. Custom Build from $4,500 a month changes the payback month.
Assumptions and sources for this estimate
The math is the cautious case from Omni value model v3 (model.py, October 21, 2026). Industry defaults on this page: 17 inbound calls a week for a small business, 10 percent missed, an average first job of $500, a 33 percent gross margin, and $1056 a month of tools today. Size changes call volume, staff counts, agency spend, and tool spend by the model factors (small 1, mid-size 2.5, multi-location 6 for calls and tools).
Pay rates are US Bureau of Labor Statistics medians (May 2025): receptionists $18.27 an hour, dispatchers $24.20, administrative assistants $22.86, and bookkeeping clerks $24.36, loaded by 1.429 because BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (June 2026) puts wages at 70 percent of private employer compensation cost. Agency defaults follow the model sources: SE Ranking and Ahrefs SEO pricing surveys, Sprout Social, WebFX, and ClicksGeek (vendor estimates, 2023 to 2026). An owner hour is valued at $75. Omni prices are from the pricing page. Your numbers will differ. Run your own on the cost calculator.
One sample job: a party of 12 on Friday
AI employee Mia drafts the booking reply. Your manager approves what reaches a guest.
A party of 12 wants Friday at 7 PM. Check the book and draft the reply.
Switching is easy
Try one job first
Open the free 14-day workspace on sample data. No credit card, and nothing reaches your customers.
Keep Toast or move records
We connect your Toast account during setup, or import guest records, reservations, and catering inquiries by CSV. Pilot includes setup and import help.
Approve the first drafts
AI employees draft. You approve each message and change until you trust the pattern.
Details
Details: tool prices, where each side is stronger, and what stays with you
Where Toast is stronger today
The register itself: POS hardware, kitchen display, payments with flat-rate processing on the Point of Sale plan, online ordering, and 200+ integrations on its site (read Oct 21, 2026). Omni has no POS hardware and takes invoice card pay through Stripe.
The connection, stated plainly
Toast orders, guest details, menu references, and labor roster reads work with your own connected account. Creating shifts, writing payments, discounts, voids, and stock updates in Toast is not implemented. Square for Restaurants orders also connect with your account.
Frequently asked questions
Does Omni replace Toast?
No. Omni is not a point of sale. Toast stays your register, kitchen display, and payments system. Omni covers reservations, waitlist, service desk, and catering drafts.
What does the Toast connection cover?
With your own connected account, Toast order workflows are supported for imported orders, guest details, menus, and labor reads. Toast shift writes and payment writes are not implemented. We confirm scope for your account during setup.
What does Toast cost to start?
Starter Kit from $0 a month and Point of Sale from $69 a month, with Build Your Own by quote (pos.toasttab.com/pricing, read Oct 21, 2026). Hardware and card processing cost extra.
What does Omni cost?
Pilot is $497 a month, Custom Build is from $4,500 a month, and Enterprise is talk to a person, as on the pricing page.
Sources
- Toast pricing and plans, read October 21, 2026.
- Toast POS cost guide, read October 21, 2026.
- Omni pricing, read October 21, 2026.
- Omni restaurant workspace, read October 21, 2026.
Compared on October 21, 2026 from public information. Competitor facts come from each vendor's own public pages. Omni facts come from omni.studio. Spot something out of date? Tell us on the contact page.
Try one job first
Run one workflow in a free workspace for 14 days. No credit card.