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When it comes to Square vs TouchBistro, we recommend using Square. While both point of sale (POS) systems offer state-of-the-art restaurant features and custom business options, Square is much more affordable and offers its own line of custom hardware, which makes it the perfect fit for small eateries.
Both POS solutions provide a slick user experience, but TouchBistro offers top-tier customer relationship management (CRM) tools and over 50 reporting options, making it a safer bet for full-service restaurants — as long as you're happy with the entry price of $69 per month.
With Square and TouchBistro sitting at the top of their game, choosing between the providers isn’t an easy feat. Fortunately, we’ve spent hours researching both providers, from their payment options to back-of-house features, so scroll down to see how the solutions compare.
If you're committed to finding the best deal possible, you can also receive direct quotes from the leading providers by filling in our free POS comparison tool.
In this guide:
- TouchBistro vs Square: Head-to-Head
- TouchBistro vs Square Pricing & Plans
- Best for Restaurant Features: Draw
- Best for Help and Support: Square
- Best for Hardware: Square
- How Do TouchBistro & Square Compare to Other Providers?
- How Do We Score TouchBistro & Square?
- Verdict & Next Steps
- Frequently Asked Questions
| Tech.co rating for restaurants Score out of 5 for general restaurant suitability, based on Tech.co's independent market research. | Best Restaurant POS for: Tech.co's verdict to help you identify the most suitable choice for your restaurant | Price from The typical lowest starting price. The lowest price available for your business will depend on your needs. | Entry-level tier features | Most expensive tier features | Get started | Restaurant Features | ||
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| TouchBistro POS | ||||||||
| 4.7 | 4.2 | |||||||
| Best overall restaurant POS system | Best POS system for scaling restaurants | |||||||
| Free (but transaction fees apply) | ||||||||
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| Try Square | Visit Site | |||||||
| 4.8 | 4.8 |
TouchBistro vs Square: Head-to-Head
Our research suggests that Square is a stronger POS system than TouchBistro overall. It is more affordable, ranks better for help and support options, and the overall customer experience. With its own line of custom hardware, Square also scores better for till features in our wider research too, beating TouchBistro’s score of 2.3/5 with a slightly better 3/5.
After reviewing the top point of sale systems, we found that Square is the best restaurant POS on the market, even beating contenders like Clover and Toast. While the system is solid across the board, its stellar app, flat rate pricing model, and handy Square Reader device make it especially useful for smaller food businesses with lower turnovers, such as cafes, food trucks, and market stalls.
However, with both solutions securing an impressive score of 4.8/5 for restaurant features, both TouchBistro and Square are highly capable POS systems. What's more, TouchBistro will be an especially good fit for large, full-service restaurants because it offers industry-leading reporting tools and plans that can accommodate an unlimited number of users.
Pros
- Versatile and intuitive interface
- Strong staff and inventory management
- 24/7 support
Cons
- Pricing is based on number of users, which can add up
- TouchBistro does not sell POS hardware
- Limited business development and till features
Read TouchBistro's full breakdown for more insight into its features and price.
Pros
- Free to get started
- Slick and stylish hardware
- Serves businesses of all sizes and in all sectors
- Strong analytics, inventory, and third-party integrations
Cons
- Some necessary features for mid-sized businesses cost more
- 3.5% + 15¢ charge for keyed-in transactions
- Support options vary by plan
- Free to install
- No monthly fees, charges transaction fees instead
- 2.6% + 10c fees for card transactions
To learn more about the provider's plans, check out our Square Pricing Review.
TouchBistro vs Square Pricing & Plans
When it comes to affordability, there's really no competition— Square is much cheaper than TouchBistro. In fact, securing a perfect price score of 5/5, compared with TouchBistro's less than impressive 2.8/5, Square is the most affordable POS system we've researched across any industry.
At $60 per month, Square's cheapest restaurant plan, Restaurant, isn't much cheaper than TouchBistro's ‘Solo' plan, which costs $69 per month. However, Square for Restaurant offers lots of advanced features that TouchBistro Solo lacks, including cash management, advanced discounting, and sophisticated kitchen display tools. To unlock these extra features, businesses will need to opt for TouchBistro's pricier plans Dual ($129 per month), Team ($249 per month), or Unlimited ($399 per month).
Lots of basic POS features aren't available in TouchBistro's bundles either, requiring businesses to fork out additional payments each month. For instance, if users want to obtain online ordering, CRM, or reservation functions, they would have to pay an additional $50, $99, or $299 per month respectively. Unlike TouchBistro, Square offers all of these services for free, cementing its position as the better value option.
However, Square does charge additional fees for functions like marketing and CRM however. For a granular breakdown of how much the POS costs, read our guide to Square's pricing system.
NB: All plans include analytics, ecommerce and accounting functionality.
| Plan | Price | Benefits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Free | Solo | Restaurant Plus | Dual | Restaurant Premium | Team | Unlimited |
| $69 per month | $60 per month | $129 per month | $POA | $249 per month | $399 per month | |
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TouchBistro vs. Square: Which has the best free plan?
Compared with Square, which offers a generous complimentary plan ‘Square Free', TouchBistro does not offer a free version. This means that if you're looking to pay flat-rate pricing as you earn over costly monthly fees, Square is a better option.
Square's free plan is pretty expansive as well. From basic ordering and payment features to advanced stock management and sales analytics tools, the package includes everything a small food business would need to get up and running. Square even chucks in a Square Reader for no charge, allowing users to take contactless and chip and pin payments.
While TouchBistro doesn't provide a free plan, it does offer a seven-day free trial with custom restaurant layouts, custom menus, and tableside ordering — allowing users to test out the software before they invest.
Best for Restaurant Features: Draw
With Square and TouchBistro securing an impressive 4.8/5 score for restaurant features, their toolkits are essentially neck and neck.
While both providers have an excellent suite of features, TouchBistro offers advanced capabilities when compared with Square. This includes menu categories that allow users to create tasting and prix fixe menu options and analytics tools that offer over 50 types of reports. Users have deeper customization options with TouchBistro's floor plan and table management features too, making the POS slightly more suitable for multi-venue or full-service restaurants.
Square's restaurant features are nothing to be snubbed at. From click-and-collect and delivery services to dedicated order management tools, it's very unlikely the software will fall short of your business's needs. What's more, just like TouchBistro, Square receives a perfect research score of 5/5 for stock and business management, reflecting just how strong the system is across-the-board. Square is also our top pick when it comes to mobile POS functionality.
Square takes the edge when it comes to till features. It scores 3/5 compared with TouchBisto's 2.3/5 and its payment options are slightly more versatile. While TouchBistro charges a premium for fairly basic features like marketing, CRM, and reservations, these services are included in Square's paid packages, making the solution a better option for smaller, budget-conscious eateries.
Both Square and TouchBistro's restaurant capabilities are second to none, so when it comes to choosing between the two it really depends on the needs of your business. See how the provider's tools stack up shoulder to shoulder below:
TouchBistro's Restaurant Features
- Menu management
- Table management
- Custom floor plans
- Employee management tools
- Real-time reporting
- Reservations
- Tableside ordering
- Bill-splitting options
- Online ordering
- Kitchen and customer-facing displays
Square's Restaurant Features
- Fast order entry
- Menu management
- Table management
- Cash management
- Auto gratuity
- Order manager
- Advanced discounts
- Seat management
- Floor plan customization
- Course management
- Reopen closed tabs
Best for Help and Support: Square
Choosing a POS with solid customer support features is a must for food businesses. According to our research, Square's help and support options are slightly better than TouchBistro's, but the difference between the two is minimal. For businesses in a pinch, both TouchBistro and Square offer comprehensive support via live chat, email, and phone, helping them to land an equally promising help and support score of 4/5.
While TouchBistro's phone lines are open 24/7, Square's services are only accessible from Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, making them less useful for food businesses that operate outside of traditional working hours. This shouldn't pose too much of an issue because Square customers can always use the provider's Knowledge Center and Seller Community, which contains useful, easily accessible guides and queries from fellow Square users.
Square and TouchBistro support tools are equal, but we believe Square deserves to win this round. This is because Square has secured an impressive customer score of 4.3/5 compared to TouchBistro's lackluster 3.8/5, meaning that the POS delivers slightly better customer satisfaction overall.
Best for Hardware: Square
POS software only makes up one side of the coin. If you're looking to invest in accompanying hardware, Square is your safest bet. Unlike TouchBistro, which requires vendors to rely on external hardware, Square offers its own line of custom hardware, which ranges from card readers and accessories to large-scale terminals and hardware kits.
Square hardware is incredibly user-friendly, and free devices like the Square card reader are available as well, making it best for smaller food businesses. Just like TouchBistro, Square's software is also compatible with a range of third-party devices too, meaning that businesses are able to integrate it alongside their existing set up.
How Do TouchBistro & Square Compare With Other Providers?
Square and TouchBistro are both credible POS providers, but they aren't the only great options out there.
For large businesses put off by TouchBistro's large price tag, Toast is an Android-first POS with a much better price score (4.8/5 vs 1.6/5) and Clover is another capable point-of-sale system with prices starting from as little as $4.95 per month. Alternatively, if you're looking to cut back costs, and Square's features aren't cutting your mustard, Zettle is another promising alternative with a perfect 5/5 price score. The industry is rife with great solutions though, so check out our table to see how the top players compare:
| Tech.co rating for restaurants Score out of 5 for general restaurant suitability, based on Tech.co's independent market research. | Best Restaurant POS for: Tech.co's verdict to help you identify the most suitable choice for your restaurant | Price from The typical lowest starting price. The lowest price available for your business will depend on your needs. | iPad app Is there a version of the software made specifically for iPad use? | Android app Is there a version of the software made specifically for Android tablet use? | 24/7 support | Hardware packages | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | BEST VALUE FOR MONEY  |  |  |  |  |  | ||
| Clover POS | Zettle POS | Epos Now Hospitality POS System | Talech POS | Lightspeed | Shopify POS | |||
| 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.8 | ||
| Best for customer retention | Best POS system for food trucks | Retail and hospitality businesses | Most user-friendly restaurant POS system | Best restaurant POS system for delivery | Best POS system for onboarding | Best for ecommerce | ||
| Free (but transaction fees apply) | $99 | $29/user/month | Free (but transaction fees apply) | |||||
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| Sells a range of proprietary hardware devices from handheld tableside tablets to full POS terminals. | First carder reader is $29 and the price of ready-made store kits ranges from $249 to $699. | Offers a wide selection of hardware from handheld tablets to industry-specific terminals | Offers lots of compatible hardware including a tablet, cash drawer, receipt printer, and kitchen printer | Offers kits for iPads, MacOS devices, Windows PCs but all are $POA. | Offers a full hardware suite for $799 but custom pricing is available on more expensive software tiers | Sells a range of third-party hardware options from card readers to barcode scanners and hardware bundles. |
How Do We Score TouchBistro & Square?
Every restaurant's point of sale is unique, but some are much more competitive overall. When reviewing TouchBistro and Square, our research team considers a number of key metrics:
- Restaurant features — When measuring this metric we consider the selection and quality of restaurant tools available. Do Square or TouchBistro offer online ordering, floor plan customization, and booking features? And if so, how advanced are they?
- Price — When researching price, we compare the average price of Square and TouchBistro against their overall offering. We also factor in if there is a free version available.
- Help and support — When determining Square and TouchBistro's levels of support, we check whether they offer email, phone, and live support options, as well as knowledge centers and user forums.
- Customer satisfaction — When measuring customer satisfaction, we create an aggregate score of customer reviews from TrustRadius and TrustPilot.
Take a look at our research results on the right and check out our research page to learn more about how we rank and review the products on our site.
| Restaurant Features | Restaurant POS Price | Restaurant Help and Support | Restaurant Customer Score | Restaurant POS Overall Rating | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clover POS | Zettle POS | TouchBistro POS | Epos Now | Talech POS | Lightspeed | Shopify POS | ||
| 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.3 |
| 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 2.3 |
| 4.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 |
| 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.8 |
| 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.8 |
TouchBistro vs Square: Which is Better?
However, just like Square, TouchBistro has an excellent array of restaurant-specific features. And the provider also offers a number of tools that Square lacks, including advanced reporting tools and recipe logging, making it more suitable for larger eateries and expanding businesses.
Ultimately, with both tools bringing something unique to the table, the ideal POS for you will depend on your business's budget, size, and specific needs. If neither of the solutions is right for you, use our free quotes tool to receive tailored prices from leading POS providers.
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