Skip to content

Loyalty and gift card software review

Toast Loyalty

Toast's points or visits loyalty program for restaurants on Toast's POS, sold as an add-on alone or inside the Marketing Essentials bundle with email and text campaigns and gift cards.

By ToastParent company: Toast, Inc.

RTC SCORE

6.4

#7 of 13 with enough data

Toast also offers: POS systems, Card processing, Online ordering, and 5 more

Not enough verified data yet

We've verified 7 of 9 key facts for this platform. Until we reach 80%, this page shows what we have, with sources, and it isn't a full review.

What we like

  • Guests earn by visits or points per dollar, with item rewards, tiered rewards and birthday and welcome bonuses, in the restaurant and on Toast online ordering.
  • Marketing Essentials bundles loyalty with email campaigns, 500 texts a month per location and gift cards.
  • One loyalty program can be shared across all your locations, and a branded app with loyalty is available as an add-on.
  • Phone and chat support 24/7/365 included with the subscription.

What to watch

  • The price of loyalty and Marketing Essentials is not published; it comes with a quote on top of the Toast POS.
  • Only works with Toast's POS and approved Toast hardware.
  • The agreement renews for one-year periods unless you give 30 days' notice, and leaving early costs the software fees left in the term.
  • Guests cannot earn or redeem on DoorDash, Grubhub or Uber Eats orders.

How the score breaks down

RTC Score6.4out of 10

Methodology v1.0.0

Data completeness75%

We could verify 75% of the scoring data

Strongest points
Ways to earn rewards, Rewards on your online orders, Digital gift cards
Weakest point
Published pricing

Score by criterion

  • 12-month cost (reference restaurant)Weight 20%No data
  • Ways to earn rewardsWeight 8%Strongest10.0 out of 10
  • Rewards on your online ordersWeight 6%Strongest10.0 out of 10
  • App with your brandWeight 6%5.0 out of 10
  • Digital gift cardsWeight 6%Strongest10.0 out of 10
  • Published pricingWeight 5%Weakest0.0 out of 10
  • Automatic campaignsWeight 5%10.0 out of 10
  • Text message campaignsWeight 5%10.0 out of 10
  • Not tied to one POSWeight 5%2.0 out of 10
  • POS systems it connects toWeight 5%1.4 out of 10
  • Guest profiles with historyWeight 4%10.0 out of 10
  • Email campaignsWeight 4%10.0 out of 10
  • Physical gift cardsWeight 4%6.0 out of 10
  • Initial termWeight 4%No data
  • Live support hours a weekWeight 4%10.0 out of 10
  • Early termination feeWeight 3%2.5 out of 10
  • Guest feedbackWeight 2%10.0 out of 10
  • Your guest list when you leaveWeight 2%10.0 out of 10
  • Notice to avoid renewalWeight 1%10.0 out of 10
  • Dedicated specialistWeight 1%No data

All the data, with sources

Each value links to its source. "Not published" means the vendor doesn't disclose it; "Unconfirmed" means we looked and couldn't confirm it. Data points we have for fewer than four vendors are left out until we can compare them.

Pricing
Data pointValue
Monthly priceQuote onlySource: Toast (opens in a new tab)Toast does not publish the price of Marketing Essentials or of the individual Toast Loyalty subscription; it comes with the quote. It sits on top of a Toast POS plan (Point of Sale from $69 a month).
Published pricingQuote onlySource: Toast (opens in a new tab)The POS plans show a starting price, but the loyalty and marketing add-ons do not.
Sold only with a POS planYesSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)
Text messages included a month500Source: Toast (opens in a new tab)Texts are pooled across the restaurant group; a text with a picture or GIF counts as three.
Price per extra text messageNot publishedSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)Extra texts are bought as a monthly add-on to your Toast agreement; the price is only visible inside Toast Web.
Setup feeNot publishedSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)Toast publishes no setup fee for loyalty itself; the POS it requires carries hardware and implementation costs that vary.
Other feesThe required Toast POS plan (Point of Sale from $69 a month for one location, plus hardware and implementation), extra texts beyond the 500 included and the branded app are paid separately; physical gift cards are ordered from Toast's partner eCard Systems.Source: Toast (opens in a new tab)
Loyalty program
Data pointValue
Loyalty programPaid add-onSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)
How guests earnPoints for spending, Visits, Items bought, Tiers or levels, Birthday rewardsSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)Programs are visit based or amount based (points per dollar), with item rewards, tiered rewards and birthday and welcome bonuses.
Earn and redeem on online ordersYesSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)Not on DoorDash, Grubhub or Uber Eats orders.
App with your brandPaid add-on or higher planSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)Part of Toast's Digital Storefront Suite, priced with a quote.
Customer list and campaigns
Data pointValue
Guest profiles with historyYesSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)
Automatic campaignsYesSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)SMS Marketing adds automated welcome, we-miss-you, repeat-guest and post-purchase texts.
Text message campaignsIncluded with an allowanceSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)Included in Marketing Essentials with 500 texts a month per location; you need a live website on a domain you own.
Email campaignsIncludedSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)Included in the Marketing Essentials bundle that carries loyalty.
Guest feedbackYesSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)
Gift cards
Data pointValue
Digital gift cardsIncludedSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)Included in Marketing Essentials; if you buy only the individual loyalty subscription, gift cards are a separate module.
Physical gift cardsYou buy the cards or pay an add-onSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)
Fee on gift card salesUnconfirmedSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)Toast's gift card help articles and pricing page publish no percentage charged on gift card sales.
POS and equipment
Data pointValue
Works with which POSOnly with its own POSSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)
POS systems it connects toToastSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)
Extra equipmentPaid separatelySource: Toast (opens in a new tab)Loyalty runs on the Toast POS, which needs approved Toast hardware, bought or financed.
Contract and exit
Data pointValue
Initial termQuote onlySource: Toast (opens in a new tab)The initial term is set in each restaurant's Order Form, which is not public.
Automatic renewal12 monthsSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)
Notice to avoid renewal30 daysSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)
Early termination feeFees left in the termSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)
Early termination clauseLeaving early costs the software subscription fees left in the term (or $150 for each remaining month on a pay-as-you-go plan), plus any software financing fee.Source: Toast (opens in a new tab)
Right to raise pricesSoftware fees stay fixed during the initial term; Toast can change card rates and other non-software fees with 30 days' notice at any time, and any fee at or during a renewal term.Source: Toast (opens in a new tab)
Your guest list when you leaveYou can download it yourselfSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)You download the rewards accounts report yourself, with all columns, while Toast Loyalty is still active.
Support
Data pointValue
Support 24/7YesSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)
Live support hours a week168Source: Toast (opens in a new tab)
Dedicated specialistUnconfirmedSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)Not stated on the loyalty, pricing or help pages we read.
Language
Data pointValue
Support in SpanishSays it serves you in SpanishSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)Support chat in Spanish when your browser or phone is set to Spanish; the phone line does not say which languages it covers.
Website or help center in Spanish for the USYesSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)
Contract or terms in SpanishNoSource: Toast (opens in a new tab)Toast's Spanish help pages are courtesy translations and say the Merchant Agreement may have to be signed in another language; we found no Spanish version of it.

More about Toast Loyalty

How we score