Toast Alternative: The Best Toast POS Alternatives for Restaurants
What is Toast POS?
Toast is a restaurant POS built in the US, and most of its restaurants are still there. It started selling in the UK in 2023. The product shows where it came from: the hardware is priced for the American market, a lot of the integrations were built around US card networks and processors, and support sits several time zones away.
If you run a restaurant in the UK or Ireland, there are options that fit better.
The best Toast POS alternatives for UK and Ireland restaurants
1. Flipdish - the best Toast alternative for UK and Ireland restaurants
Flipdish was built for restaurants in the UK and Ireland. One system covers POS, online ordering, branded mobile apps, self-service kiosks, payments, customer marketing and an AI phone ordering agent.
Toast is still adapting a US product to UK restaurants. Flipdish didn't have to. The support teams are in the UK and Ireland, payments go through local integrations, and the pricing doesn't carry an import markup.
How Flipdish compares to Toast:
| Feature | Flipdish | Toast |
|---|---|---|
| Built for UK/Ireland | ✓ | Partial |
| Integrated online ordering | ✓ | Add-on |
| Branded mobile app | ✓ | Limited |
| Self-service kiosks | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI phone ordering | ✓ | ✗ |
| UK-based support | ✓ | ✗ |
| Local payment integrations | ✓ | Limited |
| Customer loyalty | ✓ | ✓ |
Independent restaurants, QSRs, takeaways and multi-site groups all use Flipdish. The online ordering platform and branded apps are there to pull orders away from the marketplaces, so you pay less commission and more of the revenue comes in direct.
2. Lightspeed Restaurant
Lightspeed is Canadian and well established in the UK. Its restaurant POS is good at table service and lets you run several locations from one account. There's no native direct ordering and no branded app, though, so if you want ordering alongside the POS you'll be adding other tools.
3. Epos Now
UK-based, and common in independent restaurants, takeaways and cafés. It's competitively priced, easy to set up, and connects to the usual delivery platforms. It does less than Flipdish. Online ordering is a basic add-on, not a direct ordering system with customer marketing built in.
4. Square for Restaurants
Fine for small, simple setups like cafés, market stalls and pop-ups. The restaurant features are thin. It isn't built for multi-location groups, or for operators who want their own direct ordering channel with loyalty and customer data.
5. Oracle MICROS Simphony
Enterprise POS, used by large hotel groups, stadium caterers and big QSR chains. It's complex to configure and the contracts are substantial. If you're a large organisation with your own IT team, it's worth a look. For most restaurant groups it's too expensive and too complicated.
Why UK operators move off Toast
These are the reasons that come up most:
- The hardware is priced for the US. Equivalent kit from UK providers usually costs less.
- Support is US-based, so its hours don't match UK and Ireland trading hours. A problem at 7pm on a Saturday is the worst time to be waiting on a ticket.
- Toast's payment stack was built around US processors and card networks. If you already have a UK payment setup, expect some friction.
- Direct ordering is an add-on with limited customisation. If you want your own branded ordering channel, Flipdish online ordering is a core product, not a bolt-on.
How to choose a Toast alternative
Ask these before you switch:
- Does the POS work with your current payment processor, or will you have to change?
- Is online ordering built in, or is it a separate contract?
- What does the hardware cost upfront, and is there a monthly software fee on top?
- Where is support based, and what hours do they answer?
- Can you manage multiple locations from one account?
- Can it handle your menu - modifiers, allergens, meal deals?
- Does it include customer loyalty and marketing?
For most restaurant operators in the UK and Ireland, Flipdish has better answers to these than anything else on the market. POS, ordering, payments and customer marketing sit in one platform, and the teams are based in the UK and Ireland.
See a demo at flipdish.com