North vs Toast
A full-service POS without the contract.
Toast’s Canadian plans start at $120 a month and its card rates aren’t published. Its merchant agreement keeps charging software fees for the rest of the term if you leave early.
| Item | Toast | North |
|---|---|---|
| Software | From $120/mo; Essentials $220/mo | $0 |
| Extra devices | Monthly fee each (not published) | $0 |
| Card processing | Not published; 2.6–3.69% + 15¢ reported | 2.49%, published |
| Contract | Fixed term, auto-renews every 6 months | None |
| Leaving early | Remaining software fees for the term | Free |
| Hardware | Toast hardware only | iPad, Epson and Star printers |
What owners run into
Multi-year contracts and card rates you only get by quote.
01
Locked in for years
Toast’s Canadian agreement runs for the term on your order form, two to three years in published reviews, then renews every six months unless you give 30 days’ notice. Leave early and you owe the rest of the term’s software fees.
With North: No contract. Stay because it works; leave whenever you like.
Sources: Toast Canada merchant agreement; NerdWallet Toast review, Aug 2026
02
Card rates by quote
Toast’s Canadian pricing page doesn’t list a card rate. Rates reported for Canada run from 2.6% + 15¢ to 3.69% + 15¢ a payment, and the agreement lets Toast change fees on 30 days’ notice.
With North: One published rate, 2.49%, with no per-payment fee.
Sources: Toast Canada pricing; Trudy’s Table: POS systems for Canadian restaurants, Jul 2026; Toast Canada merchant agreement
03
A fee for every device
Each terminal, kitchen screen and handheld after the first adds a monthly subscription, and Toast software only runs on Toast’s own hardware.
With North: No device fees. Any recent iPad, printers from Epson and Star.
Sources: Toast support: additional device subscriptions; Toast pricing (hardware terms)
Savings calculator
What a year on Toast costs, next to North.
Set your card sales, card mix and devices. We add up a year of software fees and card processing at each company’s Canadian prices. If you know what you pay now, put it in.
A year on North instead of Toast
You save$8,159
saved a year, before hardware.
| A year | Toast | North |
|---|---|---|
| Card processing2.80% effective vs 2.49% | $33,599 | $29,880 |
| Software and devicesEssentials $220/mo, then about $50 per extra device (estimate) | $4,440 | $0 |
| Total | $38,039 | $29,880 |
North is free software with one blended card rate of 2.49% on every card. Other companies’ figures are their Canadian list prices where published, and marked estimates where not, checked October 2026; your quote may differ. Hardware and taxes aren’t included. Sources and assumptions.
Sources
Toast doesn’t publish Canadian card rates. We use the low end of the range reported for Canada, 2.60% + 15¢, on every card. Prices are in Canadian dollars before tax, checked October 2026.
- Toast Canada pricing
- Toast Canada merchant agreement
- Toast support: additional device subscriptions
- Toast pricing (hardware terms)
- NerdWallet Toast review, Aug 2026
- Trudy’s Table: POS systems for Canadian restaurants, Jul 2026
- KORONA POS: Toast overview, Aug 2025
- Toast support: offline payments in Canada
- Nation’s Restaurant News: the AWS outage, Oct 2025
Free to start. Free to stay.
Create your account, import your menu, draw your floor and pair your iPads with a code. No contract to sign and nothing to pay for the software, ever.