Compare
EBS vs Toast
Toast builds an excellent restaurant system, and if you run a restaurant you should look at it seriously. But notice what you cannot do on Toast’s pricing page: find the processing rate. It is not published — pricing runs through a sales quote. Every number on our side of this page is published. That contrast is this page.
Authorized Partner of Paysafe
+0.50%
EBS Processing Fee
Over interchange, on every card — published
$35/mo
Merchant Services
One flat monthly fee, stated plainly
$35
Equipment Placement
One-time. Modern equipment, no lease
Free
Statement Review
Your rate vs ours, in writing
01Where Toast Is Genuinely Good
Credit Where It Is Due
Toast’s focus is real, and so is its feature depth. Here is what it genuinely does well:
Strength 1
Built Only for Restaurants
Kitchen display systems, online ordering, handhelds, coursing — a depth a generalist POS does not match, because restaurants are all Toast does.
Strength 2
24/7 Support, Included
Round-the-clock support is part of the offering — a real commitment in an industry that works nights, weekends, and holidays.
Strength 3
Offline Mode
When the internet drops mid-service, Toast keeps taking orders and payments. A dinner rush does not wait for a router to reboot.
02The Pricing, Side by Side
Same Cards. Two Ways to Price Them.
There is no Toast rate table to reproduce — Toast does not publish one. So this table compares structure instead of rates: what is published, what is locked in, and who stands behind the processing.
| Toast | EBS | |
|---|---|---|
| Processing rate | Not published — quote-based | Interchange + 0.50%, published |
| Pricing model | Bundled quote — the Pay-as-You-Go plan folds hardware cost into a platform rate | Published: $35/mo + one processing fee |
| Hardware | Toast-approved devices only | Clover, Valor, PAX, SwipeSimple — outright or $35 placement |
| Who processes | Toast is a payment facilitator partnering with processors | EBS — Authorized Partner of Paysafe |
| Who it serves | Restaurants only | Restaurants, retail, salons, auto, medical, hotels, food trucks |
| Hardware financing | 0% financing available, by application | $35 one-time placement — no financing application |
Toast facts are from Toast’s own pricing page, checked October 2026 — that page lists no processing rates and routes pricing questions to its sales team, so no Toast rate or plan price appears here; we will not invent one. EBS figures are published on our Pricing page.
03The Structural Difference
Not the Product. The Structure.
Published against quote-based is not a small difference — it decides whether you can comparison-shop at all. The structure, honestly stated:
Difference 1
Published vs Quoted
You can price EBS from this website tonight, without a phone call. A Toast number exists only after a sales conversation — and two restaurants can end up paying two different rates for the same system, each unable to check the other.
Difference 2
What Happens to Debit
On interchange-plus, regulated debit passes through at its actual cost: 0.05% + about $0.22. Inside a bundled platform rate there is no debit line to check — the rate is the rate, and the cheapest transactions subsidize the bundle.
Difference 3
One Trade vs Every Trade
Toast’s restaurant-only focus is its strength inside a restaurant. EBS serves the restaurant — and the salon, shop, garage, and clinic you may also own — under one published pricing model and one number to call: (202) 505-4332, Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 9 PM ET.
04A Worked Example
Run the Arithmetic Yourself
The same restaurant example as our other comparisons — $45,000 a month at a $48 average ticket, 938 transactions. Only one column can be filled in from published information:
Illustrative Example — Not a Client Result
| Monthly card volume | $45,000 |
| Transactions (avg ticket $48) | 938 |
| EBS estimate — interchange blend + 0.50% + $35/mo | $1,128/mo |
| EBS effective rate | 2.51% |
| Toast | Requires a sales quote |
Illustrative EBS estimate from published interchange blends — not a client result. Toast’s column requires a sales quote — that is the point of this page. When you have a quote, put it next to this column; then send us your statement and we will redo this math on your real numbers, in writing, free.
Free Statement Review
Get a Number You Can Check
Our pricing is on the Pricing page, and your statement review is free: your true effective rate, decoded, next to the same volume at interchange + 0.50%. No sales call required to see the math.