Lightspeed and Toast are the two restaurant POS platforms a Canadian operator actually shortlists — and their payment philosophies are opposites. Lightspeed Payments (Montreal-born Lightspeed) charges 2.6% + 10¢ in person — and lets you bring your own processor instead. Toast Payments requires Toast's own processing: 2.49% + 15¢ on paid plans, or 2.99–3.69% + 15¢ on pay-as-you-go. One sells freedom, the other sells depth. This guide prices both.
The two platforms in one paragraph
| Lightspeed | Toast | |
|---|---|---|
| In-person processing | 2.6% + 10¢ (or BYO processor) | 2.49% + 15¢ (paid plans); 2.99–3.69% + 15¢ (pay-as-you-go) |
| Bring your own processor | Yes | No — Toast Payments required |
| Software (Canada) | Retail Lean $89/mo; Restaurant tiered plans | Starter $120/mo; Essentials $220/mo (per location) |
| Contract | Monthly or annual | Multi-year typical; early-exit fees |
| Hardware | iPad-based, BYOD friendly | Proprietary (Flex $899, Go 2 $400, KDS $799) |
| Headquarters | Montreal, Canada | US |
Processor freedom: what it's worth
Lightspeed's BYO-processor option is the single most valuable line in this comparison, and the least quantified. It means you can negotiate your processing separately from your software — take Lightspeed's 2.6% + 10¢, or bring an interchange-plus quote from any acquirer and keep the difference. Toast's exclusivity means your processing rate is whatever Toast quotes, forever, with no competing bid possible without replacing the system.
What is that freedom worth? Take a restaurant at $60,000/month in card volume. Lightspeed's 2.6% + 10¢ costs ~$1,731/month. An interchange-plus quote at wholesale + 0.30% + 8¢ on a 1.6% average wholesale mix costs ~$1,277/month. The freedom is worth roughly $454/month — about $5,400 a year — before you even negotiate. Toast's 2.49% + 15¢ on the same volume costs ~$1,751/month: competitive with Lightspeed's own rate, but with no escape hatch.
Worked math: Toast's plan-tier trap
The setup: $50,000/month, $35 average ticket (~1,429 transactions).
Toast Essentials ($220/mo): $50,000 × 2.49% = $1,245, plus 1,429 × $0.15 = $214, plus $220 software. Total: ~$1,679/month.
Toast pay-as-you-go: $50,000 × 2.99% = $1,495, plus $214. Total: ~$1,709/month — and at the 3.69% top end, ~$2,059/month.
The pay-as-you-go plan looks free and costs up to $380/month more than the paid plan — $4,560 a year — for the same transactions. The "free" plan is the most expensive option on the page. Add Toast's per-module billing (loyalty, online ordering, gift cards each carry monthly fees) and the real monthly total routinely lands well above the quote — a pattern restaurant operators describe consistently.
The Canadian home-field question
Lightspeed is Montreal-born, with Canadian support infrastructure and CAD-native pricing. Toast is Boston-based; its Canadian restaurant footprint is thinner and its pricing pages carry the US-first assumptions of a company built for the American market. That shows up in reviews: Lightspeed's 700+ G2/Capterra reviews praise ease of use, inventory depth, and support, while the G2 cons cluster on pricing, add-on costs, and cancellation-fee complaints. Toast's 1,965 SaaS Worthy ratings average 3.9/5 with praise for restaurant depth — and a steady drumbeat of pricing-flexibility and support complaints, including an April 2026 Trustpilot review warning that sales promises changed after signing: "get everything in writing."
Who fits whom
- Choose Lightspeed if you want processor freedom, already own iPads, run multi-location or retail+restaurant hybrid, or value the Montreal home field.
- Choose Toast if you are a restaurant that wants the deepest hospitality feature set (tip pooling, handhelds, KDS) and will commit to a paid plan — never pay-as-you-go at volume.
- Never take Toast's free plan at volume. The 2.99–3.69% pay-as-you-go rate is the most expensive option once you pass ~$20K/month. Do the plan math before you sign.
- Get Toast's everything in writing. The review pattern on changed sales promises is consistent enough to be procedural: every rate, every module fee, every term — written.
A note from the audit desk: contract length and termination fees are the silent killers — Toast's multi-year terms with early-exit fees deserve the same scrutiny as any acquirer contract, and monthly minimums can inflate slow months.
A note on steps: this is a buying-decision guide, not a repair procedure — the numbered framework above is the actionable part, and there is no settings path to click through.
FAQ
Can I use my own processor with Lightspeed?
Yes — Lightspeed lets you bring your own payment processor instead of using Lightspeed Payments. That freedom is worth roughly $4,600/year at $60K/month in the worked example.
Does Toast require a contract?
Toast agreements commonly run two to three years with auto-renewal, and early termination can cost thousands. Its pay-as-you-go option avoids the contract but charges 2.99–3.69% + 15¢ — the highest rate on the page.
Is Toast available in Canada?
Yes, with Canadian pricing (Starter $120/mo, Essentials $220/mo per location). But it is a US-built platform; Lightspeed's Montreal base gives it the home-field edge on Canadian support and Interac-era product assumptions.