Choose Square if you want to buy a reader or terminal off the shelf and set it up yourself. Choose Clover if you want Clover’s purpose-built countertop and handheld devices and you’re comfortable confirming exactly who your processing agreement is with. Choose Toast if you run a restaurant, café or a shop that also serves food and want hardware, kitchen screens and payments from one vendor.

The three differ less in what a checkout screen can do than in how you buy the hardware, who handles your card payments, and what you can take with you if you switch. Those are the questions to settle first.

This comparison is desk research from Square, Clover and Toast documentation checked on October 9, 2026. None of these systems was used hands-on for this page. Processing rates and device prices change often and differ by plan, so they aren’t quoted here; check each vendor’s live pricing page for your volume.

Square, Clover and Toast at a glance

Square Clover Toast
Where hardware comes from Square Shop, or retailers such as Amazon and Best Buy Clover, from Fiserv; plan names vary by sales channel Toast; services run only on Toast-approved devices
Phone or tablet option Reader pairs with iOS or Android; Tap to Pay needs no reader Clover Go reader pairs with iOS or Android phones and tablets Only devices Toast approves as compatible
Offline card payments Readers and Stand: 24 hours; upload within 72 hours Mini and Flex default to up to 7 days; can be capped or off Offline mode keeps taking cards until the connection returns
Business types named Food and beverage, retail, beauty and services Retail register, counter-service and table-service restaurants Restaurants, retail, and food-and-retail hybrids

How each company sells and processes

Square sells its hardware through the Square Shop and through online and local retailers; its own Square Terminal FAQ names Amazon and Best Buy. Square also says you don’t need hardware at all to start: invoicing, payment links, a virtual terminal, and Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android all work without a reader. Square’s pricing page describes its plans as having no locked-in contracts.

Clover is Fiserv’s point-of-sale platform. Clover’s developer documentation notes that plan names vary “depending on the channel and region,” which reflects that Clover reaches merchants through more than one sales channel. In practice that makes the paperwork the first thing to check: before you order a device, find out which company will process your payments and what agreement you’re signing.

Toast sells its hardware itself, and its pricing FAQ lists hardware and implementation as the upfront costs. The same FAQ says Toast’s services work only on devices Toast approves as compatible, and that Toast is not itself a card processor but a payment facilitator that partners with processors. Toast lists a countertop starter kit that pairs a terminal, a card reader and a data security router with the POS software.

Square hardware: five setups and what each is for

Square’s hardware all runs Square’s own point-of-sale software, with separate app modes for restaurants, retail and appointments. At the time of writing, Amazon.com sells all five devices below.

Device Best for Payments built in Notable maker specs
Square Reader (2nd gen) Selling from your own phone or tablet Chip and contactless Bluetooth LE 5.3; one-year limited warranty
Square Stand (2nd gen, USB-C) An iPad countertop register Chip and contactless 180-degree swivel; fits 10.9-inch and most 11-inch iPads
Square Terminal A small counter that needs printed receipts Tap, dip and swipe Built-in receipt printer; all-day battery
Square Handheld Tableside orders and stock counts on the floor Tap and dip 0.7 lb; barcode scanner and camera; IP54
Square Register (2nd gen) A busy counter with a customer-facing screen Tap and dip Two touchscreens; 8 GB RAM, 128 GB storage; IP54

Square Reader for contactless and chip (2nd Generation) is the lowest-commitment way in. It connects wirelessly to a compatible iOS or Android phone or tablet and accepts chip cards, contactless cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. It needs an internet connection through Wi-Fi, a hotspot or cellular data.

Square Stand for iPad (2nd Generation, USB-C) turns an iPad you already own into a counter register with built-in contactless and chip payments. Square lists iPad (A16), iPad (10th generation), iPad Pro 11-inch (1st through 4th generation), iPad Air (4th and 5th generation) and iPad Air 11-inch (M2, M3) as compatible. It swivels 180 degrees so the customer can confirm, tip and pay, and the 2nd generation can run off the iPad’s battery if power drops.

Square Terminal is an all-in-one card machine with a built-in receipt printer that takes tap, dip and swipe. It connects over Wi-Fi, and Square’s optional Hub for Square Terminal adds Ethernet plus a cash drawer, barcode scanner or extra printers.

Square Handheld is the pick for staff who move: Square lists it at 0.7 pounds with a built-in barcode scanner and camera, tap and dip payments, and an IP54 rating against splashes and dust. It needs Wi-Fi and prints receipts and kitchen tickets through a Wi-Fi network printer.

Square Register (2nd Generation) is Square’s dual-screen counter system, with a customer-facing touchscreen, up to 2.7 GHz processing, 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB of flash storage and an IP54-rated design. It connects over Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

Clover hardware: the four devices most small shops compare

Clover devices run a Clover-hardened version of Android. Clover’s developer documentation notes they are not Google Play certified, so add-on apps come from the Clover App Market rather than the Play Store. By default, Clover Mini and Flex are set to take offline payments for up to 7 days unless the merchant turns that off or sets amount limits.

Amazon listings for Clover devices are typically from payment resellers, and some require opening a processing account with that seller, so these are search links rather than product links. Read the seller’s terms before you buy.

Device Best for Screen Connectivity
Clover Go reader Phone or tablet payments Uses your phone or tablet Bluetooth to the phone or tablet
Clover Flex 4 Tableside or in-line checkout with receipts 5.99-inch 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Clover Mini 3 A compact counter POS 8-inch Ethernet, Wi-Fi, 4G LTE
Clover Station Duo 2 A full counter with a customer screen 14-inch plus 8-inch customer screen Ethernet, Wi-Fi, 4G LTE
  • Clover Go reader (Search Amazon for Clover Go reader) pairs over Bluetooth with an iOS or Android phone or tablet and takes chip, swipe and contactless payments. Clover estimates 160 dip, 160 swipe or 130 contactless transactions per charge.
  • Clover Flex 4 (Search Amazon for Clover Flex 4) is a handheld with a 5.99-inch screen, an internal receipt printer, a camera for barcode scanning, and 4G LTE, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
  • Clover Mini 3 (Search Amazon for Clover Mini 3) is a countertop unit with an 8-inch screen, chip, tap and swipe readers, an internal receipt printer, and Ethernet, Wi-Fi and 4G LTE.
  • Clover Station Duo 2 (Search Amazon for Clover Station Duo 2) pairs a 14-inch merchant screen with an 8-inch customer-facing screen and connects over Ethernet, Wi-Fi and 4G LTE.

Avoid first-generation Clover hardware on the used market. Clover lists the original Station (C010), Mobile (C020, C021), Mini (C030, C031) and Flex (C041, C042) as reaching End-of-App-Update in 2026. After that point, merchants can’t install new apps from the Clover App Market on those devices and existing apps stop receiving updates.

Toast hardware: built around service

Toast’s hardware lineup covers countertop terminals, handhelds, self-ordering kiosks, kitchen display systems, guest display terminals and card readers. Toast’s own FAQ says most restaurants need four things to open: a terminal, a card reader, a receipt or kitchen printer (or a kitchen display instead of tickets), and a secure router, then add handhelds for table or patio service and kiosks if guests queue at a counter.

Toast’s pricing FAQ says its services work only on approved Toast hardware, so budget for the devices as part of choosing Toast. Toast says its offline mode lets you keep placing orders, printing tickets and receipts and taking card payments until the connection comes back.

How to choose

  1. Start with where the sale happens. A fixed counter points to Square Terminal, Square Register, Clover Mini or Clover Station Duo 2. Tableside or line-busting work points to Square Handheld, Clover Flex 4 or a Toast handheld. A market stall or service call can run on a phone with Square Reader, Clover Go, or Square’s Tap to Pay with no reader at all.
  2. Settle the processing relationship before the hardware. Square sells hardware openly and processes the payments itself. Toast is a payment facilitator working with processors, and its services require Toast hardware. With Clover, confirm the selling company, the processor and the agreement in writing.
  3. Decide how much offline risk you’ll carry. Square’s support article says the seller is responsible for any expired, declined or disputed offline payments, and offline mode doesn’t cover Tap to Pay, manually entered cards, Afterpay, Cash App Pay, Square Gift Cards or EBT/SNAP. Square lets you set a maximum amount per offline transaction, and Clover lets merchants cap or disable offline payments. Use those limits.
  4. Count what you’d lose by switching. Toast software runs only on approved Toast devices. Clover devices run Clover’s own Android build with apps from the Clover App Market. Square devices run Square’s software. Assume the hardware won’t move with you if you change systems, and ask before you buy.
  5. Match the software to the job. Square sells separate POS modes for restaurants, retail and appointments; its retail mode adds low-stock alerts and purchase orders. Clover’s higher U.S. service plans cover a full register with modifiers and variants, counter-service restaurants and table-service restaurants. Toast adds kitchen display systems, online ordering and retail inventory tools.

If the POS will also feed your books, read the accounting software guide before deciding how sales and payouts post to your ledger. Card payments taken against invoices have their own checks in what to look for in payment processing when sending invoices, and a POS that records the sale should leave only an exception note on your daily operations checklist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I buy Clover hardware on Amazon?

Clover devices do show up on Amazon, but the listings are typically from payment resellers rather than Clover, and some require opening a processing account with that seller. Confirm who will process your payments, and on what agreement, before you order.

Does Toast work for a shop that isn’t a restaurant?

Toast says its hardware is designed for retail, food service or concepts that mix both, and it lists retail inventory management and retail concepts such as convenience, bottle shop, grocery, butcher shop and apparel.

Who pays if an offline card payment is declined?

On Square, the seller does: Square’s support article says you’re responsible for any expired, declined or disputed payments taken offline. Clover lets merchants turn offline payments off or cap them. Set a limit you can afford to lose before you rely on offline mode.

Sources

Checked October 9, 2026.