Ordering.co vs Toast
Toast Online Ordering, Kiosk, and Kitchen Display System are built to run on top of an active Toast POS subscription. Ordering.co is an independent platform: ordering channels, store operations, delivery, marketing, and loyalty run on one catalog and order flow, and you connect the POS, payment, and delivery providers you already run instead of adopting a specific POS to get started. A free pilot lets you prove it on your own operation.
| Capability | Ordering.co | Toast |
|---|---|---|
| AI ordering agents (voice, WhatsApp, chat) | Included | Add-on |
| Your own multi-vendor marketplace | Included | Not listed |
| MCP for AI tools | Included | Not listed |
| Frontend source code license | Eligible plans | Not listed |
| White-label reseller program | Included | Not listed |
Add-on: only through third-party apps or paid extensions.
Ordering.co at a glance
- years building ordering technology
- 12+
- of orders a month, on auto-scaling infrastructure
- Millions
- products across ordering channels, operations, and delivery
- 20+
- features, from catalog to dispatch
- 1,500+
Enterprise brands running on Ordering.co technology
Why restaurant brands choose Ordering.co over Toast
Five reasons that come up when teams put the two side by side.
No POS requirement
Run online ordering without adopting a new POS
Toast sells Online Ordering, Kiosk, and Kitchen Display System as features that run on an active Toast POS subscription. Ordering.co is an independent platform: you connect the POS, payment, and delivery providers you already use instead of switching your point of sale to get online ordering.
Enterprise-grade
Enterprise-proven, equal or better quality
Ordering.co runs ordering for enterprise groups such as Alsea, which operates 10 brands across 4,262 locations on one platform. Its auto-scaling infrastructure can process millions of orders a month.
Free pilot
Start with a free pilot
Prove Ordering.co on your own menus, stores, and order paths before you commit. Start with a free pilot and make the switch decision on results your team has seen for itself.
20+ products, 1,500+ features
One complete platform, one catalog
Websites, branded apps, self-ordering kiosks, a call center console, AI ordering agents, store operations, delivery, marketing, and loyalty run on the same catalog and order flow. More than 20 products and 1,500 features come from one provider, so a new channel is a configuration, not another module to license.
API, MCP, source code
An open platform your team can build on
Connect any system through the Ordering.co API and webhooks, plug AI tools in through MCP, and, on eligible plans, build on the frontend source code of the storefront and apps. Your developers can change the customer experience without a certified-partner application process.
Keep Toast POS. Add the channels it does not run.
You do not have to switch POS to use Ordering.co. Ordering.co integrates with Toast POS. Share your Toast product, locations, and order flow, and the Ordering.co team will confirm what applies to your project while Ordering.co runs your branded website, apps, kiosk, call center, AI ordering agents, and your own delivery.
See the Toast integrationSide by side
Every row is something your brand can run on Ordering.co, next to how Toast handles it.
| Capability | Ordering.co | Toast |
|---|---|---|
| Cost and commitment | ||
| Sign up without a specific POS | Connect the POS, payment, and delivery providers you already run. No specific POS is required to get started. | Online Ordering, Kiosk, and Kitchen Display System are sold as features that run on an active Toast POS subscription. |
| Free pilot | Start with a free pilot on your own operation before you commit. | Free trials of individual products, such as 90 days of Toast Websites; the Toast subscription itself runs on a fixed term with 1-year auto-renewal and an early termination fee. |
| Ordering channels | ||
| Web ordering and branded apps | Ordering Web and branded iOS and Android apps on your domain and developer accounts, with the source code on eligible plans. | Toast Online Ordering: a website and app ordering channel built as an extension of Toast POS. |
| Self-ordering kiosk | Ordering Kiosk: customers order and pay from tablets or large screens in the store, managed from the dashboard. | Toast Kiosk, on Elo hardware, integrated with Toast POS. |
| Call center software for your own agents | Ordering Call Center: your own agents find the customer by phone number, pick a saved address, and the order lands in that store's Merchant App and POS. | Phone orders entered on each location's Toast POS, with Caller ID filling in returning guests' name and address. |
| AI ordering agents (voice, WhatsApp, chat) | AI Ordering Agents take orders through voice, WhatsApp, chat, and web conversations on your catalog. | Add-onVoice ordering and automated phone answering only through Toast Partner Ecosystem integrations such as Loman AI, Incept AI, and SoundHound; no WhatsApp ordering listed. |
| Your own multi-vendor marketplace | A marketplace website and app where customers buy from several stores or brands in one checkout. | Not listed |
| Store and delivery operations | ||
| Driver app for your own fleet | Driver App and delivery dashboard: automatic assignment, order batching, a live map, and proof of delivery. | Toast Delivery Mode: dispatch for a restaurant's own drivers, managed from the Toast POS. |
| Courier partners | Connected delivery partners with per-store selection and fallback rules, alongside your own drivers on the same order flow. | Toast Delivery Services routes orders to on-demand couriers from Uber Direct or DoorDash Drive; a restaurant uses either Delivery Mode drivers or Toast Delivery Services, not both on the same order flow. |
| Kitchen and pickup displays | Send accepted orders to a kitchen display and show customers which orders are ready for pickup. | Toast Kitchen Display System hardware, tied to Toast POS. |
| Build and extend | ||
| API and webhooks | The Ordering.co API and webhooks, included in every plan. | Read-only Standard API access with a Toast Restaurant Management Suite Essentials subscription; custom integrations need approval from Toast's integrations team. |
| MCP for AI tools | Connect compatible AI tools to your Ordering.co account through MCP. | Not listed |
| Frontend source code license | On eligible plans, source code for the web storefront, customer apps, Merchant App, and Driver App. | Not listed |
| White-label reseller program | Offer ordering under your own brand through the Ordering.co reseller program, with the platform technology managed underneath. | Not listed |
| Custom features | Build them yourself on the API and source code, or with a dedicated Ordering.co team. | Through the Toast Partner Ecosystem and a certified integration process; Toast's API terms state users are not entitled to source code and prohibit reverse-engineering the APIs. |
“Not listed” means the capability does not appear in Toast's product lineup. Confirm scope and terms with each provider.
Where Toast stops
What restaurant teams run into when they run ordering on Toast.
Online ordering is an extension of Toast POS
Toast sells Online Ordering, Kiosk, and Kitchen Display System as features layered on an active Toast POS subscription, so adding those channels means running Toast as the point of sale, not connecting them to a POS you already use.
Pricing routes to a custom quote
Toast's published plan prices apply to new customers and single locations only. Multi-location setups and the Build Your Own plan show custom pricing and route to a quote request, and add-ons may carry additional fees.
Fixed terms with an early termination fee
Toast's own subscription terms describe a fixed initial term with 1-year auto-renewal periods, and canceling early means paying the Software Subscription Fees that would otherwise be due for the rest of the term.
No source code, no MCP, no reseller program listed
Toast's API Terms of Use state that users are not entitled to any object or source code for the Toast APIs, except as permitted by Toast, and prohibit reverse-engineering them. Toast's Partner Program is built on certified integration and channel partnerships, not an MCP connection or a white-label reseller program.
Own drivers or on-demand couriers, not both on one order flow
Toast runs Delivery Mode, for a restaurant's own drivers, and Toast Delivery Services, for on-demand couriers from Uber Direct or DoorDash Drive, as separate delivery paths rather than one flow that mixes both per store.
Proven with enterprise brands.
The platform you would run on already runs ordering for Alsea, a multi-brand restaurant group with more than 4,000 locations.
Alsea runs WOW+ and ten restaurant brands on one ordering platform.Domino's, Starbucks, Burger King, Vips, and six more brands share one app, one website, call centers, and a delivery operation that assigns drivers automatically.10 brands on WOW+4,262 locationsMexico and ColombiaRead the Alsea storyRun Ordering.co in your own cloud.
Every plan runs on infrastructure Ordering.co manages for you. Organizations that need the platform inside a cloud account they control can install it on AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, or Railway with an enterprise package.
- The whole backend: API, webhooks, and real-time.
- One contract at a fixed rate, with no charges per store or by transaction volume.
How to move from Toast to Ordering.co
A Toast move is more than an online-ordering swap. Start with a free pilot, trace how one real order moves through your operation, and switch traffic only after the checks pass while Toast keeps taking orders.
What moves
Menus and catalogs
Products, categories, modifiers, prices, and images, tested on one representative store before the full import.
Stores and teams
Store records, hours, service areas, handoff modes, and the roles and access levels your teams use to run the day.
Customers and order history
Customer and order records that your Toast exports contain and that your data rights and retention rules allow you to move.
Domains and apps
Your ordering domain points to the new storefront. With the same developer accounts and app listing, the new build can ship as an update under the existing icon.
POS, payments, and delivery
POS, payment, delivery, loyalty, and analytics connections, reconfigured against your existing provider accounts where the provider supports it. Moving your ordering channels does not require replacing your point of sale.
How the move runs
Start with a free pilot
Bring a representative menu, the order paths your guests use, and the systems that must stay connected, so the pilot tests the operation you actually run.
Trace one real order
Follow an order from menu to payment, fulfillment, support, and reporting. That path shows which decisions the new setup must keep and which ones you want to change.
Build the move map
List each domain, channel, and menu to replace; the menu, store, customer, and order data that matters for launch; who handles each order handoff; and the credentials and callbacks every connected system needs.
Configure and test
Agree on the scenarios that must work before traffic moves: a guest orders from the right store and gets a confirmation, the team accepts and completes the order, and every connected system has an owner and a fallback.
Switch store by store
Point your domain and apps to Ordering.co once the checks pass, and keep Toast live until the new setup has proven itself. Check your Toast agreement's term, auto-renewal window, and notice period before you set the date.
Duration depends on store count, menu complexity, POS and payment connections, delivery, and app-store access, so the scope, responsibilities, and timing are set in your project plan. Apple and Google decide app review and approval.
Questions from Toast customers
Why choose Ordering.co over Toast?
Ordering.co is an independent ordering platform: you are not required to run Toast POS or any specific point of sale to get started. Ordering channels, operations, delivery with your own drivers, marketing, and loyalty run on one catalog and order flow, and the platform is open: API, webhooks, MCP, and, on eligible plans, frontend source code. You can start with a free pilot.
Do we have to switch our POS to use Ordering.co?
No. Ordering.co connects with the POS, payment, delivery, loyalty, and analytics systems you already run, each confirmed against your provider accounts in the move plan. Toast's Online Ordering, Kiosk, and Kitchen Display System, by contrast, are sold as features of an active Toast POS subscription.
Can we try Ordering.co before we switch?
Yes. Start with a free pilot on your own menus, stores, and order paths, and decide on what you have seen working in your operation.
Is Ordering.co reliable enough for an enterprise brand?
Yes. Ordering.co runs ordering for enterprise groups such as Alsea across 4,262 locations and 10 brands, on auto-scaling infrastructure that can process millions of orders a month.
Does Ordering.co have a call center for phone orders?
Yes. Ordering Call Center is a console for your own phone agents: they find the customer by phone number, pick a saved address, and the order lands in that store's Merchant App and POS.
Can our developers build our own ordering experience?
Yes. The Ordering.co API and webhooks are included in every plan, MCP connects compatible AI tools, and eligible plans include the frontend source code of the storefront and apps. Toast's API Terms of Use state that users are not entitled to source code and prohibit reverse-engineering its APIs.
Can an agency resell Ordering.co under its own brand?
Yes, through the Ordering.co reseller program: the agency's brand and client relationship stay in front while Ordering.co manages the platform technology underneath. Toast's partner program is built on certified integration and channel partnerships, not a white-label reseller program.
How long does a move from Toast take?
It depends on store count, menu complexity, POS and payment connections, delivery, and app-store access. There is no standard timeline; the plan for your brand sets the sequence, responsibilities, and dates, starting with the free pilot.
Toast and every other product name on this page are trademarks of their respective owners. Ordering.co is not affiliated with Toast.
Run ordering without adopting a new POS.
Bring the Toast setup you run today, your store count, and your monthly orders. We'll show you the Ordering.co setup, the free pilot, and the cost at your volume in a live demo.