Toast Mobile Order & Pay or WaiterPilot: which fits your restaurant?
If you run Toast and want guests to order and pay from their phone, Toast Mobile Order & Pay is the better fit: it is part of your POS, so orders fire to the kitchen and guests pay at the table. WaiterPilot fits if you want guests to ask and order by chat in their own language, or you don't run Toast: it works next to any till for $200 per location per month, but takes no payment and has no POS link. Toast facts checked 15 October 2026.
Updated
How do Toast Mobile Order & Pay and WaiterPilot compare?
Toast puts order and pay inside its POS. WaiterPilot puts a conversation at the table and leaves the till and payment to you.
| WaiterPilot | Toast Mobile Order & Pay | |
|---|---|---|
| Ordering style | Guests chat in their own words. It answers from your menu, asks for required choices such as size or side, and the guest confirms an order card. | Guests scan the table QR code to browse the menu, order and pay from their phone. Groups can order onto one shared tab. |
| Conversation in the guest's language | Yes. The chat answers in the language the guest writes in (tested in English, Arabic and Spanish). Buttons are in English or Arabic; dish names show as written on your menu. | Not described on the Mobile Order & Pay pages we read. Toast's device language setting (English, Spanish, French, Simplified Chinese) says menu names and items are not translated. |
| POS | No POS or printer link. Orders appear on WaiterPilot's staff board and kitchen screen; staff enter the sale in your till. | Part of Toast POS. A designated Toast device auto-fires orders to the kitchen, and items follow your printer or KDS routing. |
| Payments | None. Guests see a live bill with tax and any service charge you set, split it evenly or see their own share, and pay your staff. | Guests pay on their phone: card with Click to Pay, Apple Pay (not with tabs) and Toast gift cards. |
| Hardware | None to buy. Guests use their phones; staff use phones or tablets you already have. | Runs with your Toast POS; a Toast device fires the orders. |
| Pricing model | $200 per location per month after 30 days free, or $2,000 per location per year. No per-table, per-order or per-user fees. | No price on the pages we could read. Toast's pricing page did not open for our checker on 15 October 2026; ask Toast for a quote. |
| Commission | 0% on orders. | Not published on the pages we read. |
| Contract | None. | Not published on the pages we read. |
| Setup | Free: we load your menu from a PDF or photos, print your QR cards and train your staff. Most restaurants are live within two weeks of the first call. | Tables and QR signs are set up in Toast Web, with at least one dine-in dining option. |
| Changing an order | A guest can cancel an order while it is still awaiting staff. | Guests cannot edit an order after they submit it; a manager may need to void it. |
Toast's product and pricing pages returned an error to our checker, so every Toast fact here comes from support.toasttab.com.
When is Toast Mobile Order & Pay the better choice?
When you already run Toast, or when payment at the table and orders inside the POS matter more than a conversation.
- You run Toast POS and are happy with it. Mobile Order & Pay is part of the same system, so there is no second tool for staff to learn.
- Guests should pay from their phone. Toast takes payment on the guest's phone. WaiterPilot takes no payment.
- Every order must land in your POS with no re-entry. Toast orders fire from a Toast device to your printers or KDS. With WaiterPilot, staff enter each sale in the till by hand.
- Your kitchen works from printed tickets. Toast follows your print routing. WaiterPilot has no printer connection; the kitchen works from a screen.
- Groups like to keep a tab open. Toast lets guests start a tab and keep ordering until they close out, and others at the table can join it.
When does WaiterPilot fit better?
When the conversation matters: guests who ask before they order, or who don't read your menu's language.
- Many guests don't read your menu's language. They ask and order by chat in their own language. Arabic answers can follow your restaurant's own dialect. See multilingual ordering.
- Guests ask a lot before ordering. What's spicy, what comes with a dish, what's vegetarian: answers come from your menu, and anything the menu doesn't say goes to staff. For allergies, staff always have the final word.
- You don't run Toast and don't want to switch POS. WaiterPilot runs next to any till, or none. See how it works next to your POS.
- Staff want to check each table's first order. The first order at a table waits as Awaiting staff until someone confirms it. Later orders from that table can go straight to the kitchen.
- You want a published flat price and setup done for you. $200 per location per month, 0% commission, no contract, with menu loading, QR cards and training included. See pricing.
What does each cost?
WaiterPilot publishes one price. We could not read a price for Toast Mobile Order & Pay on Toast's site on 15 October 2026.
WaiterPilot: $200 per location per month after 30 days free, or $2,000 per location per year paid annually. Setup, menu loading, QR cards and staff training are free. 0% commission, no contract, no tax added. It covers ordering, waiter calls, check requests and the live bill. It does not cover payment: you keep your own card terminal and its fees.
Toast: the Toast help-center articles we read describe Mobile Order & Pay but give no price, and Toast's pricing page did not open for our checker. Because it is part of Toast POS, ask Toast what it adds to your plan and payment terms. We don't repeat third-party estimates of Toast prices, because we can't check them.
Questions about Toast and WaiterPilot
Does WaiterPilot integrate with Toast?
No. WaiterPilot has no connection to Toast or any other POS. It runs next to Toast: orders appear on WaiterPilot's screens, staff enter the sale in Toast, and guests pay on your Toast terminal.
I already run Toast. Should I use WaiterPilot?
Only if the chat matters to you, for example guests who don't read your menu's language. If you want orders and payment inside Toast with no re-entry, Toast Mobile Order & Pay is the better fit.
Does Toast Mobile Order & Pay let guests order in their own language?
The Toast pages we read don't describe guest languages for Mobile Order & Pay. Toast's device language setting covers English, Spanish, French and Simplified Chinese and says menu names and items are not translated.
Can guests pay at the table with WaiterPilot?
No. Guests see a live bill and can split it. When they ask for the check, WaiterPilot asks cash or card, so the waiter brings the card machine.
Is WaiterPilot cheaper than Toast Mobile Order & Pay?
We can't say: we could not read a Toast price for it on 15 October 2026. WaiterPilot is $200 per location per month with 0% commission.
Can a guest change an order after sending it?
In WaiterPilot a guest can cancel an order while it is still awaiting staff. Toast's FAQ says guests cannot edit a Mobile Order & Pay order after they submit it; a manager may need to void it.
Sources
- Toast: Mobile Order & Pay FAQsAuto-firing device, payments, tabs, editing orders. Page dated 17 Sep 2026; checked 15 Oct 2026.
- Toast: Mobile Order & Pay overviewScan, browse, order and pay; group tabs. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- Toast: Update the language setting on your Toast deviceDevice languages; menu names not translated. Page dated 14 Oct 2026; checked 15 Oct 2026.
- Toast pricingDid not open for our checker on 15 Oct 2026.