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Honest comparison · Updated April 2026

Same feature set. Different bill.

We're benchmarked against Toast for feature parity. The differences live in the operating model — guest QR ordering as default, one transparent monthly EFT, bilingual EN/FR everywhere, and hardware we ship and warranty ourselves.

Capability
Waitery
Toast
Square
Lightspeed
Pricing
Headline subscription
CA$14 / loc / mo
Quote on call
From CA$94 / loc
From CA$129 / loc
Per-terminal billing
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Multi-year contract
None
2–3 yr standard
Month-to-month
12 mo standard
Billing cadence
One PAD/EFT
Multi-line invoice
Per-transaction
Multi-line invoice
Guest experience
QR ordering · no app
Default flow
Paid add-on
Paid add-on
Paid add-on
Multi-guest shared cart
Session-based
Limited
No
Limited
Split from guest's phone
Item or evenly
Limited
Limited
Limited
Apple/Google Pay at table
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Canadian fit
Bilingual EN/FR per touchpoint
Day one
Limited French
UI only
Yes (CA-built)
GST · HST · PST · QST engine
Province-correct
Manual setup
Manual setup
Yes
CRA-compliant receipts
Yes
Yes (config)
Yes (config)
Yes
Quebec Law 25 compliance
30-day deletion built in
Operator-managed
Operator-managed
Operator-managed
Data residency · Canada
AWS ca-central-1
US-primary
US-primary
CA + global
Hardware
Shipped & warrantied by vendor
Yes · 1-year
Yes
3rd-party catalog
Yes
Lease with $1 buyout
48 months
Varies
Purchase only
Varies
Always-on KDS dispatch
Sub-second
Yes
Yes
Yes
Operations
Multi-location panel
Included
Included
Included
Included
Time-based menu activation
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Loyalty across vendor network
1 pt per $1
Per restaurant
Per restaurant
Per restaurant
Time to live (avg)
1–2 weeks
3–6 weeks
2–4 weeks
3–6 weeks

Comparison reflects publicly disclosed pricing and feature documentation as of April 2026. Toast and Lightspeed pricing varies by negotiation; figures shown are headline rates. Square's free tier limits ordering volume and excludes the QR self-ordering channel. Always validate with each vendor before signing.

Why Canadian operators switch

Three reasons. In their words.

01

"My Toast bill had eight line items."

Subscription, terminals, KDS, online-ordering, payment processing, email marketing, gift cards, fees. Waitery is one PAD/EFT.

02

"Quebec didn't really work."

French menus and receipts felt translated, not native. Waitery's bilingual layer is independent per touchpoint, per location.

03

"Guests were stuck waiting."

Servers run plates, not order pads. The kitchen sees the ticket while the guest is still on their first sip.

Switching from Toast?

We'll handle the migration. You handle the menu.

Bring an export of your menu, your tax setup, and your last month's reports. We'll mirror your floor plan, port your modifiers, and stand up Waitery in parallel — so you can switch over on your slowest shift, not in a panic.

Book a migration call
  • Menu & modifiers ported from Toast / Square / Lightspeed export.
  • Floor plan rebuilt from a photo or PDF. QR codes auto-generated.
  • Province tax engine set up before go-live.
  • Parallel run for one shift, then full cutover.
  • Staff training in EN or FR · 90-minute walkthrough.

See the bill side-by-side.

Bring your last Toast invoice. We'll project your Waitery monthly EFT in the demo and quote your hardware bundle live.

Book a 30-min demo