Google Pay vs Toast

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Our analysts compared Google Pay vs Toast based on data from our 400+ point analysis of POS Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Product Basics

Google Pay is a versatile software solution designed to streamline point-of-sale (POS) transactions and manage various payment tasks. It is particularly well-suited for businesses and individuals seeking a seamless, secure, and efficient way to handle payments. The platform supports contactless payments, online transactions, and peer-to-peer transfers, making it ideal for both retail environments and personal use.

One of the key benefits of Google Pay is its robust security features, including tokenization and biometric authentication, which help protect user data. Popular features include the ability to store multiple payment methods, integration with loyalty programs, and compatibility with a wide range of devices. Users appreciate the convenience and speed of transactions, as well as the intuitive interface.

Compared to similar products, Google Pay is often praised for its ease of use and comprehensive functionality. Pricing details can vary, so it is recommended to contact SelectHub for a personalized quote based on specific needs.

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Toast is a cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) system designed to streamline operations for restaurants and businesses in the hospitality industry. It offers a comprehensive suite of features, including order processing, inventory management, employee scheduling, and customer relationship management (CRM) tools. Toast caters to businesses of all sizes, from independent cafes to multi-location restaurant chains. One of its key strengths lies in its ease of use and intuitive interface, making it suitable for both tech-savvy and non-technical users. Additionally, Toast boasts robust reporting capabilities, providing valuable insights into sales trends, customer behavior, and staff performance. Integration with third-party delivery services and online ordering platforms further enhances its functionality. While Toast offers a free basic plan with limited features, paid subscriptions are required to access its full potential. Pricing varies depending on the number of users, terminals, and desired functionalities. Compared to similar POS systems, Toast generally falls within the mid-range price bracket, offering a good balance between affordability and feature richness. However, user reviews highlight that its pricing structure can become complex for businesses with intricate needs.

Pros
  • Easy to use interface
  • Robust reporting tools
  • Third-party integrations
  • Scalable for all businesses
  • Free basic plan option
Cons
  • Mid-range pricing complexity
  • Limited customization options
  • Occasional technical issues
  • Long customer support wait times
  • Not ideal for complex inventory
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Product Assistance

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Product Insights

  • Convenience: Google Pay allows users to make payments quickly and easily with their smartphones, eliminating the need to carry physical wallets or cards.
  • Security: Transactions are encrypted and tokenized, ensuring that sensitive information is not shared with merchants, which reduces the risk of fraud.
  • Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Google services like Gmail and Google Assistant, providing a cohesive user experience across platforms.
  • Rewards and Offers: Users can access exclusive discounts, cashback offers, and loyalty rewards directly through the app, enhancing the value of each transaction.
  • Contactless Payments: Supports NFC technology, allowing for touch-free transactions at compatible point-of-sale terminals, which is especially beneficial in maintaining hygiene.
  • Expense Tracking: Automatically categorizes and tracks spending, helping users manage their finances more effectively by providing detailed insights and summaries.
  • Global Acceptance: Accepted at millions of locations worldwide, making it a versatile payment solution for both domestic and international transactions.
  • Peer-to-Peer Payments: Enables users to send and receive money instantly to friends and family, simplifying the process of splitting bills or sharing expenses.
  • Card Management: Allows users to store multiple credit and debit cards in one place, making it easy to switch between payment methods as needed.
  • Enhanced User Experience: The intuitive interface and streamlined design make it easy for users of all tech-savviness levels to navigate and utilize the app effectively.
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  • Smooth Onboarding: Simplify the training process with access to a knowledge base in Toast University that offers informative videos and interactive tutorials. 
  • Tech-Enabled: Allow dine-in guests to order and pay from their own devices. Save time and expedite processes by accepting payments for orders made using the in-store kiosk, on the app or in the restaurant with the Order & Pay tool. 
  • Ideal for the Enterprise: Improve capabilities and enhance the performance of the new business with Starter Kit. Place orders in less than 15 minutes and customize with preferred hardware and software solutions available at flat-rate pricing. 
  • Profitable: Integrate with third-party software providers, including Grubhub and OpenTable, to expand the customer base and boost sales. 
  • Accessible: Save efforts and complete time-sensitive tasks by storing information for multiple outlets, viewing data by location, updating menus, accessing employee activity, monitoring performance reports and more with remote and offline accessibility. 
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  • Contactless Payments: Enables users to make secure transactions using NFC technology by simply tapping their device at compatible POS terminals.
  • Integration with Loyalty Programs: Automatically applies loyalty points and rewards during transactions, streamlining the customer experience.
  • Multi-Platform Support: Available on both Android and iOS devices, ensuring broad accessibility for users.
  • Secure Authentication: Utilizes biometric authentication methods such as fingerprint and facial recognition to enhance security.
  • Transaction History: Provides detailed records of past transactions, allowing users to track their spending and manage finances effectively.
  • Peer-to-Peer Payments: Facilitates easy money transfers between users, making it convenient to split bills or send money to friends and family.
  • Integration with Banking Apps: Seamlessly connects with various banking applications, enabling users to manage their accounts and perform transactions directly from Google Pay.
  • In-App and Online Payments: Supports payments within apps and on websites, offering a versatile solution for various purchasing scenarios.
  • Customizable Payment Methods: Allows users to add multiple credit and debit cards, as well as bank accounts, providing flexibility in payment options.
  • Real-Time Notifications: Sends instant alerts for transactions, helping users stay informed about their account activity.
  • International Support: Available in numerous countries, facilitating global transactions and travel convenience.
  • Merchant Integration: Offers tools for businesses to integrate Google Pay into their payment systems, enhancing customer payment options.
  • Offers and Discounts: Provides access to exclusive deals and discounts from partnered merchants, adding value to the user experience.
  • QR Code Payments: Supports QR code scanning for payments, offering an alternative method for transactions in various settings.
  • Data Encryption: Employs advanced encryption techniques to protect user data during transactions, ensuring privacy and security.
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  • Online Ordering: Allow guests to order food online for takeout and delivery, schedule orders in advance, access the online menu and make contactless payments. Receive new orders directly in the restaurant’s point of sale system, customize the online ordering page, access customer insights and request guest feedback to modify services. 
  • Gift Cards and Rewards: Boost customer influx and increase revenue by selling modern e-Gift Cards. Allow users to text or email cards for in-store and online purchases. Check card balance and schedule gift cards in advance to build relationships with customers. Sell customized physical gift cards and review detailed reports on gift card sales. 
  • Expedited Delivery: Create an on-demand delivery network with local drivers at a single per-order fee. Simplify the process with real-time order tracking and advance scheduling, online payment options and review restaurant services based on customer behavior with reporting and analytics. 
  • Email Marketing: Improve communication and drive customer retention with emails. Run targeted promotions, increase revenue, automate outreach and campaigns, create custom email lists, run A/B tests to refine communication, and send customized messages to deepen brand loyalty. 
  • Self-help Services: Accelerate the online ordering experience with self-help kiosks. Leverage quick restaurant service, reduce wait times and increase staff productivity. Offer a personalized dining experience with order add-ons, SMS notifications and real-time menu updates. 
  • Workspace Management: Facilitate efficient team regulation with a centralized labor management system. Log and track work hours, monitor timesheets, calculate tips, ensure paycheck accuracy with automated wage recording, register new staff electronically and more. Get insight into employee performance with detailed reports and analytics. 
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Product Ranking

#2

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#5

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Analyst Rating Summary

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Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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Compliance And Security Customer And Loyalty Management Employee Management Inventory Management Items And Service Management Payment Transactions And Cash Management POS Hardware Reporting And Insights Sales And Marketing Management Store Management Types Of POS 67 100 100 68 85 76 93 88 52 54 85 0 25 50 75 100
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User Sentiment Summary

Excellent User Sentiment 879 reviews
Great User Sentiment 451 reviews
92%
of users recommend this product

Google Pay has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 92% when considering 879 user reviews from 2 recognized software review sites.

86%
of users recommend this product

Toast has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 86% when considering 451 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

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4.7 (27)
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Awards

Google Pay stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Toast and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Customer and Loyalty Management and POS Hardware.

Customer and Loyalty Management Award
POS Hardware Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Simplified Checkout: Google Pay expedites the payment process, allowing customers to checkout quickly using stored payment methods. This can lead to shorter lines and happier customers, especially in high-traffic settings.
Enhanced Security: Google Pay prioritizes security by using tokenization, which replaces sensitive card data with unique tokens, and biometric authentication, adding an extra layer of protection against unauthorized transactions.
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Intuitive interface: Users consistently praise Toast's easy-to-learn and navigate interface, with clear menus, large buttons, and simple workflows, making it accessible for staff of all technical levels.
Robust reporting: Toast's comprehensive reporting tools provide valuable insights into sales, inventory, labor costs, customer behavior, and more, empowering data-driven decision-making.
Mobile flexibility: Staff can take orders, process payments, and manage tables directly from tablets or smartphones, enhancing tableside service and flexibility during busy periods.
Reliable payment processing: Users commend Toast's integrated payment processing for its speed, reliability, and security, ensuring smooth transactions and minimizing downtime.
Scalability for growth: Toast's ability to accommodate multiple locations, expanding menus, and growing staff needs makes it a popular choice for businesses with expansion plans.
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Limited Merchant Acceptance: While Google Pay is accepted at many large retailers, smaller businesses may not have the necessary technology to accept it, limiting customer use.
Occasional Technical Issues: Google Pay can experience sporadic technical glitches, such as payment processing failures or app malfunctions, leading to customer frustration and potential transaction abandonment.
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Pricing complexity: Users express frustration with Toast's tiered pricing structure, which can become confusing and expensive, especially for businesses with multiple locations or add-on features.
Limited customization: Some users find Toast's customization options for menus, reporting, and workflows to be somewhat restrictive, hindering their ability to tailor the system to unique business processes.
Technical glitches: Users occasionally report software glitches, hardware issues, or slow performance during peak hours, leading to temporary disruptions in operations.
Customer support wait times: While Toast offers 24/7 support, users sometimes experience long wait times for phone assistance or delayed responses to inquiries, causing frustration when urgent issues arise.
Inventory management limitations: Users with complex inventory needs, such as multiple suppliers or intricate recipe tracking, find Toast's inventory management capabilities to be somewhat basic and lacking in advanced features.
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User reviews from the last year indicate that Google Pay is a pretty solid option for managing POS transactions and other digital payment needs. Its strengths lie in its user-friendly interface, robust security features like tokenization and biometric authentication, and seamless integration with various loyalty programs. For example, one user raved about the convenience of making purchases without repeatedly entering card information. However, some users reported occasional compatibility issues with certain merchants and sporadic technical glitches, highlighting the need for broader adoption, especially among smaller businesses. One user expressed frustration that many small businesses still rely on MST terminals, which are incompatible with Google Pay. What sets Google Pay apart is its wide acceptance, making it a convenient choice for users who frequently encounter POS terminals. Google Pay is best suited for tech-savvy individuals who prioritize security and convenience in their digital transactions, particularly those who frequently use Android devices and appreciate a seamless payment experience.

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Toast garners praise for its user-friendly interface, robust reporting, and mobile capabilities, making it a popular choice for restaurants of various sizes. Users appreciate its intuitive design, which simplifies training and streamlines daily operations compared to competitors like Square and Lightspeed POS. Toast's extensive reporting, often highlighted as superior to competitors, empowers data-driven decision-making by offering detailed insights into sales, labor, and customer behavior. Additionally, the ability to manage orders and payments tableside using mobile devices sets Toast apart, enhancing staff flexibility and customer service during peak hours. However, concerns arise regarding Toast's pricing structure, customization options, and technical glitches. The multi-tiered pricing, perceived as more complex than competitors, can become expensive for businesses with specific needs or multiple locations. While Toast offers various features, users sometimes find them less customizable than those in competitors like Revel Systems, restricting their ability to tailor the system to their unique workflows. Occasional technical issues and reported long wait times for customer support raise concerns about reliability compared to competitors known for their robust technical support, such as Micros. Ultimately, Toast's strengths in user-friendliness, reporting, and mobility resonate with many users, but its pricing complexity, limited customization, and potential technical issues demand careful consideration. Deciding factors often boil down to individual business needs, budget constraints, and desired level of customization. Weighing Toast's strengths against its potential drawbacks alongside competitor offerings becomes crucial for making an informed decision.

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