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AppyShift vs Toast

Toast is a point-of-sale system for restaurants and retailers whose payroll, scheduling and tip tools run on data from the Toast POS. AppyShift works on its own, with any point of sale, for restaurants and every other kind of hourly team.

Toast's prices and features checked on October 16, 2026, from Toast's own website. See the sources.

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14-day free trial
No credit card required
Human response within 48 hours

The AppyShift team schedule for a week with scheduled hours, planned labor cost, open shifts and overtime risks above the grid

My Schedule in the AppyShift app: this week's hours and each shift with its status

The short answer

If you run Toast POS and want hours, tips and sales to flow straight into payroll and sales-driven schedules, Toast's team tools are the tightest fit, and Toast files your payroll taxes. If you don't use Toast POS, run more than restaurants and retail, or want scheduling, hiring and onboarding at a published price, AppyShift is built for that.

Side by side

AppyShift and Toast, feature by feature

AppyShift compared with Toast
Feature	AppyShift	Toast
Starting price	$30 a month for up to 30 employees	POS from $69 a month; POS + Payroll for new restaurants from $69 a month plus $9 per employee Source
How pricing works	One monthly price per plan, employees included: Basic $30 (30), Growth $60 (100), Pro $90 (200). Add 50 employees for $20 a month. 15% off when paid yearly. No contract.	POS subscription, with payroll, scheduling and tips in Toast IQ Team or a la carte, priced by quote. The merchant agreement renews each year unless you give 30 days' notice. Source
Free trial	Included. 14-day free trial, no credit card	Not offered. No free trial for Toast POS; standalone Sling has a free plan and a 15-day trial Source
Scheduling	Included. Drag-and-drop schedule, availability, open shifts, labor rules (every plan)	Included. Basic scheduling with every Toast POS plan; forecasting and enforcement in Scheduling Pro Source
Time clock and timesheets	Included. Phone, computer or shared kiosk, on-site clock-in rules, timesheet approvals (every plan)	Partly. Clock-in on the Toast POS; clocking in from a phone and geofencing need Scheduling Pro Source
Employee app	Included. iPhone and Android apps, included for every employee	Included. MyToast app for schedules, swaps and earnings; pay stubs with Toast Payroll Source
Shift swaps and time off	Included. Swaps, pickups, call-out coverage, time off and PTO accruals (every plan)	Included. Shift swaps and time-off requests included; PTO management in Scheduling Pro Source
Labor cost while you schedule	Included. Planned labor cost and labor budget as you build the week (every plan)	Costs extra. Sales forecasting and labor cost against a target in Scheduling Pro Source
Tip pooling	Included. Tip pooling and cash tip declarations (Pro plan)	Costs extra. Tips Manager: tip pools paid through Toast Payroll; in Toast IQ Team Pro or a la carte Source
Hiring and applicant tracking	Included. Careers page, applicant tracking, texting and interviews (Growth plan)	Costs extra. Job postings and a careers page only for Payroll Pro customers Source
Onboarding and e-signatures	Included. Onboarding tasks and forms, Form I-9, hand-drawn e-signatures (every plan)	Costs extra. Digital onboarding with I-9, W-4 and e-signatures, with Toast Payroll Source
Team messaging	Included. Messages, announcements and a discussion board (Growth plan)	Partly. Announcements with the POS; group messaging in Scheduling Pro Source
Payroll	Partly. Early access, by approval: $40.00 a month plus $4.00 per pay statement. Or send approved hours to your current payroll provider (Pro plan).	Costs extra. Toast Payroll, pulling hours and tips from the POS Source
Files and pays payroll taxes for you	Not offered. No. AppyShift works out the taxes and shows what to pay; you file and pay them from your own bank.	Included. Yes: federal, state and unemployment returns filed and paid Source
Needs their point of sale	Not offered. No. AppyShift works on its own, with any point of sale.	Partly. Its team tools are built into Toast POS; Toast's pages don't say they work with another POS Source
Built for	Hourly teams: restaurants, retail, healthcare, home care, hotels, cleaning, warehouses, child care and more	Restaurants and retail Source
Support	Human support replies within 48 hours, with most replies under 24 hours.	24/7 phone and web support; a dedicated payroll setup specialist Source

Included Partly Costs extra Not offered

Fair comparison

Where each is stronger

AppyShift

Works with any point of sale, or none: no POS contract needed to schedule, track time or hire.
Published, month-to-month prices for the workforce tools: $30, $60 or $90 a month with employees included.
Phone clock-in, on-site clock-in rules and labor cost while you schedule on every plan.
Applicant tracking with a careers page from Growth, without buying payroll.
Built for every kind of hourly team: healthcare, home care, child care, hotels, cleaning and more.

Best for: Hourly teams on any POS, or none, who want scheduling, time, hiring and onboarding without a POS contract.

Toast

Hours, tips and sales flow straight from the Toast POS into payroll, with no uploads.
Deep restaurant tip handling: custom tip-pool rules, automatic distribution and tip makeup to minimum wage.
Schedules built from your own POS sales history, with an AI scheduling agent in beta.
Full-service payroll that files and pays your taxes, with fines covered up to $4,000 if the first quarterly filing isn't accepted (Toast's terms apply).
24/7 support and a dedicated payroll setup specialist.

Best for: Restaurants and retailers already on Toast POS who want payroll, tips and scheduling fed by POS data.

Common questions

Do I need Toast POS to use AppyShift?

No. AppyShift works on its own, with any point of sale. Toast's payroll, scheduling and tip tools are built around Toast POS.

How do the prices compare?

Toast POS starts at $69 a month, and its published POS + Payroll bundle for new restaurants starts at $69 a month plus $9 per employee; the rest of its team tools are quoted. AppyShift is $30, $60 or $90 a month with 30, 100 or 200 employees included.

Does AppyShift file payroll taxes like Toast Payroll?

No. AppyShift payroll is in early access, by approval: it works out the taxes and shows you what to pay, and you file and pay them from your own bank. Toast Payroll files and pays them for you.

Can I keep Toast POS and use AppyShift for scheduling?

Yes. Keep Toast POS for sales and use AppyShift for schedules, time, hiring and onboarding. AppyShift sends approved hours to your payroll provider on the Pro plan.

See if AppyShift fits your team.

The trial is 14 days, with no credit card. Or open the demo first and click around.

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Sources

Toast's prices and features are from Toast's public website, checked on October 16, 2026, and can change at any time. AppyShift's are current on this page. Toast is a trademark of its owner, used only to identify the product; AppyShift isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Toast. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.