SevenRooms vs Toast

SevenRooms is a reservations, guest CRM, and marketing automation platform for hospitality venues, now owned by DoorDash, while Toast is a full restaurant…

Best for SevenRooms: SevenRooms fits restaurants, hotels, clubs, and wineries that need multi-channel reservation distribution (including through DoorDash and Deliveroo Reservations), AI-powered table management, and guest marketing automation, serving over 15,000 restaurants globally per the company.
Best for Toast: Toast fits restaurants and food trucks that need an all-in-one POS covering order management, kitchen display, payroll, and online ordering, with a free Starter Kit tier for one or two terminals and paid Point of Sale plans from $69/month.

At a Glance

 SevenRoomsToast
Primary categoryRetail, Restaurant & POSRetail, Restaurant & POS
RatingNot documentedNot documented
Pricing modelCustom quote-based pricing per venue, billed on an annual contractsubscription
Starting priceApproximately $499 per month per venue, custom quote requiredFree (Starter Kit) or from $69/month
Free planNot documentedYes
Free trialNot documentedNot documented
PlatformsNot documentedWeb, Android
Team collaborationNot documentedNot documented
AI featuresYesNot documented
Public APINot documentedYes

Key Differences

Core Function

SevenRooms: SevenRooms focuses on reservations, guest data/CRM, and marketing automation — it is not a payments or POS system.

Toast: Toast is a point-of-sale platform: Android terminals and handhelds for order-taking, payments, kitchen display routing, and payroll.

These tools solve different operational problems, so evaluating them head-to-head only makes sense for the specific overlapping function (guest experience vs. transaction processing).

Pricing Transparency

SevenRooms: SevenRooms does not publish pricing; it requires booking a demo to get a quote.

Toast: Toast publishes a free Starter Kit tier and a Point of Sale plan starting at $69/month plus per-transaction processing fees.

Published pricing lets small operators budget quickly without a sales call, while custom pricing usually reflects deal-by-deal negotiation.

Hardware Model

SevenRooms: SevenRooms does not document proprietary hardware requirements — it is a reservations and CRM platform rather than a terminal-based system.

Toast: Toast's point-of-sale terminals and handhelds are proprietary Android hardware locked to Toast's software, with little resale value if a restaurant switches providers, and hardware bundles commonly carry two-to-three-year commitments.

Hardware lock-in and contract length affect long-term switching costs, which matters for restaurants weighing vendor risk.

AI Features

SevenRooms: SevenRooms includes AI-powered table management (smart seating, pacing, cover forecasting) and Voice AI for capturing call-in reservations.

Toast: Toast's documented feature list does not call out AI-specific capabilities; its offline mode and integrated payroll are the more distinctive operational features.

AI-assisted seating and phone-call capture can directly reduce missed reservations for high-demand venues.

Ownership & Distribution Reach

SevenRooms: SevenRooms is now part of DoorDash (acquired June 2025), distributing reservations through DoorDash Reservations, Deliveroo Reservations, Google, Instagram, and Yelp.

Toast: Toast, founded in 2012 and headquartered in Boston, offers commission-free digital ordering integrated with in-house order flow and third-party delivery apps, independent of DoorDash ownership.

SevenRooms' DoorDash ownership gives it built-in reservation distribution through DoorDash's platform, which is a distinct channel from Toast's own ordering and delivery integrations.

Feature-by-Feature

Core Features

FeatureSevenRoomsToast
Point-of-sale / payments processingUnavailableAvailable
Reservation and waitlist managementAvailableNot documented
Kitchen display systemNot documentedAvailable
Guest CRM / unified guest dataAvailableNot documented
Offline modeNot documentedAvailable

Pricing & Plans

FeatureSevenRoomsToast
Published pricingUnavailableAvailable
Free tierUnavailableAvailable
24/7/365 support includedNot documentedAvailable

Marketing & Guest Experience

FeatureSevenRoomsToast
Multi-channel reservation distributionAvailableNot documented
Loyalty programs and gift cardsNot documentedAvailable
Email/SMS marketing automationAvailableAvailable
AI table management / Voice AIAvailableUnavailable

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

SevenRooms

Starter — Custom quote Annual contract, per venue
Growth — Custom quote Annual contract, per venue
Premium — Custom quote Annual contract, per venue

Toast

Starter Kit — Free Monthly
Point of Sale — From $69/month Monthly
Build Your Own (Custom) — Custom Custom

Pros & Cons

SevenRooms

Pros

  • Deep guest CRM that supports genuine personalization across repeat visits
  • Access to DoorDash and Deliveroo reservation marketplace traffic without per-cover fees
  • Covers reservations, table management, and marketing in one connected system
  • Backed by significant funding and now part of DoorDash's broader hospitality ecosystem

Cons

  • Pricing is not published and requires a sales conversation to obtain a quote
  • Reported starting cost of around 499 dollars per month per venue may be high for very small independent restaurants
  • Some advanced marketing and messaging features are priced as separate add-ons
  • Acquisition by DoorDash in 2025 may bring future changes to product direction or data handling

Toast

Pros

  • Purpose-built for restaurant workflows rather than adapted from generic retail POS
  • Wide range of add-on modules covering payroll, marketing, and reservations under one platform
  • Strong market presence with well over 100,000 restaurant locations and a public track record
  • Reduced payment processing rates available on paid plans compared to the free tier
  • Real-time, cloud-based reporting accessible from any browser

Cons

  • Advertised low starting price does not include hardware, installation, and processing fees, which can add significant monthly cost
  • Locked into Toast's own payment processing, limiting flexibility to shop for cheaper rates
  • Long-term contracts and early termination fees have been a common complaint in reviews
  • Full feature set including payroll, marketing, and inventory requires custom pricing not published upfront
  • Some smaller or very simple operations may find the platform more than they need

Use Cases

Choose SevenRooms: SevenRooms fits restaurants, hotels, clubs, and wineries that need multi-channel reservation distribution (including through DoorDash and Deliveroo Reservations), AI-powered table management, and guest marketing automation, serving over 15,000 restaurants globally per the company.
Choose Toast: Toast fits restaurants and food trucks that need an all-in-one POS covering order management, kitchen display, payroll, and online ordering, with a free Starter Kit tier for one or two terminals and paid Point of Sale plans from $69/month.
Need both: A full-service restaurant could run Toast at the register and kitchen for order-taking, payments, and payroll, while using SevenRooms to manage reservations, waitlists, and guest marketing campaigns — the two cover distinct parts of the guest journey (booking vs. transacting) rather than duplicating each other.

SevenRooms

  • Restaurant Reservations and Waitlist — A busy restaurant uses SevenRooms to manage online reservations and a digital waitlist during peak hours.
  • Hotel Guest Personalization — A hotel's dining outlet uses SevenRooms' guest CRM to track VIP preferences and special occasions across visits.
  • Nightlife Venue Marketing — A nightlife venue uses SevenRooms' marketing automation and reservation marketplace access to fill tables on slower nights.

Toast

  • Full-Service Restaurant Operations — Full-service restaurants use Toast for tableside ordering, split checks, kitchen display routing, and integrated payment processing during service.
  • Quick-Service and Counter Ordering — Quick-service restaurants use Toast's counter POS, online ordering, and kitchen display tools to manage high order volume efficiently.
  • Multi-Location Restaurant Management — Restaurant groups use Toast Web's centralized reporting, payroll, and inventory tools to manage sales and labor across multiple sites from one dashboard.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need both SevenRooms and Toast for my restaurant?

They cover different functions rather than competing directly. SevenRooms manages reservations, guest CRM, and marketing, while Toast runs point-of-sale, payments, kitchen display, and payroll. A full-service restaurant could reasonably use Toast at the register and SevenRooms for bookings and guest marketing side by side.

Which tool has published pricing?

Toast publishes pricing: a free Starter Kit tier and a Point of Sale plan starting at $69/month plus per-transaction processing fees. SevenRooms does not publish pricing and requires booking a demo for a quote.

Does Toast include reservation management?

Reservation and waitlist management are not documented as Toast features; Toast's documented feature set centers on order management, payments, kitchen display, payroll, and online ordering rather than advance bookings.

Can I use my own hardware with Toast?

No. Toast's point-of-sale terminals and handhelds are proprietary and run only Toast's software, unlike some competitors that work on standard off-the-shelf tablets.

Does SevenRooms process payments?

Payment processing is not documented as a SevenRooms feature — it focuses on reservations, guest data/CRM, and marketing automation rather than transaction processing.

Who owns SevenRooms and how does that relate to Toast?

SevenRooms is owned by DoorDash, which completed its acquisition in June 2025. Toast is an independent, publicly documented company founded in 2012 and headquartered in Boston, with no ownership relationship to DoorDash or SevenRooms.

Read the full SevenRooms review · Read the full Toast review