7 Alternatives to Toast POS for UK Restaurants in 2026

Key Takeaways

• UK restaurants in 2026 need POS setups that control card fees, hardware costs, and lock-in risk while fitting local regulations and workflows.
• Most Toast POS alternatives focus on front-of-house, so kitchens still need extra support for invoices, stock accuracy, and menu margin visibility.
• Square, Lightspeed, TouchBistro, SpotOn, Epos Now, Clover, and Lavu each suit different venue types, from small independents to multi-site groups.
• The strongest results come from a modular stack that pairs a good POS with specialist back-of-house tools rather than relying on a single all-in-one platform.
• Jelly connects to leading POS systems and automates invoices, stock costs, and live dish margins for UK restaurants, pubs, and hotels. Book a chat with Jelly.

Why UK Restaurants Need Smarter POS Alternatives Now

Many UK operators now reassess Toast POS because of cost and fit. Toast’s pricing structure uses transaction fees and fixed monthly costs that can reduce margins for high-volume restaurants. Typical hardware packages range from £500–£2,000+ upfront, which often exceeds the entry costs of other providers.

Operators also face inflation, volatile ingredient prices, and staff shortages. These pressures mean a POS must do more than take orders. Reliable data on invoices, stock, and menu profit is now essential for daily decisions.

Toast follows a one-size-fits-all model that can miss the needs of different formats, from quick-service counters to full-service dining rooms. Growing UK businesses benefit from tools that combine transparent pricing, flexible integrations, and features designed for local compliance and reporting.

Jelly: Automate Kitchen Costs Beyond Your POS

POS systems handle orders and payments, but kitchens carry most of the cost risk. Jelly focuses on that back-of-house layer for UK restaurants, pubs, and boutique hotels by automating invoices, stock costs, and real-time menu profitability.

Jelly scans supplier invoices line by line and builds a live database of ingredient prices without manual data entry. Many operators save 10–20 hours of admin a month and gain faster visibility into cost changes that affect margins.

The platform links live ingredient prices to every recipe, so users can see gross profit for each dish in real time. Price alerts highlight supplier increases, which supports data-backed menu changes and negotiations.

See how Jelly can automate your kitchen management. Book a chat.

7 Top Alternatives to Toast POS for UK Restaurants, Pubs & Boutique Hotels

1. Square POS: Flexible Pricing For Smaller Sites

Square offers transparent pricing, a free core POS plan, and basic hardware at low or no upfront cost. Processing fees around 2.6% + 15¢ suit many independents and small groups. The system scales through an app marketplace, although some deeper restaurant-specific tools remain limited.

Square works well for payment handling and basic table or counter service. Jelly can connect on top to automate invoices and live menu costing, which fills the gap in detailed kitchen profit control.

2. Lightspeed Restaurant: Cloud POS For Busy Dining Rooms

Lightspeed Restaurant provides restaurant-focused tools such as custom floor plans, staff management, sales tracking, and integrations for delivery and eCommerce. This cloud setup suits multi-site venues and offers strong front-of-house control, though it can feel complex and higher priced for very small sites.

Many operators use Lightspeed for reservations, tables, and payments, then rely on Jelly for invoice capture, stock costs, and dish-level gross profit, which gives a clearer view of kitchen performance.

3. TouchBistro: POS Built Around Table Service

TouchBistro runs on iPads and supports table management, order taking, menu updates, and integrated payments. The interface is straightforward for waiting staff and suits classic full-service venues.

TouchBistro focuses on guest flow and order accuracy rather than detailed cost analysis. Pairing it with Jelly helps operators bring invoice data, recipe costs, and menu profitability into one clear dashboard.

4. SpotOn: Single Vendor For POS And Marketing

SpotOn combines POS, payment processing, websites, online ordering, loyalty, and marketing tools in one platform. This structure reduces vendor sprawl and can simplify support.

Customer retention tools are a key strength, especially for sites that rely on repeat trade. Jelly adds granular insight into ingredient inflation and dish margins, which complements SpotOn’s guest-focused feature set.

5. Epos Now: Configurable POS For UK Hospitality

Epos Now offers flexible hardware, cloud reporting, integrations, and inventory tools with a strong UK presence. The system fits restaurants, pubs, and mixed retail-hospitality operations, which helps groups running different concepts on one platform.

Extensive integration options can create a powerful setup but also add complexity. Many teams choose Jelly as their standard tool for invoice automation and costing across all Epos Now sites.

6. Clover: POS With An App Marketplace

Clover supplies modern hardware and a wide app marketplace for adding features. The platform often appears alongside Toast in competitive evaluations and works well for niche or hybrid concepts.

The marketplace model lets operators add only the functions they need. Jelly fits into this stack as the kitchen-focused app for supplier invoices, ingredient costs, and live margin tracking.

7. Lavu: Mobile iPad POS For Flexible Service

Lavu runs on iPads and supports mobile order taking, online ordering, kitchen display systems, and core inventory features. This mobility suits sites with outdoor areas, pop-ups, or non-traditional layouts.

Reliance on the Apple ecosystem can limit hardware choice, and stock tools may feel light for complex menus. Jelly helps fill those gaps with deeper cost tracking and profit analysis for ingredients and dishes.

Comparison Table: Toast Alternatives at a Glance

Strengthen Kitchen Margins Beyond Your POS System

Choosing a Toast alternative is only one part of building a profitable operation in 2026. Front-of-house tools need support from reliable cost data, accurate recipes, and clear stock visibility in the kitchen.

Operators who pair a suitable POS with a dedicated back-of-house platform gain tighter control of invoices, ingredient inflation, and dish-level performance. This approach helps protect gross profit even when market conditions shift quickly.

Jelly connects with leading POS options to create that combined setup. The platform automates invoice processing, updates ingredient prices in real time, and links those prices to your menu so you can track margins with confidence.

See how Jelly can support your POS choice and protect your kitchen margins. Book a chat.

Frequently Asked Questions About Restaurant POS Systems

What are the main drawbacks of Toast POS for UK operators?

Toast POS can create higher total costs in the UK through its transaction fee model, fixed monthly charges, and required hardware bundles. Many operators also face limits on payment processor choice and a feature set built primarily around US market needs rather than UK regulations and workflows.

Is an all-in-one POS better than a modular stack?

All-in-one platforms such as SpotOn can simplify supplier management and support for straightforward sites. A modular stack often suits growing or multi-site operators better, because it lets them combine a preferred POS with specialist tools like Jelly for invoices, stock costs, and menu profitability.

How does Jelly work alongside different POS systems?

Jelly sits beside your POS rather than replacing it. The POS records sales and service activity, while Jelly reads supplier invoices, tracks ingredient prices, and calculates real-time dish margins using those prices and recipe data. This combination gives a clear view of profit by item, day, and site for UK restaurants, pubs, and boutique hotels.