Key takeaways
- Square is our #1 for most trucks: no contract, a $0 plan, and a $299 Terminal or $399 Handheld.
- Toast is the pick for a truck with a restaurant or a high-volume event truck. The cellular Toast Go 3 has a 24+ hour battery and an IP65 rating.
- Offline mode is a last resort. Every system can take cards offline, but a declined card after you reconnect is your loss.
- Square has no built-in cellular, so plan on a phone hotspot. Clover Flex 3 and Toast Go 3 have their own cellular link.
Our top 4 picks
- Our #1 pick
Square for Restaurants
Best overall for most food trucks
- No long-term contract
- Free plan with no monthly fee; Square Terminal is $299 and the Square Handheld $399
- Offline payments on every plan, with 24 hours to reconnect
Watch: No built-in cellular on Terminal or Handheld, so you need a phone hotspot; you carry the risk on declined offline payments
Toast
Best for a truck with a restaurant, or a high-volume truck
- Toast Go 3 has optional 4G cellular, a 24+ hour battery and IP65 dust and liquid protection
- Off-site menus and an Away Mode for events
- Same system and reports as a brick-and-mortar Toast location
Watch: 24 or 36 month contract and a quoted, not published, rate; the cellular Toast Go 3 does not print
Clover
Best for a low monthly bill if a seller offers good terms
- Software from $14.95 a month per device
- Clover Flex 3 has 4G/LTE and a 5.99 inch screen
- Month to month when bought direct
Watch: Flex 3 battery is rated at 8 hours or more, and bank resellers can sign you to 36 months
SpotOn
Best for event-heavy trucks that want published rates
- Rates printed on its pricing page
- Handheld battery claimed to last an entire shift
- Offline mode switches on automatically
Watch: The $0 All-In plan has a 2-year minimum; only the Essentials plan is month to month
How we ranked them
- Works with weak or no signal. Offline payments, and whether the device has its own cellular link.
- Cost in a slow month. A truck has slow weeks. A low or $0 monthly fee and a short contract matter more than they do for a full restaurant.
- Handheld hardware. Battery life, screen size and how well the device takes dust and spills.
- Room to grow. Multiple trucks, a second location, online ordering and payroll.
We left Lightspeed off this list. It runs on iPads and its vendor does not publish what stops working offline, so ask in a demo before you consider it for a truck.
Food truck features compared
| Feature | Square | Toast | Clover |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software cost | $0, $49 or $149 a month | $0 Starter Kit, or $69+ a month | From $14.95 a month per device |
| Contract | None | 24 or 36 months | Month to month direct; resellers can sign you to 36 |
| Cellular handheld | No. Terminal and Handheld need Wi-Fi, so use a phone hotspot | Yes, Toast Go 3 cellular model (Wi-Fi-only model also sold) | Yes, Clover Flex 3 (4G/LTE) |
| Battery | "All day" (no hours published) | 24+ hours | 8 hours or more |
| Screen | Terminal 5.5 in | Toast Go 3 6.52 in | Flex 3 5.99 in, 350 nits |
| Dust and water | Not published | IP65, 5 ft drops | Dust-proof (IP5X); no water rating listed |
| Offline payments | Yes, reconnect within 24 hours | Yes, card payments stored on the device | Yes; declines are your risk |
Compare POS quotes, free
How many POS stations do you need?
About a minute. No cost, no obligation.Offline mode: read the fine print
Every system here can take card payments with no signal. None of them guarantees the money. If the card is declined after you reconnect, the loss is yours.
- Square: payments upload when you reconnect. If the device is not back online within 24 hours of the first offline payment, they are declined. Older Square Readers (v1 and v2) do not support offline payments.
- Toast: offline mode starts after about 40 seconds without a connection. Cards are encrypted and stored on the device and sent for approval later. Toast says approvals cannot be guaranteed after 5 days and recommends a cellular connection instead. Gift cards, loyalty and online ordering do not work offline.
- Clover: offline payments are possible, with the same decline risk. Check the offline limits with your seller, because they vary by setup.
The safer plan is a device with its own cellular link, or a phone hotspot as backup. Offline mode is the last resort.
Why Square is our #1 for most food trucks
Square has no contract, a $0 plan and cheap hardware: the Square Terminal is $299 and the Square Handheld is $399, or both can be paid in monthly installments. In-person card processing is 2.6% + $0.15 on the free plan, 2.5% + $0.15 on Plus ($49 a month) and 2.4% + $0.15 on Premium ($149 a month). You can stop any time, which suits a seasonal or new truck.
The gap is cellular. Square's Terminal and Handheld pages list Wi-Fi, not LTE, so a Square truck usually runs on a phone or mobile hotspot. Square also charges $20 to $30 a month per device for a kitchen display, which a truck rarely needs.
When Toast is the better pick
Toast is built only for restaurants, and the Toast Go 3 is the most rugged handheld here: 24+ hour battery, 6.52 inch screen, IP65 dust and liquid rating and 5 ft drop rating. The cellular model keeps taking orders and payments with no Wi-Fi, which Toast recommends for food trucks, farmers' markets and beaches.
- You have a truck and a restaurant. One system, one menu and one set of reports.
- You do high volume at events. Above roughly $10,000 to $20,000 a month in card sales, the $69 plan at about 2.49% + $0.15 costs less than the Starter Kit. See the Toast pricing guide.
- You change menus by location. Toast lets you build an off-site menu and use Away Mode, so a festival menu does not show on your regular devices.
The trade-offs are the 24 or 36 month contract and a quoted rate. The cellular Toast Go 3 does not print, so a truck that needs printed tickets needs the Toast Router with a cellular plan. Toast does not publish what cellular costs, so get it in writing.
Clover and SpotOn
Clover has the lowest software price, from $14.95 a month per device, and the Flex 3 has 4G/LTE. Its battery is rated at 8 hours or more, short for a long festival day. Buy direct if you can: bank resellers set their own contract and rates.
SpotOn prints its rates, from 2.45% + $0.15, and says its handheld battery lasts a whole shift. Its Essentials plan is month to month, but the $0 All-In plan has a 2-year minimum. See Toast vs SpotOn.
Quick checklist before you buy
If your truck also has a sit-down restaurant, see the best POS systems for small restaurants.
- Does the handheld have its own cellular link, or do you need a hotspot?
- Is the battery enough for your longest event day, or will you carry a charger?
- Can you read the screen in direct sun? Vendors rarely publish brightness, so test one outside.
- Can you load a separate menu for events or a second spot?
- What is the contract, and what happens to the hardware if you leave?
Put your card sales into the processing fee calculator, or use the POS comparison grid. Not sure which fits? Get matched.
Ready to compare real prices?
How many POS stations do you need?
About a minute. No cost, no obligation.Common questions
What is the best POS for a food truck?
For most trucks, Square: no contract, a $0 plan and low-cost hardware. Toast is the better pick if you also run a restaurant or do high volume, because the Toast Go 3 has cellular, a 24+ hour battery and a rugged build.
Can a food truck POS work without internet?
Yes, for card payments. Square, Toast and Clover can store payments offline and send them when you reconnect. You carry the risk if a card declines, so a cellular device or hotspot is safer.
Do I need a contract for a food truck POS?
Not with Square, which has no long-term contract. Toast usually asks for 24 or 36 months. Clover is month to month when bought direct, and SpotOn Essentials is month to month.
What does a food truck POS cost a month?
Software runs from $0 (Square, Toast Starter Kit) to $14.95 a device (Clover) or $49 to $69 and up for paid plans. Card processing, about 2.4% to 3.7% of sales plus about $0.15 a sale, is the bigger cost.
Prices and features from Square, Toast and Clover pricing, hardware and help pages and the sources in our linked guides, checked October 2026. Confirm anything that decides your choice in writing.
Disclosure: we are referral partners for Toast. If you request a quote through a link on this page and become a customer, we may receive a fee at no cost to you. Partner fees do not change what we recommend. How we make money.
