Square Restaurant packs a tremendous amount of features into their free plans while offering more advances plans at very reasonable cost, plus Square charges by rooftop, not by device (unlike its competitors).

Loyalty and Marketing (previously +$75 / +$120 for Plus / Premium) are now included! Opting for a paid plan are now a no-brainer!


Please see Best Fit Scenarios below

Square Restaurant Free – numerous core features (Counter/QSR)  $0

  • Menu & item library, fixed, variable, and per-unit pricing, item‑level tax & tax inclusive
  • Basic inventory counts & low‑stock alerts
  • Modifiers (Cheese choice) & Variations (Size, Color), Discounts & Promotions.  Advantage:  Modifiers groups support marking of included ingredients, min/max.  Disadvantage:  Contents of only one group visible at a time.  Without a forced modifier group, mod screen will not open even if defaults are selected.
  • Basic order management (no floor plan), open checks tied to tables or tickets, auto‑gratuity (basic),
  • Online ordering page (pickup & delivery), Basic in‑person & online order management, 
  • Remote prep printer support
  • Core sales reports, basic item performance reports, basic customer profiles
  • Basic staff time tracking & permissions.  Text and email support only after 90 days.


4% Cash Discount suggested [ Rack Rate:  in-person 2.6% + .15, Online 3.3% + .30, Keyed/Vault 3.5% + .30 ]


Square Restaurant Plus – added vs Free (Basic Table Service) $49/mo

  • Custom floor plans / visual table map, color‑coded table status indicators and timers, floor‑plan customization across multiple areas (bar/dining/patio) 
  • Easier reopen of closed checks, flexible split/merge checks at item level 
  • Shift summaries & close‑of‑day tools, enhanced menu & category performance reports, enhanced labor/shift reports
  • Integrated KDS support with advanced routing and SMS order ready alerts
  • Stronger role‑based access control
  • Expanded phone/support (M-F 6am-6pm PST). 

4% Cash Discount suggested [ Rack Rate: in-person 2.5% + .15, Online 2.9% + .30, Keyed/Vault 3.5% + .30 ]

Square Restaurant Premium – added vs Plus (Fine Dine/Multi-site)  $149/mo

  • Seat management tools (assign dishes to specific seats, track covers per table)
  • Course management tools (define courses, fire/hold courses for FOH/BOH coordination)
  • Multi‑location configuration & centralized menu/settings, advanced multi‑location and roll‑up reporting
  • More advanced labor & team‑management features for larger staffs, tools oriented to high‑volume/enterprise operations
  • Deeper integration options including reservation‑platform integrations and more advanced online/omnichannel flows. 
  • Priority/extended 24/7 support and account attention, 

4% Cash Discount suggested [ Rack Rate: in-person 2.4% + .15, Online 2.9% + .30, Keyed/Vault 3.5% + .30 ]


Best Fit Scenarios

Restaurant fast rules of thumb:

  • Free – 1 location, counter‑service or simple bar/casual, basic tables, minimal splitting.

  • Plus – 1–3 locations, full table service or busy bar, needs floor plan, split/reopen, KDS, better menu/shift reporting.

  • Premium – multi‑location or high‑volume full‑service, needs seats + courses + centralized control and stronger support.



Choose Restaurant Free if most of this is true:

  • Size & style

    • Single location, or effectively one main venue.

    • Counter‑service, quick‑service, café, food truck, or a simple bar with light table service.

  • Table & check complexity

    • You’re okay with basic table management (open checks and simple table assignment) and do not need custom floor‑plan layouts or per‑seat tracking.

    • You rarely do complicated splits; simple split‑by‑amount or separate checks at the register is fine.

  • Kitchen & menu

    • One kitchen or bar printer/KDS routing that doesn’t require complex coursing.

    • Menu is straightforward; conversational modifiers and basic 86’ing are enough.

  • Reporting & staff

    • Basic sales and item reporting is sufficient.

    • Small team where basic time tracking and permissions are okay.

Breakpoint: As soon as you want custom floor plans, smoother split/reopen checks, or a more formal table‑service flow, Free starts to feel limiting.


When Plus makes sense

Move to Restaurant Plus when any of this becomes true:

  • Service style

    • You run a full‑service restaurant or busy bar with real table service.

    • You need servers to live on a visual floor plan, see table status at a glance, and move checks around easily.

  • Table & check flow

    • You want custom floor plans / table map and color‑coded table status with timers.

    • You frequently need to reopen closed checks or split checks by item/guest rather than just by total.

  • Kitchen pacing & KDS

    • You want course pacing and firing (appetizers, mains, desserts) coordinated across FOH/BOH.

    • You plan to use KDS screens and need more flexible routing.

  • Reporting & shifts

    • You care about menu‑level reports, shift reports, and more detailed labor insights.

    • You want smoother end‑of‑day/shift close workflows.

  • Marketing & Loyalty

    • Item-level customer segmentation for use in automated post sale and after sale outreach

    • Multiple levels of rewards; new, lost, birthday, VIP tiers, spend, visits, and item specific

    • Loyalty dashboard shows increased spend and frequency compared to those unenrolled

Breakpoint: When you say, “We’re doing real table service and I want a floor map, easy splits/reopens, and better shift/menu reporting,” Plus is the right tier.


When Premium is justified

Upgrade to Restaurant Premium when you start operating like a group or high‑volume house, not just a single shop.

  • Locations & scale

    • You have multiple locations or are heading there soon, and want centralized menus and settings plus consolidated reporting across stores.

  • Advanced FOH/guest tools

    • You want seat‑level management (assign items to specific seats, track covers formally).

    • You want course management deeply integrated with FOH and KDS (not just simple “fire next” behavior).

  • Reporting & control

    • You need multi‑location roll‑up reporting and stronger tools for managing larger teams.

    • You care about priority/extended support and possibly integrations with reservation platforms.

Breakpoint: When you’re running a true full‑service operation at scale (multi‑dining‑room or multi‑location, coursed meals, formal seat‑tracking, chain‑level views), Premium becomes the sensible tier.


Hospitality Marketing Automation (Plus/Premium)

Time-of-day or visit-pattern nudges


Concept: Shift behavior by using visit patterns (from purchase history) to cross-sell new dayparts or services.

  • Segmentation:
    • “Lunch-only” buyers (never bought in evenings).
    • “Weekday-only” buyers.
  • Automation: Campaign objective “Promote an event or offer”; schedule SMS or email before the new behavior you want to drive (e.g., mid-afternoon for dinner).


Example email (restaurant):

Subject: “Dinner on us? 15% off your first evening visit”
 Sent only to people who have purchased lunch but never dinner, inviting them after 5pm.

Example SMS (coffee shop):

“Try our weekend brunch at Oak Café. Show this text Sat or Sun before 1 pm for a free pastry with any drink.”


Value:

  • Smooths demand across dayparts.
  • Uses existing customers instead of cold acquisition.