Toast Email Marketing review: is it worth it for a restaurant's guest email and SMS marketing on Toast POS?
Toast Email Marketing suits a restaurant already on Toast POS that wants automated email and text campaigns built from its own guest and order data. It is built only for Toast POS restaurants. Toast publishes no price for it, so new buyers start with a sales demo. Toast Care support is included, 24/7/365.
| Starting price | Not published. Toast Email Marketing quotes on request (read 2026-10-05) |
|---|---|
| Free plan or trial | None found |
| Standout feature | Campaigns run on the guest data from Toast POS and online orders |
| Maker | Toast, Inc. |
In this review
Who is Toast Email Marketing for?
Toast Email Marketing is for restaurants that already run Toast POS. It sends automated emails and texts to guests using the guest and order data Toast already collects, and an AI assistant can draft the copy.
Skip it if your restaurant runs a different POS. Toast publishes no price for it, so expect a sales demo before you can buy.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Campaigns use guest and ordering data collected automatically from Toast POS and Toast Online Ordering, so emails are not exported to or imported from another tool
- Automated campaigns for new guests, lapsed guests and VIPs
- An AI writing assistant and restaurant templates for campaign copy
- Toast Care support is included in every software subscription, 24/7/365
Cons
- No published Email Marketing price
- Built for restaurants that run Toast POS on approved Toast hardware
- New buyers start with a sales demo
- No named security certification on the pages read
How much does Toast Email Marketing cost?
Did we sign up for Toast Email Marketing?
How it scored
| Criterion | Weight | Score (1-5) | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core job | 25% | 3 | Email, SMS and social campaigns, automated guest campaigns, an AI writing assistant and restaurant templates are described on Toast's pages. [source 1] [source 2] |
| Fit for the category's buyer | 20% | 3 | Built for restaurant operators in the United States, but sold as an add-on to the Toast platform through a demo. [source 1] [source 2] |
| Pricing transparency | 20% | 1 | Email Marketing, the Marketing Suite and Toast IQ Grow are named but none is priced; the pricing page offers Contact Sales. [source 1] [source 2] |
| Setup and time to first result | 15% | 2 | New buyers start with a sales demo and Toast hardware; existing Toast customers add it from a login-gated shop. [source 1] [source 2] |
| Integrations and data portability | 10% | 3 | Public API documentation exists; the integrations directory could not be read and guest-list export was not confirmed. [source 1] [source 2] |
| Trust, security and support | 10% | 3 | Public status page, 24/7/365 support by phone or web messaging, and a vulnerability disclosure program; no named certification found. [source 1] [source 2] [source 3] |
What do Reddit users say about Toast Email Marketing?
Reddit opinion is mixed. One pizza owner says weeks with emails bring extra online sales, and several users call it cheap and fine for simple bulk email or for a few locations. Others say it has few features and limited reporting for multi-unit groups, and one owner who moved to Klaviyo found the guest data hard to carry across.
...the marketing specific options generate sales. Weeks I run emails tend to lead towards $6,000 additional in online sales for my pizza place. I email customers every other week, and have 9,000 emails on the list. Around 51% open rate to the emails....
...Toast marketing is cheaper but really lacks any features. If your goal is to have a quick and easy way to bulk email then toast is fine....
If you're multi unit it's pretty bad. It's dirt cheap though so that's nice but it's really hard to quantify anything because they only give you 3 metrics....
We really like many things about toast but their marketing suite was not one of them…we switched to Klaviyo really quickly, But then you quickly discover how completely disconnected all the customer data is in toast....
Depends on how many locations you have and what your goal is. Toast marketing is fine for brands that have <5 locations.
What are the best alternatives to Toast Email Marketing?
- Popmenu review: Popmenu provides restaurant websites, ordering, and marketing tools, including an AI phone add-on.
- Owner.com review: Owner.com offers websites, ordering, and marketing for independent restaurants with public pricing.
- Chowbus review: POS, online ordering, loyalty and SMS marketing from one vendor with on-site setup; every plan is sold by quote.Disclosure: Chowbus is a commercial partner of CreatoRain, which is made by Midwest AI Solution Inc., the owner of this site.
- SevenRooms review: SevenRooms offers a guest CRM, reservations, waitlist, and marketing tools with unpriced plans.
- Our own product: CreatoRain is made by Midwest AI Solution Inc., which owns this site and whose CEO is the editor responsible for these pages.CreatoRain review: Finds food creators in the areas of your locations and tracks each one to a booked visit and a video; it does not measure views or sales.
Where Toast Email Marketing is ranked and compared
Frequently asked questions
Do you need Toast POS to use Toast Email Marketing?
Yes, it uses guest and order data from Toast POS and Toast Online Ordering.
Does Toast Email Marketing include SMS?
Yes, the product page lists email, SMS and social campaigns.
What is Toast IQ Grow?
It is a Toast bundle that adds an AI Marketing Agent (labelled beta) and a dedicated Marketing Success Manager to websites, online ordering, ads, loyalty, gift cards, and email and SMS. Ad spend and per-delivery fees are charged separately.
Does Toast Email Marketing write emails with AI?
Yes, an AI assistant writes the email copy, and you review it before it is sent.
Sources
- Toast: Restaurant and Retail Email & SMS Marketing (read )
- Toast: Official Toast Restaurant POS Pricing & Plans (2026) (read )
- Toast IQ Grow (read )
- Toast: Report a vulnerability (read )
- Toast System Status (read )
- Toast platform docs (read )
Changelog
- : Drafted with AI assistance and checked against the cited sources. Peter Chen, CEO of Midwest AI Solution Inc., is the editor responsible for this site and its corrections.
- : Added Chowbus and our own product to the alternatives.
- : Published without a hands-on test; the setup score is capped at 3 until one is done.
- : Pricing rescored to the lowest score: products are named but none is priced. Rewrote the answer and summary in plainer words.