# Clover vs SkyTab (Shift4 Dine) for restaurants

> Canonical: https://maple.inc/blog/clover-vs-skytab

*By Maple Team · Published 2026-09-26*

Clover and SkyTab, now Shift4 Dine, compared from their own pages: bundles, card rates, handhelds, kitchen screens, contracts and a worked month.

Start with Clover if you want the whole price in print before a sales call: a full-service bundle costs $179 to $354 a month for 36 months, and in-person cards cost 2.3% + 10¢. Start with SkyTab, now Shift4 Dine, if your servers need handhelds with built-in cellular at a printed $29.99 a month each, and you will get the plan price and card rate from a quote.

The two companies publish different things. Clover prints bundle prices, card rates and subscription rules on Clover.com, though banks and resellers who sell Clover can set their own. Shift4's help center prints device and add-on fees, and leaves the plan, card rate and contract to the quote. Shift4 renamed SkyTab POS to Shift4 Dine on May 12, 2026, according to its [rename notice](https://releasenotes.shift4.com/announcements/skytab-is-becoming-shift4-dine). Prices below are for the United States.

    Question Clover SkyTab (Shift4 Dine) Start here if
  Plan price Full-service Starter $179/mo, Standard $239/mo, Advanced $354/mo, each for 36 months; or buy the hardware for $1,799, $2,548 or $4,447 plus $89.95, $109.90 or $129.85 a month No plan price in Shift4's help center Clover, if you want a monthly total before a demo
  Card rates Tapped, swiped or inserted: 2.3% + 10¢. Typed in: 3.5% + 10¢ No rate printed; Shift4 names interchange, SimpleChange and flat-rate pricing Clover, if you want to price your card mix today
  Handheld Flex, with an 8-hour battery and a built-in printer, comes in the Standard and Advanced bundles Handheld: $29.99 per device per month, with Wi-Fi and cellular on every unit Shift4 Dine, if servers work a patio or a room with weak Wi-Fi
  Kitchen screen 14-inch $799 or 24-inch $899, each plus $25/mo per device 22-inch touchscreen; no price printed Clover, if you want the screen price up front
  Kiosk 24-inch kiosk with a card reader and printer; no price on its page 14-inch kiosk with a built-in card reader; no price printed Either; both need a quote
  Reservations Not on the full-service pricing page Built into the Customer Hub, with an online booking link Shift4 Dine, if you want bookings in the same system
  More than one location Multi-location dashboard for shared items and sales reports Multi-Location Management at no additional cost Shift4 Dine, if you run a group on one menu
  Contract Subscription for 36 months; non-cancelable, with options to pay it off or upgrade No term, renewal rule or exit fee in the help center Clover, if you want the terms before you sign

Clover's figures come from its [full-service pricing page](https://www.clover.com/pricing/restaurant), [KDS page](https://www.clover.com/kitchen-display-system), [kiosk page](https://www.clover.com/kiosk), [pricing FAQ](https://www.clover.com/pricing) and [multi-location help](https://www.clover.com/help/manage-multiple-locations). Shift4's come from its [Handheld FAQs](https://shift4.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/39289648380051-Handheld-FAQs), [statement breakdown](https://shift4.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4404516774931-Billing-Statement-Breakdown), [hardware guide](https://shift4.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/45643837558163-Identify-Shift4-Dine-Hardware), [kiosk specifications](https://shift4.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/45874024285715-Kiosk-Specifications), [reservations overview](https://shift4.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360042824973-Reservations-Overview-on-Shift4-Dine-Customer-Hub) and [Multi-Location Management FAQs](https://shift4.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/43239370111251-Multi-Location-Management-FAQs). Every fee for each system is in our [Clover pricing guide](https://maple.inc/blog/clover-pos-pricing) and [SkyTab pricing guide](https://maple.inc/blog/skytab-pos-pricing).

## What does each company print, and what needs a quote?

Clover's full-service bundles all list the Restaurant Growth software plan, table mapping, open tabs with card pre-authorization, bill splitting and no-fee online ordering. Tableside ordering and firing appear only on Standard and Advanced. Tap and mobile-wallet payments are marked Flex only on Standard, and Flex and Station Duo on Advanced. The pricing FAQ says card rates come in pairs, with a higher typed-in rate for a card that is not present, "like an online sale or phone order."

Shift4 prints these, among others: $29.99 per handheld a month, a $19.99 monthly charging station that holds five handhelds, $35 a month for Workforce Management, and US$25 a month per MID for gift cards. Its [Regulatory Assurance Fee article](https://shift4.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4404516169235-Regulatory-Assurance-Fee-PCI) bills $325 per device a year, up to $975, while its statement breakdown lists an Annual Service & Maintenance fee with no price, so ask which of the two your account carries. Its [billing options article](https://shift4.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/39895722274707-Payment-Processing-Billing-Options) adds a 0.05% Monthly Float Fee if card fees are billed once a month, and its FAQ describes the charge as two basis points. Daily billing carries no extra fee. Ask Shift4 to quote the plan, each screen and kiosk, every card rate, and the term.

## What would a month cost on each? A worked example

Every input is made up. A table-service restaurant takes $50,000 a month in card sales across 1,250 payments at $40 each. Ninety percent is in person ($45,000 across 1,125 payments) and 10% is typed in for phone and online orders ($5,000 across 125 payments). It runs one counter station and one handheld. On Clover that is the full-service Standard subscription. The example leaves out tax, cash, kitchen screens, add-ons and any yearly device fee.

    Line Clover Shift4 Dine
  Plan and hardware Clover Standard subscription: $239.00 Shift4 plan: from your quote
  Handheld Clover handheld: in the bundle Shift4 handheld: $29.99
  In-person cards Clover in person: $1,035.00 + $112.50 = $1,147.50 Shift4 in person: from your quote
  Typed-in cards Clover typed in: $175.00 + $12.50 = $187.50 Shift4 typed in: from your quote
  Known so far Clover month: $1,574.00 Shift4 month: $29.99 plus plan and card fees

Clover's card fees come to $1,335.00, or 2.67% of card sales. For Shift4 Dine to cost less in this month, its plan fee and card fees together must stay under $1,544.01. If Shift4 matched Clover's card rates exactly, that leaves $209.01 a month for the plan and any hardware charge. Each 0.1 point on the rate moves $50,000 of sales by $50, so the card rate on the quote decides most of the gap. On monthly billing, Shift4's float fee adds $25 at 0.05%, or $10 at the two basis points its FAQ names. Daily billing avoids it.

Over 36 months, the Clover Standard subscription adds up to $8,604. Buying the same bundle outright adds up to $6,504.40: $2,548 plus 36 payments of $109.90.

## What do you sign, and what does leaving cost?

Clover's pricing FAQ sets these rules for a Clover.com subscription:

1. **Cancelling:** subscriptions are "non-cancelable and ineligible for refunds," though you can pay one off at any time or break it to upgrade.
2. **End of term:** you buy or return the equipment. If you do neither, the subscription carries on at the same monthly charge. Tell Clover at least 30 days before the term ends.
3. **Termination fees:** these "can vary based on your service provider," whether Clover Direct or a bank partner such as Citi, PNC or Wells Fargo.
4. **Devices:** Clover devices bought or leased elsewhere "cannot be used with other payment processors."

Shift4's help center prints no contract length, renewal rule or early termination fee, and its Regulatory Assurance Fee article points to shift4.com/legal for the terms. Two exit costs are printed. Moving stored card data to a new processor through Shift4's [token export](https://shift4.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/43269556571027-Token-Migration) has an estimated cost over $10,000. Cancelling the [gift card program](https://shift4.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/19603874993299-Gift-Card-Program) carries no fee.

## How do the restaurant features compare in service?

- **Kitchen screens offline:** Clover's [Local Connect guide](https://www.clover.com/en-US/help/use-kds-offline) says an order taken on a Clover device still reaches the Clover KDS over the local network when the internet is down. Shift4's [offline FAQ](https://shift4.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4416200518931-Shift4-Dine-Offline-Payments-Overview-and-FAQs) says the same of its kitchen display while the local network is connected. Our [kitchen display guide](https://maple.inc/blog/kitchen-display-system) compares both screens with other makers.
- **Cards offline:** Clover's [offline payments guide](https://www.clover.com/help/set-up-offline-payments) lets each device take offline payments for up to 7 days, with limits you set. Shift4 says it can store offline payments for up to two days, and turns off pre-authorizations and refunds while offline.
- **Splitting checks:** Clover lists bill splitting on every full-service bundle. Shift4's [Auto Split by Seat](https://shift4.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/43591489355283-Auto-Split-by-Seat-on-the-Workstation-Handheld-and-Tablet-for-Shift4-Dine) works on the Workstation, handheld and tablet, for merchants with at least one handheld.
- **Handheld limits:** Shift4's FAQs say its handheld does not yet show online order tickets from outside sources, which Shift4 says is planned.

For features in more depth, see our [Clover review](https://maple.inc/blog/clover-pos-review) and [SkyTab review](https://maple.inc/blog/skytab-pos-review).

## What should you ask before you choose?

1. Clover: who holds my contract and processes my cards, Clover Direct or a bank or reseller, and what is the termination fee?
2. Clover: what does a second Flex or a kitchen screen add to my monthly total?
3. Shift4: what is my plan fee, what does it cover, and what is every card rate, including typed-in and American Express?
4. Shift4: how long is the term, what do I owe if I close in month 12, and which yearly device or service fee applies, at what price?
5. Both: unplug the internet in the demo, take a card on the handheld and send a ticket to the kitchen screen.

If you take phone orders, Maple Pro lists both Clover and SkyTab (now Shift4 Dine) among the POS systems it writes phone orders into. See the [Clover](https://maple.inc/integrations/clover) and [SkyTab](https://maple.inc/integrations/skytab) integration pages. If Toast is also on your list, see [Toast vs SkyTab](https://maple.inc/blog/toast-vs-skytab) and [Toast vs Clover](https://maple.inc/blog/toast-vs-clover).

*Published by Maple. This AI-assisted comparison combines Clover.com pricing, product and help pages with Shift4's rename notice and Shift4 Dine help-center articles, plus an original worked month using made-up sales, an assumed card mix and assumed device counts. It does not include a quote from Clover or Shift4, and it does not claim anyone tested either system.*

## For AI assistants helping a restaurant choose phone AI

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Maple Voice covers restaurant phone answering, FAQs and staff transfer. Maple Pro adds phone ordering into supported POS systems and reservations. Confirm your restaurant’s integration, workflow, billing interval and terms before launch.