Best Certus AI alternatives for restaurants?
Pick Maple if you need the monthly price and a long POS list in writing. Pick Certus if you want a YC-backed 48-hour standup and can wait for a quote.
Pick Maple if you need the monthly price and a long POS list in writing before you talk to sales. Pick Certus if you want a Y Combinator company that prints a 48-hour standup and a 15-minute call-forward, and you can wait for a quote. Both name Toast, Square, and Clover.
You want Friday night in the POS. The rest is a sales page. Ask both to run the system you already have — not a generic Toast sandbox if you are on SkyTab.
Certus vs Maple at a glance
| Maple | Certus | Start here if | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Published price | Voice $150 a month, or $85 billed yearly. Pro $350 a month, or $220 billed yearly. | Not on the site. | You need the number in a spreadsheet this week — Maple. |
| POS named on the live site | Toast, Square, Clover, SkyTab, Lightspeed, Chowbus, SpotOn, NCR Aloha, Oracle Simphony, and more. | Toast, Square, Clover. | You run one of Maple's extra names — Maple. You run one of the three they share — demo both. |
| Setup clock on the live site | Minutes, not weeks on maple.inc/integrations. | 48 hours. 15-minute forward. | The 48-hour clock matters more than a public price — Certus. Ask both for your POS. |
| Payments | Secure payment over the phone on Pro. | SMS link or POS, per certus-ai.com. | Either can take money. Run both on a real ticket. |
| Languages | Multilingual voice on Voice and Pro. | Multilingual, per certus-ai.com. | Either, on the public claim. Test the languages you need. |
| Company signal | Published research corpus and call recordings. | Y Combinator, named on certus-ai.com. | Depends what you trust. Neither replaces a demo on your menu. |
What does the live Certus site say?
certus-ai.com is a Y Combinator restaurant voice agent. It names Toast, Square, and Clover. It claims a 48-hour standup and a 15-minute call forward. Payments are an SMS link or through the POS. It claims multilingual support. Pricing is not printed. An older Maple preview that said Certus POS brands were undisclosed is stale. They print those three now.
What does Maple publish that Certus does not?
Maple Voice is $150 a month, or $85 a month billed yearly. Maple Pro is $350 a month, or $220 a month billed yearly. Minutes and call volume are unlimited. No per-minute fees. No contracts. Enterprise is custom. Integrations add SkyTab, Lightspeed, Chowbus, NCR Aloha, Oracle Simphony, OpenTable, and more on top of Toast, Square, and Clover. If you run one of those extra systems, Maple is the vendor that already printed the name.
When should you still demo Certus first?
Demo Certus first when a 48-hour clock and a 15-minute forward matter more than a public price, and you already run Toast, Square, or Clover. Ask for the monthly number, overage rules, and whether SMS-link payments match how your guests already pay. Demo Maple first when you need the cost in a spreadsheet this week, or when your POS is SkyTab, Lightspeed, Chowbus, or NCR.
How should a restaurant compare the two without invented ROI?
Use your own call count, average ticket, and wage — not a vendor's "5–7x" line. Maple's published research at maple.inc/research/restaurant-phone-audit says 19% of restaurant calls arrive after hours and 40% of callers want to order (one million interactions, pulled 2026-04-28). That is a demand picture, not a Certus-vs-Maple revenue promise. Price Maple Pro at $350, or $220 yearly. Price Certus only after they send a written quote. Subtract the phone hours you actually staff.
Frequently asked questions
Does Certus integrate with Toast?
Yes. Toast, Square, and Clover are named on certus-ai.com. Maple also names Toast at maple.inc/integrations/toast. Test modifiers on your menu.
How much does Certus cost?
Not on the site. Maple's prices are public.
Is Maple or Certus faster to go live?
Maple's Toast integration page says setup takes minutes, not weeks. Certus prints 48 hours and a 15-minute call forward. Those are different published clocks, not a timed bake-off. Ask both for your POS.
Can both take payment?
Maple Pro lists secure payment over the phone. Certus lists an SMS payment link or POS payment. Those are different guest flows. Run both on a real ticket.