# Toast Go handhelds for restaurants: Toast Go 3 specs, pricing and offline limits

> Canonical: https://maple.inc/blog/toast-go-handheld

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

What the Toast Go 3 handheld does, how Toast prices it, battery, Wi-Fi and cellular, and what works offline, from Toast's own pages and help center.

The Toast Go 3 is Toast's current handheld POS: a 6.52-inch touchscreen with a built-in card reader for tap, dip and swipe, a 24+ hour battery, an IP65 rating and a 5-foot drop rating. It comes as Wi-Fi only or Wi-Fi + Cellular. Toast prints no price for it, so you get one in a quote, and each handheld carries its own monthly software subscription.

Our [Toast POS review](https://maple.inc/blog/toast-pos-review) covers the whole system and the [Toast pricing guide](https://maple.inc/blog/toast-pos-pricing) covers every fee. This page is about the handheld: which version to pick, what goes on the quote, how it charges and connects, and what still works when the internet drops. To compare it with other handhelds, see our pages on [Clover Flex](https://maple.inc/blog/clover-flex) and [Square Terminal and Handheld](https://maple.inc/blog/square-terminal-restaurants).

## Which Toast Go 3 should you buy: Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi + Cellular?

Toast's [setup guide](https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Set-Up-Toast-Go-3) describes two versions. You can tell them apart by the button: silver on the cellular model, dark gray on the Wi-Fi model.

    Question Toast Go 3 Wi-Fi Toast Go 3 Wi-Fi + Cellular Start here if
  Where it takes orders and cards Anywhere your Wi-Fi reaches Over Wi-Fi, and over 4G when Wi-Fi is weak or gone Cellular if you serve a patio, rooftop, curbside or events
  What it needs from your building A wireless access point on your Toast network The same, plus cellular signal where staff walk Walk your floor with a test device first
  Printing away from your Wi-Fi Toast's setup guide lists cloud printing for the cellular model only Cloud printing over cellular, if one terminal is online on the same network as your printers Cellular if servers print checks outside
  Monthly lines on the invoice Handheld software Handheld software plus a cellular data fee Ask for both figures in writing
  Carrier None Picked by Toast's connectivity partner, based on the strongest signal where the device sits No carrier contract of your own

The cellular model keeps Wi-Fi and cellular on together. It prefers Wi-Fi and switches to cellular when that signal is stronger, which helps when staff walk in and out of range. Toast's [Toast Go 3 page](https://pos.toasttab.com/hardware/toast-go) lists Wi-Fi 6, a 5 MP front and 8 MP back camera, PIN on glass, end-to-end encryption and a weight of 0.94 lb.

## What does a Toast Go do in a restaurant?

- **Orders and payment at the table.** Staff take the order, fire it and take a tapped, dipped or swiped card, including Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay.
- **Line busting.** Toast's starter kit page describes the Wi-Fi handheld for patios and line-busting, and the cellular kit for food trucks, farmers markets and pop-ups.
- **Barcode scanning.** The camera scans barcodes for packaged goods once you turn on SKUs in device setup.
- **Staff notes.** Toast says its ToastIQ features can send guest details from digital chits, menu upsell suggestions (in beta) and a shift-at-a-glance view of specials and stock changes to the handheld.

The handheld runs only Toast's preloaded apps. The setup guide says it has no web browser and you cannot install other apps.

## How does Toast price a Toast Go?

Toast's hardware page prints no price. It says current customers buy the Toast Go 3 in Toast Shop, which Toast's starter kit FAQ says opens to you after onboarding, and new customers book a demo with sales. So the price reaches you on a quote, alongside these lines that Toast's own pages do describe.

    Quote line What Toast's pages say What to ask
  Handheld hardware Upfront costs are hardware and implementation; 0% interest financing is available by application, per the pricing page Price per handheld, per charging dock and per case
  Handheld software Toast's plan prices include the first hardware terminal subscription; additional charges apply for later devices The monthly fee for each handheld after the first
  Cellular data Buying the cellular model also buys its data plan, billed as a separate monthly line The monthly data fee per device
  A device with no subscription Section 4.10 of the merchant agreement lets Toast deactivate a device without an active software subscription, or charge the fees, including past ones That the quote lists a subscription for every handheld
  Pay-as-you-Go On Toast's Toast vs Square page , this Starter Kit option charges a platform fee on each transaction and carries a 2 year agreement The platform fee on each payment, in writing
  Warranty and updates Toast's small-business page says it includes a 2 year warranty; the Product Lifetime Policy adds three years of software support after the warranty ends The warranty start date on each device

Two more points sit in the agreement. You owe the software fees left in the term if you leave early, or $150 for each month left on Pay-as-you-go. Toast services run only on hardware Toast approves, and Toast's [starter kit FAQ](https://pos.toasttab.com/shop/starter-kits) says hardware you buy is yours to keep and "not leased or rented."

## How long does the battery last, and how do you charge it?

Toast's [specifications article](https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Toast-Go-3-Handheld-Dimensions) gives 24+ hours of battery and 4.5 hours to charge from empty to full. There are three ways to charge:

1. **Magnetic port** on the bottom, for Toast magnetic cables and docks.
2. **USB port** on the side. The box does not include a USB cable.
3. **Charging dock** that holds up to five devices. Take out the plastic insert if your handhelds wear protective cases.

Toast Go 2 chargers and docks do not fit the Toast Go 3, so budget for new ones if you upgrade. The [troubleshooting guide](https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Get-Help-With-Toast-Go-3) also says each Toast Go 3 reboots once a day. By default the hour is 3 a.m., and the minute matches the time the device booted. Ten minutes before, staff can move the reboot hour; at the 60-second countdown they can delay it once by 15 minutes. If your kitchen closes late, set the hour so a reboot does not land during service.

## What happens when the Wi-Fi or internet drops?

Two different failures matter here. If the handheld loses your Wi-Fi but the restaurant stays online, a cellular Toast Go 3 carries on over 4G and prints through cloud printing. If the restaurant's internet goes down, Toast's help center says cloud printing over cellular stops, and a handheld on cellular alone cannot place orders or print. Keep it on the store Wi-Fi during an outage so it prints over the local network.

In Toast's [offline mode guide](https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Using-Toast-in-Offline-Mode), handhelds on the local network keep taking orders and cards once background card processing is on, which it is by default. You carry the loss on any offline payment that is later declined, expires or is disputed. Pre-authorizations do not work unless the card was pre-authorized before the outage, and staff should keep one device each for the whole outage and not log out.

Toast's [outage preparation guide](https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Prepare-to-Operate-in-Offline-Mode-During-Service-Disruptions-or-Outages) adds two handheld steps: check that your access points cover the floor, and make each handheld forget non-Toast networks so it does not jump to one between rooms. Our [POS offline mode guide](https://maple.inc/blog/pos-offline-mode) compares Toast's limits with five other systems.

## What should you test before you sign?

1. Walk a demo handheld to the farthest table, the patio and the back door. Note every spot where Wi-Fi drops.
2. On the cellular model, turn Wi-Fi off, fire an order and print the check.
3. Ring your busiest order with its modifiers and check it reaches the right kitchen screen or printer.
4. Take a tapped card, a chip card, a phone wallet and a swiped card at the table.
5. Unplug the internet, ring an order and take a card under and over your offline limit. Reconnect and find both payments.
6. Run a double shift without charging and note the battery level at close.
7. Get in writing: the price per handheld and dock, the monthly software fee per handheld, the cellular fee, the warranty start date and the fee to leave.

If you take phone orders too, Maple Pro lists Toast among the POS systems it writes phone orders into, and the [Toast integration page](https://maple.inc/integrations/toast) lists what to test with your own menu.

*Published by Maple. This AI-assisted guide combines Toast's own US hardware, pricing, agreement and help-center pages with an original version table and quote checklist. It does not report hands-on testing of Toast hardware or a price quote from Toast.*

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