Square for Restaurants vs Toast for Pizzerias: Half-and-Half Modifier Logic (2026)

Spec comparison

Feature	Toast	Square for Restaurants	Weight
Half-and-half	Native portions (1st Half / 2nd Half)	Workaround: duplicate topping set as Side A / Side B	95%
Half-topping price	Full price by default; Price Multiplier per portion	Set separate prices in the duplicated set	85%
Sequence pricing (1st topping $1, 2nd $2...)	Yes	Not documented in modifier article	60%

For a pizzeria, Toast’s built-in portions are the better fit: half-and-half is native and you can control what a half topping costs. Square can do half-and-half by duplicating modifier sets, which works for a small menu but doubles the menu upkeep.

How we compared them

We read Toast’s Platform Guide pages on portions and pricing and Square’s US Support Center article on modifiers on 4 November 2026, plus Square Community threads for the half-and-half workaround. We have not built these menus on live terminals for this article, so we do not report tap counts or speed.

Half-and-half, side by side

Need	Toast	Square for Restaurants
Split pie	Portions such as 1st Half and 2nd Half, enabled on the item and topping group	Two modifier sets (Side A, Side B) on a half-and-half item
US$1 topping on one half	US$1 (default)	Whatever you price in that side’s set
Same topping on both halves	US$2 (default)	Sum of both sides’ prices
Discount half toppings	Price Multiplier per portion	Lower prices in the side sets
Size-based topping price	Yes; a half on a large costs the large price by default	Square recommends variations for sizes

Toast’s sequence pricing trap

Toast can price toppings by the order they are added: first US$1, second US$2, third US$3, then US$4 each. Toast’s documentation says sequence counts across the whole pie, not per half. Whole-pie topping, then two on the 1st half, then two on the 2nd half bills as 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 4 = US$14. If your menu board says “first topping free on each half”, the default will not match it. Test with a real ticket before launch.

Square details worth knowing

Nested sets go up to 3 levels with up to 5 child sets per modifier, which is enough for crust, then stuffed-crust filling.
Conversational modifiers add Add / No / Extra buttons in the Square Restaurant POS app. They cannot be used with “Allow multiple quantities of a single modifier”, so “double pepperoni” by quantity and Extra buttons are either-or.
With Square Restaurant Plus, you can set a separate modifier order for kitchen tickets and the KDS.
A Square Community thread and a Reddit post report that custom section titles such as “Half 1” may not print on kitchen tickets. Check that your kitchen ticket shows which half each topping is on before go-live.

Which to pick

Toast if half-and-half is a large share of orders, or you want portion and size pricing handled for you. Read the contract first: see the Toast early termination fee guide.
Square if your menu is small and you prefer no long contract.
Whichever you choose, check how each handles cards when the internet drops and cost your dough with the pizza recipe yield calculator.

See Toast for pizzerias · See Square for Restaurants

Sources

Toast Platform Guide, Default pricing of modifiers applied to portions, Configuring portions, and Altering the price of a modifier applied to a portion, read 4 Nov 2026.
Square Support Center (US), Create and edit modifiers, read 4 Nov 2026.
Square Community, Square Restaurants for Pizza location, read 4 Nov 2026.

FAQ

How does Toast price a topping on half a pizza?+

By default, a topping on one portion costs the same as on the whole pizza. A US$1 topping on the 1st half is US$1, and adding it to both halves charges US$2. Toast's Price Multiplier setting lets you change what a modifier costs on a portion.

Can Square do half-and-half pizzas?+

Square's modifier article does not describe a portions feature. The common approach on the Square Community is to duplicate the toppings modifier set into Side A and Side B and attach both to a half-and-half item, each with its own prices and rules.

How many levels of nested modifiers does Square allow?+

Square documents a maximum nesting depth of 3 levels and up to 5 child modifier sets per modifier, with no circular nesting.