A restaurant tablet is most often the screen where online and delivery orders arrive, and many restaurants end up with one for each service. On prices published November 6, 2026, DoorDash’s tablet costs $6 a week after the trial, Grubhub sends one free, and Uber’s help center mentions a weekly tablet fee without giving the amount. If you buy your own, an iPad starts at $449, a Square Stand to hold it is $149, and a Clover Flex is $749.
What is a restaurant tablet used for?
There are four common jobs, and each one is usually a different device.
- Taking online orders. Each delivery app and each online ordering service sends orders to its own app, often on a tablet it ships you, so a restaurant on three apps can have three tablets by the register.
- Running the POS. Square sells a stand for an iPad and a handheld, and Clover sells the Flex handheld. All of them ring up sales and take cards.
- Showing tickets in the kitchen. That is a kitchen display system, and our breakdown of kitchen display system costs prices the screens and software.
- Letting guests order themselves, at a kiosk or at the table. Our page on self ordering kiosk costs covers kiosks.
The prices below cover the first two jobs.
What does each ordering service’s tablet cost?
These are the terms on each company’s own pages on November 6, 2026.
| Service | Its tablet | Running it on your own device |
|---|---|---|
| DoorDash | DoorDash Tablet, $6 a week after your trial | The Order Manager app on your own Android tablet. DoorDash’s help center lists the tablet option at $6 a week and email orders as free |
| Uber Eats | Uber’s help center mentions a weekly subscription fee for its tablet that varies by country and by connection type (Wi-Fi or data). Amount not published | Uber says you can run Uber Eats on any computer, tablet or phone with an internet connection |
| Grubhub | Free, as Grubhub’s setup guide describes it. The welcome box has a tablet, a charger, a stand and a login card | Not covered on the setup page |
| Owner.com | A Lenovo Yoga Tab 11 with a built-in stand, with the Owner kitchen app installed. No price on the tablet page | Not covered on the tablet page |
| Menufy | “Equipment included” on the annual plan, $149 a month on a 12-month agreement. The $179 month-to-month plan does not say | Not covered on the pricing page |
| Expresso | $149 once. No monthly fee | Expresso lists only its own tablet as the hardware you need |
DoorDash also takes orders straight into many POS systems. Its help center lists that as free from DoorDash, though some POS providers charge for the integration. The full set of DoorDash costs is in our guide to DoorDash fees for restaurants, and Uber’s commissions are in Uber Eats fees for restaurants.
What does a POS tablet cost?
If you want a tablet that also rings up sales at the counter, these are the published prices.
| Device | Price | Monthly option | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPad (11 inch, 128 GB, Wi-Fi) | $449 | Apple lists $37.41 a month for 12 months | 256 GB is $549 |
| Square Stand | $149 | $14 a month for 12 months | Holds a compatible iPad, which you buy separately. Card fees 2.6% + 15¢ |
| Square Handheld | $399 | $37 a month for 12 months | Card fees 2.6% + 15¢ per tap, dip or swipe |
| Clover Flex | $749 | $40 a month for 36 months on the Starter plan | Starter does not include itemized orders. Essentials does, for $749 plus $29.95 a month |
A Square Stand with the cheapest iPad comes to $598. Clover Flex on Essentials, bought outright, is $749 plus $1,078.20 over 36 months, or $1,827.20. Clover’s card fee on that plan is 2.5% + 10¢.
What does a counter of order tablets cost over three years?
Take a restaurant on DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub, plus its own online ordering through Expresso. That is four tablets. Over three years (156 weeks), the tablets alone cost this:
| Tablet | Upfront | Weekly | 156 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| DoorDash Tablet | $0 | $6 after the trial | $936, less the trial weeks |
| Uber Eats tablet | $0 | Not published | Unknown |
| Grubhub tablet | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Expresso tablet | $149 | $0 | $149 |
That is $1,085 plus whatever Uber charges. You can cut it two ways: run Uber Eats on a phone or computer you already have, which Uber allows, and ask DoorDash whether its Order Manager app on your own Android tablet carries the same $6 a week. Its help center puts that option in the same $6 column as the DoorDash Tablet.
Commissions are not in the table, and they cost far more. Uber’s Marketplace fee alone is 20% to 30% of each delivery order, depending on the plan.
How do you keep an order tablet working during service?
Grubhub’s setup guide gives the basics. Keep the tablet plugged in, use the official charger, stand it upright so the charger cable is not strained, and keep it away from stoves and ovens.
Owner.com says its tablet needs an internet connection to process orders and recommends reliable Wi-Fi in the kitchen. Uber lets you pick Wi-Fi or a data connection for its tablet, and the weekly fee depends on which you choose.
DoorDash adds a follow-up confirmation call on every order method except a POS integration, so you don’t miss an order when nobody is near the tablet.
Do you need tablets on the tables for guests?
Guests can order from their seat without one. A QR code on each table opens your menu on the guest’s own phone, and you have no device to buy or keep charged. Our guide to QR code ordering compares what each service charges for it.
Where Expresso fits
Expresso is online ordering with no marketplace commission, for pickup, curbside, dine-in from a QR code at the table, to-go and scheduled orders. Orders ring on Expresso’s own kitchen tablet, which costs $149 once, and print on a Star Micronics printer if you add one. There is no monthly fee and no contract. The restaurant pays card processing of 3.2% + 30¢ per order, and guests pay a 2.5% convenience fee shown at checkout.
It does not replace your delivery tablets. Expresso has no delivery and does not take DoorDash or Uber Eats orders, so it is one more tablet on the counter, for your direct orders. It is not a POS either, so it does not ring up counter sales the way a Square Stand or Clover Flex does.
Take orders online without a monthly fee
Expresso gives your restaurant its own ordering page, QR codes for every table and a kitchen tablet. No monthly fee and no contract: card processing of 3.2% + 30¢ per order.
Request a demo →