Self ordering kiosk: what one costs a restaurant in 2026

A self ordering kiosk is a touchscreen at the counter where guests build their order and pay by card without a cashier. Of Square, Toast and Clover, only Square publishes a kiosk price: $1,999 for Square Kiosk plus $99 a month in software, or an iPad on a $149 Square Stand with Kiosk Lite at $50 a month. Both need Square Plus ($49 a month) or Premium. Over two years, one Square kiosk on Plus costs $1,349 plus an iPad, up to $4,704, on top of the plan.

How does a self ordering kiosk work?

The kiosk shows your menu with photos and modifiers, takes the guest’s card, and sends the order to your POS and kitchen like any counter order. Square and Clover pull the kiosk menu from their own POS, so a price change at the register shows up on the kiosk too. Toast’s kiosk sends orders straight to Toast POS and its kitchen displays.

Kiosks suit counter service. Toast’s kiosk page says they are most common in quick-service and fast casual restaurants and cafes, and are also used in food halls and stadiums. In a full-service dining room, guests order from their seat, which is what QR code ordering is for.

What does a self ordering kiosk cost?

These are the prices on each company’s own pages on November 2, 2026.

Square Kiosk has a 21.5-inch screen and takes orders by voice as well as touch. Square says it works in English only and in the US only, and that it needs Square POS hardware connected to print kitchen tickets or show orders on a kitchen display. Square Free cannot run either kiosk: the pricing chart marks kiosk software “Not available in Square Free”.

Kiosk Lite turns a compatible iPad on a Square Stand into the kiosk. Square’s Stand page says it takes no offline payments, and the Stand cannot connect directly to printers or other accessories while it runs Kiosk Lite.

Toast’s kiosk can be wall-mounted or freestanding and takes dine-in, takeout and curbside orders. Its FAQ says the price depends on hardware, mounting, the number of units, software and processing, and sends you to a quote.

Clover Kiosk is one device with a 24-inch order screen, an 8-inch payment screen and a built-in receipt printer. It mounts on a counter, a wall or a floor stand. The page has no price, only a “Contact sales” button.

What does one kiosk cost over two years?

For a restaurant already paying for Square Plus or Premium, one kiosk adds its hardware and 24 months of software.

If you are on Square Free today, add $1,176 for 24 months of Plus. Square’s 24-month payment plan is subject to credit approval at 15% APR and is not offered in AL, DE, MO, MS, NH or TN. Card processing is not in the table, because a kiosk order replaces a counter order you would have run through the same card rate anyway.

Square Kiosk paid up front works out to about $182 a month. Toast’s kiosk page quotes Protein Bar & Kitchen finding tickets “5-10% higher at self-serve kiosks than at the counters” in an early test. If that held for a shop taking 1,500 kiosk orders a month at $15, it would mean $1,125 to $2,250 more in sales a month, before food cost. It is one chain’s early test, quoted by the vendor, so check it against your own tickets before you count on it.

Is QR ordering cheaper than a kiosk?

QR ordering puts the menu on the guest’s own phone, so there is no hardware at the counter. It is not always cheaper, because online card rates are higher than in-person ones and the gap grows on small tickets.

Take the same 1,500 orders a month at $15, or $22,500 of food, before tax and tip:

For a counter-service shop already on Square Plus, Square’s kiosk costs the restaurant less than QR ordering through Expresso at these ticket sizes. Our Square online ordering cost breakdown has the rest of Square’s plan prices, and our Toast vs Square comparison prices the two POS systems side by side.

Which one fits your restaurant?

• You run counter service on Square Plus or Premium with a line at lunch. Start with Kiosk Lite on an iPad you own. At $30 to $50 a month it is the cheapest published kiosk, and you can move to Square Kiosk if guests use it.
• You run Toast or Clover. Their kiosks connect to the POS you already have, so ask for the hardware, software and card rate in writing before you sign, since none of the three is published.
• You run a full-service dining room. Guests are already seated, so table QR codes do the job of a kiosk without a screen by the door. Our QR code ordering cost guide prices Square, Toast, Clover and ChowNow for table orders.
• You have a small counter or no POS. A kiosk needs floor or counter space and a POS behind it. QR codes need a printed card and a phone.

If kiosk orders go to a kitchen screen, our kitchen display system price guide covers what Square, Toast and Clover charge for those.

Where Expresso fits

Expresso is not a kiosk and not a POS. Guests scan a QR code at the table or counter, or open your ordering page, and order and pay by card on their own phone. Orders ring on Expresso’s kitchen tablet ($149 once), with tickets on a Star Micronics printer if you add one. It takes pickup, curbside, dine-in and scheduled orders, with no monthly fee and no contract.

The restaurant pays 3.2% + 30¢ on the order total, and guests pay a 2.5% convenience fee on the food subtotal, shown at checkout. Expresso does not ring up counter sales, take cash or run a screen at the door. If you are on Square Plus and want a kiosk, Square’s is cheaper. If you have no POS, or a POS whose kiosk is quote-only, Expresso lets guests order on their phones with no hardware but a tablet in the kitchen. Our comparison of online ordering systems prices it against the other options for pickup.