Restaurant POS hardware: what each device does and what it costs

A small restaurant's POS hardware is a counter terminal, a receipt printer and cash drawer, a kitchen printer or kitchen screen, and often a handheld for the table or the line. Square and Clover print device prices on their US sites. Toast prints none, apart from a first device from $0. In our worked example, a counter, kitchen screen and handheld on Square cost $2,337 up front.

Each vendor builds its devices for its own POS software, so choose the POS first and the hardware second. This page lists what each device does and what it costs side by side. For single devices in depth, see our guides to Square Terminal and Handheld, Clover Flex, kitchen display systems and kiosk costs. For software and card fees, see what a restaurant POS costs.

What does each device do?

Device	What it does	Who needs one
Counter terminal	The main screen where staff ring up orders and take payment, often with a screen facing the guest	Every restaurant, one per till
Card reader or small terminal	Takes cards; some print receipts or run the POS themselves	Tablet setups, pay-at-table, pop-ups
Handheld	Takes orders and payment away from the counter, at the table or in the line	Table service, patios, long lines
Kitchen display (KDS)	Shows orders to cooks in place of paper tickets; cooks clear each ticket when done	Kitchens with several stations or many tickets
Kitchen printer	Prints tickets for the line; impact printers suit hot kitchens	Kitchens that work from paper
Receipt printer and cash drawer	Prints guest receipts and opens the drawer on a cash sale	Any counter that takes cash
Self-order kiosk	Lets guests build and pay for their own order	Counter service with lines at peak
Router and access points	Keeps every device online; some add cellular backup	Everyone; more so with handhelds and a patio

Toast's hardware page gives a short version of the same list. It says most restaurants need a terminal, a card reader, a receipt or kitchen printer, and a secure router to open. Handhelds, a kiosk or a guest display depend on how you serve.

What do Square, Clover and Toast charge for each device?

Prices are each vendor's US list prices, before tax and shipping. Clover prints device prices beside a software plan, noted in the table.

Device	Square	Clover
Counter terminal	Square Register: $899, or $44/mo for 24 months. Square Stand: $149, plus your own iPad	Clover Station Duo: $1,899 + $89.95/mo on Restaurant Growth. Station Solo: $1,799 + $89.95/mo. Mini: $849 + $89.95/mo on the quick-service Starter bundle
Card reader or small terminal	Square Terminal: $299, with a built-in receipt printer	Clover Go reader: $199. Clover Compact: $349
Handheld	Square Handheld: $399	Clover Flex: $749. Flex Pocket: $699
Kitchen display	Square KDS screens: $699 (10.1-inch), $749 (15.6-inch), $899 (21.5-inch)	Clover KDS: $799 (14-inch) or $899 (24-inch), each + $25/mo per device
Printers	Square printers: receipt $319, impact $379, receipt and ticket $369	Receipt printer comes with each Station; kitchen printer prices not printed
Cash drawer	Square cash drawers: $99 (printer-driven) or $229 (USB)	Comes with each Station; an add-on with Mini
Self-order kiosk	Square Kiosk: $149 plus an iPad; kiosk app $50/mo per device on Plus or $30/mo on Premium	No price on the kiosk page
Networking	Square networking kits: from $599 (quick service) or from $1,449 (full service)	Not priced

Square prices come from its hardware comparison, Register, Kiosk and Handheld pages, its accessories shop and its hardware kits. Square's Register page lists the Handheld at $329 in its add-hardware panel. The Handheld page and the kit add-on print $399, so check the price in the cart. Clover prices come from the Station Duo, Station Solo, Mini, Compact, Flex Pocket and KDS pages, and say they apply only on Clover.com.

Toast lists a Flex countertop terminal, Toast Go 3 handheld, kiosk, KDS, guest display and Toast Tap card reader, with no prices. Its hardware page says "Starting at $0," and the footnote says the $0 "applies to first device hardware only," with software and processing fees on top. Its Countertop Starter Kit includes a Flex terminal, Toast Tap reader, router and POS software. For everything else, ask for a quote; our Toast pricing guide covers how Toast bills hardware.

What would a small restaurant spend? A worked budget

This setup is made up: a counter-service restaurant with one till, one kitchen station, one handheld for the patio or the lunch line, a receipt printer and a cash drawer. It buys hardware outright. The totals leave out tax, shipping, software plans, card fees, installation and networking.

Setup	What is in it	Up front
Square with a kitchen screen	Square Register Kit ($1,189: Register, cash drawer, receipt printer), 15.6-inch KDS ($749), Handheld ($399)	Square screen setup: $2,337
Square with a kitchen printer	Square Stand Kit for Restaurants ($1,199: Stand, cash drawer, receipt printer, impact printer, paper), iPad (A16) from Square ($449), Handheld ($399)	Square printer setup: $2,047
Clover with a kitchen screen	Quick-service Advanced bought outright ($2,648 + $109.90/mo: Station Duo, Flex, cash drawer, receipt printer), 14-inch KDS ($799 + $25/mo)	Clover screen setup: $3,447 up front, then $134.90/mo
Toast	First device from $0; the rest by quote	Not printed

The two Square setups differ by $290. The screen setup pays $749 for the KDS. The printer setup pays $10 more for its kit, which includes an impact printer, and $449 for the iPad the Stand needs. Square prints its kit and KDS prices with no monthly fee beside them. Its software plans sit on its pricing page, which our Square pricing guide covers.

The Clover monthly line is the software fee Clover prints beside the purchase price ($109.90) plus the KDS software fee ($25). Over 36 months that adds $4,856.40. Clover also sells the same bundle as a subscription at $245 a month for 36 months, without the KDS; our Clover pricing guide compares buying and subscribing.

Should you buy, finance or subscribe?

• Square sells outright or in installments issued by Block, Inc. at 15% APR, for purchases of $49 to $10,000, subject to credit approval and not offered in Alabama, Delaware, Missouri, Mississippi, New Hampshire or Tennessee. Paying for a Register at $44 a month for 24 months comes to $1,056, which is $157 more than $899. The Register Kit page lists a limited two-year warranty.
• Clover sells outright or by 36-month subscription. Its pricing FAQ says subscriptions are non-cancelable and come with a fuller warranty. Hardware bought outright gets a one-year limited warranty for defects.
• Toast quotes hardware. The first device can be $0, and the rest depends on your package.

What should you check before you order?

1. Count tills, kitchen stations, servers on the floor at peak and patio tables. Buy one handheld per server working at once, plus a spare.
2. Decide on paper or screens in the kitchen. If you pick screens, count one per station plus expo, and check whether each screen carries a monthly fee (Clover's does).
3. Check what the POS maker says each device needs from your network. Square's Handheld runs on Wi-Fi only; its Terminal takes Ethernet through a hub.
4. List the consumables: receipt paper, impact ribbon or paper, and a spare charger for each handheld.
5. Ask what the warranty covers and how fast a broken device is replaced during service.
6. Get the full hardware list priced in writing, with tax, shipping and any installation.

If a self-order kiosk is on your list, Maple's voice ordering kiosk is in early access with a small number of restaurants. Maple supplies the kiosk and writes each order into the POS, including Toast, Square and Clover.

Published by Maple. This AI-assisted guide combines Square's, Clover's and Toast's own US hardware, pricing and shop pages with an original device table and a made-up hardware budget. It does not report hands-on testing of any device or a quote from any vendor.