Self-service kiosks for restaurants: a buyer's guide

A self-service kiosk is a screen where guests build their own order, pay by card and send the ticket to the kitchen without a cashier. It suits counter-service restaurants that see lines at peak times. Most buyers start with one choice: the kiosk their POS company sells, or separate kiosk software that connects to that POS.

A newer option lets the guest speak the order while the cart builds on screen. Maple makes a kiosk that works this way; the Maple kiosk page describes it. It is in early access with a small number of restaurants.

What does a restaurant kiosk do?

The guest picks items and modifiers on a touchscreen and pays at a card reader built into the unit. The order then goes into the POS and on to the kitchen display or printer, like any counter order. Square's Square Kiosk setup guide describes a self-serve station where guests place orders and check out on their own, with kitchen tickets printed through a paired point of sale device.

Someone on staff still hands over the food and helps guests who get stuck.

Which restaurants suit a kiosk?

Square's Square Kiosk page says it was built for quick-service and fast-casual businesses, especially those with few cashiers and little counter space. That matches the pattern below.

Service style	Fit	Start here if
Quick-service or fast-casual counter with a lunch or dinner line	Strong	Guests wait to reach the register at peak times and you want more places to order
Menu built on choices (bowls, burritos, drinks with many options)	Strong	Cashiers spend most of each order reading back modifiers
Coffee shop or bakery with short orders	Mixed	The line is long enough that one more ordering point would clear it faster than another register
Food hall stall or stadium stand	Mixed	You control the floor space and power where the kiosk would stand
Full-service dining room	Weak	You want an ordering point for a separate takeout counter, since table guests order through a server

Should you buy your POS company's kiosk or separate kiosk software?

A POS company's own kiosk reads the menu from that POS and sends orders into it, so there is one vendor to call. Independent kiosk software connects to many POS systems and is usually sold after a demo. A voice kiosk adds speech to the same idea. Each row below comes from the vendor's own pages.

Option	What the vendor's page says	Published price
Square Kiosk (POS kiosk)	An iPad-powered unit with a built-in contactless and chip reader; the Square Kiosk app requires a Square Plus or Square Premium plan	Square Kiosk app: $50 per month per device with Square Plus or $30 per month per device with Square Premium; hardware sold separately
Toast kiosk (POS kiosk)	Integrates with Toast POS, routes orders to the kitchen, mounts on a wall or stands free, with screen reader support and tactile controls for blind and low-vision guests	No price on the Toast kiosk page
Clover Kiosk (POS kiosk)	A 24" order touchscreen and 8" payment screen, with a built-in receipt printer	Clover's kiosk offer page says to contact Clover for custom pricing
GRUBBRR (independent software)	A self-ordering kiosk platform that says it integrates with 93+ POS systems, including Toast, Square, Clover, NCR and PAR	Not published; its pricing link leads to a demo request
Bite (independent software)	Kiosk software for quick-service, fast-casual, convenience, foodservice and food-hall operators; its partner list includes Toast, Square, PAR Brink and NCR	Not published
Maple kiosk (voice kiosk)	Guests speak the order, the cart builds on screen, and Maple writes the ticket into the POS; Maple supplies the kiosk	Early access, priced per unit, no public price

Sources: Square Kiosk software, Toast self-ordering kiosk, Clover Kiosk offer page, GRUBBRR, Bite partners and Maple kiosk.

Pick the POS company's kiosk when your POS offers one and your menu fits its screens. Look at independent software when your POS has no kiosk or when you run different POS systems across locations. In either case, ask the vendor to show an order with your hardest modifiers reaching your kitchen display.

What changes for staff?

• Opening and closing: someone powers the kiosk on, checks it is signed in and cleans the screen. Square's guide suggests using the iPad's Guided Access setting so guests cannot leave the kiosk app.
• Pickup: kiosk orders arrive with counter orders, so the pickup shelf and name or number calling need a clear owner. Toast lists text alerts that tell guests when an order is ready.
• Help: place the kiosk where a team member can see it, and decide who walks over when a guest waves.
• Cash: ask whether the kiosk can take a cash order, decide where that guest pays, and put it on a sign.
• Sold-out items: SpotOn's kiosk page says items marked unavailable in its POS drop off the kiosk. Ask your vendor how an 86 reaches the kiosk and test it.

How do you make a kiosk usable for guests with disabilities?

In September 2022 the U.S. Access Board published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on self-service kiosks. It builds on existing ADA standards for ATMs and fare machines, which cover clear floor space, reach range, operable parts, privacy, speech output, braille and display screens. The Board's page lists its next steps as analysing public comments and preparing impact analyses.

Use those topics as questions for each vendor, and ask your lawyer what applies to your restaurant. Clover's kiosk page lists a floor stand with high and low settings for wheelchair users. Toast lists screen reader support and tactile controls. Keep a staffed register open for any guest who cannot use the kiosk. A vendor's feature list does not show that your installation meets the law.

How do payments work on a kiosk?

The POS kiosks above take cards at the unit, so card fees follow your normal processing plan. Square's kiosk hardware page lists 2.5% + 15¢ per tap, dip or swipe with Square Plus, and notes that magstripe cards need a separate Square Reader. Clover lists contactless, chip, swipe and debit PIN payments.

Ask what happens when the internet drops. Square's setup guide says the Square Kiosk app does not support offline payments. Toast says its router keeps orders and payments going through a cellular backup if you buy the cellular subscription.

How much menu setup does a kiosk need?

POS kiosks read items and prices from the POS, but you still choose what guests see. In Square's setup, you pick the categories for the kiosk and add an image to each category. A kiosk menu needs more care than a register menu, because no cashier is there to explain a choice.

1. Write short item names a guest will understand without asking.
2. Mark required choices (size, side, protein) and check that a guest cannot check out without making them.
3. Set limits on options such as "choose up to three toppings".
4. Choose one or two add-on prompts you want offered, and check their prices.
5. Add photos where they help a guest decide.
6. Place a test order for each category and compare the kitchen ticket with the screen.

What should you check before you sign?

1. Your POS appears on the vendor's integration list, and the vendor shows a test order reaching your kitchen display or printer.
2. You have every cost line in writing: hardware bought or leased, stand or mount, card reader, software per kiosk or per location, any POS plan upgrade, install and support.
3. You know the contract term, the notice period and what happens to leased hardware if you cancel.
4. You know how the kiosk behaves offline and whether it can take payment then.
5. You have the accessibility answers above, and a plan for guests who cannot use the screen.
6. Sold-out items, price changes and new items reach the kiosk as fast as your register.
7. Loyalty sign-up and redemption work on the kiosk, if you run a program.
8. You know who fixes a broken unit, how fast, and what the warranty covers.
9. You plan a trial with the counter open. Count kiosk orders, orders that needed staff help and tickets the kitchen had to correct.

If you are weighing a voice kiosk, add a test in your loudest hour. Maple's kiosk writes orders into the POS systems on its integrations page, including Toast, Square and Clover.

Published by Maple. This AI-assisted guide combines vendors' own product, pricing and help pages and the U.S. Access Board's kiosk rulemaking page with an original fit table and buyer checklist. It does not report a Maple test of any kiosk, rank vendors or give legal advice on accessibility.