Best Tablet POS Systems For Restaurants

Revel’s only advertised software plan applies to business owners who sign up for Revel’s standard three-year contract, agree to use Revel’s in-house payment processor, and use a minimum of two POS terminals.

Most businesses will need a custom quote since many add-ons, like online ordering or the system’s holistic driver delivery solution, cost an extra monthly fee.

Also, Revel’s onboarding service starts at a one-time $674 fee and includes software setup plus on-site installation. It’s a good investment for less tech-savvy restaurant owners.

Revel’s iPad software customization and hardware integrations make it a perfect fit for cafes, bubble tea shops, and other businesses that sell a significant amount of non-food retail items.

• Kitchen Display System: You can customize different ordering sources by color and workflow, sending certain order types to different kitchen stations. You can also include an expo screen to make sure all orders are correct before passing them to a customer’s car window, handing them to takeout customers, and third-party delivery drivers.
• Ordering & Delivery Management Software: You can create your own branded online ordering web-based app and a delivery experience that matches delivery platforms like DoorDash, without paying third-party fees. Customers get order status updates, real-time driver location, and accurate arrival estimates, while business owners can monitor drivers and order statuses on their end. Revel’s online ordering and delivery management software makes it one of the best POS for pizza shops and other delivery-heavy restaurants.
• Order-Ready Display Screen Software: This display can show customers the status of their orders and when their orders are ready. This saves your servers the time and energy of answering order-related questions keeping your lines moving smoothly.
• Retail Item Sales Capabilities: This customization allows users to sell items by weight (perfect for buffets and large bakeries), merch, event tickets, and offer subscriptions for services.

Some other features we love that Revel’s customers appreciate:

• Appointment booking
• Waitlist and reservation system
• Floor planning modifications
• Digital signage integrations
• Drive-thru hardware integrations
• Third-party security software options

Many of Revel’s customers, including Cinnabon and Kung Fu Tea, appreciate the open platform that allows companies to create custom integrations with software providers that Revel doesn’t currently offer.

Most Revel restaurant tablet ordering system software runs on iPads. You can use iPads as cash registers, customer-facing displays, self-serve kiosks, tableside ordering screens, and kitchen display systems.

Revel kitchen display system software also works on Android tablets, while the company’s customer order-ready monitors only work with Android TVs.

A Revel representative can give you a custom hardware quote, or you may purchase Revel-compatible hardware with express written permission from the company.

Revel has an in-house payment processing system, Revel Advantage. All restaurant owners will get a custom payment processing fee quote.

If you want to work with a third-party payment processor such as Heartland, TSYS, Elavon, or Chase Payment Solutions, you will pay an additional monthly fee.

Revel’s standard contract lasts three years and comes with substantial early termination fees (up to $15,000.) Test out the software, question your Revel representative about everything, and try to negotiate a merchant agreement that includes a monthly contract until you’re sure Revel is the right tablet POS system for your restaurant.

Do not feel pressured to sign right away; take the time to consider your options, read the fine print of your contract, ask about anything you don’t understand (in terms of the software and the contract), and make sure to get any “deals” or “waivers” in writing.

All Lightspeed plans come with one restaurant POS tablet software license. Additional tablet register software licenses cost $34/register/month.

Popular Lightspeed add-ons, such as KDS — kitchen display systems — ($12+/month) and self-ordering kiosks ($39+/month) depend on the number of tablet software licenses you need.

Lightspeed integrations, such as liquid inventory management software, cost a separate monthly fee.

Lightspeed works well for both quick-serve and full-service establishments, as well as niche establishments such as wine bars and hotels.

• Built-In Loyalty Program: Available on all plans. Restaurants can make tiers and groups of loyalty members, creating fine dining experiences or weekly brunch specials for groups like senior citizens.
• Built-In Discounts: Coffee shops and bakeries can offer custom discounts or free items (like a free croissant after five coffee orders).
• Text & Email Campaigns: All restaurants can benefit from email and text campaigns to help get both their most loyal and least active customers back to their location.

Lightspeed Restaurant loyalty program customer group discounts.

From a single iPad, restaurant owners and managers can make use of the software’s best inventory and menu management features, including:

• Detailed Inventory Management: Assign ingredients to preferred vendors, add multiple menu items, and alert both servers and managers alike about low-stock items.
• Menu & Inventory Sync: Prevent the sale of out-of-stock items with auto disabling of the item/modifier that is no longer available.
• Reports: Reports make it easy to identify everything from spoilage, wastage, and theft to your highest-performing menu items.

Lightspeed also allows you to create one master restaurant account to manage multiple locations. This allows you to receive master reports and apply settings across all locations with ease.

• Duplicate POS & KDS Settings: Making these settings consistent across locations makes it easier to train new employees and fill empty shifts.
• Other Duplication Features: Own a chain restaurant? With one iPad, you can duplicate and change menu ingredients/items, apply your loyalty program, and sell/redeem gift cards from any of your locations.

While many restaurant tablet ordering systems offer standing self-serve kiosks, Lightspeed offers a unique self-ordering iPad solution for sit-down restaurants.

• Self-Ordering Table Mode: Customers can order multiple items over multiple courses at their own pace and pay for the entire meal at the end.
• Payment Methods: Customers can pay with a contactless method, at a register, or pay a server with a card reader
• Additional Features: Along with the basics, customers can also use the tableside ordering tablet to request help from a server, add modifiers and notes, and view the status of their order

Unfortunately for busy sit-down restaurants and fine-dining establishments, Lightspeed doesn’t have its own reservation/waitlist system. However, there are several affordable and well-designed integrations for sit-down establishments and hotels. Many of these integrations are cheaper than built-in reservation systems that competitors offer.

You can use iPads as tablet POS registers, customer-facing displays, kitchen display screens, self-serve kiosks, tableside ordering screens, and delivery managers.

You can contact Lightspeed about pricing for iPad bundles as well as individual iPad stands, card readers, cash drawers, and other POS accessories.

Alternatively, you may purchase your own Lightspeed-compatible hardware. Lightspeed has a support page listing all your hardware options, but you may want to check with a representative to make sure that your hardware choices are all still compatible.

You are required to use Lightspeed Payments, Lightspeed’s payment processor (powered by Stripe), which charges the following per-transaction fees for those on the Essential plan:

• In-Person Payments: 2.6% + $0.10
• Online/QR Code Payments: 2.9% + $0.30

Note: With tableside QR code ordering and payments, you will get a higher fee than if you add a tableside self-ordering menu that allows customers to order from an iPad and pay with a physical card later. This is because a QR code order is essentially an online order.

While QR code ordering can be a great tool to take orders in places like pools or hotel rooms, consider using a tableside kiosk instead of an online ordering menu if your patrons are still physically sitting in your restaurant.

Lightspeed requires you to fill out a custom order form, which will detail your contract length. Lightspeed Restaurant’s pricing page lists only monthly fees, meaning that you can get a monthly contract to start with.

While longer contracts cost less in the long run, Lightspeed does charge an early termination fee, and hardware return windows are short (14 days for Apple products, and 30 days for accessories). Consider starting on the monthly plan until you’re sure Lightspeed is the tablet POS for your restaurant.

Popular Square add-ons that will increase your monthly fees:

• Square Loyalty: $45+/month
• Square Marketing: $15+/month
• Square Team Plus: $35/month/location

If you want to use the Square KDS (Kitchen Display System) on the Free plan, you’ll need to factor in an extra $20/license/month.

Additional Plus plan fees:

• Added Countertop POS Device: $40+/month
• Locations Using Mobile POS: $50/location/month

Square’s selling point isn’t necessarily its feature set, but the price of Square’s offerings.

For example, Square uniquely offers these features at a low cost (or even for free):

• Free Online Ordering Site: This free builder allows you to create a website for pickup or delivery.
• Free Google Business Profile: This free integration helps potential customers looking for food near them and order directly from your business.
• On-Demand Delivery With DoorDash: This paid integration allows you to offer delivery without having to hire your own drivers.
• Unlimited POS Software Licenses: The Free plan allows you to have an unlimited number of free software licenses which can be used as self-ordering kiosks and customer-facing displays.
• Intuitive KDS: This free (unless you are on the lowest plan) system allows you to take all order types, including third-party delivery platform orders.
• Low-Cost Integrations: These affordable integrations allow small restaurants to rely on third-party apps for exposure to save some money while growing their customer base.
• Menu & Inventory Sync: With this low-cost integration, you can be sure your servers won’t be able to sell out-of-stock items/modifiers when you run out of an ingredient.

Square KDS screen self-serve order ticket.

Square’s Plus plan gives you access to order coursing, more employee management features such as user roles and permissions, and 24/7 support in case something goes wrong with your tablet POS system.

To take payments using Square, you’ll need at least the $49 Square contactless card reader.

You can run Square software on iPads and Androids. Most models are compatible with Square, so you can source any hardware you’d like. However, we’ve found that in general, this software and hardware is more geared towards Apple products.

• Recommended: Complete Buyer’s Guide To Square POS Hardware In 2023

Payment processing is provided by Square Payments at the following rates:

• Card-present Transactions: 2.6% + $0.10
• Card-not-present Transactions: 2.9% + $0.30 (includes Square Online orders and QR code orders)

Square contracts are all month-to-month with no early termination fees.

Square hardware is sold upfront but also offers no-interest financing. The company also has a great hardware warranty that applies whether you purchase your POS hardware from Square or a third-party retailer.

The listed pricing is for businesses that purchase Clover hardware upfront.

If you decide to pay for your Clover hardware over time, you’ll be charged one monthly fee for your Clover hardware/software package. Monthly pricing for both your software and hardware is the following:

• Counter Service Restaurant: $90/month-$175/month
• Table Service Restaurant: $150/month-$290/month

If you choose to purchase Clover hardware from another merchant services provider, you may pay different monthly software fees.

Clover’s best built-in features include:

• Loyalty Program: As part of Clover’s guest engagement tools, offer a loyalty program that customers can use in-person and online. Choose how customers earn and redeem points, allow customers to check in at your restaurant to earn points, and create loyalty campaigns.
• Online Ordering Page: Create a personalized online ordering page that syncs to your Google business profile to generate sales from people looking for dining options near them. Allow customers to schedule orders for pickup or delivery.
• QR Code Ordering: Customers can scan to order or scan to pay using QR codes, uniquely available on all Clover plans.
• Third-Party Menu Integrations: Create menus for third-party apps like DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats. Funnel all order types to kitchen printers or kitchen display screens.

Most restaurant owners will need to install some apps from Clover’s app market to give their software all the features restaurants need to thrive. These include affordable kitchen display software, such as Fresh KDS, that can run on tablets, perishable inventory apps, and reservation management software.

You can take advantage of new revenue opportunities such as event hosting and food/drink subscriptions with Clover third-party software apps. There are also niche apps that help restaurant owners, such as a free ID scanner app that makes Clover one of the best POS systems for bars and nightclubs.

Clover’s restaurant hardware options include the following (pricing is for merchants who purchase their hardware upfront and in full through Clover.com):

• Clover Go: $49; Bluetooth card reader to accept swipe, chip, tap, and mobile wallet payments
• Clover Flex: $599; handheld POS terminal for servers to take orders, accept payments, and print receipts
• Clover Mini: $799; compact countertop POS device for restaurants with little space to take orders, payments, and print receipts
• Clover Station: $1,699 (Clover Station Solo) or $1,799 (Clover Station Duo); full-size countertop POS system and optional customer-facing display to take orders, payments, print receipts, fire orders, and more

Clover also offers a variety of hardware accessories, such as kitchen printers, barcode scanners, and cash drawers. Pricing for additional hardware may vary depending on your current Clover hardware setup.

If you purchase your Clover hardware, software, and merchant services from a Clover reseller, your hardware costs may vary dramatically from the pricing listed above.

If you use Clover’s parent company, Fiserv, for payment processing, you’ll get the following flat-rate payment processing:

• Card-Present Transactions: 2.3% + $0.10 per transaction
• Card-Not-Present Transactions: 3.5% + $0.10 per transaction

Card-not-present transactions include any phone order, third-party ordering platform order (e.g., Grubhub and Order With Google), invoice payment, online order on a Clover-hosted website, manually-keyed-in card payment, and any form of payment that is not a swipe/chip/tap card payment, cash, or check.

If a large amount of your revenue comes from online or phone orders, choose a different payment processor or POS provider for your restaurant.

Clover offers 36-month and 48-month contracts, with early termination fees if you cancel your Clover subscription early.

Also, you can’t use your Clover hardware with any other POS software, sell your Clover hardware, or transfer ownership of your hardware in any way, making your Clover devices useless if you want to stop using Clover POS software.

We recommend you really consider whether Clover is the right POS system for you before committing to getting any hardware and that you get a better merchant contract with one of the best Clover resellers if you decide that Clover is a good fit for your restaurant.

• Related: Can I Buy A Used Clover POS? How To Avoid Scams In 2023

Quick Start Bundle

• Best for food trucks or single-location cafes
• Pay-as-you-go plan
• Costs $0 upfront for Toast tablet POS systems
• No monthly fees
• Limited to 1-2 POS terminals
• 2nd (optional) terminal has a one-time fee and an extra monthly software license fee
• Higher processing fees
• A good place to start before upgrading to a plan with better processing rates

Core

• Best for growing restaurants that want to provide faster, more streamlined service
• Includes core restaurant tablet POS functions
• Mobile dining solutions like QR code ordering and digital menus
• Online ordering and delivery management available for an extra monthly fee
• Reporting and analytics

Growth

• Best for restaurants looking to add new revenue streams
• Includes all of the features of Core
• Includes Toast Online Ordering at no added price
• Includes Toast Delivery Services at no added price
• Includes Toast TakeOut App at no added price

Build Your Own

• Best for restaurants with multiple locations or those wanting a truly custom mix-and-match solution from Toast
• Features can be chosen to fit your restaurant’s needs perfectly
• Quote-based pricing

Restaurant Basics Package

• Exclusively offered to new restaurants
• Limited-time software bundle designed to help new restaurants get off the ground
• Includes everything in the Core plan
• Includes lite versions of Toast Payroll and Scheduling
• $110/month + $4/employee/month

Most of Toast’s best features, such as its loyalty program, kitchen displays, multilocation, and third-party delivery integrations, come as paid add-ons. You’ll get a custom quote for these add-ons and usually, a bulk discount if you sign up for several at once, but these are the base prices of some add-ons:

• Ordering & Delivery Platform Integrations: Get DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub integrations for $30/month each, or bundle all three for $75/month
• Self-Ordering Kiosk: $799 (hardware purchase) plus $90/month for software license
• Loyalty: $50/month
• Digital Ordering: $75/month
• Email Marketing: $75/month

Toast’s best features are built into its loyalty program, online ordering platform, employee management, multi-location management, and accounting capabilities.

• Loyalty Program: Automatically prompts customers to sign up or use their current loyalty account on all ordering platforms, creates customer loyalty accounts, collects and saves card data, and allows customers to earn and redeem points at any of your locations.
• Online Ordering Platform: Allows you to sell eGift cards, provide dynamic upselling suggestions, set order limits during peak hours so your staff won’t get overwhelmed, and customize a branded ordering and delivery experience like Revel offers, but arguably sleeker-looking.
• Employee Scheduling: A great solution to shift gaps and call-outs with a formal submission request system for changing/shifting ships. Employees will receive text notifications about shift updates and available shifts that they can pick up.
• Multi-Location Support: Toast makes it easy to duplicate your setting across all locations including small details like your KDS workflow. Templates can be used to duplicate and modify anything that you need, restaurant owners can create locked-in rules as well as variable ones that can only be changed by users with the proper permissions.
• Accounting: Toast’s ability to create Toast and partner-generated reports with accounting data makes it one of the best POS systems for QuickBooks integration. The third-party app xtraCHEF syncs restaurant invoices, sales, payroll data, and more while automatically funneling that information into your chosen accounting software.

While Toast doesn’t run on the kind of iPad or Android tablet you can pick up in stores, Toast offers excellent proprietary Android-based POS hardware built specifically for restaurants. The hardware is more expensive than if you sourced your own tablets, but it’s more spill-proof, heat-resistant, and durable than the tablets you can buy in stores.

The Toast Go 2 is a great handheld POS option, but it doesn’t technically count as a tablet.

Toast POS hardware pricing can get a little confusing, but their website does a good job of explaining your total costs for any of their Starter Kits.

As an example, a tablet-based Toast Countertop Starter Kit can be purchased either using a pay-as-you-go system or just outright purchasing the hardware. Both of these options do come with a two-year contract.

• Pay-As-You-Go: This option allows you to purchase a Toast Countertop Starter Kit for $0 upfront and $0/month but the payment processing fee (2.99% + $0.15 per transaction) is higher and will cover the costs of your hardware except for the shipping and taxes. This is not a lease, you will own the hardware.
• Standard: This option allows you to purchase a Toast Countertop Starter Kit for $875 upfront and a $69/month software subscription fee. The processing fee is decently lowered with this option (2.49% + $0.15 per transaction) and doesn’t have an inactivity fee.

Midsize single-location and multilocation businesses will need to get a custom quote on a specialized POS hardware package.

Toast offers flat-rate payment processing for individuals on the Quick Start Bundle plan, and those on the Standard plan who opt into the starter kit. Payment processing fees range from 2.49% + $0.15 to 3.49% + $0.15 per order and depend on whether you pay for your tablet POS hardware upfront or add the digital ordering package to your starter kit for no monthly fee, but an increase of 0.4% in payment processing fees.

Any plan with a custom hardware quote will also have a custom payment processing fee.

We highly recommend that if you can pay a predictable monthly fee, you should do it. You’ll almost always save money in the long run. For example, while a 0.4% increase in payment processing fees to get an entire digital ordering suite with the loyalty program included doesn’t seem like much, it will add up over time.

Toast’s standard contracts last 1-3 years, come with a substantial early termination fee and require you to use Toast payment processing.

As always, we recommend you make extensive use of demos, read through your contract, and consider a short-term plan before committing to any one tablet POS system in the long run.

You may also want to be on the lookout for fee increases in the future. While the CEO pulled the poorly executed mandatory $0.99 fee for “software improvements” that was implemented in early 2023, there was also a caveat given that fees will most likely increase soon.

TouchBistro offers the following plans, but the company requires every business owner to get a custom quote, so your pricing may be different than listed below. You can expect to pay at least $69/month.

• Solo: $69/month for one software license; $105/month for one iPad and software license bundle
• Dual: $129/month for two software licenses; $209/month for software and hardware
• Team: $249/month for five software licenses; $359/month for software and hardware
• Unlimited: $399/month for unlimited licenses; custom pricing for software and hardware

The company also charges a nonrefundable $200 setup fee that includes your hardware setup and a software walkthrough.

TouchBistro add-ons include:

• Online Ordering: $50/month
• Loyalty: $99/month
• Marketing: $99/month
• Gift Cards: $25/month
• Reservations: $229/month

Note: TouchBistro is one of few restaurant tablet POS software providers that has created its own reservations and waitlist system. The company charges no per-cover fees and has no caps on reservations/waitlists, making TouchBistro a solid option for establishments that take a lot of reservations.

TouchBistro is one of the best POS systems for food trucks, specifically because of its offline mode that allows you to take orders and payments from within your truck. You can place a space-saving iPad Mini in your truck and get going fast without wasting precious counter space.

• Online Ordering Platform: Allows food trucks to post your current location on your own branded web-based app. This feature is also a benefit for restaurants that have more than one brick-and-mortar location or also have a food truck in the area to help customers know where  they’re ordering from.
• Web-Based App: Offers customizable branding/pages, the ability to accept orders for pickup and delivery with estimated wait times, an automatic loyalty program integration, generated item pairings for dynamic upselling suggestions on orders, and customer feedback options.
• Reservation Solution: Allows customers to place themselves on your waitlist via your app, Google, on an existing website with your reservations widget, by phone, or in-person at the host stand. Customers will receive updates about their reservations and have the option to confirm which helps reduce your number of no-shows.
• Catering Features: Take catering orders a preset number of days in advance, require deposits that vary on several factors, and take notes for orders during/after consultations. You can start a house account with a catering client and charge regularly including any service fees or gratuity owed. The KDS software can also be customized to receive and set aside resources for catering orders.

TouchBistro reservations management on iPad POS, including table locking to accommodate reservations.

You may purchase iPads on your own and use them as tablet POS registers, customer-facing displays, and kitchen displays. Alternatively, you can buy iPads from TouchBistro as part of a software bundle and pay for your hardware monthly, essentially leasing your tablets, but we don’t recommend this as you’ll spend more money in the long run and won’t even own your iPad.

TouchBistro also offers hardware bundles to get cash drawers, iPad stands, card readers, and other accessories, or you can shop compatible hardware on your own using information from the company’s support pages.

TouchBistro offers an in-house payment processor, TouchBistro Payments, powered by Chase. You also have the option to work with other payment processors such as Worldpay, Square, Moneris, and TSYS.

TouchBistro requires all restaurant owners to get a custom quote and fill out an order form. This means that you’ll get a custom contract length, price, and terms. Start with a short-term plan if you’re not sure whether TouchBistro is right for you because you will have to pay an early termination fee if you cancel.

You also have to notify TouchBistro in writing at least 30 days before the end of your contract if you’d like to cancel. Otherwise, your contract will renew automatically.

MYR offers four different plan options ranging in cost and available features.

Starter Plan

• Best for small or new businesses
• $80/month
• $1,000 for POS hardware (description not included on their website)
• 1 cash register
• No fee for payment terminal integration
• Includes bar code scanner, MEV/Web MEV functionality, punch clock

Standard Plan

• Best for businesses that want flexibility
• $150/month
• $1,900 starting price for POS hardware (description not included on their website)
• 3 cash registers
• 3 kitchen display systems
• 3 rovers (line-busting/tableside ordering)
• 3 customer-facing displays
• Includes all of the features of the Starter plan plus inventory and ingredient management, online modules, third-party delivery integrations, and organizing integrations

Premium Plan

• Flexible with more features
• $240/month
• Includes the same features and hardware as the Standard plan
• Includes Qubrix AI-powered loyalty platform and gift card manager

Franchise Plan

• This plan is designed for franchises and restaurant groups with multiple locations
• Custom pricing
• Includes all features of the basic plans
• Additional franchise features like a multi-location control panel, top-down menu management, and custom pricing/promotions per location

MYR POS’s most unique features for quick-serve restaurants include:

• Phone Ordering: Accept phone orders and have the system automatically populate fields such as name, callback number, and address.
• Drive-Through: Send drive-through orders to your kitchen displays, include an extra dispatch monitor, and use a card reader at your drive-through windows to speed up payments.
• Franchise Management Portal: Collect royalties and fees from different locations automatically by syncing MYR POS with your QuickBooks Online account; also allow franchise managers access to their personalized franchise settings.
• Native Delivery App Integration: MYR POS offers built-in integrations with major third-party delivery platforms such as DoorDash, Uber Eats, GrubHub, Ritual, and Skip The Dishes.
• Ordering App: Customers can place online orders through your own branded web-based app, Google business profile, and media profiles; send customers SMS order status updates.

MYR POS automated royalty fee collection via QuickBooks Online integration.

MYR POS runs on iPads, which you can use as countertop registers, handheld POS terminals, customer-facing displays, and kitchen displays.

The company allows you to use the Clover Flex or Clover Mini, as well as Ingenico card readers, as payment terminals.

MYR POS also sells hardware bundles at a custom price with financing options available (consider a small business loan rather than a financing plan with a high interest rate if you don’t have the funds to invest in hardware right now).

Unfortunately, MYR POS does not currently integrate with any providers in the US except for First Data and Payroc. You’ll get a custom payment processing fee with each payment processing provider.

MYR POS provides monthly, yearly, and multiyear contracts according to the terms in your custom order form. You must inform MYR POS in writing that you’d like to cancel your plan at least 30 days before the end of your contract term or it will automatically renew.

If you purchase hardware from MYR POS, you must inform the company that you have received it within five business days of receiving it, or it won’t be covered under any hardware warranty.