Restaurant POS System Cost in the US (2026): Prices, Card Fees and Hardware

Short answer (prices checked October 13, 2026): A restaurant POS system in the US costs $0–$149 a month per location in software on Square's published plans; Toast lists plans from $0 and $69 a month, SpotOn from $0 and $55 a station. Card fees usually cost more: $30,000 a month in $50 checks costs $810–$870 in fees at Square's in-person rates (our arithmetic). Kitchen screens add $20–$30 a month each at Square, and hardware runs from a $59 tap-and-chip reader to an $899 register.

MenuBeacon makes QR ordering software; we don't sell POS systems or card processing. Prices below come from each vendor's own page, checked on October 13, 2026. This is general information, not legal or tax advice: ask your accountant or a payments lawyer about sales tax, surcharges and tip rules in your state.

How we checked: besides those pricing pages (Square, Toast, SpotOn and Stripe), we read Visa's surcharge rules and the statutes and agency pages listed under Sources.

Restaurant POS system cost: the five parts of every price

Every quote is built from the same 5 lines. Put each vendor's numbers side by side, and price the tier you'll need in month 3, not month 1.

1. Software: $0–$149 per location a month on Square's plans

Square for Restaurants publishes 3 US plans with prices. On Plus and Premium, the monthly fee applies to each location you run.

Source: Square for Restaurants pricing, checked October 13, 2026. Square also invites sellers that process more than $250,000 a year to ask about custom pricing and processing fees. The worked example below takes $360,000 a year in cards, so treat Square's rates here as list prices and ask for a quote.

Toast's pricing page (last updated August 20, 2026) lists:

• a Starter Kit from $0 a month for one location with up to 2 terminals, with a hardware kit at no upfront cost for new, single-location customers;
• a Point of Sale plan from $69 a month, with your choice of Toast hardware;
• a POS and payroll bundle for new restaurants from $69 a month plus $9 per employee;
• custom pricing for a build-your-own package.

Each Toast price includes the first terminal subscription; more devices cost extra. Toast calls its processing a flat rate but doesn't publish the rate there, so ask for it.

SpotOn's pricing page (undated) lists 2 priced restaurant plans, plus custom pricing for multi-unit and high-volume operators. All-In is $0 a station a month with hardware included, at higher card rates, with processing minimums and a 2-year minimum term. POS Essentials is $55 a station a month, month to month, with hardware extra (a Station 15 at $750 and a Handheld at $297 when we checked) plus implementation costs. SpotOn says you can't use your own POS hardware or tablets.

2. Card processing: usually the biggest line

Card-present payments are tapped, dipped or swiped on a terminal. Card-not-present payments, made online (including in a guest's phone browser at the table) or keyed in, cost more.

What each rate costs per check (our arithmetic on the published rates; illustrative):

The fixed part weighs most on small checks. At Square Free's in-person rate, the $18 check pays an effective 3.4% and the $50 check 2.9%.

Square for Restaurants Plus vs Free on rate alone. Plus's in-person rate is 0.1 point lower, which covers its $49 fee at $49,000 a month of in-person card sales (0.1% × $49,000). Premium's 0.2-point saving covers $149 at $74,500 a month. Plus also cuts the online rate from 3.3% to 2.9%: at $4,000 a month of online sales that saves $16, so the in-person break-even falls to $33,000 a month (our arithmetic on Square's list rates; illustrative).

All 3 break-evens ($396,000 to $894,000 a year) are above Square's $250,000 custom-pricing line, so get a quote before you choose a plan on rate alone. For a small restaurant below them, Plus is worth buying for its features, not its rate.

3. Hardware: $59 to $899 per device

Square's US list prices, from its hardware page:

• Square Reader (contactless and chip): $59
• Square Stand (a swiveling countertop stand for an iPad): $149
• Square Terminal (all-in-one, with a receipt printer): $299
• Square Handheld: $399
• Square Register (2nd generation): $899, or $44 a month over 24 months

A counter Register plus 2 server Handhelds comes to $1,697 at list price (illustrative), before a kitchen screen or printer.

For a small restaurant or food truck, Square's entry point for tap and chip cards is the $59 Reader on Square Free. Square says it works with a wide range of Android and iOS devices, with no monthly fees, and each tap or dip costs 2.6% + 15¢.

Toast's pricing FAQ says its services "may only be used on approved Toast hardware" and puts upfront costs at hardware and implementation, which vary with your package. It offers 0% interest financing by application, subject to approval, and, within its Starter Package, a Pay-as-You-Go plan that reduces upfront hardware and installation costs through an all-in-one platform rate. Ask what that rate is.

4. Setup, menu entry and training

Some vendors include onboarding; others charge for installation, menu entry and on-site training. A large menu with modifiers takes real time to build and test. Get the price, and who does the work, in writing.

5. Support and contract terms

Support hours vary by vendor and plan. Toast includes Toast Care in every software subscription, by phone or web messaging, 24/7/365, and SpotOn includes 24/7/365 support. Square offers chat on every plan, but its phone support runs weekdays 6am–6pm PT on Plus, and only for the first 90 days on Free; 24/7 phone support needs Premium.

Whoever you talk to, ask how long the contract runs, whether the card-processing agreement has its own term, and what it costs to leave early, including any hardware still being paid off.

Square for Restaurants cost: the add-ons that change the total

Square's US pricing page lists these extras and tier limits:

• Kitchen display: $30 per device a month on Plus, $20 on Premium, not available on Free. Our guide to what a kitchen display costs compares other apps and screens.
• QR code ordering: Plus and Premium only. Square's QR ordering page puts those sales at 2.9% + 30¢.
• Self-service kiosk app: $50 per device a month on Plus, $30 on Premium.
• Gift cards: a 2.5% load fee on Free and Plus, 0% on Premium.
• Tableside ordering, split checks, pre-authorized bar tabs and loyalty: Plus and Premium only.

Credit where it's due: every Square plan, Free included, takes commission-free pickup and local delivery orders through its online ordering profile, at its online card rate.

A year of POS costs at $30,000 a month: 4 setups compared

Illustrative arithmetic on list prices checked October 13, 2026, not customer data. Inputs: 1 location, $30,000 a month in card sales, a $50 average check, so 600 card checks a month. Hardware, sales tax and cash payments are left out.

The card fees: 2.6% × $30,000 + 600 × 15¢ = $870 at Square Free's in-person rate; 2.5% × $30,000 + 600 × 15¢ = $840 at Plus's; 2.9% × $30,000 + 600 × 30¢ = $1,050 at the online rate. Over 12 months, (a) and (c) come to $10,440, (b) to $11,028–$13,548 and (d) to $10,680–$12,840. Add the Register and 2 Handhelds priced above ($1,697) and year one of setup (b) comes to $12,725–$15,245, before a tablet for the kitchen screen or a printer.

Read the table as 2 separate comparisons:

• Taking QR orders: card fees are the same when guests pay on their phones. Square's QR sales and Stripe's standard online rate are both 2.9% + 30¢, or $1.75 on a $50 check. The software differs: $79 a month for Square Plus with one KDS against $20 for MenuBeacon Pro, or $0 on Free if guests pay at the counter instead. Square's $49 also buys a full POS, which MenuBeacon is not.
• Paying at the table vs a terminal: the phone costs more. A $50 check paid on the guest's phone costs $1.75, against $1.45 on Square Free's terminal rate: 30¢ more. On 600 checks that's $180 a month, or $200 with Pro's fee. In return, guests can pay without waiting for a card machine. You still need the terminal for cash and counter payments.

The kitchen screens in setups (b) to (d) differ too: Square's KDS app lists ticket routing and ticket timers, while MenuBeacon's live kitchen dashboard (all plans) shows Received, Preparing, Ready and Done columns with a new-order sound, and a timer on each ticket, but no station routing.

Rows (c) and (d) add table ordering and a kitchen screen without changing your terminal's card fees. The trade-off: those orders don't reach your POS. On Free, the counter takes payment on your terminal and staff mark the order paid. On Pro, payments taken at the table settle to your own Stripe account, not to Square. Either way you reconcile 2 systems at close, and on Pro, 2 payment processors.

Hidden POS costs to ask about

• Processing minimums and minimum terms: SpotOn's $0 All-In plan has both. Ask any vendor what happens if you miss the minimum or leave early.
• International cards: Square and Stripe both add 1.5% for cards issued outside the US, and Stripe adds another 1% if currency conversion is required.
• Split checks: the fixed fee is charged per card payment, so a check split across 4 cards pays it 4 times.
• Hardware financing: an $899 Register at $44 a month for 24 months costs $1,056, which is $157 more (illustrative). Square's hardware page says its credit sale plans, issued by Block, Inc., carry a 15% APR, are subject to credit approval and aren't available to merchants in Alabama, Delaware, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire or Tennessee.

Do you need a POS system if guests order by QR code?

If you take cards in person, you need at least a card terminal, for walk-ins and anyone who pays at the counter. A full POS adds features a QR ordering tool may not have: splitting by item or seat, bar tabs held on a card, coursing, floor plans and inventory.

QR ordering moves order-taking onto guests' phones; it doesn't replace the terminal at the counter. The strongest study we found measured restaurant-owned tablets, not guests' own phones: meals got about 10% shorter, with no change in staffing (Tan & Netessine, 2020). We found no published study of QR ordering on guests' phones; our guide to how table turnover is measured explains the tablet study. For the full decision, see what QR ordering costs a US restaurant.

What MenuBeacon costs, and what it won't replace

MenuBeacon Free costs $0 and doesn't expire: 3 menus with unlimited items, 20 table QR codes, 5,000 menu scans a month, table ordering and the live kitchen dashboard. Guests pay cash or at the counter. Free menus show a small "Powered by MenuBeacon" line, and Free has no staff accounts. (5,000 scans averages about 167 a day over 30 days; more than 20 table QR codes needs Pro.)

Pro is $20 a month, billed in US dollars, month to month, with no contract. Whether Pro is billed per restaurant or per account isn't published, so ask before you move several sites. Neither plan takes a percentage of orders or tips. Support comes through the contact form and email, with replies aimed at within one business day; there is no phone support.

On Pro, in the US, UK and EU editions, guests can pay at the table by card through the restaurant's own Stripe account, at standard Stripe fees. Apple Pay, Google Pay and Link appear when Stripe, the guest's device and browser, and the menu's domain allow them. Bills split equally into up to 10 parts, not by item.

Pickup and restaurant-run delivery ordering is on Pro (US, UK and EU editions). With card payments switched on, guests can also pay by card when they place a pickup or delivery order; a delivery payment is authorised first and charged when you accept the order.

There's no MenuBeacon hardware to buy: the dashboard runs in a browser on a tablet or computer you already own. You'll still need a card terminal for counter payments. Printed kitchen tickets and receipts are on every plan and need a printer you provide: any printer your browser can print to, or a thermal printer through the RawBT app on Android.

What MenuBeacon is not. MenuBeacon is not a full POS replacement and has no full two-way POS sync. It has no POS connection today; on Pro, signed webhooks can send order events to a system your developer connects. On Pro, signed webhooks can send order events to a system your developer connects.

MenuBeacon needs no special hardware, and no card reader or payment terminal is among its listed features, so you run it alongside the terminal or POS you already have. It applies one tax rate per restaurant (see sales tax below). It keeps later rounds on the same table session, but it can't hold a card for a pre-authorized tab.

US rules that change what you pay

Sales tax: state and local rates

As of July 1, 2026, 45 states levied a statewide sales tax and 38 allowed local sales taxes (one of them Alaska, which has no statewide tax), for a population-weighted average combined rate of 7.53% (Tax Foundation, July 6, 2026). Your POS has to charge the rates that apply to restaurant sales at your address, which can differ from the general combined rate; your state's revenue department publishes them.

Some checks need 2 rates. Minnesota imposes a 2.5% tax on liquor retailers' gross receipts from liquor, which the retailer may pass on to the guest but doesn't have to (Minn. Stat. § 295.75, 2025 statutes). Pass it on, and a check with food and wine carries 2 rates.

MenuBeacon applies one tax rate per restaurant, so it can't charge two rates on one bill.

Sales tax stays with the restaurant, and eligible restaurants may use Stripe Tax on their own Stripe account. Where you're registered to collect, Stripe lists it at 0.5% per transaction on its no-code tools (Checkout, Payment Links, Invoicing, Billing) or $0.50 per transaction through its APIs or another processor (Stripe pricing, undated): $150 or $300 a month on 600 $50 checks (illustrative). With Stripe Tax switched on, each menu item gets a tax category and Stripe calculates the tax; without it, there is one rate per restaurant. Which of Stripe's two prices applies to pay-at-the-table payments is a question for Stripe.

Credit card surcharges: credit only, capped, and banned in some states

Visa's merchant surcharge Q&A (February 2024) sets these conditions:

• credit cards only: never debit or prepaid cards, even when a debit cardholder chooses "credit";
• no more than your cost of accepting the card, or 3% if that's lower;
• notice to your acquirer (the company that processes your cards) at least 30 days before you start;
• disclosure at the point of entry, at the point of sale and on every receipt.

The cap is your cost, not automatically 3%. At Square Free's in-person rate, a $50 check costs you $1.45, or 2.9%, so under Visa's rule about $1.45 is the most you could add (illustrative).

State law can forbid surcharges outright. Connecticut's Department of Consumer Protection says state law prohibits them. Visa's Q&A lists other states that ban or restrict surcharging, but warns its list may contain errors, so check your own state's current law before you add one.

Card-fee rules may change. A Visa and Mastercard settlement with merchants won preliminary court approval on June 9, 2026. If finally approved, it would cut credit interchange rates by 10 basis points for 5 years, set a 1.25% interchange rate for standard consumer cards for 8 years, and let merchants decline some premium and commercial cards or add surcharges to steer guests away from them. The deal isn't final, and the National Association of Convenience Stores says it will appeal if the judge grants final approval (Payments Dive, June 9, 2026).

Interchange is one part of what you pay to take a card, so ask your processor whether any cut would reach your rate.

Card fees on tips, and service charges

Under federal law, when a tip is paid by card you may deduct no more than the card fee on that tip from what you pay the server. The tip must still reach them by the regular payday, and you can't keep any part of it. A compulsory service charge, such as 15% of the bill, isn't a tip under the FLSA (US Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #15). Your state's rules can be stricter.

Tip screens under the 2026 IRS rules

Your servers' federal tax deduction for tips, up to $25,000 a year for 2025–2028 and reduced above $150,000 of modified adjusted gross income ($300,000 for joint filers), covers only qualified tips, which must be voluntary. In the IRS's final rules, if a POS screen offers only 15%, 18% and 20%, the forced 15% isn't a qualified tip; if the guest picks 18%, only the 3 points above that floor qualify (Examples 5 and 6).

The guest must be able to take the tip to zero, with a slider or an other-amount field, and automatic gratuities don't qualify (IRS, TD 10044, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-18, April 27, 2026; effective June 12, 2026). On any system you consider, check that the tip screen offers No tip and a custom amount.

Calorie labeling for chains of 20 or more

Chains of 20 or more locations that trade under one name and sell substantially the same menu items must show calories on menus and menu boards (FDA, content current as of December 13, 2023), and the rule counts electronic and online menus (21 CFR 101.11(a)), so a covered chain's QR menus need calories too.

Questions to ask every POS vendor

1. What is my total for 12 and 24 months, including processing and hardware?
2. What is my effective rate on my average check?
3. Is QR ordering or the kitchen display included on my tier, and what does each extra device cost?
4. Can I use my own payment processor?
5. Is there a contract, and what does it cost to leave early?
6. Does the tip screen offer No tip and a custom amount?
7. Can tips and service charges be exported separately?
8. Can I export my menu, customers and sales data?
9. What support is included on a Friday night?
10. Above what card volume do you offer custom or interchange-plus pricing, and what would my rate be?

The bottom line

Price a POS on 12 months of card fees, not its monthly fee. Above $250,000 a year in cards, ask about custom rates. If you already have a terminal, keep it. MenuBeacon Free adds table ordering and a kitchen screen for $0, at the cost of reconciling 2 systems at close. Pro adds pay at the table (US, UK and EU editions) for $20 a month, if letting guests pay without waiting is worth about 30¢ more per $50 check.

Sources, checked on October 13, 2026

• Square: US restaurant pricing, US hardware, Square Reader for contactless and chip and QR code ordering (all undated)
• Toast: pricing (last updated August 20, 2026)
• SpotOn: restaurant pricing (undated)
• Stripe: US pricing (undated)
• Visa: U.S. merchant surcharge Q&A (version dated February 15, 2024)
• Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection: credit card surcharge (undated)
• Payments Dive: court approves Visa, Mastercard settlement (June 9, 2026)
• Tax Foundation: state and local sales tax rates, midyear 2026 (July 6, 2026)
• Minnesota Statutes: § 295.75, liquor gross receipts tax (2025 statutes)
• US Department of Labor: Fact Sheet #15, tipped employees under the FLSA (undated)
• IRS: Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-18, TD 10044 (bulletin dated April 27, 2026; final regulations effective June 12, 2026)
• FDA: menu labeling requirements (content current as of December 13, 2023); 21 CFR 101.11 (eCFR, up to date as of October 8, 2026)
• Research: Tan & Netessine, "At Your Service on the Table", Management Science 66(10), October 2020 (DOI)
• MenuBeacon: our published plan list for the US, UK and EU editions

To see table ordering and the kitchen dashboard with live orders, open the live demo: a fully set-up demo restaurant with no account needed, shared with other visitors and reset every few hours, with payments simulated. Or start free, or get setup help (choose the subject Setup help; the team aims to reply within one business day).