Vendor pricing · verified September 2026
Chowbus POS pricing in 2026
Chowbus is a POS built for Asian restaurants, with bilingual Chinese and English menus and controls for all-you-can-eat and hot pot service. Its pricing page names three tiers, Starter, Efficiency and Growth, states the final price depends on hardware and restaurant size, and advertises $0 upfront hardware for qualified restaurants, described as $826 in hardware at no cost, with no required long-term contracts. It does not publish a monthly price or a processing rate.
From chowbus.com/pos-plans/pricing, read September 2026. Where Chowbus publishes no number, this page says so.
What the Chowbus pricing page publishes
Chowbus is built for Asian restaurants, with bilingual Chinese and English menus and controls for all-you-can-eat and hot pot service, which puts it in direct comparison with Ginger more often than any other system on this site.
Its pricing page is more open than most and still stops short of a number. It names three tiers, states that the final price depends on hardware and restaurant size, advertises $0 upfront hardware for qualified restaurants described as $826 in hardware at no cost, and says there are no required long-term contracts. What it does not publish is a monthly price or a processing rate, which are the two figures that determine what you actually pay.
| Tier | Monthly price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | not published | all-in-one POS, kitchen ticketing, menu management, smart ordering (kiosk, tablet, QR, online), loyalty |
| Efficiency | not published | adds delivery integration, promotions engine, waitlist, reservations |
| Growth | not published | adds kitchen display, branded app, pickup screen, SMS, custom reporting, robotics integrations |
Also on the page: "$0 upfront hardware available for qualified restaurants," "$826 in hardware, on us," "50% off Self-Ordering Kiosk" for new restaurants, "no contracts" for the AI POS offer, and "Final price depends on hardware and restaurant size. Bundle discounts available."
What to ask, given what is missing
Because the two decisive numbers are absent, a written quote is doing all the work. Ask for the monthly fee for the tier you need, the card-present and keyed processing rates, what qualifies a restaurant for the $0 hardware, and what happens to that hardware if you leave.
The tier boundary worth checking is the kitchen display, which sits in Growth, the top tier. Starter and Efficiency use printed kitchen tickets. If a screen in the kitchen is something you want, that requirement may move you two tiers up rather than one, and the price difference is not published either.
Chowbus and Ginger, the two bilingual options
Both systems are built with Chinese and English on screen and on kitchen tickets, which is why they end up compared. The difference on cost is disclosure: Chowbus publishes tiers and a hardware offer but no monthly fee or processing rate, so the comparison below has blanks on its side that only a quote fills.
| System | Monthly software | Processing | Hardware | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chowbus | not published | not published | $0 upfront for qualified restaurants ($826 value) | "no contracts" on AI POS offer |
| Ginger | $0 with online ordering | interchange-plus, as low as 2% + 5¢ | Box, 2 printers, terminal included over $40k/mo | No contract |
Frequently asked questions
How much does Chowbus POS cost per month?
Chowbus does not publish a monthly price. Its pricing page lists three tiers, Starter, Efficiency and Growth, and states the final price depends on hardware and restaurant size, with bundle discounts available. Ask for the monthly fee and processing rate in a written quote. Checked September 2026.
Is Chowbus hardware free?
Chowbus advertises $0 upfront hardware for qualified restaurants, describing it as $826 in hardware at no cost, plus 50% off a self-ordering kiosk for new restaurants. What qualifies a restaurant is not stated on the page.
Does Chowbus require a contract?
Its pricing page says "no contracts" for the AI POS offer and describes no required long-term contracts. Confirm the term, if any, in the agreement.
Which Chowbus tier includes the kitchen display?
Growth, the top tier, adds the kitchen display screen along with a branded app, pickup screen, SMS and custom reporting. Starter and Efficiency use kitchen ticketing (printers).
How do Chowbus and Ginger compare for a Chinese restaurant?
Both are bilingual Chinese and English on screen and on kitchen tickets. Chowbus publishes tiers and a $0-upfront hardware offer but no monthly fee or processing rate. Ginger publishes all of it: $0 a month with online ordering, interchange-plus processing as low as 2% + 5¢, no contract, and the Box, up to two printers and a card terminal included for restaurants over $40,000 a month in card volume.
Compare it against a system with no monthly fee
Ginger is $0 a month with online ordering, no contract, interchange-plus processing as low as 2% + 5¢, and the Box, up to two printers and a card terminal included for restaurants over $40,000 a month in card volume. The live demo opens in your browser with no signup.