Costs and fees · verified September 2026
What restaurant POS hardware actually costs, part by part
A point of sale is quoted as one number and is really five or six things bought together. Priced separately, a standard thermal receipt printer is about $208 and a cash drawer is $53 to $139, while POS cost guides put the same printer at $400 to $800 and branded counter bundles run from $799 to $1,899. This page prices every component both ways, and marks which parts are genuinely locked to a vendor and which are ordinary hardware you can buy anywhere.
Vendor hardware prices are from each company's own pricing pages, except the Toast kitchen display line which is from named 2026 third-party reviews and labelled reported. The Epson TM-T20III price is WebstaurantStore's listing and cash drawer prices are current retail listings for 16-inch units. The $400 to $800 printer range is quoted from published POS cost guides, several written by POS companies. Read September 2026.
What a restaurant POS is actually made of
A point of sale sounds like one purchase and is really five or six, bought together and quoted as a bundle. Once you can name the parts you can price them separately, and once you can price them separately the bundle stops being persuasive.
The screen runs the software. The card reader takes payment and is the one part that must be certified for your processor. The receipt printer prints the customer's copy, and a second one in the kitchen prints tickets. The cash drawer opens when the printer tells it to, which is why it plugs into the printer rather than the computer. Everything else, the stand, the customer-facing display, the barcode scanner, the scale, is optional and most restaurants never buy them.
That last point is worth dwelling on, because bundles are built to include them. A quote for a full station often carries a customer-facing display and a scanner that a restaurant with no packaged goods will never switch on.
What each component costs on the open market
These are ordinary commercial products sold by ordinary retailers. Nothing here is POS-vendor-specific.
| Component | Typical open-market price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Thermal receipt printer | $208.49 for an Epson TM-T20III | the standard workhorse; Star TSP100 is the other common one |
| Cash drawer, 16 inch | $52.99 to $139 | $52.99 for a 5-bill 8-coin unit, $78.99 auto-open, $139 for a Star Micronics CD4 |
| Tablet as the screen | whatever a tablet costs | any iPad or Android tablet with a browser; often already owned |
| Tablet stand | commodity item | not vendor-specific unless the vendor's reader bolts to it |
| Barcode scanner | about $26 to $90 for wireless | only needed for packaged goods; most restaurants never use one |
| Card reader / terminal | tied to your processor | the one component you generally cannot buy independently |
The Epson price is WebstaurantStore's listed price for the serial/USB TM-T20III, read September 2026. Cash drawer prices are current retail listings for 16-inch units. Prices move; the point is the order of magnitude, not the cent.
What the industry says the same parts cost
Now the interesting part. POS cost guides, including several published by POS companies, put a thermal receipt printer at $400 to $800 each and a cash drawer at $80 to $200. The cash drawer figure is roughly right. The printer figure is two to four times what the standard printer actually sells for.
This is not necessarily dishonest. A printer bought inside a bundle arrives configured, supported and warranted by the vendor, and that has value. But it is worth knowing that the difference between $208 and $600 is a service charge rather than a hardware cost, so that you can decide whether you want the service.
The same logic runs through the rest of a quote. A full station at $1,500 is a tablet, a stand, a printer, a drawer and a reader, and you can price every one of those yourself in about five minutes.
What the same hardware costs branded
Vendor hardware is not the same object at a markup. It is usually a purpose-built device that runs only that vendor's software, which is the trade-off worth understanding before comparing the numbers.
| Vendor | Countertop station | Handheld | Card reader | Kitchen display |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ginger | your own tablet | your own phone or tablet | terminal supplied over $40k/mo in card volume | your own screen, no per-screen fee |
| Square | Register $799–$899; Stand $149 | Handheld $399; Terminal $299 | Reader $59 | $30/device/mo on Plus, $20 on Premium |
| Toast | Countertop Starter Kit $1,203 | Go 3 $599; Handheld Kit $1,113 | Tap $149 | about $25/mo plus $499–$899 hardware (reported) |
| Clover | Station Solo $1,799; Duo $1,899; Mini $849 | Flex $749; Flex Pocket $699 | included in the devices | $25/device/mo plus $799 or $899 |
| SpotOn | Station 15 $995 (promo $750); Station 10 $550 (promo $415) | Handheld $495 (promo $297) | included | not published |
| Rezku | $19 per station per month, rented | iPad in the same bundle | in the bundle | included in the $99 subscription |
All figures are from each vendor's own pricing pages except the Toast kitchen display line, which is from named 2026 third-party reviews and labelled reported. Read September 2026.
Which parts are locked to a vendor, and which are not
This is the distinction that decides what you can actually shop for, and it is rarely explained on a quote.
Genuinely locked: the card reader. Payment hardware is certified to a processor, which is why a Clover device cannot be repointed at another processor and why leaving Clover means replacing the terminals. Treat any payment device as belonging to the processing relationship rather than to you.
Not locked, despite how bundles present them: the printer, the cash drawer, the scanner, the stand and, with browser-based software, the screen. A thermal printer speaks a standard language, so the same Epson works with the next system. A cash drawer plugs into the printer and does not know or care what software is running.
Which means the resale question has a clean answer. Commodity hardware carries over to whatever you buy next; proprietary terminals do not and are worth nothing to the following vendor. When a bundle is quoted as a saving, the amount that strands on the day you switch belongs in the comparison.
Three ways to build one counter
One counter: a screen, a receipt printer, a cash drawer and a way to take cards. Priced three ways with the figures above.
Bought yourself: an Epson TM-T20III at $208, a 16-inch cash drawer between $53 and $139, and a tablet you likely already own. Call it $260 to $350 plus whatever the reader costs, and every part of it survives a change of software.
Bought as a branded bundle: Toast's Countertop Starter Kit is $1,203; Clover's Station Duo is $1,899; Square's Register is $799 to $899 before a printer and drawer. Configured and supported, and largely stranded if you leave.
On Ginger: the Box, up to two thermal printers and a card terminal are supplied for restaurants over $40,000 a month in card volume, and the screen is a device you already own because the POS runs in a browser. Below that volume threshold, ask. What you would still buy is a cash drawer, and it is the cheapest item on this page.
What to check before you buy any of it
| Check this | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Is the printer a standard thermal model? | A standard model works with the next POS too. A proprietary one does not. |
| Does the cash drawer plug into the printer? | That is normal and good: it means the drawer is not tied to any software. |
| Is the card reader certified to one processor only? | Almost always yes. This is the part that strands when you switch, so count it separately. |
| Does the bundle include a display or scanner I will use? | Customer-facing displays and scanners pad a lot of restaurant quotes. |
| Can I use a tablet I already own as the screen? | With browser-based software, yes. With proprietary software, the screen is a purchase. |
| What is the hardware worth on the day I leave? | Commodity parts carry over. Proprietary terminals are written off entirely. |
A vendor that itemises hardware on the quote is easy to compare. One that quotes a single bundle figure is asking you to compare one number against five.
Frequently asked questions
How much does restaurant POS hardware cost?
It depends entirely on whether you buy components or a branded bundle. On the open market a standard Epson TM-T20III thermal receipt printer is about $208, a 16-inch cash drawer runs $53 to $139, and the screen can be a tablet you already own. Branded bundles price the same counter far higher: Toast's Countertop Starter Kit is $1,203, Clover's Station Duo is $1,899, and Square's Register is $799 to $899 before a printer and drawer. The card reader is the one component tied to your processor either way.
How much does a cash drawer for a POS system cost?
Between about $53 and $139 for a standard 16-inch unit, depending on features: roughly $53 for a five-bill eight-coin drawer, $79 for an auto-open model, and $139 for a Star Micronics CD4. Industry cost guides quote $80 to $200, which is broadly right. A cash drawer plugs into the receipt printer rather than the computer and opens when the printer tells it to, which is why it is not tied to any particular POS software and carries over when you switch.
Why do POS guides say a receipt printer costs $400 to $800?
Because they are pricing a supported, pre-configured printer inside a bundle rather than the printer itself. The standard Epson TM-T20III sells for about $208 on the open market, so the gap is a service charge covering configuration, support and warranty rather than hardware cost. That service has real value; it is simply worth knowing you are buying it, so you can decide whether you want it.
Which POS hardware is locked to the vendor?
The card reader, essentially always. Payment devices are certified to a specific processor, which is why a Clover terminal cannot be repointed at another processor and why leaving Clover means replacing the hardware. Almost everything else is commodity: a thermal printer speaks a standard language and works with the next system, a cash drawer plugs into the printer and is indifferent to software, and with browser-based POS software the screen is any tablet you like.
Can I buy my own POS hardware instead of the vendor's?
For the printer, cash drawer, stand, scanner and, with browser-based software, the screen: yes, and it usually costs a fraction of the bundle. For the card reader: generally no, because it has to be certified to your processor. Ginger runs in a browser so any tablet works as a screen, and for restaurants over $40,000 a month in card volume it supplies the Box, up to two thermal printers and a card terminal, which leaves the cash drawer as roughly the only thing left to buy.
What is POS hardware worth if I switch systems?
Commodity parts keep their usefulness: a standard thermal printer, a cash drawer, a stand and an ordinary tablet all work with whatever comes next. Proprietary terminals do not, and have no resale value to the following vendor, so that spend is written off on the day you switch. When a bundle is presented as a saving, the portion that strands on switching day belongs in the comparison.
Price your own counter before you take a bundle
Ginger runs in a browser, so the screen is a device you already own, and for restaurants over $40,000 a month in card volume the Box, up to two thermal printers and a card terminal are supplied. The software is $0 a month with online ordering and there is no contract.