
How much does a restaurant kiosk cost, and how much does it bring in?
Prices, subscriptions, commissions... Discover the true cost of a kiosk and its impact on your restaurant's average bill and sales.
All-inclusive, expect to pay between €2,000 and €2,500 for a kiosk installed in your restaurant, and up to €10,000 for more high-end equipment such as the kiosks at Mcdonald's.
On top of this comes a monthly subscription fee (€40 to €200 per terminal), commissions on each transaction, and sometimes even indirect costs that can weigh heavily.
In this article, we're going to break down all these expense items so that you know exactly what an order terminal costs, how to avoid unpleasant surprises, but also how much it brings you in terms of additional sales.
And if you want to know how profitable a terminal is, when it's well chosen, it pays for itself in just a few months. But more on that below.
1. The 4 factors for calculating the price of an order terminal
The price of a control terminal is divided into 4 factors:

I. Equipment
Including the bollard and installation, you can expect to pay €2,500 per bollard, all-inclusive.
An entry-level kiosk generally costs less than €1,000, but has a number of drawbacks: the screen is too small, it's slow, customers are discouraged by a lack of responsiveness, and the order path is limited (with no suggestions for menus or additional products).
The really serious, high-performance models come in at around €1,600 for a 22" kiosk with integrated payment, like Tabesto's FOX kiosk.
Larger, highly-customizable kiosk models like those at Mcdonald's can run up a bill of up to €10,000 per kiosk.
But a kiosk isn't just a screen: you also need to integrate it into your restaurant. Here are the elements you'll usually find on your quotes:
- Payment system : integrated payment (less expensive) or with an Eftpos terminal and printer
- Network installation: to connect your terminals to the Internet
- Physical support: wall, floor or counter mounting
- Delivery charges: generally billed per point of sale
- Set-up costs : to activate your menu and deploy it on the provider's infrastructure
Including installation costs, a 22" bollard costs around €2,500 for the first bollard installed. Thanks to the mutualization of installation and commissioning costs, the cost per bollard decreases thereafter: for three bollards, it drops to around €2,000 per unit. For a precise estimate tailored to your restaurant, please contact us for a personalized quote.

II. Subscription
The second factor is software subscription. Behind a kiosk, there's a tool that needs to be updated with new features and enhancements, secure, and offer support when needed.
Prices and offers vary enormously.
Some providers limit themselves to a basic service with unresponsive e-mail support, others include 7/7 support like we do at Tabesto, with regular updates and advanced features to maximize the average basket and optimize order time.
Generally speaking, the less expensive the subscription, the less responsive and qualitative the support will be in the event of a problem, and the less effective the ordering software will be in maximizing your average basket.
III. Commissions
Unless you use your own terminals, all terminal providers charge a percentage or a fixed fee on each transaction, and these fees vary according to the provider and equipment chosen.
Commissions are generally 0.4% to 1% + 3 to 5 centimes per transaction, to which you must add 0.20% to 0.30% interchange fee in France. In many cases, you'll also need to take into account the transfer fees that some service providers charge when you want to transfer money to your account.
At Tabesto, all commissions are grouped into a single, transparent rate, which becomes more advantageous as your sales volume increases. Your money is transferred to your account every night, and there are no other hidden charges.
Our volume of transactions allows you to benefit from rates that are more attractive than the market average.
These commissions may seem low to you, but in relation to your annual sales, they are by no means negligible, and can quickly cost you several thousand euros.
On €10,000 sales at €15 average basket, the classic system will cost you around €100, whereas the commissions negotiated by Tabesto will be around €65, i.e. 35% less expensive.
Tip: Don't base your choice of terminal provider solely on the price of the equipment. Calculate the actual amount of commission (provider + interchange) based on your latest sales figures, then compare your quotes over a 3-year period to see which offer is the most advantageous over the long term. You're in for a surprise.
Need help understanding your quote? Contact our experts to understand it and compare it line by line with a Tabesto terminal.
IV. Equipment financing
Finally, there's the question of financing the equipment. Buying a kiosk in cash is cheaper over the long term, but requires cash flow, which is sometimes difficult to mobilize for a recently opened restaurant or one subject to seasonal fluctuations.
Leasing makes it possible to spread the purchase over several years and to become the owner at the end of the contract, but can increase the cost of the equipment by up to 30%.
Despite this extra cost, a control terminal pays for itself in just a few months, and this 30% increase is clearly worth the investment, as you'll soon be in the black.
And speaking of return on investment, let's get to the heart of the matter.
2. How much does a terminal earn?
We've been talking about cost since the beginning of this article, but you have to see the order terminal as an investment in a tool that will help you improve your profitability.
At Tabesto, the cost of a terminal pays for itself in just 3 to 10 months.
Your profitability will depend on your flow, the optimization of your menu and suggestions, the photos of your dishes, the layout of the kiosks in your room, and many other criteria.
In general, a well-chosen and well-integrated bollard will :
- Increase your average shopping basket by 10% to 30% with automatic suggestions.
- Increase your number of orders per department by up to 10%, especially if you're losing flow due to long queues today.
- Reduce waiting times, improve customer loyalty and satisfaction.
- Reduce the load on your checkout teams and optimize productivity.
- Modernize your restaurant's image and make it more attractive.
- Use kiosks as a marketing channel to promote your current offers and attract customers.
To help you see the return on investment, here's a ROI simulation for a restaurant with three possible scenarios: low impact of kiosks, moderate impact and high impact on average ticket and order flow:

Even with conservative assumptions, the return on investment for kiosks is rapid: they generally pay for themselves in 3 to 10 months, then generate between €17,000 and €96,000 in additional sales over 3 years, once all costs have been deducted.
In the most extreme cases, they can pay for themselves in 1 month and generate over €200,000 in additional sales in 3 years.
If your cash flow doesn't allow you to buy the equipment in cash, leasing is an interesting alternative: the gains generated more than compensate for the 30% price increase associated with this type of financing.
In short, the sooner you adopt bollards, the faster you'll improve your profitability, whatever your financing method.

3. The costs we forget but end up seeing
On paper, the quotation may seem clear. But in reality, certain inconspicuous lines end up appearing on your operating account. And that can sting.
Take Alex, a real-life mix of restaurateurs disappointed with the "cheapest" solutions, who call Tabesto for a fresh start.
Alex thought he'd got the deal of the century with his terminal €300 cheaper than the other quotes. Two months later, the deal fell through.
The terminals break down on a Friday evening, in full service. Support? Unreachable for three days. Result: customers return to the counter, queues grow longer, and it's impossible to absorb the entire flow.
When they are finally up and running again, Alex notices that customers spend more time ordering than eating. The interface isn't intuitive, the average basket hasn't taken off at all, and some regulars end up going to see if the salad is greener elsewhere... or rather, if the terminal is faster at the neighbor's.
Then comes the bank statement: commissions are higher than expected, due to interchange fees deliberately avoided during negotiation. The "bargain" nibbles away at several thousand euros of annual margin.
The icing on the cake: transfer fees are added to each transfer to his account. To limit the damage, Alex only transfers his money once a week, at the cost of a less flexible cash flow.
Two years later, the equipment is already showing signs of fatigue. The terminals were already not very fluid, and in six months' time, they'll probably have to be replaced.
The "cheapest" has become the most expensive, and has taken a heavy toll on Alex's restaurant profits.
To sum up, when making your choice, pay particular attention to :
- The quality of the equipment, mainly the bollard, to ensure its reliability and performance over time.
- An optimized order path to maximize the average basket and reduce waiting time
- The quality of support, which must be responsive and efficient
- Clear commissions and transfer fees to avoid unpleasant surprises, so make your estimates before choosing your service provider.

In conclusion, a well-chosen control terminal is not an expense, but an investment that pays for itself in just a few months, and generates profits for years to come.
Everymonth without a terminal means less sales for your restaurant.
Would you like to equip your restaurant with ordering terminals? Contact our experts to discuss your project and receive a personalized quote.
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