Square Kiosk: price, specs, AI voice ordering

Square has launched a new flagship self-service ordering kiosk, and this one talks back. The new Square Kiosk, announced October 14, 2026, is a standalone 21.5-inch touchscreen with a built-in card reader and an AI voice assistant that knows a restaurant's menu, so customers can ask questions, get suggestions, and change their order by speaking instead of only tapping. It costs $1,999 with a counter stand, plus a $99 monthly software fee per device, and it is on sale now in the US.

It is aimed at quick-service restaurants: fast-food, fast-casual, coffee and boba shops where lines build up at lunch and dinner. Here is what it does, what it really costs, and what's different from the old iPad-based Square Kiosk.

How much does Square Kiosk cost?

Square's press release and investor-relations post (both checked about 21:23 UTC on October 14, 2026 / 02:53 IST October 15) list these prices:

Hardware: $1,999 for Square Kiosk, including a counter stand. Square says the total price varies depending on the stand type you pick. Its setup guide lists four ways to install it: countertop mount, floor stand, wall mount, or a standard VESA mount, with mounting hardware sold separately based on the option you choose.

Kiosk software: $99 per month, per device.

Required Square plan: you need a Square Plus subscription at $49 per location per month or Square Premium at $149 per location per month. Square's support page says the new kiosk is not currently available on legacy plans such as Restaurants POS Plus or Premium, and those sellers are told to talk to their account manager.

Simple first-year math for one kiosk at one location, before card processing fees: $1,999 plus 12 months of the $99 kiosk fee ($1,188) comes to $3,187. Add the Square Plus plan ($588 a year) and it's $3,775; on Square Premium ($1,788 a year) it's $4,975. If you already pay for Plus or Premium, only the hardware and kiosk fee are new. Square has not published a separate price for each stand type yet.

Square Kiosk specs and features

Square Kiosk is a tall, pill-shaped unit with a vertical 21.5-inch touchscreen. Unlike the earlier Square Kiosk, it does not need an iPad. Here's what Square and its spokespeople have confirmed so far:

Display: 21.5-inch vertical touchscreen built for large menus and item photos.

Voice ordering: what Square calls an agentic, conversational voice layer. In plain terms, it is an AI assistant that has learned the restaurant's menu and can take actions in the order for you. A Square spokesperson told Digital Transactions it uses three directional microphones with hardware and software noise filtering so it only picks up the active conversation.

Presence detection: the screen wakes up and greets people as they walk up. Square says this is done with sensors and the device has no camera.

Payments: built-in tap (contactless) and chip card payments plus an integrated barcode scanner for gift cards, with no separate reader or accessory needed. Scanning packaged goods is listed as coming soon. Square's setup guide says cash and offline payments are not supported.

Loyalty: customers can check in with a Square Neighborhoods profile or Square Loyalty account to earn and redeem rewards.

Setup: it needs a power outlet, Wi-Fi or Ethernet, and at least one Square Point of Sale device to receive orders. It is rated for indoor use only.

What can the AI voice assistant do?

Square says customers can order the way they would talk to staff. They can ask what's on the menu, ask what's popular, request changes like no ice or a substitution, and ask about allergens or vegetarian options. Customers can switch between voice and touch at any point in the order.

The assistant also makes suggestions. Square says it recommends items and add-ons based on what's popular at that location, the time of day, and what usually goes with things already in the cart. That is the business pitch: higher average orders, the way a good cashier would suggest fries or a dessert.

A Square spokesperson told Digital Transactions that the AI is grounded in the seller's own menu and sales data, so the more detail a restaurant adds (item descriptions, allergen information, photos), the more useful the answers get. Restaurants can also schedule different menus by time of day.

Is Square Kiosk always listening?

No, according to Square. The spokesperson said voice is disabled on the idle screen and the kiosk only listens during an active order session. Voice can be turned on or off by the restaurant, and customers can simply use touch instead. There is no camera on the device; presence detection uses sensors.

Square has not published details about where voice audio is processed or how long it is stored. We'll update this article if it does.

Square Kiosk vs the old Square Kiosk and Square Stand

The earlier Square Kiosk was a mount you put a compatible iPad into. Square has now renamed that iPad-based setup: the hardware is Square Stand and the app is Square Kiosk Lite. Digital Transactions reports Square Stand still sells for $149, and Square's Kiosk Lite page lists the software at $50 per device per month on Square Plus or $30 on Premium (checked about 21:25 UTC October 14).

So the trade-off is clear. Kiosk Lite on an iPad is far cheaper up front, but it is a touch-only screen around 11 inches. The new Square Kiosk costs $1,999 and $99 a month, and adds a much bigger screen, voice ordering, built-in payments and barcode scanning, and presence detection. Square says existing Square Stand owners can keep using their setup on their current plan.

Who is Square Kiosk for?

Square is clearly targeting busy counter-service restaurants and franchise chains. Alongside the kiosk, it is rolling out multi-account tools that let franchise operators manage menus, reporting and gift cards across many locations while each franchisee keeps control of its own store.

Square quoted two early users. Baltej Sra, CEO of Boba Nation Grand, said the company plans to bring Square Kiosk to the rest of its locations this year after testing. Lawrence Kam, a multi-unit franchise operator with L&L Hawaiian BBQ, said customers prefer using it far more than he expected.

It is a direct move into a market where Toast, Clover and others already sell self-order kiosks. Stocktwits reported that Toast shares fell more than 4.5% in midday trading on October 14 after the announcement. Square's pitch is the voice assistant: it argues most existing kiosks are touch-only digital menus that can't answer questions or personalize an order.

What Square hasn't said yet

A few things are still unclear as of October 15, 2026 (IST): exact prices for the floor, wall and VESA mount options, which countries beyond the US will get it and when, the screen resolution and processor, and how voice data is handled. Square's main kiosk hardware page was still showing the older iPad-based model when we checked.

Bottom line

Square Kiosk is a $1,999 standalone ordering station with a 21.5-inch screen, built-in payments, and an AI voice assistant that knows the menu, plus $99 a month per device and a Square Plus or Premium plan. For a busy restaurant short on staff, the pitch is shorter lines and bigger orders. For customers, it means you may soon be able to ask a kiosk what's good today and get a real answer.