How much does a kitchen display system cost?
A 21-inch kitchen display screen costs £399 + VAT as a one-off, running on a complete Posso EPOS system from £499 + VAT. There is no separate per-screen licence — screens run under the standard software fee from £25 + VAT a month, however many you add. Installation is quoted separately.
Itemised kitchen display costs
| 21-inch kitchen display screen | £399 + VAT, one-off, per screen |
|---|---|
| Twin-screen upgrade | +£150 |
| Complete EPOS system behind it | £499 + VAT — touchscreen till, kitchen printer, cash drawer, receipt printer |
| Per-screen software licence | None — screens run under the standard software fee |
| Software and support | From £25 + VAT a month for the platform, however many screens you run |
| Menu build, configuration and staff training | Included |
| Extra kitchen or prep printer, if you keep paper | £99 each |
| On-site installation | Quoted separately — depends on site, cabling and mounting |
| Hardware warranty | 2 years, included |
The rest of the range is on the EPOS pricing page.
One, two or three screens
Worked examples from the list prices above — arithmetic, not customer case studies. Each assumes one complete EPOS system behind the screens, and none includes installation.
| Configuration | Made up of | Upfront total |
|---|---|---|
| One screen | £499 + VAT system, plus 1 × £399 + VAT screen | £898 + VAT |
| Two screens | £499 + VAT system, plus 2 × £399 + VAT screens | £1,297 + VAT |
| Three screens | £499 + VAT system, plus 3 × £399 + VAT screens | £1,696 + VAT |
Note what does not change across those rows: the monthly software fee. Going from one screen to three adds hardware only.
The buying trap: per-screen licensing
The headline price of a kitchen screen is rarely what decides the cost. The thing to check is whether the provider charges a monthly licence per screen. Plenty do, and it is easy to miss, because the hardware quote looks competitive and the licence appears further down as a per-device line.
The arithmetic turns quickly. A screen licence at £19 a month is £228 a year; across three screens that is £684 a year, every year, on top of the hardware — and it recurs for as long as you run the kitchen. Over three years that single line can cost more than the screens did.
Posso does not charge per screen. The screens run under the standard platform fee from £25 + VAT a month, which is the same figure whether you run one screen or three. When you compare quotes, the question to ask is not what does a screen cost but what does the third screen cost me every month — that is where the difference actually lives.
Screens versus kitchen printers: the honest comparison
Start with the part most vendors skip: the printer is cheaper upfront, and it is not close. An extra kitchen printer is £99. A 21-inch screen is £399 + VAT. If the only question is what you pay on day one, buy the printer — and plenty of kitchens should.
A screen earns the difference back in other ways, not in purchase price. There is no paper, no ribbons and no roll to run out halfway through a Friday. Tickets cannot be lost, knocked onto the floor or stuck up in the wrong order. Orders from the counter, the kiosk, your own website and the delivery marketplaces land in one queue with times against them, so you can see what is ageing rather than reading along a rail. And when an order changes, the screen updates, where paper has to be reprinted and the old ticket found.
Where the printer keeps winning is a small, simple kitchen with one prep station and steady ticket volume. Paper is robust, everyone already understands it, and there is nothing to boot up. The switch pays when volume makes tickets hard to track — several stations, several order channels, or a rush long enough that the rail becomes a guessing game.
You do not have to choose outright, either. Many sites keep a printer at one station and put a screen where the pressure is, which costs £99 plus £399 + VAT rather than one or the other.
Takeaway or restaurant: how many screens?
A takeaway usually needs one screen, at £898 + VAT with the system. The volume arrives in short peaks from several channels at once — counter, phone, your own site and the marketplaces — and the win is seeing all of it in one queue rather than across a printer and two tablets. A second screen rarely earns its place unless there is a genuinely separate prep station.
A restaurant more often wants two, at £1,297 + VAT, split by section — one on the hot line, one on starters, desserts or the pass. Three makes sense where a kitchen runs distinct sections that each need their own queue. If you would rather add a second display at one station than a second station, the twin-screen upgrade is +£150.
Either way, the screens are the cheap part of the decision. What to check first is how your orders reach the kitchen today and where they currently go missing. The kitchen display system page covers how the queue actually works, and self-order kiosk costs matter here too, since kiosks push more tickets into the same kitchen.
Kitchen Display System Cost — Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a kitchen display system cost?
A 21-inch kitchen display screen is £399 + VAT as a one-off purchase. It runs on a complete Posso EPOS system from £499 + VAT, so a single-screen kitchen starts at £898 + VAT. Software and support are from £25 + VAT a month for the platform, and there is no additional charge per screen.
Is there a monthly fee per kitchen screen?
Not with Posso. Screens run under the standard software fee from £25 + VAT a month, whether you run one screen or three. Many providers do charge a monthly licence per device, so when comparing quotes ask specifically what the second and third screens add to the monthly bill, not just the hardware price.
How many kitchen screens does a kitchen need?
Most takeaways run well on one screen, because the value is seeing counter, online and marketplace orders in a single queue. Restaurants more often use two, split by section — hot line and pass, or mains and desserts. Three suits kitchens with genuinely separate sections that each need their own ticket queue.
Is a kitchen display cheaper than a kitchen printer?
No, not upfront. An extra kitchen printer is £99 against £399 + VAT for a 21-inch screen, so the printer is clearly cheaper on day one. A screen saves on consumables and lost tickets rather than purchase price, and earns the difference back through ticket volume rather than through hardware savings.
Does a kitchen display replace kitchen printers?
It can, but it does not have to. A screen removes paper, ribbons and lost tickets, and handles order changes without a reprint. Many sites keep one printer at a station and put a screen where the pressure is, which costs £99 plus £399 + VAT and suits kitchens that are not ready to go fully paperless.
What does the twin-screen upgrade cost?
The twin-screen upgrade is +£150. It adds a second display at one station, which is different from buying a second full screen for a separate station. Choose it when one prep area needs more visible tickets at once, rather than when two areas each need their own independent queue.
Is installation included in the screen price?
No. Menu build, configuration and staff training are included, but physical on-site installation is quoted separately because it depends on your kitchen — where screens mount, how far power and network runs have to travel, and whether the position survives heat and steam. Ask for that figure before committing.
Do kiosk and delivery orders appear on the kitchen screen?
Yes. Orders from the counter, self-order kiosks, your own website and the delivery marketplaces land in one queue on the screen, interleaved by the time they were submitted. That single queue is usually the main reason a kitchen moves off paper, because the alternative is reconciling a printer against several tablets.
What happens to the screens if I stop paying the monthly fee?
The hardware is yours — it is bought outright, not rented, and carries a 2-year warranty. What ends with the subscription is the software and support that drive the screens, which means they stop working as a kitchen display. There is no long-term lock-in and no punitive early exit fee.
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