Square on Oct. 14 launched a new flagship self-service kiosk that pairs ordering hardware with a conversational AI layer, aimed mainly at quick-service restaurants (QSRs). The device went on sale in the United States the same day for $1,999, with a required Square subscription and a monthly software fee per device.
In its announcement, datelined Oakland, Calif., Square said the kiosk is meant to help restaurants with peak-rush lines, labor constraints and upselling. The hardware has a 21.5-inch touchscreen that supports menu imagery, presence detection that greets guests as they approach, and integrated payments that take tap and dip card transactions without a separate sidecar device. It can also scan barcodes for gift cards; scanning of packaged goods is listed as coming soon.
The software layer is described as an agentic, conversational system that understands the seller’s menu. According to Square, it can answer menu questions, including allergy and vegetarian queries, suggest items and popular options, handle modifications and substitutions, and make upsell suggestions based on location, time of day and item pairings. Guests can switch between voice and touch during an order.
The kiosk also supports a personalized check-in, which lets guests connect a Neighborhoods profile or a Square Loyalty account to earn and redeem rewards at the screen. Alongside the kiosk, Square said it is rolling out a multi-account solution for QSR franchises, intended to let operators manage menus, reporting and gift cards across locations while preserving franchisee autonomy.
“Square Kiosk adds a third piece to the solution: intelligence,” said Thomas Templeton, Block’s global hardware lead, who described intelligence as the third element alongside hardware and software.
Square quoted two operators that have used the device. Baltej Sra, chief executive of Boba Nation Grand, said the kiosk exceeded expectations and that the chain plans to roll it out to its remaining locations this year. Lawrence Kam, a multi-unit franchise operator with L&L Hawaiian BBQ, said customers prefer the kiosk more than he had expected and that it frees staff to focus on other work.
According to the release, Square Kiosk costs $1,999, a price that includes a counter stand; the total varies by stand type. Buyers need either a Square Plus plan at $49 per location per month or Square Premium at $149 per location per month, and Square charges a $99 monthly software fee for each kiosk device. The release lists availability in the United States only.
Why it matters
The launch extends a run of restaurant-focused products from Square this year. In May, the company introduced Square for Drive-Thru, an end-to-end system for QSRs that links order capture, kitchen workflow and customer handoff and runs on Square for Restaurants. That product launched in an early access program, with broader availability planned for summer 2026. The kiosk release says Square also added integrations with Google Maps, ChatGPT and Claude earlier this year.
For operators, the pricing structure combines a one-time hardware cost with recurring charges at two levels: a per-location subscription and a per-device software fee. That means the monthly cost of a deployment scales with the number of kiosks installed, not only the number of restaurants, based on the terms in Square’s announcement. Square has also tied the kiosk to its loyalty and franchise tools, linking self-service ordering to customer accounts and to the management of menus and gift cards across multiple locations.
What to watch
Square has said packaged goods scanning is coming soon. The franchise multi-account tools are being rolled out alongside the kiosk, and the release does not give a timeline for markets outside the United States.
The caveats
All product details, prices and operator comments in this story come from Square’s own announcements. The release does not include performance data, such as changes in order value, throughput or ordering accuracy, and the two operators quoted were selected by Square. Businesses should check Square’s current pricing pages for the full cost of a deployment, including card processing.
