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Kitchen display system review

SpotOn KDS

SpotOn's own kitchen display for restaurants on SpotOn POS, billed per station with published hardware and installation prices. For label printing or texts to guests, SpotOn points you to its Fresh KDS integration.

By SpotOnParent company: SpotOn Transact, LLC

RTC SCORE

7.4

#2 of 7 with enough data

SpotOn also offers: POS systems, Card processing, Online ordering, and 1 more

Our verdict

A simple, fully priced kitchen display for SpotOn restaurants, with offline mode and station routing. If you need texts to guests or label printing, compare it with Fresh KDS, which SpotOn also supports.

What we like

  • Every price is published: $20 per station a month, $500 per device and $100 for installation.
  • Offline mode: in-house orders keep reaching the screens when the internet is down.
  • Routing by station, an all-day view and 24/7 support.

What to watch

  • It needs SpotOn POS at each location.
  • No texts to guests or label printing: for those SpotOn points you to Fresh KDS.
  • SpotOn doesn't document a kitchen time report for this KDS.

How the score breaks down

RTC Score7.4out of 10

Methodology v1.0.0

Data completeness86%

We could verify 86% of the scoring data

Strongest points
12-month cost of 2 kitchen screens, Keeps working without internet, Routing by station
Weakest point
POS systems it works with

Score by criterion

  • 12-month cost of 2 kitchen screensWeight 26%Strongest8.4 out of 10

    $1,580 over 12 months

  • Keeps working without internetWeight 9%Strongest10.0 out of 10
  • Routing by stationWeight 8%Strongest10.0 out of 10
  • Support 24/7Weight 8%10.0 out of 10
  • Kitchen time reportsWeight 7%No data
  • Initial termWeight 7%10.0 out of 10
  • Published pricingWeight 6%10.0 out of 10
  • POS systems it works withWeight 6%Weakest1.4 out of 10
  • Choice of kitchen screensWeight 6%5.0 out of 10
  • All-day item countsWeight 4%10.0 out of 10
  • Bump bar supportWeight 4%No data
  • Early termination feeWeight 4%2.5 out of 10
  • Notice to avoid renewalWeight 3%No data
  • Order-ready text to the guestWeight 2%0.0 out of 10

All the data, with sources

Each value links to its source. "Not published" means the vendor doesn't disclose it; "Unconfirmed" means we looked and couldn't confirm it. Data points we have for fewer than four vendors are left out until we can compare them.

Pricing
Data pointValue
KDS license per screen$20/mo per deviceSource: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)
How the license is chargedPer screenSource: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)
Published pricingPublishedSource: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)
Kitchen screen from the vendor$500 one-timeSource: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)
Installation fee$100 one-timeSource: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)SpotOn doesn't say whether the $100 installation is per screen or per kitchen; we count it once.
POS and hardware
Data pointValue
Type of KDSPart of its own POS (needs that POS)Source: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)
Works with these POS systemsSpotOnSource: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)
Kitchen screensOnly the vendor's screensSource: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)SpotOn prices the KDS with its own device; it doesn't say whether a tablet you own can be used.
Runs onThe vendor's own kitchen screenSource: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)
In the kitchen
Data pointValue
Routing by stationYesSource: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)
If the internet goes downIn-house orders keep reaching the screens over your local networkSource: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)
Kitchen time reportsUnconfirmedSource: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)The KDS includes order history and search; SpotOn doesn't document a kitchen time report for it.
All-day item countsYesSource: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)
Bump bar supportUnconfirmedSource: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)SpotOn describes bumping tickets on the screen; it doesn't mention bump bars.
Order-ready text to the guestNoSource: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)SpotOn sends you to its Fresh KDS integration for text notifications.
Contract and exit
Data pointValue
Initial termMonth to monthSource: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)On the POS Essentials plan, month to month. The All-In plan ($0 software and hardware) has a 2-year minimum term tied to processing.
Notice to avoid renewalNo data
Early termination feeIf you end the agreement early, you owe the monthly subscription fees for the months left in the term; on the month-to-month plan that is none.Source: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)
How the early termination fee worksThe fees left in the termSource: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)On the month-to-month POS Essentials plan there are no months left to pay; on the All-In plan, with its 2-year minimum, there can be.
Support
Data pointValue
Support 24/7YesSource: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)
Language
Data pointValue
Website or help in Spanish for the USUnconfirmedSource: SpotOn (opens in a new tab)We found the KDS page only in English.

More about SpotOn KDS

How we score