A kitchen printer is a rail of paper that gets greasy, torn and reordered by hand. A kitchen display shows every ticket in order, times it, and lets the line bump it when it is done. Clover’s KDS is built for the heat and connects to everything Clover sends to the kitchen. This page covers the hardware, the cost, and whether your kitchen needs it.
Hardware and pricing, 2026
| Item | Clover KDS |
|---|---|
| Sizes | 14-inch and 24-inch |
| Price | About $799 (14-inch) and $899 (24-inch) per dealer listings |
| Software | About $25 a month per screen |
| Build | Temperature-resistant aluminum rated to 122°F; anti-fingerprint coating; easy to clean |
| Mounting | Countertop stand or wall mount bundles; 24-inch suited to overhead with an optional bump bar |
| Plan required | Counter Service Restaurant, Table Service Restaurant, or Register |
| Connects to | Clover POS, Clover Online Ordering, Kiosk, delivery integrations, BentoBox ordering |
Prices from 2026 dealer listings; confirm at quote.
What it does
- Ticket organization by time, status and priority, with elapsed timers and color changes as tickets age.
- Routing by station. Grill, fry, salad, bar each see their items; the whole ticket can show on expo.
- Bump and recall. Done items bumped off the screen, recalled if needed.
- Expo mode. One view for cooking, another for assembly, bagging and pickup verification.
- Runner tickets. Printed from expo for delivery to tables when you run food.
- Coursing. Fired courses from Clover Dining appear when fired, not before.
- Online and delivery orders with pickup or delivery times, so the line sequences them against walk-ups.
KDS vs printers
| Kitchen printer | Clover KDS | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | About $300 to $400 per printer, no monthly | About $799 to $899 plus $25 a month per screen |
| Ticket handling | Paper on a rail; manual ordering; lost or smudged tickets | On screen, timed, prioritized, bumped |
| Multiple stations | One printer per station, no shared view | Station screens plus expo view |
| Online and delivery orders | Print in among walk-ups | Shown with times, sequenced |
| Remakes from misreads | Common in busy kitchens | Fewer |
| Failure mode | Out of paper, jams | Network or power; same as any Clover device |
| Best for | One station, modest volume | Multi-station, high volume, online-heavy |
A taco counter with one cook is fine on a printer. A fast-casual line with grill, assembly and expo doing 300 orders a day, plus delivery, wants KDS.
Setup
Screens mounted where each station looks, routing by category to the right screen, expo screen for the pass if you run one, bump bar on the 24-inch if hands are dirty, timers and color thresholds set to your ticket-time targets, runner ticket printer at expo if you run food. Test tickets from the register, the kiosk and an online order before service. The quick-service layout with KDS is on Clover for quick service.
Cost through us
KDS placed or purchased with the rest of the hardware, software at the published per-screen fee, on the same month-to-month terms and dual pricing as everything else. It is quoted on one page with the Station, Flex and Kiosk so the kitchen and the counter are one decision.