Square vs Katalyst KDS
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Square
This app is a comprehensive point-of-sale system designed for restaurants. It helps manage orders, payments, online ordering, menus, and table layouts. Gain insights with real-time sales reports and improve staff efficiency for dine-in, takeout, and online orders.
- Order and payment processing
- Online ordering site creation
- Menu management
- Table and floor management
- Real-time sales reports
- Offline payment acceptance
Read full descriptionHide full description
The Square for Restaurants Point of Sale app helps you manage front- and back-of-house operations for your full-service restaurant, quick-service restaurant, fast-casual restaurant, bar, or brewery. Get the powerful point-of-sale system designed to serve guests who are dining in, getting takeout, or ordering online. Handle orders, set up menus, manage table layouts, accept payments, enable coursing, get insights from real-time sales reports, and more. ORDERS & PAYMENTS * Turn tables faster and keep lines moving. Increase staff efficiency with an easy-to-use, intuitive interface. * Empower servers to get every order right with the ability to enter orders the way people talk. * Take orders even when you’re short-staffed with QR codes. ONLINE ORDERING * Create a free, customizable online ordering site. * Manage all orders from your POS, including in-person, online, and third-party delivery orders. * Reach more diners with Google, Instagram, and Facebook selling integrations. MENU MANAGEMENT * Create and customize your menus from the office, remotely, or directly from your POS. * Keep service running smoothly with your staff always in the know of what’s selling and what’s about to sell out. FLEXIBLE PAYMENTS * Accept all major credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay so you never have to turn a diner away. * Set up automatic tipping, move or assign checks to your staff, reopen closed checks, and manage voids with just a few taps. * Never miss a sale with offline payments. Learn more at https://squareup.com/us/en/payments/offline-payments-guide. * Square handles all PCI compliance fees or chargebacks on your behalf. * Get deposits in your bank account as fast as the next business day or access your sales instantly with a Square Checking account. Learn more at squareup.com/us/en/banking. FLOOR MANAGEMENT * Customize your floor plan with intuitive click-and-drag layouts. * Tip out staff, close out the cash drawer, manage comps and voids, and run close-of-day reports all from the POS. * Keep tables turning by monitoring their real-time status. * Stay on pace with coursing — letting the kitchen know when to hold or start firing dishes. SUPPORT * Customer support available to guide you through any questions. Learn more about Square for Restaurants and set yourself up from Square Dashboard before activating this app on an iOS device: https://squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/restaurants
Katalyst KDS
This kitchen display system integrates with a point of sale to manage in-house, online, and third-party orders. It offers color-coded statuses, multi-screen support, and prep station routing to replace paper slips and provide kitchen reporting.
- Integrates with Katalyst POS
- Manages multiple order sources
- Color-coded order statuses
- Supports multiple screen sizes
- Prep station routing
- Provides kitchen reporting
Read full descriptionHide full description
Katalyst KDS (Kitchen Display System) integrates directly with the Katalyst Point of Sale to seamlessly display in-house, Katalyst online ordering and third-party guest orders. With easy to read color-coding statuses, multiple screen size capability, and forward-thinking prep station routing, lose the paper slips and gain valuable kitchen reporting.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Katalyst KDS at 5.0 against Square's 4.3. Katalyst KDS also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and device support (3 vs 1). Square's advantage is ratings volume (4.2K vs 1) and update cadence (every 5 days vs monthly). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Katalyst KDS holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Square has 4.2K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Square ships an update every 5 days, Katalyst KDS monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Square | Katalyst KDS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (4.2K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 34.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4.2K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.1 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 786 MB | 35 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Block, Inc. | Katalyst LLC |
Customer experience
Square
Katalyst KDS
Bugs and requests
Square
Reported bugs
5 issues- Orders not processing correctly
- Transactions not completing
- Inventory updates not syncing
- Shift reports not printing properly
- Card reader disconnection issues
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to split items across checks
- Hold/save orders functionality
- Improved inventory management
- Better reporting and analytics
- Mobile app for managing the restaurant
Katalyst KDS
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Square
No in-app purchases
Katalyst KDS
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Square free?
Is Katalyst KDS free?
Which has better reviews, Square or Katalyst KDS?
Do Square or Katalyst KDS have ads?
Which is updated more often, Square or Katalyst KDS?
Other comparisons















