Comparison

Revel KDS vs Katalyst KDS

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Revel KDS

This system digitally displays incoming orders and allows them to be cleared upon completion, enhancing service speed and accuracy. It directly integrates with a point of sale system to reduce errors and food waste, offering flexibility with order redirection.

Highlights
  • Digital order display
  • Order completion tracking
  • POS integration
  • KDS redirect feature
  • Production time tracking
  • Item preparation routing
Features
Read full description

Revel’s kitchen display system (KDS) allows you to digitally display orders as they come in, and clear them as they’re complete, improving your speed of service and order accuracy. With Revel’s KDS, reduce food waste and order communication errors with a system that directly integrates with the point of sale. Additionally, the new KDS Redirect feature allows you to redirect orders to another kitchen display when you close your current display, giving you flexibility to close prep stations when service is slower than expected or when shifts come to an end. Streamline your foodservice operations and reduce errors with Revel’s kitchen display system (KDS). This KDS directly integrates with Revel’s point of sale (POS) to connect front-of-house and back-of-house for accurate communication and order preparation. Key features: -Provide your team with easy to read digital tickets and reduce kitchen errors with automatic syncing between the POS and KDS. -Track the amount of production time required for each order by item or by employee and identify key areas to optimize output and delight your customers. -Send order items directly to the kitchen station where they should be prepared and enable bump capabilities to prioritize specific items as necessary. -Leverage KDS redirect to route orders to another kitchen display when you close your current display. -Empower your team to make every item exactly as intended by tapping the the information (“i”) button next to items to see what goes into each menu item. -Remove the problems associated with paper, such as misplaced, ruined, and otherwise illegible tickets and go green with a digital solution! This app is intended for use by businesses that use the Revel iPad Point of Sale system. If you do not use Revel POS and would like to learn more, please call (415) 744-1433 or visit revelsystems.com.

About

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.

Highlights
  • Integrates with Katalyst POS
  • Manages multiple order sources
  • Color-coded order statuses
  • Supports multiple screen sizes
  • Prep station routing
  • Provides kitchen reporting
Features
Read 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

Katalyst KDS1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Katalyst KDS at 5.0 against Revel KDS's 2.5. Katalyst KDS also leads on device support (3 vs 1). Revel KDS's advantage is ratings volume (8 vs 1). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Katalyst KDS holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Revel KDS has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Revel KDS ships an update every 6 weeks, Katalyst KDS monthly. The most recent releases landed on June 5, 2026 and August 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Revel KDS versus Katalyst KDS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRevel KDSKatalyst KDS
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.5 (8 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings8 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRevel Systems INCKatalyst LLC

Customer experience

Revel KDS

All ratings8 ratings
Positive37.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative62.5%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Katalyst KDS

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Revel KDS

No in-app purchases

None

Katalyst KDS

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Revel KDS free?
Revel KDS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Katalyst KDS free?
Katalyst KDS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Revel KDS or Katalyst KDS?
Katalyst KDS is rated higher. Revel KDS averages 2.5 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Katalyst KDS averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Revel KDS or Katalyst KDS have ads?
Neither Revel KDS nor Katalyst KDS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Revel KDS or Katalyst KDS?
Revel KDS ships an update every 6 weeks, and Katalyst KDS monthly. Most recently, Revel KDS was updated on June 5, 2026 and Katalyst KDS on August 16, 2026.

Other comparisons