BobaQueue vs Toast

Toast's board is real. It's also Toast-only.

The Toast Order Ready Board is a genuine, native customer-facing status board — In Progress on one side, Order Ready on the other, guest names and all. The catches are in the fine print: only Toast POS customers can use it, hands-free updates require Toast KDS with an expediter device, every TV mirrors the same content, and its price isn't published. BobaQueue is the pickup board for everyone Toast leaves out — Square shops especially — on any TV you already own, at a price that's on the page.

Side by side

The comparison, plainly

Feature and pricing comparison, BobaQueue vs Toast Order Ready Board.
BobaQueueToast Order Ready Board
Who can use it Any shop — Square sync, or two-tap staff entry on any register Toast POS customers only
Hands-free updates Orders with a Square pickup ticket arrive and advance automatically Only orders fulfilled on an expediter KDS device can be marked ready automatically; otherwise staff mark each order in Orders Hub
Built around The counter rush at a made-to-order drink shop Takeout and delivery visibility, drivers included
Hardware Any TV with a web browser, or any cheap HDMI stick Recommended Intel Windows 11 mini-PC stick plus a wired keyboard and mouse; Fire TV Stick no longer supported
Multiple TVs Unlimited, each with its own role — Full, Making, or Ready, with a two-TV split Multiple TVs show the same content; not customizable per TV
Price $19.99/month per location, published, 30 days free, no card Not published — the board doesn't appear on Toast's own feature comparison chart

Toast facts as published in Toast's Order Ready Board documentation and on Toast's pricing page, July 28, 2026 — check Toast's site for current details.

The honest read

When each one is the right call

Choose the Toast board if…

Your shop already runs Toast POS with a Toast KDS and an expediter station. Then the Order Ready Board is native to the ecosystem you've bought, staff already bump orders on the KDS, and the board follows from that work.

Choose BobaQueue if…

You're on Square — where Toast's board simply isn't available — or on any register without a KDS. BobaQueue needs no kitchen display and no special stick: pair the TV's own browser, let Square fill the board with names and items, and give each TV its own job — one showing drinks being made, one showing drinks ready.

Questions

Asked before choosing

Can I use the Toast Order Ready Board without Toast POS?

No. It's a Toast Web feature, gated on Toast accounts and permissions — a Square shop or any non-Toast shop can't buy it. That's the gap BobaQueue fills: a pickup board that doesn't care which POS you run.

Is the Toast board automatic?

Conditionally. Per Toast's documentation as of July 28, 2026, only orders fulfilled on an expediter KDS device can be marked Order Ready automatically — otherwise staff mark each order by hand in the Orders Hub. On BobaQueue, Square pickup orders arrive and advance on their own, and the one staff tap (Ready) is on a phone they already hold.

What does the Toast Order Ready Board cost?

Toast doesn't say. As of July 28, 2026 the board isn't listed on Toast's published feature comparison chart, and neither is the KDS its automation depends on — pricing arrives with a sales conversation. BobaQueue's price is on the page: $19.99 a month per location, everything included.

Can BobaQueue show different content on different TVs?

Yes — that's a designed-in difference. Every paired TV takes a role: the full board, only orders being made, or only orders ready, including an atomic two-TV split. Toast's board shows the same content on every screen.

See your shop's name on a board in two minutes

Connect Square, pair a TV, hand your staff one link.

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30 days free · No credit card · $19.99/month per location