PrepFlow and Toast KDS, side by side
| Topic | PrepFlow | Toast KDS |
|---|---|---|
| Works with | Heartland, Clover, Square and Toast POS, plus Uber Eats and DoorDash orders. | Toast POS. Toast KDS is part of the Toast platform. |
| How items are timed | Each item gets a start time per station, counted back from when the order is due, with its own time for each doneness, side and stage. | Fire by prep time (an option you turn on): items wait so they finish with the longest item, using the prep times you enter. |
| When the kitchen drifts | Re-plans live on late starts, add-ons, voids and reroutes; earlier orders keep their place. | Toast's docs say a void does not move the other items' fire times; an expediter can fire items early by hand. |
| Dishes that move between stations | “Then goes to” chains a dish through up to four stations, and each stage gets its own time so the dish still lands with the rest of the order. | Assembly lines send an item through prep stations in order; Toast's documentation describes the order of stations, not a time for each stage. |
| Busy stations | Knows how many items each station can cook at once and queues the rest, moving the plan to match. | Not described in Toast's fire-by-prep-time documentation. |
| Prep times | Start from your times; learning measures real cook times from Start and Done taps (Suggest or Auto). | Entered on each menu item; modifiers can add or subtract time. |
| Courses | Fire the next course on the expo's bump, on a timer, or whichever is later; items in each course still finish together. | Course pacing with automated or expediter firing; each course has its own prep-time timeline. |
| Screens and devices | Unlimited screens on any iPhone, iPad, Android device or browser. | Toast KDS hardware; priced with a monthly software fee per screen. |
| Pricing | $0 monthly subscription and no per-screen fees. You pay per order, and less per order as you grow. | Per screen, plus hardware. Toast quotes prices directly. |
What Toast KDS does well
Toast KDS is part of a complete restaurant platform. If you already run Toast POS, its kitchen display is one vendor, one bill and one support line. Its vocabulary (held, fired, bump, recall) is what many cooks already know, and PrepFlow deliberately uses the same words. Toast’s fire by prep time option delays faster items so they finish with the slowest one, its course pacing can fire courses automatically or from the expediter, and its assembly lines send an item through several prep stations in order.
Where PrepFlow is different
A plan that keeps moving. Toast’s own documentation says that when an item is voided, the other items keep their original fire times, and that an expediter can fire items early by hand. PrepFlow treats the plan as live: when a cook starts late, an item is added, voided or rerouted, every waiting item at every station moves so the order still lands together, and orders that came in earlier keep their place.
Stations have limits. A grill with two cooks cannot start six steaks at once. PrepFlow knows how many items each station can cook at the same time and plans around it, instead of assuming every item can start the moment it is due.
Times that follow the kitchen. You can start from your own prep times. PrepFlow then measures how long each dish really takes from your cooks’ Start and Done taps, and proposes better times (or adjusts them in small, capped steps if you choose Auto). Medium rare and well done, a side sent to the fry station, and a dish that grills and then finishes at sauté each get their own time.
Stages with their own times. Toast’s assembly lines decide where a dish goes next. PrepFlow also decides when: a dish that grills and then finishes at sauté gets a time for each stage, planned so it lands with the rest of the order.
Any POS, any device, any number of screens. PrepFlow works with Toast, Heartland, Clover and Square, plus Uber Eats and DoorDash orders. It sits on top of your POS rather than replacing it, runs on phones, tablets and browsers you already own, and never charges per screen.
Which should you choose?
If your restaurant is all-in on Toast and its prep-time firing is good enough on a busy night, Toast KDS keeps everything with one vendor. If whole orders still reach the pass at different times, or per-screen fees stop you from putting a screen where you need one, PrepFlow runs on top of your Toast POS (or any other) and is built for exactly that.
Sources
What we say about Toast KDS comes from its public pages and help articles, checked in November 2026. Products and prices change; check with Toast KDS before you decide. Toast KDS is a trademark of its owner, and PrepFlow is not affiliated with it. Spotted something out of date? Email us and we will correct it.
- Toast: Firing by item prep time
- Toast: Configure automated and expediter course firing
- Toast: Use assembly lines with KDS
- Toast: What is a kitchen display system (pricing section)
Questions
Does PrepFlow work with Toast POS?
Yes. PrepFlow reads orders from Toast POS and paces them on its own screens, so you can keep Toast for ordering and payments and add computed pacing in the kitchen.
Is PrepFlow cheaper than Toast KDS?
It depends on your volume and how many screens you run. PrepFlow charges per order with no per-screen fee, so adding a screen for a new station, the expo or the office costs nothing; Toast charges per screen and quotes its prices directly. The calculator on PrepFlow's pricing section shows your monthly cost.