SaaS directory

Best POS Systems: 10 tools compared for 2026

A POS system is the software and hardware a business uses to ring up sales, take payments and track inventory in store. Modern cloud POS also handles staff, customer data, online orders and reporting.

Researched by Max Benz · Facts checked October 24, 2026 · How we research

Tools compared: 10
Publish prices: 5 of 10
Free plan or trial: 3 of 10
Median G2 rating: 4.0

POS Systems at a glance

POS Systems, sorted by number of G2 reviews
Tool	Best for	Pricing model	Starting price	G2 rating
Square POS	Single-shop retailers and service businesses that want to start at $0 software.	per location	$0/month (Square for Retail Free)	4.6 (1,208 reviews)
Toast	Restaurants, bars and cafes needing table service, kitchen display and online ordering.	per location	$0/month on pay-as-you-go Starter Kit; $69/month standard Point of Sale plan (per a Toast article)	4.2 (370 reviews)
Shopify POS	Merchants already running a Shopify online store who add physical locations.	plan + per location	POS included in every Shopify plan; Basic from $39/month (third-party), POS Pro $89/location/month	4.4 (335 reviews)
Lightspeed	Multi-category retailers needing deeper inventory and reporting.	per location	Retail Basic $89/month billed annually or $109 monthly (third-party)	4.0 (294 reviews)
Revel Systems	Existing Revel restaurant operators already on the platform.	custom	Contact sales	4.1 (146 reviews)
TouchBistro	Full-service restaurants that want floor plan and tableside ordering on iPads.	flat	From $69/month (Point of Sale, hardware and payment processing extra)	4.1 (108 reviews)
Clover	Small restaurants and retailers wanting bundled hardware plus software.	per device/plan bundle	Varies by vertical; Standard bundle $130/month or $849 + $84.95/month (as listed by Clover)	3.8 (87 reviews)
Epos Now	Small retail and hospitality shops wanting bundled hardware.	per terminal bundle	$399 + $84/month (Epos Now US page)	4.0 (10 reviews)
SumUp	Micro-merchants and market stalls wanting no monthly fee.	flat	$0/month POS Lite; $499 bundle (Register + Solo reader)	3.3 (6 reviews)
Heartland	Merchants who want POS and processing from one provider.	custom	Contact sales	3.1 (5 reviews)

Prices as published by each vendor on October 24, 2026. "Contact sales" means no public price. G2 ratings read on the same day.

How to compare POS systems

Hardware and terminals. Proprietary vs bring-your-own hardware drives upfront cost.
Payment processing terms. Processor lock-in and rates often outweigh the monthly fee.
Inventory management. Retailers need SKU, variant and multi-location stock.
Online and omnichannel sales. Syncing web and in-store stock avoids overselling.
Industry features. Table service and kitchen display vs retail barcodes decide fit.
Reporting and analytics. Sales by item and staff guide purchasing and scheduling.
Pricing model. Monthly fee plus processing percentage plus hardware sets true cost.
Target company size. Single-shop, multi-location and enterprise needs differ.

POS Systems by buying criteria
Tool	Hardware and terminals	Payment processing terms	Inventory management	Online and omnichannel sales	Industry features	Reporting and analytics	Pricing model	Target company size
Square POS	Square sells its own handheld, terminal, register, stand and kiosk hardware (hardware prices not verified)	Square-only processing; 2.6% + 10c in person on Free, 2.5% + 10c on Retail Plus.	Free plan includes basic inventory tools and unlimited items; G2 inventory sub-score 8.7/10.	Free online store included on Retail Free plan.	Separate Retail, Restaurants and Appointments products.	Reviewers on G2 praise reporting (G2 summary)	Monthly plan per location plus flat-rate processing plus hardware.	Micro and small businesses; custom Premium for larger.
Toast	Proprietary Toast terminals, handhelds, kitchen display and kiosks; tiered hardware bundle around $1,024 (third-party)	Toast Payments only; rates vary by plan and pay-as-you-go vs traditional.	Not verified	Core and Growth add online ordering and loyalty (third-party)	Restaurant-specific: table service, kitchen display, online ordering.	G2 reviewers flag missing reporting features.	Software tier plus processing percentage plus hardware.	Single restaurants to multi-location groups.
Shopify POS	Shopify card readers plus tablet or phone; hardware prices not verified.	Shopify Payments; in-person 2.6%/2.5%/2.4% + 10c by plan (third-party); EU page 1.5%/1.3%/1.2%.	Inventory management is in POS Pro, not the free baseline (EU page)	Native: same Shopify store and catalog online and in store.	Retail focused.	G2 reviewers praise reporting.	Shopify plan + POS Pro per location + processing.	Small to enterprise (Plus)
Lightspeed	Not verified	Lightspeed Payments about 2.6% + 10c (one review); same across plans.	Reviewers highlight inventory management.	Not verified	Retail and Restaurant (plus Golf, hospitality)	Reviewers highlight reporting.	Plan per location plus processing.	SMB to enterprise.
Revel Systems	Not verified	Shift4 plans to sell its payments product to Revel customers (Restaurant Business)	Not verified	Not verified	Restaurant focus, 18,000+ locations at time of deal (Restaurant Business)	Not verified	Quote based; reported per terminal plus processing.	Multi-location restaurants and chains.
TouchBistro	POS plan requires own hardware; Essentials Bundle and Custom Setup include restaurant-grade hardware; financing for 2+ terminals.	Integrated payments bundled in Essentials and Custom plans; rates not published on pricing page.	Paid add-on, price not published.	Online ordering is a paid add-on, no commission on online orders per vendor FAQ.	Floor plan and table management and tableside ordering included in base plan; Kitchen Display System as add-on.	Reporting and analytics included in POS and Essentials plans.	Monthly software fee from $69 plus hardware and processing fees.	Restaurants, from single venue to multi-terminal venues.
Clover	Clover Station Duo, Mini, Flex; Station Duo about $1,799 to $1,899 (third-party)	About 2.3% + 10c card-present, 3.5% + 10c keyed (third-party); rate depends on reseller.	Not verified	Not verified	Retail, restaurant and services plans.	Not verified	Software plan plus processing plus hardware or financing.	Small businesses.
Epos Now	Countertop, Countertop 2, Duo, Air, Link, Pro+, Kitchen Display; printers, scanners, cash drawers.	Not stated by the vendor.	Not verified	Not verified	Retail and hospitality.	Not verified	Upfront hardware plus monthly software plus processing.	Small business.
SumUp	POS Lite Register plus Solo reader $499 bundle.	2.6% + 10c in person; 3.5% + 15c eCommerce.	Not verified	Not verified	Not verified	Not verified	No monthly fee plus flat processing plus hardware.	Micro and small.
Heartland	Not verified	Integrated Heartland processing with end-to-end encryption and tokenization (Wikipedia)	Not verified	ECommerce offered (Wikipedia)	Restaurant and retail POS products.	Not verified	Quote based.	Not verified

The 10 tools in detail

Square POS

Free-to-start POS from Block that bundles its own card processing, with paid per-location plans for retail and restaurants.

Starting price: $0/month (Square for Retail Free)
Pricing model: per location
G2 rating: 4.6 (1,208 reviews)
Hardware and terminals: Square sells its own handheld, terminal, register, stand and kiosk hardware (hardware prices not verified)
Payment processing terms: Square-only processing; 2.6% + 10c in person on Free, 2.5% + 10c on Retail Plus.
Inventory management: Free plan includes basic inventory tools and unlimited items; G2 inventory sub-score 8.7/10.
Online and omnichannel sales: Free online store included on Retail Free plan.

Choose it if

Single-shop retailers and service businesses that want to start at $0 software.
Merchants who want one vendor for hardware, payments and online store.

Skip it if

Businesses that want to choose their own payment processor.
High-volume merchants sensitive to flat-rate processing.

Worth knowing

Retail Plus discount on in-person rate is only 0.1 percentage point (2.6% to 2.5%) and applies only on the Retail POS signed into Plus.
Software and processing are tied: Square is the processor, so leaving means replacing hardware.
Premium plan is quote-only and pitched at merchants above about $250K annual volume.

Full Square POS review · Square POS alternatives

Toast

Restaurant-only POS and payments platform with its own hardware and tiered software plans, sold mostly on quote.

Starting price: $0/month on pay-as-you-go Starter Kit; $69/month standard Point of Sale plan (per a Toast article)
Pricing model: per location
G2 rating: 4.2 (370 reviews)
Hardware and terminals: Proprietary Toast terminals, handhelds, kitchen display and kiosks; tiered hardware bundle around $1,024 (third-party)
Payment processing terms: Toast Payments only; rates vary by plan and pay-as-you-go vs traditional.
Online and omnichannel sales: Core and Growth add online ordering and loyalty (third-party)
Industry features: Restaurant-specific: table service, kitchen display, online ordering.

Choose it if

Restaurants, bars and cafes needing table service, kitchen display and online ordering.
Single-location operators who can use the Starter Kit.

Skip it if

Retailers or service businesses (Toast is restaurant-focused)
Operators wanting to bring their own processor or avoid multi-year terms.

Worth knowing

Pay-as-you-go ($0 software) trades monthly fees for higher processing percentages.
Reported contract length about 2 years (third-party, verify in order form)
Pricing is quote-based after a demo, so tier prices differ by source.

Full Toast review

Shopify POS

In-person selling layer for Shopify stores, with a free baseline in every plan and a paid POS Pro add-on per location.

Starting price: POS included in every Shopify plan; Basic from $39/month (third-party), POS Pro $89/location/month
Pricing model: plan + per location
G2 rating: 4.4 (335 reviews)
Hardware and terminals: Shopify card readers plus tablet or phone; hardware prices not verified.
Payment processing terms: Shopify Payments; in-person 2.6%/2.5%/2.4% + 10c by plan (third-party); EU page 1.5%/1.3%/1.2%.
Inventory management: Inventory management is in POS Pro, not the free baseline (EU page)
Online and omnichannel sales: Native: same Shopify store and catalog online and in store.

Choose it if

Merchants already running a Shopify online store who add physical locations.
Retailers wanting unified web and store inventory.

Skip it if

Restaurants needing table service.
Stores not on Shopify (POS requires a Shopify plan)

Worth knowing

Staff roles, inventory management and customer profiles require POS Pro, not the included baseline.
Pro is billed per location, so extra stores multiply cost.
Plus includes POS Pro for the first 20 retail locations (third-party)

Full Shopify POS review

Lightspeed

Montreal-based commerce platform with separate retail and restaurant POS products, sold on annual or monthly plans.

Starting price: Retail Basic $89/month billed annually or $109 monthly (third-party)
Pricing model: per location
G2 rating: 4.0 (294 reviews)
Payment processing terms: Lightspeed Payments about 2.6% + 10c (one review); same across plans.
Inventory management: Reviewers highlight inventory management.
Industry features: Retail and Restaurant (plus Golf, hospitality)
Reporting and analytics: Reviewers highlight reporting.

Choose it if

Multi-category retailers needing deeper inventory and reporting.
Mid-size and multi-location merchants.

Skip it if

Micro-merchants wanting $0 software.
Buyers needing fast support (G2 complaints)

Worth knowing

Annual billing saves roughly 15 to 20% vs monthly (third-party)
Lightspeed absorbed Vend and ShopKeep products (not verified)
Transaction fee same on all plans.

Full Lightspeed review

Revel Systems

Cloud iPad POS for restaurants that is now owned by Shift4, with the old vendor site redirecting to Shift4's food and beverage pages.

Rebranded: Acquired by Shift4 (deal announced May 2024, reported at $250M cash). revelsystems.com now redirects to shift4.com/food-beverage; a competitor blog says Revel is being folded into SkyTab, which is unconfirmed.

Starting price: Contact sales
Pricing model: custom
G2 rating: 4.1 (146 reviews)
Payment processing terms: Shift4 plans to sell its payments product to Revel customers (Restaurant Business)
Industry features: Restaurant focus, 18,000+ locations at time of deal (Restaurant Business)
Pricing model: Quote based; reported per terminal plus processing.
Target company size: Multi-location restaurants and chains.

Choose it if

Existing Revel restaurant operators already on the platform.
Restaurant groups that accept Shift4 as their payment processor.

Skip it if

Buyers who want a POS independent of one processor.
Buyers who need a documented long-term Revel roadmap.

Worth knowing

Shift4 agreed to buy Revel in May 2024 for $250M cash and closed in June 2024 (Seedtable)
Revelsystems.com 301-redirects to shift4.com/food-beverage, so there is no standalone vendor pricing page.
More than 18,000 restaurant locations used Revel at the time of the deal (Restaurant Business)

Full Revel Systems review

TouchBistro

IPad-based restaurant point of sale with table service features, sold as software-only or as a bundle with hardware and integrated payments.

Starting price: From $69/month (Point of Sale, hardware and payment processing extra)
Pricing model: flat
G2 rating: 4.1 (108 reviews)
Hardware and terminals: POS plan requires own hardware; Essentials Bundle and Custom Setup include restaurant-grade hardware; financing for 2+ terminals.
Payment processing terms: Integrated payments bundled in Essentials and Custom plans; rates not published on pricing page.
Inventory management: Paid add-on, price not published.
Online and omnichannel sales: Online ordering is a paid add-on, no commission on online orders per vendor FAQ.

Choose it if

Full-service restaurants that want floor plan and tableside ordering on iPads.
Venues that want 24/7 support included in the subscription.

Skip it if

Retail stores needing SKU-level inventory (inventory is a paid add-on and the product is restaurant-focused)
Buyers who want fully published all-in pricing: add-on prices and hardware are quote-based.

Worth knowing

Entry price of $69/month excludes hardware and payment processing; the bundle at $119/month adds hardware and integrated payments.
KDS, inventory and online ordering are separate add-ons without public prices.
24/7 support and software updates are included at no extra charge per vendor.

Full TouchBistro review

Clover

Fiserv-owned POS and merchant processing platform sold through banks and resellers, with bundled hardware and software plans.

Starting price: Varies by vertical; Standard bundle $130/month or $849 + $84.95/month (as listed by Clover)
Pricing model: per device/plan bundle
G2 rating: 3.8 (87 reviews)
Hardware and terminals: Clover Station Duo, Mini, Flex; Station Duo about $1,799 to $1,899 (third-party)
Payment processing terms: About 2.3% + 10c card-present, 3.5% + 10c keyed (third-party); rate depends on reseller.
Industry features: Retail, restaurant and services plans.
Pricing model: Software plan plus processing plus hardware or financing.

Choose it if

Small restaurants and retailers wanting bundled hardware plus software.
Merchants buying through their bank or ISO.

Skip it if

Merchants who want predictable published pricing.
Buyers who need strong phone support (G2 reviewers complain)

Worth knowing

Clover is sold through banks and resellers, so rates and terms vary by reseller.
Additional devices roughly $11.95 to $19.95/month each (third-party)
Station Duo financing about $95/month over 36 months (third-party)

Full Clover review

Epos Now

UK-origin POS vendor selling bundled hardware plus monthly software in retail and hospitality.

Starting price: $399 + $84/month (Epos Now US page)
Pricing model: per terminal bundle
G2 rating: 4.0 (10 reviews)
Hardware and terminals: Countertop, Countertop 2, Duo, Air, Link, Pro+, Kitchen Display; printers, scanners, cash drawers.
Payment processing terms: Not stated by the vendor.
Industry features: Retail and hospitality.
Pricing model: Upfront hardware plus monthly software plus processing.

Choose it if

Small retail and hospitality shops wanting bundled hardware.
UK and US SMBs.

Skip it if

Buyers who want transparent published pricing.
Merchants wanting multiple conflicting promos clarified.

Worth knowing

Capterra 3.8/5 from 714 reviews, much larger sample than G2.
Required support plan often sits beside discounted hardware (ERPResearch)
Price increase to $84/month reported 2026-09-27 (Costbench)

Full Epos Now review

SumUp

UK-founded card reader and POS company with a $0/month POS Lite and flat in-person rates.

Starting price: $0/month POS Lite; $499 bundle (Register + Solo reader)
Pricing model: flat
G2 rating: 3.3 (6 reviews)
Hardware and terminals: POS Lite Register plus Solo reader $499 bundle.
Payment processing terms: 2.6% + 10c in person; 3.5% + 15c eCommerce.
Pricing model: No monthly fee plus flat processing plus hardware.
Target company size: Micro and small.

Choose it if

Micro-merchants and market stalls wanting no monthly fee.
Businesses wanting simple flat-rate processing.

Skip it if

Larger multi-location retailers or full-service restaurants.
Merchants needing deep inventory.

Worth knowing

G2 shows only 6 reviews; Capterra lists SumUp Air at 4.5 from 1,470.
Contract: mobile reader month-to-month, POS plans 12-month.

Full SumUp review

Heartland

Payment processor owned by Global Payments that also sells restaurant and retail POS systems.

Starting price: Contact sales
Pricing model: custom
G2 rating: 3.1 (5 reviews)
Payment processing terms: Integrated Heartland processing with end-to-end encryption and tokenization (Wikipedia)
Online and omnichannel sales: ECommerce offered (Wikipedia)
Industry features: Restaurant and retail POS products.
Pricing model: Quote based.

Choose it if

Merchants who want POS and processing from one provider.
Restaurants and retailers already using Heartland processing.

Skip it if

Buyers who want to pick a processor independently.
Buyers who need public, transparent pricing.

Worth knowing

Heartland is a processor first, so its POS is tied to its processing.
G2 lists separate Heartland products with different scores: POS 3.1 (5 reviews), pcAmerica 4.5 (10), Payments+ 4.2 (13)
Heartland Retail is the renamed Springboard Retail, acquired by Global Payments in 2020.

Full Heartland review

Frequently asked questions

What are POS systems?

Which POS systems publish their pricing?

5 of the 10 tools we compared publish prices: Square POS ($0/month (Square for Retail Free)); Shopify POS (POS included in every Shopify plan; Basic from $39/month (third-party), POS Pro $89/location/month); TouchBistro (From $69/month (Point of Sale, hardware and payment processing extra)); Clover (Varies by vertical; Standard bundle $130/month or $849 + $84.95/month (as listed by Clover)); SumUp ($0/month POS Lite; $499 bundle (Register + Solo reader)). The others quote on request, so ask for a written quote that names the seat or spend basis, the term and the renewal uplift.

Which POS systems have a free plan or free trial?

Square POS (free plan), Shopify POS (free trial) and SumUp (free plan), according to the vendors' sites on October 24, 2026.

Which POS systems are rated highest on G2?

Among tools with at least 20 G2 reviews: Square POS 4.6 from 1208 reviews, Shopify POS 4.4 from 335 reviews, Toast 4.2 from 370 reviews. Ratings were read on October 24, 2026; small review counts move quickly, so read recent reviews from companies your size.