Best POS Software in 2026: 8 Systems Compared

Square is the default choice for a new small business because it removes friction. The free plan includes POS, basic inventory, customer profiles, digital receipts and invoicing, with in-person processing at 2.6% plus 15 cents on published terms. Plus at $49 per month per location adds deeper inventory and food modifiers, while Premium at $149 per month lowers the in-person rate on published terms.

The limit is specialisation. A large full-service restaurant will miss Toast-style kitchen displays and tableside flows, and a bike shop with complex matrix stock will miss Lightspeed inventory depth. For cafes, food trucks, small retail, pop-ups and services, Square gets you selling the same day with clear pricing and no contract. That speed and simplicity are hard to beat.

Shopify POS makes sense only if you already sell, or plan to sell, through Shopify. Basic Shopify is $39 per month, which includes POS Lite, while POS Pro adds $89 per month per location on published terms for advanced inventory, staff permissions and reporting. Online and in-store stock stay in sync, which prevents the double-selling and manual counts that plague split systems.

The drawback is the entry cost for a shop that only sells in person. A pure brick-and-mortar store pays for an online platform it may not need, and restaurant features are thin compared with Toast. For omnichannel retail, where a customer might buy online and return in store, Shopify POS keeps the whole operation in one place and justifies its price.

Toast owns the restaurant POS conversation for a reason. Its system is built around restaurant work: kitchen display screens, handheld ordering, table management, online ordering and menu tools that fit a busy service. A starter kit is available at no software cost on some plans, while the paid Point of Sale plan is $69 per month on published comparisons, with processing around 2.49% plus 15 cents on paid plans.

The costs to check are contract length, hardware and processing. Toast often requires a one to three year term, and its hardware works within the Toast system, so leaving later means replacing kit. For a full-service or quick-service restaurant that needs reliable service tools, those terms are usually worth it. For a cafe or food truck, Square may do the same job with less commitment.

Lightspeed Retail suits shops where inventory is the hard part: apparel with sizes and colours, bike shops, pet stores and specialty retail with thousands of SKUs. Basic pricing in published comparisons ranges from $89 to $109 per month per location depending on the source and plan, with higher tiers adding advanced reporting and ecommerce. Purchase orders, matrix stock and multi-location transfers keep complex catalogues under control.

That depth costs money and learning time. A small shop with 50 products will not need most of Lightspeed, and the monthly fee can feel high next to a free Square plan. Lightspeed also sells separate retail and restaurant products, so confirm you are pricing the right one. For inventory-heavy retail that has outgrown a simple POS, Lightspeed is the most capable system in this list.

Clover, from Fiserv, stands out for hardware choice. You can pick a small handheld, a mini terminal or a full countertop station, with retail and restaurant software to match. Direct pricing in published comparisons starts at $14.95 per month per device, with in-person rates around 2.3% plus 10 cents for restaurants and 2.6% plus 10 cents for retail, though reseller terms differ.

Resellers are the warning. The same Clover hardware can carry very different monthly fees, processing rates and contract lengths depending on who sells it. Buy direct where possible, or get the full contract, including statement fees and early termination terms, in writing. For a business that wants polished hardware and a choice of devices, Clover is a strong option once the terms are clear.

Helcim appeals to owners who care most about processing cost. Its POS software is free, and in-person pricing uses interchange plus a markup of 0.15% plus 6 cents on published terms, which can beat flat-rate pricing for higher-volume or higher-ticket businesses. There is no long contract on core plans, and the dashboard covers inventory, customers and reporting for small shops.

The trade-offs are scale and hardware. Helcim offers fewer device options than Square or Clover, and its offline mode is limited, so a shop with unreliable internet should test that carefully. The ecosystem of apps and integrations is also smaller. For a small business that wants transparent processing and a free POS, Helcim is a credible low-cost alternative.

Epos Now suits small retail and hospitality businesses that want a straightforward cloud POS without a complex setup. It covers till sales, stock, staff permissions and reporting, with hardware bundles for countertop and mobile use. Cloud access means owners can check sales and stock from another device, which helps multi-site owners and managers.

Pricing is the main question, since much of it is quoted rather than published, and hardware bundles and contract terms vary. Get a written quote that separates software, processing and hardware, and ask about contract length and exit terms. For a small shop or cafe that wants a simple, guided setup, Epos Now is worth a demo alongside Square and Clover.

TouchBistro is a restaurant-first POS built around iPad terminals, with tableside ordering, menu management, floor plans and reporting designed for table service. It suits full-service restaurants that want a modern, mobile system without the full Toast hardware stack, and its offline mode helps service continue if the internet drops.

Pricing is quoted, so compare the full proposal, including hardware, processing and support, with Toast before you choose. The iPad requirement also means Apple hardware costs on top of software. For a restaurant that prefers iPad flexibility and a focused restaurant feature set, TouchBistro is a strong alternative to Toast, especially for mid-size dining rooms.