A point-of-sale system is a payment contract with a screen attached, and the screen is the part vendors talk about.
This guide ranks on the total cost of taking a hundred euros, on whether the hardware is yours or leased, and on what happens to the terminal and the transaction history if you switch provider.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
In short
What point of sale software does
A point-of-sale system takes payment in person, records the sale against stock and reporting, and settles the money to a bank account.
Ranking criteria for this point of sale tool list, applied top to bottom: effort to get started, cost in practice, data return, ability to leave, buyer fit. Top three places belong to challengers outside the best-known brands whenever possible, and incumbents follow from four. We explain on how we work why the tests are these five and why no product receives a score.
Published on clover.com per business type, e.g. full-service restaurant from $179 a month over 36 months; card payments from 2.3% + 10 cents; reseller terms vary
—
A business that wants to buy the till through its bank
Free one-app plan, unlimited users; Standard 24.90 euros per user per month on yearly billing at list, all apps; Custom plan quoted per user, published
Yes
A business that wants till, stock and accounting in one system and has someone to set it up
A shop that wants a plug-in terminal on the first day
Retail POS from 49 US dollars per store per month for companies under 25,000 dollars monthly net sales, one user, no backoffice; POS for NetSuite from 1,800 dollars; Franchise and Chain from 3,500 dollars, published
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A growing retailer or chain that needs API access and an HQ layer
Point of Sale from 69 US dollars a month, Essentials Bundle from 119 dollars, custom setup on quote; hardware and processing extra, published
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A full-service restaurant, bar or brewery
A retail shop with variants and purchase orders
The country column shows the vendor's headquarters or contracting entity. Data hosting is a separate matter, and an entry flags it when the two diverge.
Direct ordering and payments for restaurants, alongside the till you have
Ranked #1 of 16 in Best POS System in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingEurope
storekit is aimed at hospitality specifically, where the requirements are order-at-table, split bills, tabs and a menu that changes weekly rather than stock control. It is an ordering and payments layer that works with your POS, including Toast, Square and Lightspeed, rather than a till in its own right.
Pricing is published per location: a free Starter plan for pickup and delivery, Grow at £99, Pro at £199 with QR ordering and pay-at-table, and Enterprise from £995, each with a flat per-order fee and no commission. Retailers should ignore it entirely, and a restaurant still has to buy and run a till beside it.
What stands out
Hospitality focus
QR ordering
Published price
Where it costs you
Hospitality only
An ordering layer, not a till: it needs a POS alongside it
Right for
A restaurant or bar that wants table ordering and payments
Wrong for
A shop with stock, suppliers and purchase orders
United KingdomFree Starter plan; Grow £99, Pro £199 and Enterprise from £995 per location per month, published; flat per-order fee
SumUp offers merchant accounts in 38 countries and the standalone Solo terminal works without a phone, on a built-in SIM with an offline mode, which is why market traders and mobile businesses use it where other readers fail.
Pricing is published per transaction with no monthly fee, 1.69% in person on the UK list, and optional monthly plans lower the rate. Reporting and integrations are minimal by design, and the inventory features are enough for a coffee stand rather than a shop with a catalogue.
What stands out
No fixed contract
Works standalone
Wide country coverage
Where it costs you
Reporting and integrations are minimal by design
Thin inventory features
Right for
A mobile or market business that needs a reader that just works
Wrong for
A multi-store retailer
United KingdomPer transaction, published; optional monthly plans
The entry offer is the cheapest full till system in the UK and the software covers both retail and hospitality. The contract length and cancellation terms generate more complaints than the product does.
What stands out
Cheap hardware bundle
Hospitality and retail
UK support
Where it costs you
Contract length and cancellation draw more complaints than the product
Support is stretched
Right for
A UK shop or bar that needs a full till system cheaply
Wrong for
A buyer unwilling to sign a long contract
United KingdomComplete Solution bundle from £299, published, with a 12-month payments, care and support subscription from £54 a month; other bundles quoted
Card terminals with instant settlement and no monthly fee
Ranked #4 of 16 in Best POS System in 2026.
Published pricingEurope
myPOS competes on cash flow rather than on features. Settlement takes seconds into a free account that comes with the terminal, there is no monthly fee below £10,000 a month in turnover, and the device works over its own data SIM without a phone.
For traders at markets, fairs and events that combination is genuinely useful. It is not a retail system: stock, purchasing and reporting are barely present, so a shop that needs to know what it holds should look higher up this list.
What stands out
Instant settlement
No monthly fee
Own business account
Where it costs you
Hardware bought outright or rented monthly
Almost no inventory or retail features
Right for
A mobile or small trader who needs the money today
Wrong for
A shop that needs stock control behind the till
United KingdomBuy or rent the terminal; per transaction from 1.10% + 7p, published; free account, no monthly fee under £10,000 turnover
Square's free tier is the most complete in payments: you can open a business tomorrow with free software, a cheap reader and no contract, then grow into payroll, loyalty and online selling on the same account. Paid plans, from $49 a month per location in the US, add restaurant and retail features such as coursing and a kitchen display app.
Card acceptance is limited to eight countries. The recurring complaint is account stability: freezes triggered by unusual volume are well documented and painful when they happen to a business that depends on daily settlement.
What stands out
Free POS software
Ecosystem of add-ons
Fast onboarding
Where it costs you
Account freezes on unusual volume are a recurring complaint
Fees add up at higher volume
Right for
A new business that wants to be selling tomorrow
Wrong for
A high-volume retailer optimising card fees
United StatesFree plan; Plus $49 and Premium $149 per location per month, published; processing per transaction
Zettle, now renamed PayPal Point of Sale, is the cheapest honest way for a small trader to take cards: one published percentage, 1.75% on UK cards, no monthly fee, and hardware you buy outright rather than lease, from £29 for the first reader.
Funds typically reach your PayPal Business account within minutes, with no fee for the automatic transfer to your bank. There is no contract to escape. What it is not is a store system: the free app has inventory, staff tracking and sales reports, but at a level a shop that needs real stock control at the till will outgrow quickly.
What stands out
No monthly fee
Cheap reader
Transparent rate
Where it costs you
Inventory and reporting are basic
Not a store system
Payouts land in a PayPal Business account first
Right for
A small trader who wants the cheapest honest card acceptance
Wrong for
A shop that needs stock control at the till
SwedenPer transaction, 1.75% on cards, published; hardware bought outright; no monthly fee
If the online store is already Shopify, the POS removes the reconciliation problem entirely: one product record, one stock number, one customer profile across the shop and the website. Staff permissions and inventory management come with the POS Pro add-on, charged per location.
On its own, without the online store, it is an expensive way to buy a till. Shopify's own card readers require Shopify Payments; an external terminal from another processor is allowed, but Shopify then records only the payment status and charges its third-party fee.
What stands out
Unified with online store
Staff permissions
Omnichannel stock
Where it costs you
Expensive on its own without the online store
Shopify's own card readers require Shopify Payments; an external terminal reports only payment status
Right for
A retailer whose online store is already Shopify
Wrong for
A shop with no ecommerce
CanadaIncluded with a Shopify plan, per month, published; POS Pro add-on per location; payments extra
Built for restaurants first, on its own hardware and processing
Ranked #8 of 16 in Best POS System in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
Every part of Toast assumes a restaurant, from coursing and modifiers to tip handling and the kitchen display, and that focus produces a better experience than a general retail till adapted to hospitality.
Online ordering, payroll and scheduling are add-ons, and the pricing page lists a Starter Kit from $0 and Point of Sale from $69 a month without printing the processing rate. Toast serves the US, Canada, Ireland, the UK and Australia. You must use its processing and its approved hardware, so switching processor means switching everything.
What stands out
Kitchen display
Online ordering
Restaurant reporting
Where it costs you
Available in five countries only: the US, Canada, Ireland, the UK and Australia
Hardware and processing are locked together
Right for
A restaurant that wants everything built for restaurants
Wrong for
A general retailer, or anyone outside the five countries Toast serves
United StatesStarter Kit from $0/month; Point of Sale from $69/month, published; processing extra, rate not listed
Bank-distributed hardware with an app market and plans per business type
Ranked #9 of 16 in Best POS System in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
Often arrives through your acquiring bank, which makes it easy to buy and hard to compare: Clover publishes plans per business type on its own site, from a full-service restaurant system at $179 a month over 36 months with table mapping, tabs and bill splitting, but it says those prices apply only on clover.com, so a bank or reseller quote can differ.
What stands out
App marketplace
Bank distribution
Restaurant, retail and service plans
Where it costs you
Prices on clover.com apply only there; bank and reseller terms differ and are hard to compare
Right for
A business that wants to buy the till through its bank
Wrong for
A buyer who wants to compare rates properly
United StatesPublished on clover.com per business type, e.g. full-service restaurant from $179 a month over 36 months; card payments from 2.3% + 10 cents; reseller terms vary
Behind the till, Lightspeed is a proper retail system: purchase orders and supplier catalogues through NuORDER, matrix inventory and multi-store stock that speciality retailers genuinely need. That depth is the reason to choose it over Square.
The published plans run from $89 to $289 a month with one register included. The complaints cluster around commercial terms, meaning contract length, payment processing requirements and support responsiveness, rather than the software itself, so read the agreement carefully.
What stands out
Strong inventory
Multi-store
Supplier catalogues
Where it costs you
Contracts and payment terms draw the most complaints
Each plan includes one register; extra registers and locations cost more
Right for
A speciality retailer that needs real purchasing and stock
Wrong for
A single stall or pop-up
CanadaPer month by plan, published: Basic $89, Core $149, Plus $289, one register included; extra registers, locations and payments extra
Retail POS now sold as Lightspeed Retail (X-Series)
Ranked #11 of 16 in Best POS System in 2026.
Published pricingAsia-Pacific
Vend built a good retail point of sale in New Zealand and was acquired by Lightspeed, which now sells it as Lightspeed Retail (X-Series). The software still does what it did, meaning a fast till, solid stock, multi-store transfers and sensible reporting, and it now carries Lightspeed's published pricing from $89 a month with one register and 24/7 support.
The name Vend is gone from the product, and the commercial terms around payment processing are the same ones customers complain about across Lightspeed.
What stands out
Retail-first
Multi-store
Now part of Lightspeed
Where it costs you
Now sold as Lightspeed Retail (X-Series) under the Lightspeed brand
Payment processing terms are the common complaint
Right for
A multi-store retailer that wants proven retail workflows
Wrong for
A buyer who needs certainty about the product roadmap
New ZealandPer month by plan, published as Lightspeed Retail (X-Series): Basic $89, Core $149, Plus $289, one register included; payments extra
One payment platform for the till, the site and the app
Ranked #12 of 16 in Best POS System in 2026.
Published pricingEurope
Adyen belongs in this list because the payment layer is where a lot of the cost and most of the reconciliation pain in a point of sale actually sits. Interchange-plus pricing is transparent in a way the bundled providers are not, and having in-store, online and in-app payments settle through one platform makes month-end arithmetic straightforward.
It is only half the system: you still choose till software, and the commercial model is built for volume, so a single shop is better served by the all-in-one products above.
What stands out
Interchange plus pricing
One platform for all channels
Enterprise scale
Where it costs you
Not a till system — you still need POS software
Aimed at volume, not at a single shop
Right for
A multichannel retailer that wants one payment platform everywhere
Wrong for
A single shop looking for an all-in-one till
NetherlandsPer transaction, published as interchange plus a fee
Cloud till for shops and cafes in Austria, Germany and Switzerland
Ranked #13 of 16 in Best POS System in 2026.
Published pricingEurope
ready2order GmbH gives its legal notice in Vienna, Austria. Its pricing page lists a POS licence per device, a restaurant package for table service, a cashbook and a digital receipt as paid extras, and states that it runs on EU servers.
Card payments go through readyPay at 1.23% with no fixed costs. Hardware is sold outright, from the readyMini terminal at 279 euros to readyMax 2 at 1,199 euros, and all prices exclude VAT. We checked this on 31 October 2026.
What stands out
pos
retail
hospitality
dach
Where it costs you
Priced per device, so each extra terminal adds 35.90 euros a month
Fiscal modules cost extra: 12 euros for the Austrian signature, 15.90 euros for the German TSE package
Right for
A small shop, cafe or service business in Austria, Germany or Switzerland
Wrong for
A retailer that needs wholesale ordering or a supplier catalogue
AustriaPOS licence 35.90 euros per device per month (430.80 a year), activation fee 99 euros, excluding VAT; Gastro package 23.90 euros a month; readyPay card rate 1.23%, published
A till that shares one database with accounting, stock and the web shop
Ranked #14 of 16 in Best POS System in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingEurope
Odoo's point of sale is one app of the Odoo suite, sold by Odoo SA, and the pricing page lists a free plan with one app and unlimited users.
The Standard plan includes all apps for a per-user fee; the page says hosting on Odoo Online is free with unmetered storage up to 100GB and that implementation is not included. The POS page lists loyalty programmes, offline payment sync, self-ordering and barcode scanner support. We checked this on 31 October 2026.
What stands out
pos
erp
retail
open-source
Where it costs you
Implementation services and expert help are not part of the subscription
Priced per user once you go beyond the free single app
Right for
A business that wants till, stock and accounting in one system and has someone to set it up
Wrong for
A shop that wants a plug-in terminal on the first day
BelgiumFree one-app plan, unlimited users; Standard 24.90 euros per user per month on yearly billing at list, all apps; Custom plan quoted per user, published
Retail POS and inventory for single stores and chains, from a per-store plan up to franchise HQ
Ranked #15 of 16 in Best POS System in 2026.
Published pricingEurope
Erply's pricing page lists four steps: a 49 dollar per-store plan with one user and integrated payments (Shift4, Cayan, Adyen, Pax) but no backoffice, a multichannel plan with a warehouse licence, a POS for NetSuite from 1,800 dollars, and a Franchise and Chain tier from 3,500 dollars with HQ modules and support for 900+ registers.
Estonia is its commonly cited home but we did not find it stated on the pages we read. We checked this on 31 October 2026.
What stands out
pos
retail
inventory
multi-store
Where it costs you
The entry plan excludes backoffice access and has email support only
Country of registration is not stated on the pages we read, so it is unconfirmed here
Right for
A growing retailer or chain that needs API access and an HQ layer
Wrong for
A cafe or restaurant needing table service
EstoniaRetail POS from 49 US dollars per store per month for companies under 25,000 dollars monthly net sales, one user, no backoffice; POS for NetSuite from 1,800 dollars; Franchise and Chain from 3,500 dollars, published
Restaurant POS with floor plans, tableside ordering and kitchen display
Ranked #16 of 16 in Best POS System in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
TouchBistro Inc. says in its privacy notice that it is headquartered in Canada. The pricing page lists three setups and says hardware is required but not included in the Point of Sale plan.
Its product pages cover floor plans, tableside ordering, a kitchen display, inventory, labour management, reservations, online ordering and loyalty as modules. We checked this on 31 October 2026.
What stands out
pos
restaurant
hospitality
Where it costs you
Hardware, payment processing and additional fees apply on top of the listed prices
The pricing page gives no processing rate or country list
Right for
A full-service restaurant, bar or brewery
Wrong for
A retail shop with variants and purchase orders
CanadaPoint of Sale from 69 US dollars a month, Essentials Bundle from 119 dollars, custom setup on quote; hardware and processing extra, published
A point-of-sale system takes payment in person, records the sale against stock and reporting, and settles the money to a bank account. Differences that change the outcome seldom sit in the features. Here is the sequence we would follow.
01
Decide whether you need a published price
Every point of sale tool here states what it costs on its own site, so the whole list can be compared without a call: storekit, SumUp, Epos Now, myPOS, Square, PayPal Point of Sale, Shopify POS, Toast, Clover, Lightspeed Retail, Lightspeed Retail (X-Series), Adyen POS, ready2order, Odoo POS, Erply, TouchBistro.
02
Look at where the vendor sits
Headquarters range over 9 countries and 3 regions: Europe 9, North America 6, Asia-Pacific 1. Legal exposure follows the vendor, not only the data centre, so read the contracting entity before you sign.
The software price is not the price
Every product here earns on payment processing, and that is where the real cost sits. SumUp, Zettle, myPOS and Adyen charge per transaction and give the software away or nearly so.
Lightspeed and Shopify POS charge a monthly fee and then charge for payments on top, and Square and Toast both list a plan at no monthly fee beside their paid ones. At any real turnover the processing rate decides the annual total and the monthly plan is rounding.
Get the processing rate for your card mix, including commercial and foreign cards.
Ask whether you may use a third-party acquirer, and what it costs if you do.
Model the annual total at your turnover, not the monthly plan fee.
Hardware you own against hardware you rent
Zettle sells you a terminal outright and myPOS sells or rents one; Clover says its devices cannot be used with another processor, and Toast's software runs only on approved Toast hardware with Toast's own processing.
Locked hardware is the quiet lock-in in point of sale software, because switching provider means replacing the counter as well as the contract. A terminal you own can usually be repurposed; one tied to a processor cannot.
Ask whether the terminal works with another provider if you switch.
Get the cost of replacing a broken unit, and the lead time.
Check what happens to leased hardware at the end of the contract.
Hospitality and retail are different products
Toast is built for restaurants: covers, courses, split bills, kitchen printers. Lightspeed Retail and Vend are built for shops: variants, stock across locations, purchase orders.
Square and Clover sell separate restaurant and retail plans, Square with coursing and a kitchen display app on paid plans, while SumUp stays a generalist that does both lightly. A restaurant running a retail POS improvises table service; a shop running a hospitality POS fights the stock module.
Match the product to your trade before comparing anything else.
Test your most awkward transaction: a split bill, or a variant exchange.
Check offline behaviour. Tills have to work when the internet does not.
Settlement timing is a cash flow decision
How fast money reaches your bank differs by days across this page, and for a business with thin margins that is more important than the rate.
Ask for the settlement schedule in writing, including weekends and holidays, and ask what triggers a hold. A provider that holds funds after an unusual day is a provider you find out about on the worst day.
Get the settlement schedule in writing, including weekends.
Ask what triggers a payout hold and how it is released.
Check whether refunds come out of the next payout or are charged separately.
What goes wrong most often when buying point of sale software
Comparing monthly software fees while ignoring the processing rate, which is the actual cost.
Buying locked hardware without checking whether it survives a change of provider.
Running a restaurant on a retail till, or the reverse.
Not testing offline mode before the first busy Saturday.
07
Frequently asked questions
6 answers
What is the best point of sale in 2026?
Our ranking of 16 puts storekit first. Built for restaurants and bars: pickup, delivery, QR ordering, pay-at-table and kiosks that sit alongside an existing till such as Toast, Square or Lightspeed rather than replacing it.
The free Starter plan covers pickup and delivery; QR ordering and pay-at-table start on Pro at £199 per location a month. Retail is not the target.
Which point of sale tools publish their pricing?
16 out of 16 state a price model on their own site:
storekit: Free Starter plan; Grow £99, Pro £199 and Enterprise from £995 per location per month, published; flat per-order fee.
SumUp: Per transaction, published; optional monthly plans.
Epos Now: Complete Solution bundle from £299, published, with a 12-month payments, care and support subscription from £54 a month; other bundles quoted.
myPOS: Buy or rent the terminal; per transaction from 1.10% + 7p, published; free account, no monthly fee under £10,000 turnover.
Square: Free plan; Plus $49 and Premium $149 per location per month, published; processing per transaction.
PayPal Point of Sale: Per transaction, 1.75% on cards, published; hardware bought outright; no monthly fee.
Shopify POS: Included with a Shopify plan, per month, published; POS Pro add-on per location; payments extra.
Toast: Starter Kit from $0/month; Point of Sale from $69/month, published; processing extra, rate not listed.
Clover: Published on clover.com per business type, e.g. full-service restaurant from $179 a month over 36 months; card payments from 2.3% + 10 cents; reseller terms vary.
Lightspeed Retail: Per month by plan, published: Basic $89, Core $149, Plus $289, one register included; extra registers, locations and payments extra.
Lightspeed Retail (X-Series): Per month by plan, published as Lightspeed Retail (X-Series): Basic $89, Core $149, Plus $289, one register included; payments extra.
Adyen POS: Per transaction, published as interchange plus a fee.
ready2order: POS licence 35.90 euros per device per month (430.80 a year), activation fee 99 euros, excluding VAT; Gastro package 23.90 euros a month; readyPay card rate 1.23%, published.
Odoo POS: Free one-app plan, unlimited users; Standard 24.90 euros per user per month on yearly billing at list, all apps; Custom plan quoted per user, published.
Erply: Retail POS from 49 US dollars per store per month for companies under 25,000 dollars monthly net sales, one user, no backoffice; POS for NetSuite from 1,800 dollars; Franchise and Chain from 3,500 dollars, published.
TouchBistro: Point of Sale from 69 US dollars a month, Essentials Bundle from 119 dollars, custom setup on quote; hardware and processing extra, published.
The other 0 quote per organisation.
Is there a free point of sale tool?
storekit, Square, Odoo POS come with a no-cost entry point, a free plan or a self-hosted edition.
Where are these point of sale vendors established?
The headquarters are spread over 9 countries and 3 regions, Europe 9, North America 6, Asia-Pacific 1:
storekit: United Kingdom.
SumUp: United Kingdom.
Epos Now: United Kingdom.
myPOS: United Kingdom.
Square: United States.
PayPal Point of Sale: Sweden.
Shopify POS: Canada.
Toast: United States.
Clover: United States.
Lightspeed Retail: Canada.
Lightspeed Retail (X-Series): New Zealand.
Adyen POS: Netherlands.
ready2order: Austria.
Odoo POS: Belgium.
Erply: Estonia.
TouchBistro: Canada.
What should you use instead of storekit?
Look at SumUp (made for a mobile or market business that needs a reader that just works) and Epos Now (made for a UK shop or bar that needs a full till system cheaply), which hold places two and three.
Who should not buy storekit?
A shop with stock, suppliers and purchase orders. Hospitality only.
If a point of sale product of yours deserves a place among these 16, say what it is and who it serves. Inclusion rests with us alone. See software advice for the rules.
