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Restaurants have a wide array of POS systems to pick from, each with different strengths that could appeal to a particular business.

Common to them all is that they are based in the cloud, with data and sales synced in real time so you can track business from any web browser. Cloud POS solutions have a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business model, meaning you do not own or pay a one-off price for the software. Instead, you subscribe to them on a monthly or annual basis upfront.

Your ideal restaurant point of sale will depend a lot on your type of food business. A full-service restaurant, for instance, would benefit massively from detailed floor plans to coordinate orders accurately. If you’re just a small coffee shop, you may not need a table plan, but might like to track ingredients and integrate with online ordering.

A small food-and-drink business can narrow down the search to just a handful of the most affordable POS systems, all customisable to some extent. Let’s compare them.

Restaurant POS Software cost Best for Website
TouchBistro $69+/mo All-round value & user-friendly features
ShopKeep Quote on request Small restaurants that want good features & uncomplicated software
Lightspeed Restaurant $59+/mo Advanced featured for an affordable price tag
Toast $69+/mo Custom hardware solutions to go with the software
Square for Restaurants $0-$60/mo Lower budgets looking for a flexible, efficient payment system
Clover Dining $69.95+/mo Restaurants that prefer sleek, matching terminals
Food
POS
Best for Site
TouchBistro User-friendliness & all-round value
ShopKeep Good features & uncomplicated software
Lightspeed Restaurant Advanced POS features for low price tag
Toast Custom hardware solutions to go with software
Square for Restaurants Flexible, low-cost system with nice extras
Clover Dining User-friendly software on sleek, matching terminals
POS systems for retail

Do you have a retail store?

Compare the 5 best retail POS systems

TouchBistro – user-friendly, good all-round value

Best for: Range of features and user-friendliness

Pricing: From $69/mo per iPad license

Compatibility: iPad only

Pros: Tableside ordering, intuitive features, fast software, good 24/7 customer support

Cons: 12-month commitment, customer loyalty tools extra cost, no Android compatibility

TouchBistro is a Canadian POS system specifically for food businesses, whether that be full-service restaurants, quick-service, bars, clubs, food trucks or breweries.

It doesn’t work on Android devices or computers, only iPad, but nevertheless allows you to create a unique combination of iPad checkouts, self-service kiosks, customer-facing displays, digital menu boards, kitchen display system and online ordering options. The data is saved in the cloud, but the local setup enables you to work reliably offline as well.

Although features are vast, they are explained in the app software or intuitive to grasp upon using the software, which cannot be said of all POS systems.

Photo: TouchBistro

TouchBistro POS in restaurant

TouchBistro suits a wide range of food-and-drink places including full service restaurants.

The software suites small-to-medium-sized food premises, as features let you create table plans, manage many checkout screens, kitchen orders, teams of staff and detailed food menus.

However, the software is limited to one location only, meaning you cannot manage multiple business addresses in the same system, only multiple floors, rooms and checkouts. This makes the software unsuitable for restaurant chains, but perfect for new or single-location businesses.

On all of the plans, you get 24/7 customer support that is generally highly rated, on top of a comprehensive online resources section to answer most of your queries.

TouchBistro costs
Solo (1 iPad license) $69/month (annual billing)
Dual (2 iPad licenses) $129/month (annual billing)
Team (up to 5 iPad licenses) $249/month (annual billing)
Unlimited (6+ iPad licenses) Custom price (annual billing)
Online Ordering From $50/month
Gift Cards From $25/month
Reservations $229/month per location
Kiosk Counts as iPad license
Digital menu board $20/month per location
TouchBistro
costs
Solo (1 iPad license) $69/month (annual billing)
Dual (2 iPad licenses) $129/month (annual billing)
Team (up to 5 iPad licenses) $249/month (annual billing)
Unlimited (6+ iPad licenses) Custom price (annual billing)
Online Ordering From $50/month
Gift Cards From $25/month
Reservations $229/month per location
Kiosk Counts as iPad license
Digital menu board $20/month per location

All plans are billed annually, so practically require a 12-month commitment since you cannot have the subscription refunded. Furthermore, there’s a range of add-on features such as gift cards, reservations management, self-order features (“kiosks”) at an additional cost. Online Ordering features normally cost $50 (or more) per month but now come free for 12 months to help restaurants bounce back from the impact of Covid-19.

In terms of payments, the system can be integrated with a number of external processors, if you’re not using the out-of-the-box option TouchBistro Payments powered by Chase. Although advertised as “transparent” pricing, TouchBistro does not state the fees publicly, instead encouraging you to contact them.

Payment integrations: PayPal, Square, TouchBistro Payments by Chase, TSYS, Worldpay

Can you try before subscribing? Yes, there’s a 7-day free trial without registration, plus 21 more days with creation of a username.

ShopKeep Restaurant – full-featured, user-friendly

Best for: Small restaurants looking for a tailored and affordable POS system

Pricing: Quote has to be requested

Compatibility: iPad, Clover terminals

Pros: Affordable software, tailored features, no contract lock-in, Poynt terminal option

Cons: Pricing not transparent, not yet available on Android tablets

ShopKeep is a popular platform offering all-in-one POS systems with software, hardware and payments included. The software is user-friendly, not overly complicated, but still has good business management features in the backend to support restaurant operations.

ShopKeep Restaurant POS works on iPad and Clover terminals, but not Android devices. You don’t have to buy ShopKeep’s own bundles if you have compatible hardware already. The software works through the cloud, but continues to run if there’s an internet outage. It’s possible to take payments offline as well, but only on Clover devices.

Photo: ShopKeep

The ShopKeep Restaurant POS software still only works on iPad and Clover terminals.

POS features include standard restaurant functions like communications between checkouts and kitchen, menus, table plans and employee management, but also rarer tools like ingredient-tracking and advanced inventory management.

The price is not so straightforward, though. The only way to get a subscription cost is to contact ShopKeep through the website form with your hardware and feature requirements. There is no contractual commitment for the POS system.

The company recommends using its integrated ShopKeep Payments for card transactions, advertising a “lowest integrated processing rate” that can be negotiated. If preferred, you can order a free Poynt smart POS terminal with a ShopKeep processing rate of 2.5% + 10¢, no contractual commitment and next-day settlement. It is also possible to use other card processors, but different prices would then apply.

You can integrate with online ordering, ecommerce (BigCommerce), accounting and email marketing.

ShopKeep costs
Restaurant POS system Quote provided directly by ShopKeep
(software from about $70 monthly)
ShopKeep Payments Card rates are negotiated
Poynt Smart Terminal with ShopKeep Payments First 3 months free rental, then $10/mo if making less than $5k/mo
2.5% + 10¢ processing rate
ShopKeep
costs
Restaurant POS system Quote provided directly by ShopKeep
(software from about $70 monthly)
ShopKeep Payments Card rates are negotiated
Poynt Smart Terminal with ShopKeep Payments First 3 months free rental, then $10/mo if making less than $5k/mo
2.5% + 10¢ processing rate

ShopKeep provides round-the-clock customer support via telephone, chat and text message.

Payment integrations: ShopKeep Payments, First Data (Clover), others

Can you try before subscribing? You can request a free demo of ShopKeep.

Lightspeed Restaurant – extensive for the price

Best for: Small-medium restaurants with complex food menus

Pricing: From $59/mo per checkout

Compatibility: iPad only

Pros: Many features, pleasing interface, ingredient-tracking, choice of add-ons

Cons: Features not always intuitive, costs can rack up with add-ons

Lightspeed Restaurant is a full-fledged restaurant POS system. The breadth of features makes it very good for restaurants wanting all shop floor and management operations covered by one system. The EPOS system can also work offline.

It is relatively user-friendly, but setting up products and staff permissions can take longer than other POS systems because there are more settings and fewer in-app explanations for what each function refers to exactly. But once you get the hang of it, the system will prove easy and clearly built for fast-paced businesses at any scale.

Lightspeed Restaurant iPad menu

Lightspeed Restaurant is a feature-rich POS system for iPad.

The features go way beyond just basics. For instance, the table plan with open orders has the most settings and functions we’ve seen in a hospitality app, and the list of all the different staff permissions is long. You can enter recipe ingredients in any units, track inventory levels, split bills in any way, customize the product menu in lots of different ways and set timed promotions. It also allows you to send orders to the kitchen or bar, accept takeaways and delivery orders.

Lightspeed can connect with different online ordering systems such as Lightspeed Delivery by Deliverect. There are therefore no limitations for those offering pickups, takeout and delivery services – provided you can pay the additional cost of the software.

There is no minimum contract, and you can choose to pay the subscription monthly, although annual plans are available for a lower price. The final pricing depends on your needs, as Lightspeed will be offering add-ons like customer loyalty features.

Lightspeed Restaurant costs
Subscription (1 iPad license), monthly billing $69/month
Subscription (1 iPad license), annual billing $59/month
Licence per extra iPad $34/month
Individual add-ons $12/month
Individual premium add-ons $39/month
Lightspeed Payments (dip, swipe, tap) 2.6% + 10¢ per transaction
Lightspeed Payments (keyed) 2.6% + 30¢ per transaction
Lightspeed
Restaurant
costs
Subscription (1 iPad license), monthly billing $69/month
Subscription (1 iPad license), annual billing $59/month
Licence per extra iPad $34/month
Individual add-ons $12/month
Individual premium add-ons $39/month
Lightspeed Payments (dip, swipe, tap) 2.6% + 10¢ per transaction
Lightspeed Payments (keyed) 2.6% + 30¢ per transaction

Customer service is included in the plans 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You get free onboarding to help set up the software and get your questions answered.

Payment integrations: Lightspeed Payments, TSYS, Vantiv, 2ACCEPT

Can you try before subscribing? Yes, there’s a 14-day free trial.

Toast – all-in-one POS and payment system for restaurants

Best for: Restaurants preferring an all-in-one package with payments, software & hardware

Pricing: From $69/mo + hardware from $799

Compatibility: Android-based proprietary hardware

Pros: Wealth of features, offline mode, complete solution incl. card payments

Cons: Expensive upfront, no support if using own hardware, termination fee

Toast is a complete package with POS software, hardware, restaurant management software and a payment system. If you prefer one provider for all of these things, then Toast is ideal. If you wanted a different payment system or just some parts of Toast’s POS system, then this is not the right platform.

Photo: Toast

Toast POS for hospitality

Toast can be adapted to any type of restaurant, but it can get expensive.

The software includes advanced employee management tools, menu and inventory management, in-depth sales reports and more POS features for full-service restaurants and small food outlets alike. Toast runs in the cloud through an internet connection, but you also get a local LAN-network installed to enable offline mode and the ability to accept cards offline.

The online ordering system Toast Now is a separate subscription with tiered features for curbside pickup, delivery, takeout, contactless deliveries, e-gift cards and email marketing. Because of Covid-19, this is currently provided free for the first three months. These features are also included on the higher POS plans, but can be customized (with other add-on tools) to suit the restaurant’s needs.

Although Toast functions as an end-to-end restaurant system, you can still integrate with some external software platforms like 7shifts and Punchh.

Toast costs
Software licence per checkout Starter plan: From $69/mo
Essentials plan: From $99/mo
Growth plan: From $189/mo
Online ordering & marketing software Toast Now: $50/mo
Toast Now Plus: $75/mo
Toast Now Premium: $150/mo
Temporary offer for new users First month’s subscription free & 3 months’ ordering software free
Add-on feature modules Varies
Card reader transactions 2.59% + $0.10
POS hardware bundle From $799 (one-off)
Installation From $499 (one-off)
Early termination fee Remaining subscription cost on contract
Toast costs
Software licence per checkout Starter plan: From $69/mo
Essentials plan: From $99/mo
Growth plan: From $189/mo
Online ordering & marketing software Toast Now: $50/mo
Toast Now Plus: $75/mo
Toast Now Premium: $150/mo
Temporary offer for new users First month’s subscription free & 3 months’ ordering software free
Add-on feature modules Varies
Card reader transactions 2.59% + $0.10
POS hardware bundle From $799 (one-off)
Installation From $499 (one-off)
Early termination fee Remaining subscription cost on contract

The payment system is Toast’s own with transaction fees fixed at 2.59% + $0.10 per Visa, Mastercard and Discover payment through the Toast card reader.

The monthly pricing is comparable with other restaurant POS systems, but the contractual lock-in can be up to three years. If you decide to end the contract early, you have to pay an early termination fee equivalent to the remaining software costs of the contract period.

Toast provides 24/7 customer support every day of the year.

Payment integration: Toast

Can you try before subscribing? A free demo is available on request.

Square for Restaurants – good value for small restaurants

Best for: Small restaurants and quick-service places on a budget

Pricing: $0-$60/mo per location

Compatibility: iPad only

Pros: Free plan available, no commitment, online ordering features included

Cons: Only works with Square Payments, not the most extensive system

Square for Restaurants is a user-friendly restaurant POS system connected with Square’s payment system. It has a Free plan that could be sufficient for the first phase of starting up a small restaurant, but the Restaurants Plus subscription has a wider array of features for $60 (no commitment required).

The Free plan can be used at unlimited locations and checkouts, while the Plus plan includes a licence for one location and iPad, with additional checkouts costing $40/month each.

Photo: Square

Square for Restaurants benefits from access to many Square features such as online payments. 

Some of the features are advanced tipping and service charge options, table plan with orders attached, food menus and items with variants, employee management, courses sent to the kitchen timed according to your preferences and gift cards. Square for Restaurants does not have ingredient tracking, but you can attach stock levels to food items which automatically hides the product when out of stock.

Other advanced features in almost any area can be added through available integrations like MarketMan for food inventory management. Square for Restaurants also integrates with the delivery platforms Postmates, Caviar, DoorDash and Chowly (for Uber Eats). Alternatively, Square Online lets you build and run an online store with curbside pickup options connected to your Restaurants POS system. Self-serve ordering through scanning a QR code at the customer’s table is also possible.

The POS software works with Square Reader for card payments for 2.6% + 10¢ per card transaction. While Square Terminal can sync with the system for tableside payments, it has not got access to all the Square for Restaurants features available on iPad.

You get 24/7 customer support on the Plus subscription, and only weekday support between 6am-6pm (PT) on Free.

Square for Restaurants costs
Subscription Free plan: Free
Plus plan: $60/mo per location
Per extra checkout license (Plus plan) $40/month
Card terminal payments 2.6%+10¢ per transaction
Square for
Restaurants
costs
Subscription Free plan: Free
Plus plan: $60/mo per location
Per extra checkout license (Plus plan) $40/month
Card terminal payments 2.6%+10¢ per transaction

Transactions through Square are automatically settled in your bank account the next working day, or within minutes for an extra 1.5% fee per transaction.

Payment integration: Square Payments

Can you try before subscribing? Yes, get a 30-day free trial before committing to anything.

Clover Dining – restaurant POS on fancy payment terminals

Best for: User-friendly features on unique hardware

Pricing: Quotes only on request

Compatibility: Clover hardware only (Android-based)

Pros: Customisable features, ease to use, expandable with apps

Cons: Customer service complaints, must use First Data for payments, expensive contract

Clover offers their own-branded checkout hardware for any size business. Apart from general POS features, there’s a Clover Dining suite of point of sale features for restaurants specifically. It works only on Clover’s proprietary hardware – either the Clover Station bundle for full-service restaurants or Clover Mini for mid-sized restaurants with limited tables.

Photo: Clover

Clover Dining POS

Clover Dining is a full-featured POS package by Clover.

Opting for Clover Mini gives enough features for small-to-medium restaurants. The Mini is basically a tablet with built-in card reader and receipt printer and Clover Dining preinstalled. However, larger food places will prefer Station with its larger screen, cash drawer, separate receipt printer and optional portable Flex terminal for table service.

POS features cover standard hospitality requirements like floor plans, order management, connection with kitchen printers, sales reports and much more. With Clover, you can add a lot of different tools through its Android-based app store, but these have separate costs. Online ordering is also included with Clover Dining, with options for contactless delivery.

What you can’t choose is the payment system. Clover always uses First Data for card payments, but third-party providers can get you different card rates at least. A nice thing about First Data is that you get a full-fledged merchant account for card processing, but many reviews have complained about its service. The cost of the proprietary hardware is also high, and Clover’s contract terms reveal extra charges. We recommend close-reading all the terms before committing to this.

Clover costs
Clover Dining software on Mini $69.95/mo
$749 (one-off) for Clover Mini
Clover Dining software on Station $79.90/mo
$1349 (one-off) for Clover Station
$350 (one-off) for Clover Flex
Additional checkout licences $9.95/mo per additional device
Tap, dip & swipe transactions 2.3% + 10¢
Clover
costs
Clover Dining software on Mini $69.95/mo
$749 (one-off) for Clover Mini
Clover Dining software on Station $79.90/mo
$1349 (one-off) for Clover Station
$350 (one-off) for Clover Flex
Additional checkout licences $9.95/mo per additional device
Tap, dip & swipe transactions 2.3% + 10¢

24/7 customer support is included on all plans.

Payment integration: First Data/Clover

Can you try before subscribing? Yes, you can currently try Clover for free for 90 days (usually, it’s 30 days).

Summary

Restaurant POS system Best for Site
TouchBistro User-friendliness & all-round value
ShopKeep Good features & uncomplicated software
Lightspeed Breadth of advanced POS features & integration options
Toast Custom software with hardware made for restaurants
Square Flexible, efficient POS & payment system
Clover Sleek terminals with expandable POS features
Restaurant
POS
system
Best for Site
TouchBistro User-friendliness & all-round value
ShopKeep Good features & uncomplicated software
Lightspeed Breadth of advanced POS features & integration options
Toast Custom software with hardware made for restaurants
Square Flexible, efficient POS & payment system
Clover Sleek terminals with expandable POS features