The right POS is the one your staff can use for your actual sales, returns and end-of-day work. The recommendations below are an editorial shortlist based on provider documentation checked September 10, 2026, with card rates and monthly costs from our fee data checked October 29, 2026. Nobody tested these systems hands-on for this page, and it is not a universal ranking.
General retail and mobile selling: start with Square
Square’s POS demo covers sales, inventory, customers and refunds. Its published US entry-level in-person rate is 2.6% + $0.15, with no monthly software fee for that plan. Hardware (Square Reader from $59) and optional services can add cost. We would start here when the priority is the easiest setup: a straightforward checkout with a relatively simple product catalog. Square is not the cheapest processor at any volume in our cost engine, though. Helcim (interchange + 0.40% + $0.08 in person, no monthly fee) comes to about $211 a month at $10K in card sales against $290 on Square, and $1,020 against $1,450 at $50K. From about $250K a month, Stax’s subscription ($99 to $199+ a month plus interchange + $0.08 in person) is the cheapest: about $4,475 against $4,850 on Helcim. See Square vs Helcim. If your sales are small tickets, check our Stripe vs Square fee comparison first: Stripe Terminal costs less per sale below $100.
Before buying a mobile setup, check your exact phone, operating system and reader combination. Ask how the device handles a lost connection and what conditions apply to delayed card processing. Do not assume that every device or payment type has identical offline support. Compare the mobile payment options against your expected selling location.
A Shopify store selling in person: compare Shopify POS
Shopify POS brings in-person selling into the Shopify commerce system. It belongs on the shortlist when your online store and physical stock need to be managed together. Check which inventory, staff and location features require a higher POS plan rather than assuming they are included in your online-store subscription.
Use a real product with sizes or colors in the demonstration. Sell it online, collect it in store, return it and transfer the replacement to another location. Confirm that stock counts and customer records remain usable at each step.
Restaurants and cafes: compare Toast and Clover around service flow
Toast’s plans are built around restaurant operations. Our reason to shortlist it is the service workflow: taking an order, routing it to the kitchen, splitting the check and closing the shift. Compare the quote’s hardware, payment-processing agreement and add-ons as a package. On published rates, Clover’s Restaurant Growth plan (2.3% + $0.10, software from $89.95 a month) costs less per sale than Toast Traditional (2.49% + $0.15 plus $69 a month or more on a 2-year agreement): about $1,335 against $1,464 a month at $50K in card sales and a $50 check. Clover’s restaurant hardware runs on a 36-month subscription, and Square has no contract on any plan. Our restaurant POS comparison covers Toast, Square, Clover, SpotOn and Lightspeed side by side.
A cafe serving a short menu has different needs from a full-service restaurant. Ask staff to change an order, handle a modifier, split a bill and adjust a tip. Check what happens when the kitchen printer or internet connection fails. See Square vs Toast for a focused comparison.
Salons and appointment-based services: compare Vagaro
Vagaro combines appointment booking, staff calendars and business-management tools for beauty, wellness and fitness businesses. We would shortlist it when scheduling is central to the sale. Check the number of calendars and the cost of payment processing, messaging and any premium features in the quote.
Test a booking, cancellation, reschedule and package redemption. Confirm what clients receive and what staff can edit. A checkout demonstration alone will not show whether the calendar works for your team.
Complex retail inventory: include Lightspeed
Lightspeed Retail deserves a comparison when managing stock is a larger problem than taking payment. Demonstrate your actual variants, supplier orders and store transfers. Obtain a quote for the features and locations you need, including the payment-processing terms.
Compare total cost using your own sales
Calculate software, processing, hardware, add-ons and implementation separately. A $0.15 fixed charge on a $10 sale adds 1.5 percentage points before the percentage fee. On a $100 sale it adds 0.15 points. This arithmetic explains why two stores on the same rate can have different effective costs.
Ask each provider to price the same monthly sales volume, transaction count, card mix and number of locations. Also ask who owns the hardware and what happens to your data and contract if you leave. The POS pricing comparison and contract checklist can help organize those questions.