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The best POS system for your small business

Which point of sale fits depends on what you sell and how much. Here's each option's real monthly price and card rate, from the providers' own US websites.

Prices checked October 19, 2026 From providers' own sites How we make money

The short answer

  • Small shop, cafe, market stall or services? Start with Square. The Free plan is $0 a month and cards cost 2.6% + 15¢ in person. Selling solo with no staff? PayPal POS is a free app with cards at 2.29% + 9¢.
  • Selling online and in a store? Shopify runs both from one system. The Basic plan is $39 a month ($29 billed yearly) and in-person cards cost 2.6% + 10¢.
  • Restaurant? Price Toast, built for restaurants with POS plans from $69 a month, against SpotOn’s month-to-month Essentials plan at $55 per station.
  • Big catalog, several staff or more than one register? Look at Lightspeed. Retail plans start at $89 a month billed yearly, plus 2.6% + 10¢ per card payment.
  • Want the hardware bundled in? Clover’s retail bundles start at $16 a month for 36 months. Read the contract terms below first.

Not sure which camp you’re in? Answer three questions.

Find your best fit

3 questions

1What kind of business?
2Card sales per month?
3Do you need POS software (menus, inventory, staff)?

Card rates on each POS

Card rates from each provider's own US pricing page. The Monthly column shows one figure per provider, not every plan (those are in the next table). Helcim's rate is its markup on top of interchange. Heartland's rate is a starting-at price.
  • Square

    Flat rate

    Visit Square
    In person
    2.6% + 15¢
    Online
    3.3% + 30¢
    Monthly
    $0 · Free plan
    Contract
    No contract
  • PayPal POS

    Flat rate

    Visit PayPal POS
    In person
    2.29% + 9¢
    Online
    2.99% + 49¢
    Monthly
    $0 · Free POS app
    Contract
    No contract stated
  • Shopify POS

    Flat rate

    Visit Shopify POS
    In person
    2.6% + 10¢
    Online
    2.9% + 30¢
    Monthly
    $39 · Basic plan
    Contract
    Monthly or yearly billing
  • Toast

    Flat or custom

    Visit Toast
    In person
    2.49%
    Online
    By quote
    Monthly
    From $0 · Free plan available
    Contract
    Not published for restaurants; retail requires 12 months
  • SpotOn

    Flat or custom

    Visit SpotOn
    In person
    2.45% + 15¢
    Online
    By quote
    Monthly
    From $0 · Free plan available
    Contract
    All-In plan: 2-year minimum. Essentials: month to month
  • Lightspeed

    Flat or custom

    Visit Lightspeed
    In person
    2.6% + 10¢
    Online
    By quote
    Monthly
    $109 · Retail Basic, billed monthly ($89 if billed yearly)
    Contract
    Not published
  • Clover

    Flat or custom

    Visit Clover
    In person
    2.3% + 10¢
    Online
    By quote
    Monthly
    From $16 · POS plan
    Contract
    36-month hardware subscription option; terms vary by reseller
  • Helcim

    Interchange-plus

    Visit Helcim
    In person
    Interchange + 0.4% + 8¢
    Online
    Interchange + 0.5% + 25¢
    Monthly
    $0 · No monthly fee
    Contract
    No contract, no cancellation fee
  • Heartland

    Quote

    Visit Heartland
    In person
    From 2.6% + 10¢
    Online
    By quote
    Monthly
    From $89 · POS plan
    Contract
    Not published

Prices checked Oct 19, 2026 on each provider's own pricing page (how we check). "Interchange +" means the provider publishes only its markup. You also pay the card networks' interchange fee on top.

What the software costs each month

Card fees are only half the bill. Here’s what each POS charges for the software itself.

POSMonthly software priceSource
SquareFree $0. Plus $49 and Premium $149, each per location.Square pricing
PayPal POS$0. PayPal says “No monthly or setup fees.”PayPal POS pricing
ShopifyBasic $39 ($29 billed yearly), Grow $105 ($89 yearly), Advanced $399 ($359 yearly). POS Lite is included. POS Pro adds $89 per location, billed yearly.Shopify pricing
ToastStarter Kit from $0. Restaurant POS from $69. Retail POS from $90. Build Your Own is custom priced.Toast pricing
SpotOnRestaurants: All-In $0 per station (2-year minimum) or Essentials $55 per station. Other small businesses: Terminal $25.SpotOn pricing
Lightspeed RetailBasic $89, Core $149, Plus $289 billed yearly. $109, $179, $339 billed monthly.Lightspeed retail pricing
Lightspeed RestaurantStarter $69, Essential $189, Premium $399. Billing period not labeled.Lightspeed restaurant pricing
CloverBundles with hardware: retail $16, $180 or $240 a month, restaurant $179, $239 or $354 a month, all for 36 months. Or buy the hardware and pay software monthly.Clover pricing
Helcim$0. Helcim lists no software, minimum or statement fees.Helcim pricing
HeartlandRestaurant and retail POS starting at $89. Full prices by quote.Heartland pricing

How to choose a POS system for small business

Four questions decide most of the cost. Ask every POS company the same four.

1. What does the card rate look like on the plan I’d actually buy? Many POS companies tie the rate to the plan. Square’s in-person rate drops from 2.6% + 15¢ on Free to 2.4% + 15¢ on Premium. Clover’s cheapest retail bundle pays 2.6% + 10¢, while its bigger bundles pay 2.3% + 10¢.

2. Is the monthly fee per location, per station or per screen? Square’s paid plans are per location. SpotOn charges per station. Lightspeed lists $30 per screen a month for restaurant kitchen screens. Count every register and screen before you compare.

3. Can I take this hardware with me if I leave? Toast says its services “may only be used on approved Toast hardware.” SpotOn says you can’t use your own POS hardware. Lightspeed says you can’t reuse terminals you already own. Switching later means buying again.

4. How long am I locked in? Square and Helcim say there’s no contract. SpotOn’s All-In plan has a 2-year minimum, and Toast’s hardware offer terms describe its retail plan with a minimum 12-month term. Clover’s 36-month hardware subscriptions carry on at the same monthly charge unless you give 30 days’ notice.

Who each one is for, and who should skip it

Square. Good for new and smaller businesses, because the Free plan costs nothing until you sell. Square says its POS “includes business solutions for restaurants, retail, services, and beauty.” Skip it if you take a lot of online or invoice payments on the Free plan, which cost 3.3% + 30¢ each.

PayPal POS. Good for solo sellers and pop-ups. PayPal says Tap to Pay in its app could suit you if you “don’t have staff or employees.” Skip it if you need deeper POS tools, or if chargebacks are common in your trade. They cost $20, plus a $15 dispute fee.

Shopify. Good if you sell online and in person and want one product list and one inventory count. Skip it if you have no online store, since you’d pay $39 a month for features you won’t use. Using a processor other than Shopify Payments adds 2% per sale on Basic.

Toast. Good for restaurants that want software built just for them. Toast calls its payments “built specifically for restaurants.” Skip it if you want to compare every fee up front. Toast publishes no per-payment cents fee and no online or keyed-in rates.

SpotOn. Good for restaurants that want published rates and no long contract. Essentials is month to month at $55 per station, with cards at 2.45% + 15¢. Skip the All-In plan unless you’re sure you’ll stay. It has a 2-year minimum, processing minimums and a higher rate of 2.79% + 20¢.

Lightspeed. Good for established stores and restaurants that need deeper tools. Lightspeed describes Retail Basic as “designed for essential day-to-day needs for independent retailers.” Skip it if you’re small. Retail Basic billed monthly is $109 a month, or $1,308 a year, before a single card fee.

Clover. Good if you want hardware and software in one monthly payment. Skip it if you might switch soon. The bundles run 36 months, and Clover says its web prices “are only available on Clover.com.” Buy through a bank and the price and terms can differ.

Helcim and Heartland. Helcim offers free POS tools with interchange-plus pricing, at a markup of 0.40% + 8¢ in person. It suits businesses that mainly need to take cards. Heartland publishes only starting-at prices, so get a full quote in writing.

By type of business

Before you sign anything

  • Ask what it costs to leave, and get the cancellation fee in writing.
  • Ask whether you can use your own card processor, and what it costs if you do.
  • Price the hardware. Square lists its reader at $59, Terminal at $299 and Register at $899. Shopify lists its POS Terminal at $349. PayPal’s Terminal is $199.

More on how fees work: credit card processing fees explained. Not sure you need a POS at all? See every card processor we compare. Full provider breakdowns: Square, Shopify, Toast, SpotOn, Lightspeed, Clover.

Common questions

What is the best POS system for a small business?

There isn't one winner. For a small shop, cafe or market stall, Square's Free plan costs $0 a month with 2.6% + 15¢ per in-person card payment. If you also sell online, Shopify runs both from $39 a month. Restaurants should price Toast and SpotOn. Lightspeed suits bigger stores, with retail plans from $89 a month billed yearly.

How much does a POS system cost per month?

From $0 to several hundred dollars, before card fees. Square, Helcim and PayPal POS have $0 options. Shopify Basic is $39 a month. Toast restaurant POS starts at $69 and SpotOn Essentials is $55 per station. Lightspeed Retail starts at $89 billed yearly. Clover's retail bundles run $16 to $240 a month for 36 months, hardware included.

Is a free POS system really free?

The software can be. Square's Free plan, Helcim and PayPal POS charge no monthly fee. You still pay a card fee on every sale, and you buy the hardware. Square's contactless reader is $59 and PayPal's first card reader is $29. So free means no subscription, not no cost.

Can I use any card processor with my POS?

Often not. Toast says its services only work on approved Toast hardware, and SpotOn says you can't use your own POS hardware. Shopify adds a 2% fee per sale on Basic if you use a processor other than Shopify Payments. Lightspeed shows its retail prices with Lightspeed Payments and publishes no price without it. Ask before you sign.