Best Coffee Shop & Cafe POS Systems

Cafes and coffee shops fill a unique niche within the larger hospitality industry—they’re a little bit restaurant and a little bit retail. The best cafe point-of-sale (POS) system should have cash management functions like dual cash drawer tills and volume-supporting features like drive-thru management. Considering most cafes’ low price points, the best cafe POS system should also be affordable.

Based on our evaluation of over a dozen software, the best cafe POS and coffee shop POS systems are:

• Toast: Best overall cafe POS system
• Square for Restaurants: Best for small cafes that need a free POS with affordable hardware
• Lightspeed Restaurant: Best for inventory management
• KORONA: Best for flexible payment processing
• Loyverse: Best for customer loyalty features

Top Cafe POS Systems Compared

Which Cafe POS System Is Right for You?

Toast: Best Overall Cafe POS System

Toast is an industry leader in point of sale for restaurants and cafes—and for good reason. Its hardware is top-of-the-line, and the system starts at $0 per month for up to two terminals. Toast also recently updated its speed ordering screens to make this user-friendly system even more useful for quick service businesses like cafes and coffee shops.

Toast’s baseline POS system has built-in features like menu management, real-time data and reporting, and employee management. The pay-as-you-go Starter subscription option allows single-location cafes to access Toast software and hardware without any monthly cost.

Toast earned a 4.13 out of 5 on our cafe POS scoring system, with strong marks for its free Starter POS with pay-as-you-go hardware options. It also scored well for its general POS functions and niche tools like drive-thru management and dual cash drawer tills. But, Toast locks you into its payment processor and requires a two-year service contract.

If you prefer to shop for the best processing rates, check out KORONA. If you need a short-term month-to-month contract, try Square. Be aware that most of those systems operate on iPads, though, so you will be losing some durability.

Toast Hardware

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Toast Features

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Square for Restaurants: Best for Cafes on a Budget

There’s a reason you see Square POS hardware in so many independent coffee shops and cafes. Square for Restaurant’s baseline POS subscription is completely free. The free level does not include table or course management, but that shouldn’t be a limiting factor for cafes that mostly serve coffee and grab-and-go food. If you need additional features, the Plus package includes table and course management and additional reporting for $60 per month.

Square for Restaurants earned a 4.01 out of 5 on our scoring system. It scored well for its free baseline software price and for supporting software for an unlimited number of POS devices. The free, integrated online store also earned high marks. It lost some points for its lack of niche features like ingredient-level inventory, drive-thru management, and dual cash drawer tills. If your cafe needs these, you’ll be better served by Toast. But, if your operation is small and does not need drive-thru support, Square has everything you need. There’s a reason you see a Square terminal in virtually every small coffee shop around.

Square for Restaurants Hardware

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Square for Restaurants Features

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Lightspeed Restaurant: Best for Inventory Management

Lightspeed Restaurant is a browser-based cloud POS that operates on iPads. It is the Goldilocks of cafe POS systems, striking just the right balance by providing the features you need without overwhelming you with features you don’t. It is affordable, easy to self-install, and has built-in features like Order Ahead (which is great for curbside pickup), multiple payment processors, and dual cash drawer capability. It also includes the most user-friendly inventory tools of any system on this list.

Also regularly appearing on our list of best POS for restaurants, Lightspeed Restaurant earned a 3.95 out of 5 in our cafe POS scoring system. With all its features, Lightspeed ticked nearly every box we asked a cafe POS to check. It only falls short when it comes to drive-thru management tools (it offers none at this time); if you need drive-thru management, Toast is an option. And, while the iPad POS is cost-effective, it is not the most durable in a high-volume setting.

Lightspeed Hardware

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Lightspeed Restaurant Features

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KORONA: Best for Flexible Payment Processing

KORONA’S cafe POS system is a strong choice due to the flexible payment options it offers. The ability to shop around for different pricing on payment processing is what makes this system a great option for those with cost-saving in mind. You can test the software with an unlimited free trial; use KORONA for up to 30 transactions a day for absolutely no charge for as long as you like. The free trial version includes all of KORONA’s baseline features except for integrated payments.

For cafes, KORONA offers a great coffee shop loyalty program to keep customers coming back for more. The speed in checkouts makes it ideal for long morning lines. KORONA also offers advanced cash and sales tracking to manage any mistakes or theft that could occur during operations.

KORONA received a 3.74 out of 5 in our evaluation due to its payment processing flexibility and good inventory management. It includes integrations to support online sales and the flexible pricing structure ensures small cafes and coffee shops don’t pay for tools they won’t use. KORONA lost some points because it lacks some higher-level food service functions like drive-thru management and its workforce management tools are less robust than competitors like Toast.

KORONA Hardware

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KORONA POS Features

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Loyverse: Best for Customer Loyalty Features

Loyverse is a free-to-use POS software system that has a large focus on customer loyalty. With some effective add-ons, Loyverse is a great option for those on a budget who want to build their customer base. Loyverse focuses heavily on customer visits, a points rewards program, loyalty cards, and detailed customer profiles to set up a database that helps you understand who is buying what at your cafe.

Loyverse earned a 3.66 out of 5 in our evaluation. While it is free-to-use and has great customer loyalty features, it lacks some cafe features others in this guide have such as dual cash drawer tills and drive-thru management features. Inventory is rudimentary at best and the add-on services cause you to spend more to access a better product.

Loyverse Hardware

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Loyverse Features

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How We Evaluated Cafe POS Systems

Our evaluation of leading cafe POS systems used a scoring system that highlighted cafe-specific functionalities—like sticky label printing, dual cash drawer tills, and drive-thru management. We considered basic POS functions like inventory management, online ordering, and customized reporting. We also looked at the durability of the hardware to make sure it can withstand coffee spills and espresso steam. And, as always, we looked at pricing, user reviews, overall functionality, and customer support.

Based on the above criteria, Toast emerged as the best cafe POS. The software received the highest overall score according to our grading system (4.13 out of 5).

How to Choose a Cafe POS System

The POS system that is right for your cafe or coffee shop will depend on your service style, budget, and menu size. Cafe and coffee shop POS systems have a lot of features to support your business.

These are the most common cafe and coffee shop POS features to look for:

• Speed ordering screens: Cafes and coffee shops are fast service businesses, you don’t want to waste time navigating to separate screens. Speed screens reduce button presses to process sales faster.
• Forced and unforced modifiers: Coffee beverages and other common cafe fare (like smoothies) are commonly modified items, so you need a POS that can swiftly handle modifications like “no foam” and “extra shot.”
• Dual cash drawer tills: Most cafes and coffee shops still do some cash sales. Tracking cash means assigning individual tills to each cashier. I’ve run coffee shops both ways—with single drawer and dual drawer tills—and dual drawer is so much more efficient.
• Drive-thru management: Many coffee shops do a brisk drive-thru business. A dedicated drive-thru order flow streamlines your business and reduces errors.
• Loyalty: A strong loyalty program is an absolute must-have for coffee shops and cafes that rely on regular customers to return day after day.
• Marketing: Built-in text and email marketing tools save you time and help convert first-time visitors into loyal customers.
• Reporting: The sheer amount of data that a POS tracks gives you deep insight into your cafe’s health and helps you plan for the future.
• Online ordering: Blame it on Starbucks, but customers now expect to order their morning coffee from their smartphones. A POS with online ordering helps you provide what customers want.
• Inventory management: A POS can track individual items or even ingredients as you sell throughout the day, alerting you to low stock. Some systems will even generate a suggested vendor order so you never run out of supplies.
• Workforce management: These tools can be everything from basic time tracking and schedule-building all the way to tip pool management and completely digital employee onboarding.

The POS features you need will vary mostly based on your shop’s service style. So the first question you should ask when choosing a cafe or coffee shop POS is:

What Features Do You Need?

As mentioned above, a cafe POS can have a wide range of features. But the only features that matter are the ones you will use. If you are a small shop with two full-time employees, you probably don’t need tip pool management and drive-thru functions. Make a list of all the functions you’ll actually use. Then look for coffee shop or cafe POS systems that have those tools built into them.

How Much Can You Afford to Spend?

Coffee shop and cafe POS systems have three main costs: the one-time, upfront price of hardware and installation (from $0 to $1,000+), ongoing monthly software fees (from $0 to $300+), and ongoing payment processing fees (usually around 3% to 5% of credit card sales).

As with most things, the more tools you need, the pricier your cafe or coffee shop POS will be. So you need to balance the system you want with the budget you have. Take a look at your monthly sales (actual sales if your shop is open, projected sales if you aren’t open yet). How much of your profit can you afford to spend on a POS system?

What kind of hardware do you need?

Many coffee shop and cafe POS systems run on iPads and consumer-grade tablets. This makes them easy to replace if they are lost or damaged. But in a high-volume cafe, you might want something more robust that can withstand spills and steam. If you need industry-grade hardware, you’ll immediately narrow your field of choices.

Making your POS Decision

Once you have answered your questions, it’s time to schedule some POS demonstrations. Contact the sales teams of your top contenders. Prepare a list of questions to ask the sales representative. You should know exactly what functions you need your cafe POS to perform, so make sure you know if each system can do what you need.

Most POS sales reps follow a specific script and workflow. They’ll typically show you how the system rings in an order, then show you some back-end reporting. If you don’t ask specific questions, you’ll only see the surface-level functions of each system. So ask your questions as you go through the demo. Don’t be afraid to interrupt the sales rep’s pitch, if you must, to get the information you need.

Even better is to let the rep know before your demo what functions you are interested in seeing. This will give them time to check with technicians or product designers to ensure they have the most up-to-date information. Allow for at least one hour for each demo so you have time to see everything you need. Take notes during each demo, then compare your notes to see which system best provides the functions you need at a price you can afford.

Cafe POS System Benefits

A cafe POS system offers a lot of benefits for small cafes and coffee shops. They drive sales, generate detailed reports, and let you accept the digital payment types that customers prefer. Beyond those baseline benefits, there are others you’ll want to consider before deciding if a POS is the right solution for your cafe or coffee shop.

User-friendly Loyalty

Loyalty is more important to coffee shops and cafes than just about any type of business. A cloud POS designed for cafes and coffee shops makes running a loyalty and rewards program impossibly easy. You can track loyalty accounts by customer name, phone number, or sometimes even their payment type.

Your POS can track rewards by points or dollars spent and offer individual items as rewards or accept points as payment. There are no cards to track and no spreadsheets to log; you just turn on the loyalty functions and create a campaign.

Comprehensive Marketing

With a POS, your coffee shop or cafe can leverage detailed customer data to create targeted email and SMS text marketing campaigns. Most have sharp, modern message templates to give your shop a polished, professional look. You can filter customers by their purchases, visit frequency, birth date, or other factors. The typical POS allows you to create multiple email and text marketing campaigns that you can manage easily from your back office dashboard; driving sales while saving time.

Reduced Order Errors

Switching to a POS rather than relying on handwritten or voice-called orders reduces errors and ensures that every order actually gets rung in (and paid for). You’ll save money on errors, remakes, and unofficial comps.

Advanced Reporting

A POS can track all of your sales, your products, tips, and staff hours. Centralizing all of this data gives you an incredible amount of information to build reports and forecasts. And unlike searching your paper reports for the information you need, you can pull any information you need at any time. With a cloud POS, you can pull reports from any internet-connected device whether it’s in your back office or your couch. The ability to customize reports makes it easy for you to generate forecasts to control future costs and build future sales.

Cafe POS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

These are some of the most common questions we get about cafe POS systems. Expand the sections below to learn more.

What is the best POS system for cafes?

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How much does a coffee shop (or 'cafe') POS system cost?

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Why do cafes need a POS system?

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Bottom Line

There are many coffee shop and cafe POS systems on the market nowadays—the one that is best for your business will vary based on your budget and the functionality you need. Based on our rigorous comparison of several cafe POS systems, we found that Toast is the best overall cafe POS system for its affordable price, industry-grade hardware, and extreme number of built-in tools for everything from online ordering to employee management. Visit Toast to learn more and get started for free.

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