7 Best Mobile POS Applications 2022

Customers more than ever want a checkout experience that is convenient, quick, and as contactless as possible. Mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) apps meet that need, allowing you to take sales to the floor, tableside, or off-site as needed. Global Market Insights projects that by 2027, the mPOS terminals market will hit $70 billion worldwide.

We narrowed our list of over 40 POS applications to the best seven for mobile. Here’s what we found:

• Square: Best overall POS app for solopreneurs and small businesses
• Loyverse: Best free POS with a choice of payment providers and a loyalty program
• Vend: Best for age-restricted products like liquor stores, smoke shops, or CBD sales
• PayPal Zettle: Best for small businesses with international online sales
• Lightspeed: Best for restaurants and stores with complex inventories
• Clover POS: Best for business owners that want to choose their merchant account
• Shopify POS: Best for online sellers who want an integrated system for in-person sales

Best Mobile POS Apps Compared

How We Evaluated Mobile POS Apps

We pulled from decades of experience by our researchers, both from personal use and studying and testing these systems. Then we combined the feedback of long-term, real-world users who have posted reviews on trusted third-party sites.

The best mobile POS apps optimize the balance of hardware, software, and payment processors. We started by selecting only those with a mobile app. This ensures you can run the program on a smartphone or tablet. However, many, like Square or Clover, had their own hardware as well. Then, we looked for software features that not only let you ring up sales but track inventory and manage customers (such as Loyverse’s loyalty program). For payment processing, we selected a mix of those with proprietary merchant services and those that offer you a choice.

As often happens when evaluating POS software, Square tops the list. In addition to being the best POS app for small businesses, it’s also on lists for POS for restaurants, payment processing, and more. Square was built for mobile, and its POS application reflects that focus even as it has grown to encompass brick-and-mortar applications.

Click through the tabs below for our full evaluation criteria:

Square: Best for Overall Mobile POS App

Square

Overall Score: 4.66 OUT OF 5

RATING CRITERIA	Pricing	5.00	OUT OF	5
	General Features	4.50	OUT OF	5
	mPOS Features	4.25	OUT OF	5
	Ease of Use	4.38	OUT OF	5
	Expert Score	5.00	OUT OF	5

What We Like

• Easy to use
• Multiple integrations and native business add-ons to expand your business
• Specific versions for restaurant, retail, and service/appointment-based industries
• Works for solopreneurs with enough tools for small businesses

What's Missing

• Limited support hours
• Limited to Square for payment processing
• Restaurant version iOS only

Square Pricing

• Free basic POS system
• Advanced POS system: $60/month
• Card-present processing fee: 2.6% + 10 cents per transaction
• Keyed-in processing fee: 3.5% + 15 cents per transaction
• Card readers: From $49 (first swipe reader free)
• Terminals: From $299
• 30-day free trial for Plus plans

Add-Ons:

• Team Plus: $35 per month
• Payroll: $35 per month plus $5 per employee
• Marketing: $15–$35 per month
• Loyalty program: $45–$105 per month
• Kitchen Display: $10 per month in 2021

Square POS always ranks high on our list for best POS software because of its versatility and quality of features. It offers the No. 1 free POS solution for retail, restaurants, and appointment-based services, and has a free online store. It works for the solopreneur who sells at farmers markets or trade shows, or the busy store with multiple locations. With the add-ons, it can even tackle payroll. Plus, it’s one of the few that works with both Android and iOS. (Square for Restaurants is iOS-only, but there are restaurant features in the Android retail version; however, check Lightspeed for the best mPOS for restaurants.)

In our evaluation, Square earned a 4.66 out of 5. It aced the ratings for price and expert evaluation. It took hits for its limited service hours and because the loyalty program is an add-on. Its inventory management is not as in-depth as others on our list, like Lightspeed or Shopify, and it charges extra for some time clock features.

Square Pricing

POS: Square offers a free POS application, something only PayPal Zettle and Loyverse on our list offer. In addition, its POS Pro plan, at $60 per month, is cheaper than most.

Payment Processing: At 2.6% + 10 cents for in-person transactions and 3.5% + 15 cents for keyed-in transactions, Square’s fees are competitive, although PayPal Zettle is far better. Square offers discounts for businesses doing over $250,000 a year in credit card processing. You may find cheaper rates with the other POS services that let you choose your own payment processor.

Hardware: Square charges $49 for a chip reader. It comes with a free swipe reader. Square’s complete POS systems run from $299 to $799. These prices compare well to most of the software on our list.

Square Features

Square’s POS application is one of the most popular and highest-ranked on both iOS and Android. (Source: Google’s Play store)

• Free plan: It’s hard to beat Square’s free plan, although Loyverse comes close. As opposed to most POS apps, which have limited features in their free plan, Square’s free POS can handle checkout, inventory, online sales, and more.
• Ease of use: Square is extremely popular because it’s such an easy program to use. The design is intuitive and the hardware durable. Users say it’s incredibly easy for customers as well as cashiers. They rate it an average of 4.78 out of 5 stars over multiple review sites.
• Mobile: Square POS ranks No. 35 for Business in the Apple App store, with a 4.8 out of 5 based on over 285,000 reviews. For Android, it has 4.4 stars and over 138,000 reviews. It’s the best-ranked mobile POS application among users. Square tops our list of best free iPhone credit card readers and best mobile payment processors.
• Scalability: Square works for the solopreneur who sells a few items now and then as well as the busy store with in-person and online sales. While the flat payment processing rates are the highest on our list (except for Shopify), Square does offer reduced rates for high-volume sellers.
• Versatility: Run a restaurant? Square has a specialty POS for that. Need something for your beauty salon? Try Square Appointments, which is also free. In addition, Square has a free online store. It has add-ons for loyalty, employee scheduling, and even payroll, all of which integrate natively into Square POS. In addition, Square has branched into banking with checking and savings accounts, loans, and more.
• Integrations: If you need different software, Square integrates with accounting software like QuickBooks, scheduling software like Intake, or time trackers like Homebase. It has apps for ecommerce, delivery services, invoicing, analytics, events, and more.
• Offline mode: Like most of the systems on our list, Square works offline. It can record and store transactions to sync with the cloud later.
• Social selling: Square lets you sell on Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram, and can create shoppable links for Twitter as well. PayPal can also do this but not necessarily with Zettle, while Lightspeed lets you add Facebook Like and Add This buttons to your shop pages. Only Shopify rivals Square for social selling features.

What Square Is Missing

• Age verification: If you sell age-restricted items, consider Clover or Vend.
• Loyalty program: Square charges extra for this program. Zettle, Clover, and Vend have at least some tools, like loyalty points, included in the base tier. Loyverse has the most complete loyalty program, which is free.
• Scheduling: To create employee schedules or have advanced clock-in/out or time tracking capability, you need Square Teams, which costs extra. If time tracking is important to you, consider Loyverse, Clover, and Lightspeed.

Visit Square

Loyverse: Best Free Mobile POS Application With Loyalty & Choice of Merchant Services

Loyverse

Overall Score: 4.55 OUT OF 5

RATING CRITERIA	Pricing	4.63	OUT OF	5
	General Features	3.88	OUT OF	5
	mPOS Features	5.00	OUT OF	5
	Ease of Use	4.13	OUT OF	5
	Expert Score	5.00	OUT OF	5

What We Like

• Choice of merchant processors
• Offline mode
• Employee clock in/clock out
• Loyalty program

What's Missing

• Integrations cost extra
• Limited reporting
• Limited inventory management

Loyverse Pricing

• Basic POS: $0
• KDS: $0
• CDS: $0
• Transaction fees: Varies
• Card readers: Varies
• Terminals: Varies

Add-Ons:

• Employee Management: $25 per month
• Advanced Inventory: $25 per month
• Integrations: $9 per month
• 14-day trial on add-ons

Loyverse is an extremely popular free POS app that works with a variety of payment processors worldwide to provide an excellent POS system that includes loyalty, inventory, and even employee management. Its range of features rivals Square, and with a choice of payment providers, you can find rates that suit you. However, Loyverse charges extra for in-depth reports and integrations.

Loyverse was a close second to Square, with 4.55 out of 5 on our evaluation. It’s the only one to get 5 out of 5 on mobile-specific features, although it did not do as well for general functions—it had everything, just not to the extent of, say, Square or Vend. Its 24/7 customer support in ease of use was offset by a lower-than-average rating from users on third-party software review sites. Square has the highest customer satisfaction rate, but limited customer support hours.

Loyverse Pricing

POS: Loyverse comes with free POS, a free dashboard for analytics and inventory, free kitchen display (Square charges $10 per month), and free customer display software. That’s pretty much everything you need for a strong POS app. However, it offers the following add-ons for increased functionality:

• Employee Management ($25/month/store): Access rights, timecards, sales-by-employee tracking
• Advanced Inventory ($25/month/store): Purchase orders, inventory validation reports, manage stock
• Integrations ($9/month/store): To integrate with third-party apps (does not include fees the apps charge); most of the mPOS apps on our list do not charge for integrations

These add-ons come with a 14-day free trial.

Payment Processing: Like Vend and Clover, you can choose your payment provider, although its choices are more limited. It works with SumUp, Zettle, Worldpay, CardConnect, Tyro, Smartpay, Yoco, STORES Payment, PAYGATE, SB payments, KICC, and NICE. Many of these are only available for iOS, and some are limited to specific countries. However, you may find better rates than some of the flat-rate mobile POS apps on our list.

Hardware: Loyverse does not sell hardware, but tells you what it’s compatible with. The website lists printers, barcode scanners, cash drawers, and more. It works with Android POS terminals by Sunmi, iMin, Bematech, and P2Plus. It does not list pricing, nor does it list card readers. (You probably get this from your payment provider.)

Loyverse Features

The mobile app includes CRM and loyalty features.
(Source: Google Play Store)

• Free plan: Loyverse’s free plan is comparable to Square’s for the number of features. In fact, we would have given it a higher score except that several real-world users complained that the software was not as feature-rich as it claims to be.
• Loyalty: This is where Loyverse gets its name (an abbreviation of Loyalty Universe) and where it stands out. Loyverse’s customer relationship and loyalty program not only has a customer base for keeping information like contact information, but also purchase history and customer notes. Further, the built-in program has point rewards and loyalty cards, with barcodes you can scan. Square charges extra for its loyalty program.
• POS: Like most of the software on our list, you can ring up items, include discounts, send receipts, and offer refunds. Loyverse lets you use your phone’s camera as a barcode scanner. (Shopify, Zettle, and Vend also do this.) Plus, it has extra features like open tickets and weight barcodes. You can also set up options for takeout or delivery. Finally, it works offline, something Shopify and Zettle can’t do.
• Inventory management: Loyverse boasts a strong inventory management system with item variants and modifiers, bulk upload, low-stock alerts, inventory tracking, and more. However, if you want purchase orders, the ability to transfer items between stores, inventory counting, and ingredient tracking, you need the advanced inventory program. For the best inventory system, look at Lightspeed or Shopify.
• Employee features: Loyverse has a free time clock to let employees clock-in and out. If you purchase the employee management system, you also get timecards and access restriction capabilities, plus employee analytics. Contrast this to Square’s free plan, which lets you create schedules, clock employees in and out, and track breaks; its paid plan has analytics and advanced time clock functions.
• Mobile app: Loyverse’s mobile app works on Android and iOS and includes all the functions. It’s the second-highest rated on our list, with 4.7 out of 5 on iOS and 4.6 out of 5 on Android.

What Loyverse Is Missing

• Card readers: Unlike the other software on our list, Loyverse does not provide card readers. You may need to purchase them from your payment provider (such as SumUp).
• Integrations: While Loyverse can integrate with ecommerce and accounting software, you need to pay an additional $9 per store per month for this. The others on our list offer free integrations.

Visit Loyverse

Vend: Best for Liquor Stores, Smoke Shops & CBD Sales

Vend

Overall Score: 4.31 OUT OF 5

RATING CRITERIA	Pricing	3.75	OUT OF	5
	General Features	5.00	OUT OF	5
	mPOS Features	4.50	OUT OF	5
	Ease of Use	3.56	OUT OF	5
	Expert Score	4.69	OUT OF	5

What We Like

• Great offline mode
• Layaway functions
• Built-in customer loyalty program
• Choice of payment processors

What's Missing

• More expensive
• No ecommerce tools
• Need third-party payment processor

Vend Pricing

• POS app: $99–$129/month
• Card-present processing fee: Varies (third-party)
• Keyed-in processing fee: Varies (third-party)
• Hardware: Varies (third-party)
• Free 14-day trial

Vend offers built-in age verification tools that make it a good choice if you sell age-restricted items. Further, it works with multiple payment processors, which comes in handy if you need a high-risk merchant account. Vend’s POS plans are more expensive than most on the list, but it maxed out the score for general features and scored highly for popularity and mPOS functionality.

Vend earned 4.31 out of 5 on our evaluation. It earned top marks for features but took hits on user reviews for the mobile applications. Its starter plan is also the most expensive of the POS applications on our list. Its app is also only available for iOS (sorry, Android users), although you can use Vend as a browser-based system on any device. We rated it highly in our best POS systems, specifically for growing brick-and-mortar stores.

Vend Pricing

POS: Vend’s plans start at $99 per month for a single register and a single location if you pay annually, or $119 per month if you pay monthly. There’s a 14-day free trial. Extra registers cost $49 per month, and for ecommerce, you need the higher-tier plan. This makes it the most expensive POS app on our list.

Payment Processing: You have your choice of third-party merchant services, and Vend does not charge any additional processing fees for using them. This is similar to Loyverse and Clover; Shopify, on the other hand, charges extra if you use a different merchant service. Like Clover, Vend also has reseller programs.

Hardware: Like Loyverse, Vend does not produce its own hardware. You can download the system onto an iPad, and it’s compatible with most POS hardware. Since it works with resellers, some may be willing to sell or rent you hardware. Unlike Clover, which has proprietary hardware, you may be able to purchase reprogrammable hardware in case your merchant account or Vend do not meet your needs.

Vend Features

While you can put it on a smartphone, Vend is best for iPad. (Source: Vend)

• Age verification: If you sell age-restricted items like alcohol or cigarettes, then Vend is a good choice. Its age-verification app is certified for the Retail Access Control Standard. Cashiers get reminders to verify IDs and can scan and validate a customer’s driver’s license during a sale. Lightspeed is in beta testing for this feature, and Clover also has age-verification tools.
• Hold transaction: Ever had a customer get to the checkout and then need one more thing? Vend offers a “park” feature that lets the cashier put the transaction on hold. Then, they can ring up other customers until the first customer is ready to pay. This function can also be used when giving quotes. Square has something similar with Open Tickets, but it’s more involved than Vend’s system. Loyverse also has open tickets.
• Partial stock inventory counts: The Scanner by Vend mobile app makes it easy to conduct inventory when receiving shipments. It lets you record full or partial inventory counts, something many POS applications cannot do, although Loyverse does have a barcode scanner tool you can use with your phone camera.
• Mobile: Vend’s mobile app includes everything from checkout to inventory to back office. More than two dozen user reviews in the Apple App Store give it an average of 3.5 out of 5 stars. Only Lightspeed has a lower rating.

What Vend Is Missing

• Ecommerce: Unlike most of the POS apps on our list, you need a third-party application for an online store, although many ecommerce programs integrate with Vend. If you prefer an all-in-one, look at Square or Shopify.
• Android App: Vend’s POS system is only available for iOS. If you need Android, look at Square for a highly-regarded POS app, or Loyverse if you want a choice of payment providers.
• Order online/Delivery: Vend does not offer easy integration with delivery services like Postmates, such as Square and others on our list do. You may be able to do online ordering through a third-party ecommerce program.

Visit Vend

PayPal Zettle: Best for Micro Businesses & International Sales

PayPal Zettle

Overall Score: 4.24 OUT OF 5

RATING CRITERIA	Pricing	5.00	OUT OF	5
	General Features	4.25	OUT OF	5
	mPOS Features	3.50	OUT OF	5
	Ease of Use	3.38	OUT OF	5
	Expert Score	4.69	OUT OF	5

What We Like

• Free POS
• International payment processing
• Easy to use
• PayPal has hundreds of integrations

What's Missing

• No age verification
• No offline mode
• No time clock

PayPal Zettle Pricing

• Free basic POS system
• Card-present processing fee: 2.29% + 9 cents
• Keyed-in processing fee: 3.49% + 9 cents per transaction
• Card readers: From $29
• Terminals: From $249

Like Square, PayPal is highly versatile and scalable. With free POS and reasonable payment processing fees, it’s good for the solopreneur who only does occasional sales. However, PayPal’s international scope and custom pricing for large businesses make it a strong choice for international companies.

With 4.24 out of 5, PayPal Zettle earned a perfect score for pricing and high scores for general features and our expert score. When combined with PayPal itself, it’s an excellent tool for accepting payments in person while PayPal lets you take payments on websites, social media, and just about anywhere online. The lack of an offline mode and some features like a time clock brought its score down.

PayPal Zettle Pricing

POS: You can’t get better than free. Zettle’s entire POS application is free with the use of PayPal’s payment processing. There are no premium plans like Square and no limited trials like the other software on our list.

Payment Processing: PayPal Zettle rates are 2.29% + 9 cents for card-present transactions, and 3.49% + 9 cents for keyed-in transactions. The rates are overall cheaper than most of those on our list. There are different rates for online sales, virtual terminal sales, and donations. The international rates are complex but listed clearly on its pricing page. In addition, it lets you accept cryptocurrency (several other systems on our list can do this as well) and offers discounts for nonprofits.

Hardware: Zettle offers four hardware POS kits with a combination of touch screen, receipt printer, barcode scanner, or handheld devices. Prices run $249–$699, which makes it one of the least expensive POS apps on our list. Card readers are $79, with the first one only $29. It’s a handheld, rather than one that attaches to your phone.

PayPal Zettle Features

• Versatility and scalability: Zettle is a close competitor to Square in that it serves a wide range of use cases. Hobbyists and large corporations use the PayPal app, although Zettle is more suited for small businesses and solopreneurs. While it lacks some of the specializations of Square, it still rates highly in this area.
• International payment processing: Zettle originally served the European market; plus, PayPal works in over 200 markets and 100 currencies. The POS software can handle sales in-store, across borders, and in different currencies. Clover has international processing, and many Pacific nations, like Japan and Korea, use Loyverse.
• Online sales: Zettle integrates with Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce for online sales. However, you can use the PayPal app just about anywhere, from social media to eBay. Square, of course, has an online store.
• Mobile: PayPal’s Zettle mobile app works for both Android and iOS. On Android, it has over 39,000 reviews and a score of 3.9. It seems new to iOS, with just about 100 reviews and a score of 3.5 out of 5. One thing to note is that it requires iOS 10 or Android 5.0, or higher.

What PayPal Zettle Is Missing

• Offline processing: If you need this feature and still want a free POS, consider Square or Loyverse. If you need an international payment processor that also has an offline mode, look at Clover.
• Age verification: Like Square, Zettle does not include age verification, and we did not find an established third-party integration for this. Consider Vend, Clover, or Shopify with Age Checker if you sell age-restricted items.
• Online ordering or takeout: While you can integrate PayPal into online ordering sites, Zettle itself does not have these options. Consider Square instead.

Visit PayPal Zettle

Lightspeed: Best for Restaurants & Inventory Management

Lightspeed

Overall Score: 4.02 OUT OF 5

RATING CRITERIA	Pricing	5.00	OUT OF	5
	General Features	4.00	OUT OF	5
	mPOS Features	3.25	OUT OF	5
	Ease of Use	2.56	OUT OF	5
	Expert Score	4.69	OUT OF	5

What We Like

• Extensive inventory processing functions
• 24/7 phone service and free onboarding
• Age verification
• Strong features for restaurants

What's Missing

• Hardware is custom quoted, more expensive
• Plans are expensive
• iOS only

Lightspeed Pricing

• POS system: $79–$239/month
• Card-present processing fee: 2.6% + 10 cents per transaction
• Keyed-in processing fee: 2.6% + 30 cents per transaction
• Terminals: From $500
• 14-day free trial

Lightspeed POS app made our list of best POS systems for restaurants and best inventory POS because of its extensive toolset. Lightspeed’s restaurant version works great for full-service restaurants or small eateries. However, it’s not the easiest to learn. (Square, which makes both lists, is easier, but not as feature-rich; however it’s better for Android than Lightspeed.)

Lightspeed earned 4.02 out of 5 in our evaluation. The biggest hits were for the smartphone app ratings. However, Lightspeed does offer handheld devices, so you do not need to use a smartphone. Like Square, it also lost points because the loyalty program is extra. Nonetheless, it also has a place in our best POS systems.

Lightspeed Pricing

POS: Lightspeed’s pricing starts at $79 per month, per register, and runs to $239 per month, per register. Additional registers cost $29 per month. Compare this to Square, Loyverse, and Zettle, which are free, and Vend, the most expensive at $119 per month, starting, $49 per additional register.

Payment Processing: If you use Lightspeed as your payment processor, you will pay 2.6% + 10 cents per in-person transaction or 2.6% + 30 cents per keyed-in transaction. However, Lightspeed also integrates with third-party merchant accounts. You may find a better deal with these, but be aware that you may have to sign a contract. Lightspeed’s monthly software fee also increases if you choose to use a separate payment processor.

Hardware: Lightspeed’s hardware is custom quoted, but we’ve received estimates of $500 and up for basic systems. The prices rival Clover’s; compare it to Shopify, which starts at $179 for a POS touch screen and card reader.

Lightspeed Features

• Inventory: Lightspeed is No. 1 on our list of best inventory POS (you’ll find Square, Vend, and Shopify on this list too). It offers multiple variants, sophisticated analysis, a supplier network, smart pricing, and more. It also syncs with its online store, Lightspeed eCom. Shopify comes close to Lightspeed for inventory features.
• Restaurant tools: Lightspeed just edged out Square for Restaurants in our restaurant POS evaluation. Lightspeed has a menu-based POS app, ingredient tracking, employee time tracking, and more. Plus, it integrates with delivery services, kitchen display systems, quick-service kiosks, and even hotel property management systems for hotels with an attached restaurant.
• Age verification: Like Vend, Lightspeed has age verification. This makes it a great choice for restaurants selling alcohol or stores that sell age-restricted items. (This is in beta at the time of this article.)
• Mobile: Lightspeed is available for both iOS and Android, but neither version has great reviews. Lightspeed on Android (formerly Kounta) earned 3.4 out of 5 stars with 70+ reviews. It fared even worse on Apple, with 2.6 out of 5 and just over 100 reviews. Nonetheless, the mobile app does integrate with the POS system, including reports and online order management.
• 24/7 support: Lightspeed offers 24/7 live phone support as well as chat support during extended hours.

What Lightspeed Is Missing

• Free plan: Lightspeed has a 14-day free trial, but no free version. Look to Square, Loyverse, or Zettle.
• Loyalty program: Unless you get the Enterprise plan, you need to pay extra for the omnichannel loyalty program. Call sales for pricing. (Square is similar, but posts its price at $45 per month.)

Visit Lightspeed

Clover POS: Best for Connecting Third-Party Merchant Accounts

Clover POS

Overall Score: 3.94 OUT OF 5

RATING CRITERIA	Pricing	4.44	OUT OF	5
	General Features	4.00	OUT OF	5
	mPOS Features	3.00	OUT OF	5
	Ease of Use	4.13	OUT OF	5
	Expert Score	4.06	OUT OF	5

What We Like

• Choice of payment providers
• Offline processing
• Used globally
• Can take international payments

What's Missing

• Many payment providers lock you into contracts, have hidden fees
• No low-inventory alerts
• No invoicing or vendor management

Clover POS Pricing

Prices may vary by reseller. Listed below are those from the Clover website.

• POS app: $9.95–$39.95/month for first device ($69.95/month for first device for Table Service)
• Card-present processing fee: 2.6% + 10 cents per transaction
• Keyed-in processing fee: 3.5% + 10 cents per transaction
• Card readers: From $99
• Terminals: $1,649–$1,999
• 30-day free trial

Clover’s POS app is a combination of software/hardware that is highly popular with businesses because it allows hundreds of merchant accounts to use and sell it. This is a great advantage if you want to choose your own payment provider, but you can also get it from Fiserv with a flat transaction fee and plans. The software is integrated into the hardware, but there are versions for Android and iOS smartphones and tablets.

Clover earns 3.94 out of 5. It has high marks for mobile, but its general user ratings are not as good. There are a lot of complaints about the third-party resellers. Clover also does not let you use your phone as a barcode scanner. However, it does have strong customer and loyalty tools and integrations. One huge drawback is that you cannot reprogram the hardware to a new merchant service. (Do not buy used!)

Clover POS Pricing

POS: Clover’s POS pricing will depend on your payment processor. Fiserv charges $9.95 per register. This is the cheapest of the paid plans on our list, beat only by Square’s and Zettle’s free plans.

Payment Processing: If you purchase through Fiserv, you’ll find its rates comparable to those of Square or Shopify. However, Clover works with hundreds of resellers, most of which are merchant services that offer Clover along with payment processing. You can get better rates than, say, with Square, as they offer interchange-plus pricing. However, you may be asked to sign a contract with extra fees, including one for early termination.

Hardware: Clover is unique in that it lets its resellers charge as much or as little as they want for Clover hardware. As a result, you may find a merchant service that offers a Clover system for free—with a multiyear contract. Despite being available from so many sellers, once you have Clover programmed to a merchant service, you cannot change it. Vend, on the other hand, works with many providers and lets you switch.

If purchasing hardware from Fiserv, you’ll find prices ranging from $499 for the Clover Flex handheld to $1,649 for the complete Clover station that includes a touch screen, customer-facing display, and receipt printer. A portable card reader is $99. All told, these are some of the highest prices for hardware.

Clover POS Features

Clover has two mobile apps, but even the earlier G1 app has some dashboard functions. (Source: Google’s Play store)

• POS: Clover has a hearty POS system that accepts all types of payments, lets you set up discounts or process refunds. You can set up a virtual terminal and take online orders from your website or delivery services. It also has an offline mode.
• Customizable receipts: Several of the systems on our list let you customize receipts with general store information, but Clover lets you create coupons for feedback as well. Square can also do this, but only if you also purchase Square Marketing.
• Customer engagement: Clover includes both loyalty programs and customer engagement features. You can create real-time promotions via email, text, or social media; start a rewards program; and create profiles that automatically update credit card sales and contact info.
• Clock in/out: Clover includes the ability to clock employees in and out of shifts and track their time worked and how much they earned in tips. This is a big help for establishing payroll. Loyverse, Lightspeed, and Vend also have this capability.
• Mobile: Clover has two POS apps: Clover Go G1 and Clover Go G2, which includes a dashboard as well as POS. Clover Go G2 does better on Apple, with 4.7 out of 5 and some 12,500 ratings. If you have Android and just need the POS part of the software, we recommend Clover Go G1, which has 4.2 out of 5 and 2,000+ reviews vs 3.3 and about 450 reviews for G2. Clover is on our list of best free iPhone credit card readers.

What Clover POS Is Missing

• Micro business capability: The monthly price and hardware make Clover a poor choice for hobbyists or solopreneurs with limited sales. Consider Square or Zettle instead.
• Flexibility: Once you have your merchant provider, your hardware is locked to them. Be completely sure of your contracts before purchasing Clover.

Visit Clover POS

Shopify POS: Best for Combination Online/In-Person Sellers

Shopify POS

Overall Score: 3.76 OUT OF 5

RATING CRITERIA	Pricing	4.25	OUT OF	5
	General Features	4.75	OUT OF	5
	mPOS Features	1.75	OUT OF	5
	Ease of Use	2.63	OUT OF	5
	Expert Score	5.00	OUT OF	5

What We Like

• Designed for ecommerce
• Reliable platform
• Full inventory tools
• Highly-rated mobile app

What's Missing

• Requires ecommerce subscription
• Online sales-focused
• Charges if you do not use its payment processor

Shopify POS Pricing

• POS system: $0–$89/month
• Ecommerce (required): $29–$299/month
• Card-present processing fee: 2.4%–2.7%
• Keyed-in processing fee: Starting at 2.4% + 30 cents per transaction
• Card readers: $49
• Terminals: $219
• 14-day free trial

Shopify is one of the top ecommerce solutions today, and also has great tools for in-person sales. In fact, it’s our favorite multichannel POS system for retailers.

Businesses that do heavy online sales and need an excellent ecommerce solution and in-store POS application will appreciate the strong inventory and customer management tools. However, if you already have an ecommerce solution and are not willing to give it up, look into PayPal Zettle or Square, which have free POS apps that integrate with popular online stores.

Shopify earned 3.76 out of 5 on our evaluation. It took a hit because it does not offer a time clock or restaurant features and does not have an offline mode. Nonetheless, it had one of the highest scores for general POS features and maxed out our expert score for value for the dollar.

Shopify POS Pricing

POS: Shopify’s in-store POS app does not have its own plan. You need to purchase an online store. Those plans run from $29 to $299 per month, depending on the features you want. The two integrate seamlessly, but if you prefer POS upfront, look at the other systems on the list.

Payment Processing: The transaction fees are based on the plan you have (with more expensive plans having lower rates) and whether or not you use Shopify’s payment processor. There are also discounts in shipping, a great asset for mail order businesses and stores that do dropshipping on the side. This chart explains the pricing.

Shopify Pricing Plans

See our full guide to Shopify pricing.

Hardware: Shopify has hardware, from touch-screen terminals with card readers to iPad stands with accessories, plus barcode scanners and more. Prices start at $179 for a retail kit of touch screen and simple card reader. These are some of the best prices we’ve seen for POS hardware, although some Clover resellers give you free hardware with a contract.

Shopify POS Features

Shopify has a customizable home screen for your most important tools. (Source: Google’s Play store)

• Online sales, mail order/telephone order (MOTO), and dropshipping: Shopify gives you shipping discounts, a great asset for mail order companies. Except for Square, no other mobile POS on our lists offers this. Plus, if you’d like to add dropshipping to your offerings, you can connect Shopify to one of hundreds of dropshipping companies or use Shopify’s Oberlo.
• Mobile: Shopify is far better on iOS than Android, with 4.5 stars and some 5,500 reviews on the Apple App store, but 2.8 out of 5 stars and about 1,400 reviews on Google Play. It stands out from all the other POS software on our list in that you can remind shoppers of the items they liked or purchased in the store so they can purchase them online. This is great for stores that sell supply items, for example.
• Fraud protection: Payment fraud and chargebacks—both friendly and criminal—are a concern for online sales. Shopify provides transaction analysis to spot suspicious charges and bring them to your attention, as well as other fraud prevention tools. Most POS apps have some of this, but Shopify uses machine learning so it can adapt to the changing approaches of criminals. (Square has better chargeback protection in that it waives up to $250 in chargeback fees.)
• POS features: Shopify, like most of the mPOS on our list, handles sales with taxes and discounts, collects customer information, and sends receipts. Like Loyverse, you can use your phone’s camera to scan barcodes. It ties seamlessly to Shopify’s online store, so you get all the advantages of Shopify as well.

What Shopify POS Is Missing

• Age verification: If you sell age-restricted items, you need a third-party application like Age Check. Vend and Clover, on the other hand, have this in their systems.
• Free use of other merchant accounts: While Loyverse, Clover, and Vend let you use third-party merchant accounts without charge, Shopify adds a 0.5% to 2% fee. This could negate any advantage of using an interchange-plus payment processor.

Visit Shopify POS

Bottom Line

There’s no reason to be tied to the counter. Many POS apps have a mobile component, either as a handheld device or with a downloadable application. The best mobile POS applications sync with the main program, handle offline transactions, and let you access the backend.

Overall, Square has the best features for the best price while being the easiest to use. Even better, its POS system is free with a competitive flat-rate payment processing fee. Go to Square and download the POS today.

Visit Loyverse

You May Also Like …

• Learn more about POS systems and the different types of POS.
• If you just need to accept payments, and don’t need the additional features that come with a POS system, consider using a mobile credit card processor.