Best Quick Service Restaurant POS Systems
This article is part of a larger series on POS Systems.
Quick service restaurants (QSRs) need point-of-sale (POS) systems that move at the speed of their business. The best QSR POS systems combine affordable software with flexible hardware that allows restaurants to meet customers where they are: in-house, online, curbside, or in the drive-thru.
Beyond processing orders and sales, a QSR POS should offer robust reporting, inventory management, employee scheduling, and excellent offline functionality. You shouldn’t have to spend a lot to get one; the QSR POS options on this list range from $0 to $99 per month.
Based on our evaluations, the best QSR POS systems for 2022 are:
- Toast: Best overall and for best for free industry-grade hardware
- Revel Systems: Best for QSRs with multiple locations
- Oracle MICROS Simphony: Best for flexible payments
- Square for Restaurants: Best for online ordering and best free QSR POS
- Lightspeed Restaurant: Best midpriced POS for growing QSRs
- TouchBistro: Best for fast staff training in high turnover QSRs
Best Quick Service POS Systems Compared
Monthly Fees | Hardware Cost | Contract Length | Free Trial | Payment Processing | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
$0 to $165+ | $609 to $799+ | 2 years | None | From 2.49% plus 15 cents | |
$99 | Custom quote | 3 years | None | Varies by processor* | |
$55 to $75+ | Custom quote | 1 year | None | Varies by processor | |
$0 to $60+ | $49 to $1,348 | Month to month | 30 days | From 2.6% plus 10 cents | |
$39 to $289+ | Custom quote | 1 year | 14 days | From 2.6% plus 10 cents | |
$69 | Custom quote | 1 year | None | Varies by processor** | |
*Revel Advantage, First Data, Heartland, TSYS, Worldpay, Chase, Elavon
**TB Payments, TSYS, Square
Are you looking for something different? Check out our rankings of the best POS systems for small businesses and the best retail POS systems.
Do you need help deciding? Take the quiz below to get our expert recommendation for your restaurant.
Find The Best POS for Your QSR
Toast: Best Overall & Best Industry-grade Hardware
Toast is a user-friendly POS that frequently tops our rankings or performs well in best restaurant POS systems and best overall POS systems for small businesses. Toast’s baseline software subscription is free for up to two terminals, and it also offers pay-as-you-go options for hardware purchases. This pricing makes Toast one of the most affordable restaurant POS systems available. That’s great news for independent restaurants that need a POS that combines online ordering, marketing, detailed reporting, and inventory and workforce management tools.
The affordable cost, plus comprehensive features make Toast a highly customizable system that can fit any size QSR.
What We Like
- Rugged, industry-grade hardware withstands high-volume use
- Pay-as-you-go hardware options
- Baseline POS subscription is free
- A wealth of integrated hardware peripherals: kitchen display system (KDS), handheld terminals, customer-facing displays, and self-ordering kiosks
What's Missing
- 2-year contract
- Toast is the only payment processor
- Inventory and employee scheduling modules cost extra
Toast Deciding Factors
- Monthly Software subscription fee:
- Starter Pay-as-You-Go: $0
- Starter (standard): $69 to $99 (varies based on hardware)
- Essentials: $165
- Growth: Custom quote
- Hardware costs: $0 for a Pay-as-You-Go Starter Kit (terminal with router and Toast Tap payment device) to $799 per terminal kit paid upfront.
- One-time Installation fees: Optional, starting at $250
- Processing fees: 2.49% plus 15 cents for in-person swiped, dipped, or tapped transactions
- Pay-as-you-go customers pay a higher 2.99% plus 15 cents per in-person transaction
- Contract length: 2 years
Toast earned a 4.19 out of 5 on our QSR POS ranking, receiving high marks for its general POS functions and niche QSR tools, including integrated handheld POS terminals and sticky label printing. Toast earned a perfect score for its niche QSR functions and from our experts. Toast could have scored higher is if it offered a mobile reporting app such as Lightspeed, Revel Systems, and TouchBistro do, supported additional payment processors (like Revel Systems and TouchBistro), or included online ordering and loyalty tools in its baseline POS (like Square for Restaurants).
Since our last update
- Toast has acquired inventory management app xtraCHEF and discontinued Toast Inventory, so xtraCHEF is available on the Toast platform and integrates with several other POS systems
- Toast acquired employee management and scheduling app Sling to support more in-depth integrated staff scheduling
- Toast has added hotel management software integrations
- Expanded training materials are available in Spanish and English via Toast Central and Toast Classroom
Toast operates on preconfigured Elo touch-screen monitor tablets and handhelds, so you’ll have to buy hardware directly from Toast. Prices range from $609 for a handheld terminal kit up to $999 for a self-service kiosk kit. Since Toast designs all of its hardware, you’ll find dynamic options for countertop and handheld POS terminals, self-service kiosks, KDS screens, customer-facing displays, and digital menu boards.
Countertop Terminal Kit | Handheld Terminal Kit | Guest Self-service Kit | KDS |
---|---|---|---|
Pay-as-you-go: $0 upfront; 2.99% plus 15 cents processing fees Pay upfront: $799 plus $69 per month* | Pay-as-you-go: $0 upfront; 2.99% plus 15 cents processing fees Pay upfront: $609 plus $69 per month* | Pay-as-you-go: $0 upfront; 2.99% plus 15 cents processing Pay upfront: $999 plus $99 per month* | Custom quoted; Contact Toast for pricing |
Toast Flex terminal, payment device, and router** | Toast Go 2 handheld order and payment device, indoor wireless access point, and router** | 22-inch Toast touch-screen kiosk terminal, payment device, and router** | Wall-mountable touch-screen KDS screen** |
*Toast’s standard processing rates of 2.49% plus 15 cents apply to hardware and software packages that are paid upfront, rather than on a pay-as-you-go plan.
**Includes setup and customer care.
- Pay-as-you-go hardware: While systems like Square for Restaurants allow users to bring their own hardware, Toast is the only provider on this list that offers its proprietary POS hardware at no upfront cost. This can be a game-changer for small QSRs that need to expand their operations. Although this offer currently only extends to up to two terminals, it gives small restaurants access to industry-grade hardware that can withstand a lot of use.
- Flexible hardware: Standard terminals with flip screens, customer-facing displays, tableside/mobile ordering, kitchen display screens, and self-order kiosks are all available on this system. Toast’s self-service kiosk and KDS are some of our top recommendations for these restaurant tools. In particular, the KDS has many insightful features, including all-day counts, easy ticket searching, and a Rush Order button that moves rush orders to the front of the ticket queue with the click of a button.
- Toast Go 2 handheld terminal: Toast also supports a fully featured handheld terminal, the Toast Go 2, to support line busting and curbside or tableside orders and payments. Every system on this list supports some kind of handheld terminal. But because QSRs can be busy and shifts can be long, we gave the highest points to systems that include ergonomic, purpose-built handhelds over those that use heavier, larger iPads for handheld devices. The Toast Go 2, which fits in an apron pocket and can be operated with one hand, is best-in-class.
- Advanced combo building: Toast’s combo builder operates a little differently than the others on this list. Rather than relying on nested modifiers, Toast combos operate as a discount type. You tell your Toast system which menu items are possible combo items, and a discount applies automatically when they are added to a check.
- Drive-thru management: Toast offers a detailed, built-in drive-thru order stream. You can find configuration instructions on Toast Central, Toast’s online knowledge database. Once configured, your drive-thru tickets will be color-coded on your KDS screens.
- Delivery tools: Toast offers some of our favorite built-in POS delivery tools. With Toast, you can manage a team of in-house drivers with GPS mapping integrations or opt to send your in-house orders to local third-party drivers for a flat, per-delivery fee.
Toast offers its software at four subscription levels, so there are options for restaurants with any budget. The more you spend, the more tools Toast includes. Small quick service operations will be well-supported by the Starter package, which is available for $0 per month with slightly higher payment processing fees, or as a standard plan with monthly fees ranging from $69 to $99 per month (depending on the hardware you choose).
Starter (Pay-as-You-Go) | Starter (Standard) | Essentials | Custom | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best for | Small QSRs that need 1 or 2 terminals | Growing QSRs with multiple revenue streams | Multilocation QSRs | |
Monthly Software Fees | $0 | $69 to $99 (depending on hardware selections) | $165 | Custom quote |
Processing Fees | 2.9% plus 15 cents | 2.49% plus 15 cents | Custom quote | Custom quote |
Speed Order Screens | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Dual Cash Drawer Tills | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Detailed Reporting | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Online Ordering | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Toast Delivery Services | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Email Marketing | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
If you want a full-featured restaurant POS, but you prefer iPad hardware, try Lightspeed or Revel. If you like Toast’s free baseline system, but don’t want to be locked into a two-year contract, check out Square for Restaurants; that system is available on a month-to-month basis with no long-term contract.
If you need higher functioning drive-thru management tools than Toast offers, Revel Systems is your best bet. If you prefer to shop for the lowest payment processing rates, Revel is also a good bet; it integrates with the most payment processors.
See how Toast stacks up against Square for Restaurants and TouchBistro. See why we like it for online ordering and inventory management, and take a deeper look with our full Toast POS review.
Revel Systems: Best for Multilocations
Revel Systems POS is a nearly infinitely customizable iPad POS. The customizability makes Revel Systems an excellent fit for high-volume QSRs with multiple locations. If your menu is extensive or consists of often modified dishes, such as pizza and sandwiches, Revel’s combo-building options can save your sanity.
If you operate a drive-thru, Revel has the most streamlined drive-thru tools of any system on this list. While competitor Oracle MICROS Simphony also supports robust drive-thru tools, Revel’s Delivery XT module is more user-friendly, with easy-to-follow setup wizards and online tutorials. If you want to manage an in-house driver team, Revel’s optional Delivery XT module gives you Uber-like live driver tracking. Revel’s relatively higher upfront cost– $99 per terminal, per month, with a two terminal minimum– and lengthy three-year contract make this system a better fit for established multiple location concepts than for single-unit shops, though.
What We Like
- Robust drive-thru management tools
- Integrates with multiple popular payment processors
- Excellent combo-building functions
- Highly customizable
What's Missing
- Pricey
- Back office features take time to learn
- 3-year contract
Revel Systems Deciding Factors
- Software subscription fee: $99 per terminal, per month
- Hardware costs: Custom quoted
- One-time Installation fees: Starting at $674
- Processing fees: Varies based on payment processor; Revel Integrates with Revel Advantage, First Data, Heartland, TSYS, Worldpay, Chase Paymentech, and Elavon
- Contract length: 3 years
Revel came in second in our QSR POS evaluation, earning 4.11 out of 5 in our scoring criteria. Revel scored the highest of any system on this list for its general POS functions, and also earned a perfect 5 out of 5 for ease of use. Its sheer volume of functions, including several free smartphone apps, and the availability of multiple processors earned points.
Revel could have scored higher if it offered a free trial (as competitors Lightspeed and Square for Restaurants do) or had a shorter contract. Currently, Revel requires a three-year contract for new users. If that’s too long of a commitment for you, consider Square for Restaurants (available month-to-month) or Lightspeed, which only requires a one-year contract.
Like Square, Lightspeed, and TouchBistro, Revel operates on iPads. Although Revel was the first iPad POS for restaurants. So, it’s little wonder that Revel has designed multiple ways to leverage the iPad and iPad minis as stationary POS terminals, handheld terminals, customer-facing displays, self-service kiosks, and digital menu boards. Revel also integrates with dynamic industry-grade touchscreens for KDS and additional digital displays that can all be managed from your Revel back office dashboard.
L-stand Terminal | Self Service Kiosk | Link2500 Mobile iPad Case | ViewSonic VSD243 KDS |
---|---|---|---|
iPad stand with customer-facing display | Low profile, countertop self-service kiosk stand for iPad | Payment-enabled handheld case for iPad | 24-inch industry-grade touch-screen KDS screen |
- Robust drive-thru support: Revel offers a complete drive-thru management module called Drive Thru XT. In addition to speed ordering and payment screens, Drive Thru XT includes prompts to track vehicle types in your drive-thru queue. This ensures that the correct order goes to the correct customer every time.
- Customizable hardware: Digital menu boards; kitchen display screens; iPad-based registers; self-service kiosks; mobile ordering tablets; chip, swipe, and contactless card readers; and Bluetooth- and ethernet-connected printers are all available on Revel. So, you can create a custom configuration to match any restaurant operation. Revel has the most flexible hardware options of any system on this list, and they are all configurable through Revel’s back office dashboard.
With Revel, you can print paper receipts at a terminal or kiosk as well as link a Bluetooth printer to a handheld tablet to print paper receipts on the move. If you want sticky labels for individual item orders or to seal to-go bags, Revel has you covered. If you prepare or sell ready-to-eat (RTE) and ready-to-drink (RTD) items, you can print scannable barcode labels from Revel’s back office dashboard, too.
- Complex combo building: Revel’s combo-building function is incredibly detailed. It displays all your combo options on a single screen for fast ordering and easy adjustments if customers change their minds. This reduces button presses and backtracking, which speeds up your service at the counter or the drive-thru.
- Delivery management: Revel System’s delivery module, Delivery XT, is the most robust available in a hybrid POS. You can dispatch drivers with GPS directions and track their transactions and shift performance just like you do for cashiers. The driver dispatch tools are Uber-level. You can see driver locations in real time and track them on a live map.
- Inventory and vendor management: Revel Systems keeps your supplies in order with end-to-end inventory tools that include purchase order (PO) creation and order receiving directly in the POS. A smartphone app for performing physical counts lets your team scan barcodes to count items, and employee permissions allow you to spread inventory counting tasks across your team without giving counting employees access to the entire inventory module.
Revel is the priciest system on this list. Subscriptions start at $99 per terminal with a two-terminal minimum. One-time installation fees start at $674. This can be a bit steep for newcomers, especially considering that competitors like Toast and Square for Restaurants offer free baseline subscriptions for small operators. But Revel includes tools in its baseline POS that others charge extra for, like ingredient-level inventory and employee scheduling. Because Revel integrates with several payment processors, you may be able to recoup some of your costs by negotiating lower processing fees.
Monthly Fees | $99 per terminal, per month |
One-time Installation Fees | $674 |
Included Features | Inventory (with vendor and purchase order management) |
Employee management (with scheduling and tip pool management) | |
Customer relationship management (CRM) | |
Add-on Modules (Offered at custom-quoted rates) | Delivery XT |
Kiosk XT | |
Drive Thru XT | |
Online Ordering XT | |
Multilocation management |
There is no denying that Revel is expensive. If you want to get close to the same level of functionality at a lower cost, look at Toast and Oracle MICROS Simphony. You’ll find drive-thru tools in both of those systems, as well as optional multilocation management.
If the general size of Revel overwhelms you, check out Square for Restaurants and Lightspeed. Both of these self-installable systems run on iPads and offer excellent all-in-one tools for restaurants with a small footprint.
Take a deeper look at Revel Systems POS features with our full Revel review.
Oracle MICROS Simphony: Best for Flexible Payments
Oracle MICROS Simphony is the cloud-based offering from legacy POS brand Oracle. This customizable POS combines the industry-grade hardware of top-ranked Toast, with the streamlined drive-thru management of Revel Systems. Although Oracle typically offers hardware deals for $1 per terminal, you’ll need to contact Oracle directly for a custom quote.
Like Lightspeed and Revel, MICROS Simphony offers built in payments(Oracle Cloud Payments) alongside third-party payment processors, so users can choose their preferred format. Like Square, however, Oracle Cloud Payments does not require a longterm contract. If you are unhappy with the service, you can cancel and integrate a new processor without penalties.
What We Like
- Robust drive-thru management tools
- Supports three options for payment processing
- Centralized multilocation reporting
- Option for on-site server
What's Missing
- Hardware is custom quoted
- No free trial or free baseline subscription
Oracle MICROS Simphony Deciding Factors
- Monthly software fees:
- Essentials: $55
- Plus: $75
- Single Tenant: Custom quoted
- Hardware costs: Starting at $1 per terminal; requires a custom quote
- One-time installation fees: Custom quoted
- Payment processing: Varies by processor; choose from Ayden, Elavon, or Oracle Payments
- Contract length: 1 year
Oracle MICROS Simphony earned a 3.99 out of 5 on our scoring system. This POS earned points for its niche QSR features like drive-thru management and flexible hardware. MICROS Simphony could have scored more points, however, if it offered a free software subscription like Toast and Square or a free trial, such as competitor Lightspeed.
Oracle MICROS Simphony operates on industry-grade hardware that is rated to withstand a high volume of use. The handheld terminals are robust enough to line bust drive-thru queues in addition to in-house lines. Oracle regularly advertises its hardware at $1 per terminal, but this offer only applies to existing restaurants that switch from another POS system. New restaurants with no hardware to trade in will need to contact Oracle directly for full pricing details.
Workstation 6 Series | Tablet 700 Series | Self-Service Kiosk | KDS |
---|---|---|---|
Countertop, touch-screen POS terminal | Touch-screen handheld order and payment device | Touch-screen kiosk | Bump-bar enabled KDS screen |
- Centralized multilocation dashboard: Adding new locations to your Simphony dashboard only takes a few minutes. You can easily run reports for single locations or compare multiple locations in a single report. All information is accessible via a central dashboard, so you don’t need to log into various back office dashboards and run multiple reports.
- Drive-thru management: Simphony’s drive-thru management includes tools for managing a traditional drive-thru alongside curbside pickup monitoring. You can keep track of which numbered parking spaces customers arrive in, note vehicle type, and closeout orders at the drive-thru window or via a handheld terminal in the parking lot.
- Rugged, customizable hardware: Like top-ranked Toast, Simphony operates on hardware that has been designed to withstand a demanding restaurant environment. Terminals are sealed to prevent the intrusion of steam, water, and dust. They can also operate at higher and lower temperatures than an iPad.
- Multilanguage support: Your Simphony POS can operate in more than 20 languages. So, if your restaurant operates in multiple countries, you can use the same system in the local language. This supports QSRs that want to expand on a grand scale. Simphony is the only option on this list that has this language option.
Starting at $55 per month, Simphony falls in the middle of the pack of the systems on this list. Like Square, it includes online ordering in all subscriptions, although like Toast, inventory comes at a higher cost. Simphony offers a configuration that the others on this list don’t as users have the option to run their Simphony POS via the Cloud or via an on-site server. This configuration―called “single Tenant”―requires a custom quote.
Essentials | Plus | Single Tenant | |
---|---|---|---|
Monthly Fees | $55 | $75 | Custom quote |
Best for | Individual QSRs that need an all-in-one system | High-volume or multilocation QSRs | QSRs that prefer to operate with a local server |
Order Management | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Online Ordering (via GloriaFood) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Inventory | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Advanced Analytics | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Marketing | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
On-site Server | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
Like Revel, Simphony’s many features can take some time to learn. If you prefer a simpler system, try Toast, Lightspeed, or TouchBistro. It also lacks a free trial or free baseline subscription. So if your budget is tight, Toast or Square are better choices.
Square for Restaurants: Best Free QSR POS
Square for Restaurants is a cloud-based, iPad POS designed for restaurants. Like competitor Toast, Square offers a free baseline POS subscription. Unlike Toast, however, Square users can operate the Free POS on unlimited terminals (not just two). For this reason―and because Square also offers a free online ordering site―Square for Restaurants earned the title of the best free POS for QSRs.
What We Like
- Baseline POS subscription is free
- No long-term contract
- Free online ordering site
- User-friendly KDS, handheld terminal, and multiple options for self-service kiosks
What's Missing
- No drive-thru management tools
- Square is the only available payment processor
Square for Restaurants Deciding Factors
- Subscription plans:
- Free: $0
- Plus: $60
- Premium: Custom quoted
- Hardware costs: You can use existing hardware or purchase directly from Square for prices ranging from $49 to $1,348
- One-time Installation fees: None; system is self-installable
- Payment processing: 2.6% plus 10 cents for in-person transactions
- Contract length: Month to month
Square for Restaurants earned a 3.85 out of 5.00 on our scoring criteria. It earned excellent marks for price, mostly due to its free baseline subscription and no long-term contracts. Square wobbled when it came to general POS functionality. While this doesn’t mean that Square lacks functions, it does mean that users need to pay for additional functions either by upgrading their Square subscription to get custom user permissions, employee scheduling or shift reporting or using third-party integrations for ingredient-level inventory and self-service kiosks.
Square for Restaurants operates on iPads and Square-designed terminals. While these are less robust in high-volume environments than Toast and Oracle MICROS Simphony’s industry-grade hardware, they allow you to use compatible hardware that you may already own, saving small operations a lot in upfront costs. Square also offers easy financing terms for most of its available hardware.
Stand | Terminal | Stand Restaurant Station | Stand Mount |
---|---|---|---|
$149 ($14 per month for 12 months)* | $299 ($27 per month for 12 months) | $1,019* | $149 ($14 per month for 12 months)* |
Payment-enabled iPad stand | Handheld order and payment terminal with integrated receipt printer | Complete POS including Square stand, cash drawer, and receipt printer | Counter or wall mount for POS or self-service kiosks |
*Price without an iPad; with an iPad, add $329. |
- Pocket-sized Square Terminal: Square’s Terminal is a handheld order and payment device that fits in a pocket. Unlike other handheld devices on this list, Square Terminal also includes a built-in receipt printer. The Terminal is excellent for line busting in busy QSRs. It is the most compact handheld terminal on this list.
- Free basic POS: Square for Restaurants’ entry-level POS subscription is available for no monthly fees. If you have a compatible iPad, there are no costs to getting started with Square for Restaurants. The Free Square for Restaurants POS has a few limitations, though. You can’t reopen closed checks or use seat numbers and meal courses. While you can use the free POS on unlimited terminals, you can’t assign custom user permissions for various levels of access.
- Free online ordering site: Via the integrated Square Online Store, Square for Restaurants users can add an online ordering site for free. If your restaurant does not have a website, that’s no problem as you can host your online ordering page on a Square web address for no additional cost. Clover offers similar online ordering features, but Square’s free POS operates on the equipment you already have, which gives it the edge in free online ordering.
- No long-term contracts: Square for Restaurants does not require a long-term service contract to use. You can use the POS for a month or a year and leave at any time. You can also shift to a different subscription tier easily as your business grows or your needs change.
- Integrated KDS: Square for Restaurants recently added an integrated KDS (it formerly relied on FreshKDS). This new function is a great option for QSRs that need a cost-effective solution. Like the rest of the Square for Restaurants system, the Square KDS operates on iPads. You can download the software for the KDS from the Apple App Store.
Square for Restaurants offers three subscription tiers, ensuring that large operations get the tools they need while small QSRs don’t pay for tools they won’t use. Free users should note that the baseline subscription only includes one set of user permissions. With a Free subscription, your whole team will have access to the same features; you won’t be able to create different access levels for managers and cashiers. If you need custom permissions, you’ll need a Plus or Premium account.
Free | Plus | Premium | |
---|---|---|---|
Best for | QSRs that don’t need custom user permissions or advanced reports | Midsize QSRs with multiple staff types | High-volume or multilocation QSRs |
Monthly Fees | $0 | $60 | Custom quote |
Customer Service | Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. | 24/7 | 24/7 |
Menu Management | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Customized Ticket Layouts | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Basic Reporting | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Shift and End-of-Day Reports | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Reopen Closed Checks | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Custom User Permissions | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
KDS | $20 per device | Software for unlimited KDS devices included | Software for unlimited KDS devices included |
If you need drive-thru management tools, then Square for Restaurants won’t be a fit for you. You should try Toast, Revel Systems, or Oracle MICROS Simphony instead. Inventory tools and self-service kiosks also require third-party integrations. If you prefer for those things to be built into your POS, Toast and Revel are also good alternatives.
Get a feel for Square for Restaurants by reading our full Square review, which includes a video. See why we love it for food trucks, online ordering, and restaurant payment processing.
Lightspeed Restaurant: Best for Growing QSRs
Lightspeed Restaurant is a top-performing iPad POS with transparent software pricing and comprehensive quick-service tools. While it doesn’t offer a free baseline subscription like competitors Toast and Square for Restaurants, Lightspeed Restaurant does allow users to bring their own compatible hardware, including iPads. With four distinct subscription tiers, Lightspeed has a package to fit the smallest mom-and-pop shops up to the largest, enterprise-level QSRs. So, if growth is your plan, Lightspeed is a POS that can grow with your business.
What We Like
- Baseline POS subscription is free
- No long-term contract
- Free online ordering site
- User-friendly KDS, handheld terminal, and multiple options for self-service kiosks
What's Missing
- No drive-thru management tools
- Square is the only available payment processor
Lightspeed Restaurant Deciding Factors
- Software subscription fee:
- Essentials: $39
- Plus: $119
- Pro: $289
- Enterprise: Custom quoted
- Hardware costs: Custom quoted; you can bring your own iPads and other compatible hardware
- One-time Installation fees: None
- Processing fees:
- LightSpeed Payments: 2.6% plus 10 cents per card-present transaction
- Lightspeed Restaurant also integrates with Worldpay and TSYS if you want to shop for rates.
Another benefit of Lightspeed Restaurant is that users can choose from three payment processors. The system integrates with Lightspeed Payments, Vantiv/Worldpay, and TSYS so small restaurants can shop around for the best processing rates. It also consolidates your third-party delivery platforms into a single dashboard via a Deliverect integration.
On our QSR POS rating system, Lightspeed Restaurant earned a 3.83 out of 5. Lightspeed outscored the competition on price―its free trial and array of available processors put it over the top―and scored well for niche QSR functions. This accessible system could have scored higher if it supported a purpose-built handheld terminal like Toast, Square and Simphony do and offered a mobile reporting app as Revel Systems and TouchBistro do.
Terminal Kit | Verifone P400 | Mobile Case |
---|---|---|
iPad stand, cash drawer, receipt printer, and kitchen printer | Mobile, PIN-enabled tap, swipe, and dip card reader | Rugged handheld case for iPad |
- Quick service mode: Lightspeed Restaurant includes a quick service setting that reduces the number of button presses required to ring up a new order and process payment. Unfortunately, this mode does not support barcode scanning to add ready-to-eat (RTE) and ready-to-drink (RDT) items to orders.
- Consolidated third-party delivery: Via an integration with Deliverect, Lightspeed Restaurant consolidates all of your third-party delivery platforms into a single dashboard. You can configure online-only menus and manage each of your third-party platform subscriptions from a single place. Orders print to your kitchen or KDS screen seamlessly. However, if you prefer to manage your own team of in-house drivers, Lightspeed currently lacks those tools. You’ll be better served by Toast or Revel Systems.
- Flexible hardware: In addition to iPad-based terminals, Lightspeed Restaurant uses iPads for KDS, customer-facing displays, and self-service kiosks, so you can customize your POS by pressing a few buttons in the manager dashboard. These screens all feature Lightspeed’s intuitive interface. Lightspeed Restaurant has one of our favorite QSR KDS configurations.
- Popular integrations: In addition to Lightspeed’s extensive add-on functions, this restaurant POS integrates with 80-plus third-party software tools. You can find popular options for employee scheduling, inventory, website management, reservations, accounting, payroll, and third-party delivery platforms.
Lightspeed offers four pricing tiers, more than any other system on this list. These options give growing QSRs the most options to expand their software and hardware tools incrementally as their business grows and their needs change. Since Lightspeed operates on iPads, it is easy to add new terminals or peripherals as your restaurant expands.
Essentials | Plus | Pro | Enterprise | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Monthly Fee* | $39 | $119 | $289 | Custom quoted |
Best for | Small QSRs that need 1 to 2 terminals | Busy QSRs that need loyalty | High-volume QSRs that need detailed reporting | Multilocation QSRs |
24/7 Support | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Basic Inventory | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Basic Reporting | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Loyalty | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Gift Cards | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Advanced Insights and Inventory | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
*Prices listed are for a single terminal.
Like Square for Restaurants, Lightspeed lacks robust drive-thru management tools. If your QSR has a drive-thru and if you still want an iPad POS, try Revel systems. If industry-grade hardware is more your speed, check out Toast or Oracle MICROS Simphony.
Explore Lightspeed Restaurant’s POS features in our full review.
TouchBistro: Best for QSRs With High Turnover
TouchBistro is a hybrid iPad restaurant POS with tons of built-in features, including inventory, menu management, templatized reporting, and unlimited user logins. More than any other POS, TouchBistro’s user interface operates like a large smartphone. The iOS-based system will be familiar to anyone who has operated an iPhone. This quality makes TouchBistro a breeze to learn. Several user reviews mention how quickly new staff learn the system, which can save you plenty on labor if you frequently have new staff to train.
What We Like
- Baseline POS subscription is free
- No long-term contract
- Free online ordering site
- User-friendly KDS, handheld terminal, and multiple options for self-service kiosks
What's Missing
- No drive-thru management tools
- Square is the only available payment processor
TouchBistro Deciding Factors
- Software subscription fee: $69 per terminal
- Hardware costs: Custom quoted
- One-time Installation fees: None
- Processing fees: Rates vary based on your chosen processor; integrates with TouchBistro Pay, TSYS, and Square
- Contract length: 1 year
In our evaluation, TouchBistro earned a rating of 3.79 out of 5. It lost points mostly due to limitations in some niche QSR functions; it lacks granular details like digital menu displays, self-service kiosks, sticky label printers and dual cash-drawer tills that help support takeout and high-volume operations. The fact that it integrates with three payment processors and has excellent user reviews bolstered TouchBistro’s rating, though.
TouchBistro operates on iPads. These tablets can be configured as countertop terminals, customer-facing displays, KDS screens, or handheld order and payment devices.
Small Venue Terminal Kit | Large Venue Terminal Kit |
---|---|
Countertop iPad stand, cash drawer, and receipt printer | Countertop iPad stand, cash drawer, handheld iPad case, PIN-enabled card reader, receipt printer, kitchen printer, Mac mini server, Back office monitor, keyboard, and mouse |
- “Fast Bar” speed screens: TouchBistro’s Fast Bar setting is the equivalent of Lightspeed Restaurant’s quick service mode. Both settings arrange the primary order screen to reduce button presses and speed counter service. With menu navigation and payment buttons on a single screen, your cashiers can ring in orders and process payments faster.
- Combo building: You can configure TouchBistro’s modifier menus to ring in basic combos, such as a burger and one side, or more complex orders, such as a family meal kit, for pickup or delivery.
- Customizable add-on modules: TouchBistro offers built-in tools for reservations, employee management, loyalty, online ordering, and gift cards. You can also configure your TouchBistro hardware to operate as KDS screens or customer-facing displays. Many of these customizations come with additional monthly fees ranging from $20 to $229 per month. You can find most fees transparently listed on the TouchBistro website.
- Dynamic KDS: TouchBistro has one of the easiest KDS screens to use. It operates on iPads, color codes orders by status, and includes an easy navigation bar at the bottom of the screen to reduce endless scrolling to find tickets.
TouchBistro’s pricing structure is similar to competitor Revel. Both offer a single per terminal software price with optional add-on modules at separate prices. Unlike Revel, however, TouchBistro lists most of its add-on pricing clearly on its website. It’s still a good idea to reach out to TouchBistro for a customized quote though; their sales team will typically quote a reduced per-terminal software rate for QSRs that need more than two POS terminals.
Software | Monthly fee |
---|---|
POS | $69 for one terminal; get a custom quote for additional terminals |
Online Ordering | $50 |
Marketing | $99 |
Gift Cards | $25 |
Reservations | $229 |
TouchBistro works best for mom-and-pop QSRs that frequently need to train new staff. If you need high-volume tools like self-service kiosks and industry-grade handheld terminals, you’ll be happier with something like Toast or Simphony.
If you prefer a system without a long-term contract, take a look at Square.
Learn more about TouchBistro’s POS features with our full review.
Methodology―How We Evaluated Quick Service POS Systems
We compared 15 of the most popular POS systems based on what’s essential to QSRs. We looked at overall price, general POS functionality, niche quick service functions, and ease of use. We also considered our retail and restaurant experts’ personal evaluations of each software.
Using the above criteria, Toast emerged as the best QSR POS. This system received the highest overall score according to our grading system for QSR software (4.19 out of 5). Based on our personal experience testing different POS software and working in and with independent restaurants that use POS systems every day, Toast is also one of the top software tools that we personally recommend.
Click through the box below for our full evaluation criteria:
15% of Overall Score
First, we looked at whether each software offers a free plan, free trial, or baseline subscription under $75 per month. We also scored each system for its hardware costs and available payment processors, giving the highest scores to systems that allow QSRs to shop for the best processing rates.
20% of Overall Score
25% of Overall Score
20% of Overall Score
We determined ease of use based on each system’s customer service hours and whether they support online knowledge bases for training. We also scored offline mode functionality and awarded points to systems that include a mobile reporting app that you don’t need to log in to via a web browser.
20% of Overall Score
Bottom Line
Quick service POS systems need to be full-featured and cost-effective. Toast combines those two qualities seamlessly. With a free baseline POS subscription, pay-as-you-go hardware pricing, and features for everything from combo building to drive-thru management, Toast can support QSRs of any size. Self-ordering kiosks, handheld terminals, customer-facing displays, and KDS screens streamline your operation, and the hybrid installation ensures optimal offline functionality. To see if Toast is a fit for your QSR, contact Toast for a full demo.