How Much Does a POS System Cost?

Independent retailers can often set up a simple retail POS system for free. However, high-volume or multilocation shops may have more demanding configurations that require a professional installation fee. These businesses might also be better served by a POS like Revel, which is designed to work with several locations but does not have a free plan.

If you’re running a multilocation retail chain or are a retail franchise, you may run a proprietary POS system. Instead of using services like Square or Lightspeed, your company builds and maintains its system. The costs of this can be astronomical if you’re the business owner. However, if you’re a franchisee, it removes all of the guesswork of picking a POS system.

In addition to your POS costs, you’ll need to consider the costs of payment processing. Retailers can expect to pay 2% to 3% on in-person transactions, which adds up to $5,000 to $7,500 annually for a shop that processes $250,000.

Retail POS Cost Breakdown

Restaurant POS systems can be very complex, but these providers are also well-versed in training business owners to use their systems. Many modern restaurant POS systems are self-installable with a little virtual guidance. But if you need hardware that is spill-proof and can withstand a high volume of use, you’ll likely pay more than retailers or service businesses do.

In addition to your POS costs, you’ll need to anticipate card processing fees. Restaurants should expect to pay at least 2% to 3% in processing fees, though if you accept online payments for takeout and delivery orders, rates are closer to 3.5% to 5%. For a restaurant that processes $1,000 per day in in-person transactions, the fees range from $7,300 to $10,950 annually.

Restaurant POS Cost Breakdown

Café POS systems are something of a hybrid between restaurant and retail systems. Since cafes generally have a small kitchen (if they have one at all), they’re much less complicated and expensive. And, since they sell smaller, inventory-based food items, their POS functions more like a retail system, with a couple of tablet POS terminals at a central counter. If your cafe offers drive-thru service, however, you may need a slightly more complex system to manage that channel.

Cafes should also anticipate paying 2% to 3% per in-person digital payment. In the unlikely case that your cafe accepts online orders with online payments, the fees are closer to 3.5% to 5% per transaction. So, if your cafe processes $1,500 per day, you’d be looking at $10,950 to $16,425 in annual processing fees. Many cafe-focused POS systems like TouchBistro offer cash-discount settings that help you offset these costs.

Cafe POS Cost Breakdown

Systems that cater to spas, salons, and wellness businesses usually include a combination of appointment scheduling, invoicing, and retail features. They may also include features for charging recurring membership fees (as for a gym) or weekly booth rental fees (as in a salon). Examples include Square Appointments, Fresha, Vagaro, and Acuity Scheduling, some of which offer free baseline software.

Since most health and wellness businesses are appointment-based, they don’t require much in the way of hardware. But it is common for spas and wellness businesses to invest in customer-facing tablets for intake forms, and tablets for each service provider to record client notes. Payment processing fees generally run from 2.5% to 4%, depending on your sales volume and business type. So, a salon that processes $245,000 annually can expect to pay $6,125 to $9,800 in yearly processing fees.

Health and Wellness POS Cost Breakdown

A food truck POS must be mobile, wirelessly connected to the internet or cellular signal, and take up as little space as possible. Most trucks get by with a single terminal and card reader, but if your truck is popular (and we hope it is!), you’ll want some handheld terminals to quickly bust through long lines. With limited menus, most trucks can also use free POS software for the long term. In fact, the baseline version of our top-ranking food truck POS, Square for Restaurants, is entirely free to use; all you’ll pay are processing and hardware fees.

Food trucks tend to be lower-volume businesses than others on this list, so processing fees may be higher, in the 3% to 4% range. If you accept online payments for mobile orders, you’ll pay fees closer to 5% on those transactions. A food truck that processes $100,000 per year should expect to pay $3,000 to $5,000 in processing fees; though you may be able to offset these fees by offering a discount to customers who pay with cash.

Food Truck POS Cost Breakdown

Many POS systems allow you to choose whether you want to pay month-by-month or for a whole year or more upfront. Businesses that don’t have much cash on hand might find monthly billing better for their cash flow, while more established businesses will find the discounts offered by annual plans to be more attractive. Monthly contracts also make it easier to switch POS software if you are not satisfied and could be beneficial for new businesses that have not yet settled on a program.

Many POS systems offer integrated payment processing for credit, debit, and digital payments. In many cases—especially with cloud POS systems—this means the brand’s own built-in payment processor. If you opt to use a POS brand’s built-in processor, you’ll usually get a break on monthly software fees. Lightspeed, Revel, and TouchBistro are all examples of POS brands that offer both built-in and integrated processors.

If you are a high-volume retailer or restaurant with a proven sales history, you may get lower processing rates by shopping around with multiple payment processors. It pays to do the math and see which arrangement will save you the most money in the long run. And, if you get several estimates for payment processing, let your preferred POS brand know the rates you were quoted. In most cases, the POS brand will try to match or beat the lowest quoted rate (as long as you back it up with documentation). It’s also worth noting that if you run a successful business with a high sales volume (more than $250,000 processed per year), many providers will offer you special POS packages with tailored features and custom pricing.

Sometimes, however, built-in processing is your only option. Popular POS systems Square and Toast only offer their built-in processors. But both also offer volume discounts and tend to quote lower processing rates to high-volume businesses.

Like all things tech, POS systems are constantly improving—adding new features and becoming faster and more durable. If you purchase your equipment outright, it’s a one-time cost, and you won’t have to worry about monthly or yearly payments. If you lease equipment, you have the option to upgrade every few years.

However, leasing tends to come with extra monthly or yearly payments, and may require a lengthier service contract. For most small businesses like retailers and other brick-and-mortar storefronts with a few terminals, purchasing POS equipment outright is still the most economical option, even if you upgrade equipment every few years.

If you don’t have the cash on hand to pay for POS hardware upfront, many POS providers allow you to make payments on their systems. For example, Square discloses its interest-free installments clearly on its hardware online store. Many others offer extended financing options so you can pay for hardware over the course of a year or more. If hardware costs are the only thing preventing you from purchasing your preferred POS, you should always ask a sales representative about financing options. The POS market is competitive, and most brands will do what it takes to earn your business.

Square clearly lists installment pricing on its hardware website. (Source: Square)

In recent years, several POS brands have started offering their baseline POS software—and sometimes hardware—for no upfront cost. In most cases, these free or pay-as-you-go systems also offer more comprehensive software options for higher monthly fees, so you can expand your software as your business grows. Some brands—like the restaurant POS Toast—even offer free hardware to business owners that are willing to pay higher payment processing fees. The table below showcases a few popular POS brands that offer free baseline subscriptions.

Best for: Retailers, restaurants, and service businesses looking for versatility and transparency plus a mobile POS	Best for: Small bars and restaurants that only need 1-2 terminals	Best for: Specialty retailers like wine shops, vape shops, and independent grocers; or businesses with ticketing sales
Free POS plan is $0 per month with no long-term contract	Starter POS is $0 per month with a 2-year contract; users can purchase 2 terminals at no upfront cost and 2.99% + 15 cents per transaction	Offers a free POS for up to 30 transactions per day without long-term contracts
Read our reviews of Square for Retail, Square for Restaurants, and Square Appointments	Read our review of Toast	Read our review of KORONA
Visit Square	Visit Toast	Visit KORONA

Square is your best bet. Its baseline POS is free and has impressive functionality and versatility. You’ll also get one free card reader. These tools alone may be enough to run a small business for the first few months.

All business types will need inventory management, staff management, marketing, and desktop terminals or mobile POS devices. Developed retail businesses will eventually want ecommerce options and an online store, while restaurants can go for online ordering and delivery.

Open-source systems like Odoo may have free plans. However, you won’t get the full spectrum of functionality unless you add modules or integrations, which often carry price tags. Open-source systems will also require maintenance and upgrading on your end.