How much does a POS system cost in 2026?
Last reviewed 2026-05-26 · by the RetailPOS team
Vendors quote POS pricing in the way that makes them look cheapest. Square advertises “free” but takes 2.6% + 10¢ on every card sale. Toast quotes $0 down on hardware but locks a 3-year lease at $80-120/month. Lightspeed quotes $69/month Starter but the features most shops need are on the $189 Advanced tier.
This guide is the honest breakdown. We compare like-for-like across the major platforms — monthly subscription + per-transaction fees + hardware + processing rate — for the verticals where real numbers exist publicly. Where a vendor's pricing is genuinely opaque, we say so.
The five cost components
Most POS comparisons fail because they only compare one component. Use this list to normalise:
1. Monthly subscription — the plan fee per shop. Ranges $0-$300+ depending on tier + provider.
2. Per-transaction fees — some POS systems add a small fee per ring (5-25¢) on top of the monthly. Often hidden in fine print.
3. Card processing rate — the percentage taken on every card sale. Either you pay this to the POS vendor (Square, Clover, Toast) at their fixed rate, or to your own processor (Stripe, Adyen) at the rate you negotiate.
4. Hardware — the up-front cost (or lease) for terminals, printers, scanners, cash drawers. Lease structures hide the total.
5. Add-ons — features sold separately: multi-location reporting, loyalty, e-commerce sync, advanced reports, KDS screens, more API keys.
Square — the “free” tier reality
Subscription: $0 on the free tier; $60-$165/month for Plus (multi-location reporting, advanced inventory).
Processing: 2.6% + 10¢ per in-person card sale (US rate; varies by region). Higher for keyed-in cards.
Hardware: $59 for the Reader, $799 for the Stand + chip reader. Sold outright; no lease.
Add-ons: Square Loyalty $45/month/location. Square Marketing $15-30/month. Multi-location reporting in Plus tier.
Real cost example (single coffee shop, 1000 monthly card sales at $8 avg = $8,000 card volume):
$0 + (1000 × $0.10) + (0.026 × $8,000) = $0 + $100 + $208 = $308/month effective. Add Plus tier for multi-location = $368/month. Add Loyalty = $413/month.
Clover — the hardware-lease trap
Subscription: $0-$80/month depending on package.
Processing: 2.3-3.5% per card sale (varies by tier + card type). Locked to First Data / Fiserv processing.
Hardware: Often quoted at $0 down with a $60-120/month lease over 36 months. Total over 3 years: $2,160-$4,320 for hardware you could buy outright for $1,200-$1,800.
Add-ons: App marketplace; many features (advanced reporting, customer engagement, employee management) cost $10-50/month each.
Real cost example (same shop, same volume): $80 + $80 (lease) + (0.029 × $8,000) = $80 + $80 + $232 = $392/month effective. Add 2-3 marketplace apps = $450-500/month.
Lightspeed Retail — capable but layered
Subscription: $89/month Starter, $149/month Standard, $189/month Advanced. Per-location pricing.
Processing: Lightspeed Payments at 2.6% + 10¢, OR bring your own processor (a small monthly surcharge applies on entry tier; included on Advanced).
Hardware: Sold outright via Lightspeed Hardware Store. ~$1,500 for a typical till stack.
Add-ons: Loyalty $59/month/location. E-commerce $59/month. Advanced Reporting included on Advanced tier only.
Real cost example: $89 (Starter) + (0.026 × $8,000) = $89 + $208 = $297/month at Starter, BUT most features require Standard ($149) or Advanced ($189). Realistic = $397-$497/month with loyalty.
Toast — restaurant-specific premium pricing
Subscription: Quick Start $0 (processing-only); Core $69/month; Growth $165/month. Per-location.
Processing: 2.49% + 15¢ Quick Start; 2.49% + 15¢ Core. Locked to Toast Payments.
Hardware: Mandatory Toast-supplied terminal + KDS. Often $0 down with $80-120/month lease across 3 years; total $2,800-$4,300 over the contract.
Add-ons: Online ordering $50/month; loyalty $25/month; payroll $35/month/employee.
Real cost example: $69 + $90 (hardware lease) + (0.0249 × $8,000) + $0.15 × 1000 = $69 + $90 + $199 + $150 = $508/month effective. Most counter shops actually use Core; Growth tier adds another $96/month.
RetailPOS — flat per-shop
Subscription: $29/shop/month Starter; $69/shop/month Pro (up to 5 shops, all features); custom Scale for chains. Same feature set on every plan.
Processing: $0 from us — bring your own Stripe (or Adyen, or Tap in the GCC). You negotiate your rate directly. Typical Stripe rate for an independent: 2.2-2.6%; lower at higher volume.
Hardware: Use yours. iPad ($329) + Star printer ($230) + Honeywell scanner ($120) + Stripe Reader ($59) = ~$740 if buying new. No lease.
Add-ons: None — multi-location, loyalty, recipes, modifiers, all 13 vertical kits, offline mode, tamper-evident audit log, all included on every plan.
Real cost example (same shop, same volume, BYO Stripe at 2.4%): $29 + (0.024 × $8,000) = $29 + $192 = $221/month effective. Pro tier (up to 5 shops) = $69 + $192 = $261/month for a 1-shop, scaling to $345 + 5 × $192 = $1,305/month for a 5-shop chain (still cheaper per-shop than any competitor at scale).
Side-by-side at 1000 sales/month, $8 avg ticket
Square (Plus): ~$368/month effective. Add Loyalty: ~$413/month.
Clover: ~$450-500/month with 2-3 marketplace apps.
Lightspeed Retail (Standard):~$357/month base, add features + it's closer to ~$400-450/month.
Toast (Core): ~$508/month effective, plus add-ons.
RetailPOS (Starter): ~$221/month all-in.
The gap widens at higher volume because Square / Clover / Toast take a percentage of every sale forever, while flat-per-shop pricing doesn't scale up.
When the cheap-on-paper option is actually cheapest
Single shop, very low volume (under 300 sales/month):Square free tier wins on absolute dollars even after processing. The flat fee on RetailPOS costs more than Square's percentage at that volume.
Pure online (no in-person card sales):Stripe-only / Shopify-only beats any in-person POS — they're different categories.
For everyone else (1000+ monthly card sales, OR multi-location, OR vertical- specific feature needs), flat-fee POS with BYO processing wins on 3-year math.
Frequently asked
- Why does no one publish their real rates?
- Because the “real rate” depends on your card mix (debit vs credit, swipe vs keyed vs online), your monthly volume, and your negotiating position. The headline rate (2.6% + 10¢) is the worst-case retail; the real rate for a 1000-sale/month independent is typically 2.2-2.5%. Bring-your-own processing lets you negotiate directly.
- What about per-transaction fees on top of the plan?
- Some POS systems add 5-25¢ per ring even after the monthly plan. Square doesn't (the 10¢ is part of processing). Clover's app-marketplace items sometimes do. RetailPOS doesn't. Always read the fine print of the monthly invoice.
- Is a hardware lease ever worth it?
- Rarely. The 3-year math almost always favours buying outright. The exception: a shop with very low cash + zero spare capital for the up-front $1,000-1,500 hardware cost. Even then, the lease should be a temporary bridge — refinance to owned hardware as soon as cash flow allows.
- Why do some vendors include processing and others don't?
- Bundled processing (Square, Clover, Toast) is a lock-in mechanism — it's how those platforms make most of their money. Bring-your-own (RetailPOS, Lightspeed on higher tiers) means you choose your processor + negotiate the rate. The trade-off: bundled is one bill; BYO is two bills but typically 0.3-0.5% cheaper on processing.
- Do I need a separate POS for my online store?
- If you sell online, you need an e-commerce platform (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce). Some POS systems integrate (sync inventory both ways); some don't. The bigger cost question is whether you want one inventory across both, in which case the POS-to-ecommerce connector matters more than the POS price by itself.
Open your shop in 30 seconds.
No card. Free until your first 100 sales. Bring your own Stripe; keep your hardware.