RetailPOS vs Shopify POS
Last reviewed 2026-08-13 · by the RetailPOS team
Shopify POS is excellent when e-commerce is the core of the business and stores are an extension of it. It gets expensive and heavy in reverse — a shop that mainly sells in person and doesn't need the full online stack. RetailPOS is in-store-first and doesn't try to be an e-commerce platform. Here is the honest breakdown.
At a glance
| RetailPOS | Shopify POS | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | $29–69/shop/month, flat | Shopify plan + POS Pro ~$89/location/mo |
| Card processing | Bring your own (e.g. Stripe) | Shopify Payments (or fee for third party) |
| Unified online + in-store | In-store first; integrate a webstore | Best-in-class — one catalog and stock |
| App store / ecosystem | Fixed included feature set | Huge — thousands of apps |
| Needs an e-commerce subscription | No | Yes — POS Pro rides on a Shopify plan |
| Multi-store | Standard on every plan | Per-location POS Pro add-on |
| Works offline | Yes | Limited |
| Tamper-evident audit trail | Yes — hash-chained | No |
Where Shopify POS wins
Unified commerce.If you sell online and in-store, Shopify keeps one product catalog, one inventory pool and one customer list across both — the single biggest reason to choose it. RetailPOS is in-store-first; you'd integrate a separate webstore rather than run both from one system.
The app store.Shopify's ecosystem has thousands of apps for almost any need. RetailPOS ships a fixed, included feature set instead of an app marketplace.
Omnichannel fulfilment.Buy-online-pickup-in-store, ship-from-store and unified promotions are native to Shopify. RetailPOS doesn't orchestrate online fulfilment.
Brand and scale.Shopify is a large, mature platform with deep documentation, partners and themes if you're also building the online storefront.
Where RetailPOS wins
No e-commerce tax on the till.Shopify POS Pro (~$89/location/month) rides on top of a Shopify plan. If you don't need the online store, that's cost and complexity you're carrying to run a register. RetailPOS is flat per-shop with nothing else required.
Bring your own processing. Shopify leans on Shopify Payments and charges a fee to use a third-party processor. RetailPOS lets you connect and negotiate your own with no penalty.
Multi-store without per-location add-ons. Cross-location stock and reporting are standard; on Shopify each retail location needs its own POS Pro add-on.
Offline, audit and compliance. The register keeps selling offline, receipts are tamper-evident and hash-chained, and regional e-invoicing (FBR, GST, FIRS, KRA eTIMS) is built in.
Who should pick which
Pick Shopify POS if you already run (or want) a Shopify online store, need one unified catalog and inventory across web and retail, rely on omnichannel fulfilment, or want its app-store breadth.
Pick RetailPOS ifthe physical shop is the heart of the business, you don't want to pay for a full e-commerce stack to run the till, you want your own processor, or you need offline resilience and multi-store without per-location add-ons.
If you move, the Shopify POS migration guide covers exporting items, inventory and customers and reconciling stock before go-live.
Frequently asked
- Do I need a Shopify online store to use Shopify POS?
- Effectively yes — Shopify POS runs on a Shopify plan, and POS Pro is a per-location add-on on top. That's the core trade-off: you're paying for the e-commerce platform even if the till is all you need. RetailPOS requires no e-commerce subscription.
- Can RetailPOS do online + in-store like Shopify?
- Not as one unified system — this is a genuine gap. Shopify keeps one catalog and inventory across web and stores natively; RetailPOS is in-store-first and integrates a separate webstore. If unified omnichannel is central to your business, Shopify is the stronger fit.
- Is RetailPOS cheaper than Shopify POS?
- For an in-store-first shop, usually — you avoid the Shopify plan plus ~$89/location POS Pro and keep a flat per-shop fee with your own processor. If you need the online store anyway, Shopify's bundle may be better value since you're paying for both together.
- Do I have to use Shopify Payments?
- Shopify steers you to Shopify Payments and charges a fee for third-party processing. RetailPOS is bring-your-own-processor with no such fee.
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