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The best POS system for bars is Square, because it offers an exceptionally intuitive interface that can handle high-volume spikes and offers your staff a rapid and comprehensive onboarding processes.
Toast is another good POS for bars that need advanced tracking features, as it provides robust cost-of-goods analytics and pour-cost inventory tracking, while Clover provides the most durable and functional hardware across our in-depth, hands-on research of the best POS systems.
Why Trust Us? Our Research Explained
We take our impartial research and analysis seriously, so you can have complete confidence that we’re giving you the clearest, most useful product recommendations.
Here’s how our POS systems for bars research came about, by the numbers:
- More than 100 hours
- Four categories of investigation
- 17 tested tasks
The primary categories of investigation included software (40%), hardware ecosystem (20%), user experience (25%), and value and cost-efficiency (15%).
For more information on how we ranked these providers, please visit our research section.
| Price The typical lowest starting price. The lowest price available for your business will depend on your needs | Free plan | Tech.co rating Score out of 5 based on Tech.co's independent market research. | Pros | Cons | Who should What kind of business should use this POS system? | Who shouldn't What kind of business shouldn't use this POS system? | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOP RATED  |  |  |  |  | ||||
| Square POS | Toast | Clover | SpotOn | SumUp | ||||
| $49/month | $69/month | $89.95/month | $55/month | $99/month | ||||
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| 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 3.9 | ||||
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Key Takeaways
- Best: Square is the best POS system for bars, because it offers an intuitive interface that allows for speedy transactions and staff onboarding.
- Alternatives: Toast offers excellent reporting tools, Clover is the top choice for durable, advanced hardware, SpotOn is great for its staff management tools, and SumUp is a good budget option for minimalist operations.
- Pricing: Starting prices for POS systems ranges from $49 per month to $99 per month, with more advanced, enterprise-level plans costing as much as $289 per month.
- Free: Many POS system providers offer free forever plans, but they often come with high transaction fees and limited features.
- Our research: We focused on POS systems that can handle high-volume bar environments, specifically focusing on rapid order input, menu modification, and strict inventory controls to analyze providers.
What is The Best POS System for Bars?
- Square POS – Best bar POS for scaling establishments
- Toast POS – Best for bars with complex operations
- Clover – Best for impressive hardware
- SpotOn – Best for bars enhancing staff communication
- SumUp – Best for fast-paced operations
1. Square POS – Best Bar POS for Scaling and Growing
- Price: $49/month
- Free plan: Yes
Small businesses can’t go wrong with Square. Its affordable pricing options across both software and hardware make it a great option for those starting out, and want a safe option.
While Square will certainly get your business up-and-running, it’ll help your business scale because of its vast array of growth-focused tools and features.
Pros
- Free to get started
- Slick and stylish hardware that impresses guests
- Serves businesses of all sizes and in all sectors
- Strong analytics, inventory, and third-party integrations
Cons
- Some necessary features for mid-sized businesses cost more
- 3.5% + 15¢ charge for keyed-in transactions
- Support options vary by plan
- Free to install
- Plus plan starting from $49/month/location
- 2.6% + 15¢ fees for card transactions
Why Square is great for bars
- Order/bill splitting and tip management features: Users can easily split bills by select items, percentage, or a fixed amount, and tips can be automaticaly shared between employees based on specific working hours. Being in your feet all day most of the time while working in a bar, automating tasks such as tip distribution will save you chunks of time.
- Easy and intuitive platform: I found it incredibly easy getting started with Square, and it’s front-end and back-end are even easier to use. Other systems, like SumUp and Lavu, were much trickier to get to grips with. With this ease of use, it’s almost easy to forget that Square doesn’t have a training mode, but businesses should still keep this in mind.
- Sleek and professional hardware: In my opinion, if you want to impress customers with modern-looking hardware, Square is the way to go. Likewise, with spills being commonplace in a bar environment, you’ll want a system that is durable – and Square definitely is that.
- Dedicated kitchen display system: This will integrate directly with Square’s front of house POS, encouraging more streamlined operations in what can no doubt become a fast-paced hospitality environment.
- Huge app marketplace: Gives users access to a wide range of platforms that can benefit multiple areas of your bar. For instance, the Food & Drink Exchange app can update prices in real time and the Pretamenu app can get bars online in minutes.
Notes from Testing: Square
Square was my favorite out of all the systems we tested. When trying to carry out tasks such as bulk importing new products into the system, it felt like Square had designed its navigation to support the way a user would think, and so carrying out functions was intuitive and easy.
There were certain elements that I thought could have been elsewhere, such as the option to split the bill, which I was surprised to see not on the pay screen.
However, ultimately, I would recommend Square to any business looking for a strong POS with a flexible and sleek interface. There is definitely a reason it has topped so many of our POS roundups over the years.
2. Toast POS – Best POS for Bars With Complex Operations
- Price: $69/month
- Free plan: Yes
Toast POS is built specifically for hospitality businesses, and this is evident in its rich feature offering.
These include highly sophisticated cost/profit management and inventory management tools, which would well suit a bar looking to manage and keep track of complex, large-scale operations.
Pros
- Built-in customer engagement and loyalty program features
- Excellent inventory management tools, like stock alerts
- Support for tableside ordering and payment
Cons
- No iOS compatibility
- No social media or email support
- No ecommerce app market integration
- Free pay-as-you-go plan available
- POS pricing starts at $69/month
- Transaction fee: 2.49% + 15¢
- Customizable starter kits available
Why Toast is great for bars
- Inventory management tools: With Toast, you’ll be able to access low and no stock alerts, and a cost/profit management tool. For bars with multiple locations, keeping track of stock is a must, and with Toast you can do so seamlessly.
- Customer engagement tools: Toast gives users access to an extensive ecosystem of customer engagement options, including email marketing, websites, and in-house loyalty programs. These will no doubt help your bar stand out in the eyes of customers.
- High-quality hardware: Toast offers starter kits and individual hardware accessories that connect with its hardware. During testing, the Toast Flex POS terminal stood out to me as a great option for busy bars, as the customer-facing screen means customers can see what they’re paying for without your staff having to yell it at them. You should be aware that Toast can only integrate with Android devices, however, if you were planning to include your own hardware.
- Initial user tutorial: Toast offers an initial tutorial of its system to new users, unlike SpotOn and Square, which somewhat makes up for the lack of help and support options. If you’re having to train multiple staff members and want to get it done fast, this is a great addition.
Notes from Testing: Toast
While Toast could certainly hold its own during testing, with plenty of features and excellent hardware, I think it’s probably more suited to larger businesses than smaller ones.
Firstly, I think the average small business would find the number of potential features in Toast overwhelming, especially as you might find you don’t need much of what is being offered by the platform.
That being said, Toast’s ability to handle complex and large scale operations makes it perfect for bars with multiple locations. In particular, I thought its cost/profit management tool, which Square is actually missing, would be great for providing the in-depth numbers a large scale business will need.
3. Clover – Best Bar POS for Impressive Hardware
- Price: $89.95/month
- Free plan: No
When it comes to hardware, no provider can beat Clover. Users found that, as well as being sleek and durable, they were equally as responsive and intuitive during our testing.
Therefore, Clover is a great option for bars looking to impress both customers and staff alike with professional and strong hardware. Plus, all of Clover’s hardware is splash-proof, so you’ll never have to worry about a customer spilling a drink and ruining your hardware.
Pros
- Great for companies that started online but need a physical presence
- Good range of hardware options
- 30-day free trial to test before you buy
Cons
- Need pre-existing website unlike Shopify, for example
- Additional features cost extra and can become expensive
- No inter-store transactions
- Cheapest plan is $14.95/month
- Cheapest Retail plan is $16/mo, plus 2.6% + 10c fees for card-present transactions
- Offers 'Quick-Service' & 'Full Service' dining plans
Why Clover is great for bars
- Impressive and durable hardware: Clover’s hardware is top-of-the line, good-looking but also able to withstand any spills that come out of a bar-related environment. Plus, some of Clover’s hardware solutions come with LTE connectivity. This means that if the Wi-Fi goes out, you’ll still be able to maintain the efficient pace of your bar business.
- Strong functionality: Clover offers features like stock alerts, bulk importing, profit tracking, and in-depth reporting analysis tools, all of which will help your bar keep a firm eye on your the numbers.
- Training mode: Unlike Square, Clover has a dedicated training mode that helps new users quickly get ahold of the system. Again, perfect for bars wanting to train up staff without too much stress.
- Solid help and support options: Clover offers email and phone support, as well as a live chat feature that gives you a fast way to access an expert. Although, the chat did take longer to give me an answer than providers like Toast and Square did when I tested it.
Notes from Testing: Clover
Clover’s hardware stood out the most for me when I tested it. It’s sleek, durable, and responsive. In particular, the terminal/register interface was particularly intuitive.
Using the front-end was easy, especially with the touchscreen interface and design touches like the fingerprint scanner, which enables your staff members to access the POS swiftly in what is often a fast-paced environment.
Overall, I also thought the back-end, with elements like the drag-and-drop table plan, was thoughtful, and was simple to get to grips with.
In places, though, I found it difficult to find specific functions. In general, I felt discounts, promotions, and loyalty features were clunkier and less streamlined than others. For this reason, Clover may pose a steep learning curve for some POS newbies.
4. SpotOn – Best Bar POS for Enhancing Staff Communication
- Price: $55/month
- Free plan: Yes
SpotOn stood out to us for its staff management capabilities, making it an excellent choice for businesses wanting a high standard of communication.
This is mostly thanks to SpotOn’s own integration service, Teamwork, which allows users to easily create and release staff schedules, and enable clock-in notifications. Likewise, Teamwork will also integrate with your preferred payroll software, and automate tip distribution amongst staff.
Pros:
- Top tier free plan for small businesses
- Affordable hardware add-ons for in-person selling
- Automatic offline functionality without internet connection
Cons
- Few hardware options
- Expensive paid plans for restaurants
- Limited retail functionality only suited for small shops
- Free plan includes hardware
- Small Business plan: From $25/month
- Restaurant plan: From $50/month
- Transaction fees from: 1.99% + 25¢
Why I think SpotOn is great for bars
- Top-tier staff management tools: Thanks to its integration service, Teamwork, SpotOn is a great choice for bars wanting to effectively manage staff members, particularly useful for bars that use plenty of staff on a rolling basis and want to keep track of them. I also like the fact that Teamwork will integrate with other software, like payroll, so businesses can keep all their employee-related information together.
- Robust back-end: SpotOn has some excellent tools on offer for bars. For example, its cost vs profit analysis tool will allow users to compare which sold items are contributing the most to overall profit.
- Intuitive POS experience: I really enjoyed using SpotOn. It felt intuitive and easy, and during set up, I was able to access all the relevant areas I needed to get started. While there was definitely a bit of a usability gap between the front-end and back-end, I’d still recommend SpotOn for bars that want a low-risk and strong performing system.
- Offers own terminal: SpotOn offers its own terminal and customer display option, making it easy for bars to seamlessly connect all elements of their POS system. That being said, there aren’t that many hardware accessories available with SpotOn, particularly when compared to our top choice, Square. It also doesn’t offer a tablet-based solution, which could provide difficult for bars that want to orchestrate a portable service for customers.
Notes from Testing: SpotOn
I found SpotOn easy to set up during testing, and the overall experience of using the platform was intuitive. A similar sentiment was expressed from our other users too.
However, I did find the back-end a little easier to navigate than the front-end. This was because some front-end functions required a few extra clicks, compared to the other providers on our list.
Overall, I felt this did slow me down, unlike SumUp, which allowed me to carry out functions with speed and ease.
5. SumUp – Best Bar POS for Fast-Paced Businesses
- Price: $99/month
- Free plan: No
SumUp is a simple, easy-to-use POS system that we would recommend for smaller establishments. Its minimalist design and simple interface means you and your staff will be able to navigate to and complete tasks at a rapid and efficient rate. This makes SumUp the perfect option for bars committed to providing a quick, fuss-free service.
Pros
- Great range of hardware accessories for in-person selling
- Low monthly costs for small businesses on a budget
- Excellent stock management to track your inventory
Cons
- No customer display option
- No restaurant reservation system
- No handheld POS option
- Free to install
- Hardware and software packages from $99/month
- 2.6% + 10¢ for transaction fees
Why SumUp is great for bars
- Speed: SumUp’s simple, mimimal interface meant actions could be completed quickly and without much fuss. This is helped by the fact that the systemonly asked for necessary information when carrying out functions like adding new products or team members. For bars that want to keep up an efficient and speedy process, SumUp is a solid choice.
- Wealth of inventory management features: SumUp offers inventory management tools, including bulk uploads and stock alerts, and tip management tools. I also enjoyed the “park order” function during testing, which allowed me to quickly adjust items mid-transaction.
- Customer engagement tools: SumUp houses a range of built-in email and SMS marketing tools that let users send out personalized marketing materials, something which isn’t offered by competitors like Square or Clover. Advanced tools like gift and loyalty card functionality are also available, but only as a paid add-on.
- Simple and high-quality hardware options: The POS provider offers its own kitchen display system, receipt printer, and terminal, all of which I found to be simple and easy to use. I was disappointed to find that SumUp doesn’t offer its own handheld POS system, however, which makes it less than ideal for bars that want to provide table service.
Notes from Testing: SumUp
SumUp was one of the easiest POS systems I used during our latest round of testing, particularly due to its minimal, black and white interface that made everything really easy to locate.
In particular, I was impressed with the system’s speed – operations like recording a sale, managing tables, or editing orders were all done quickly and with little hassle. For the fast-paced bar business, where things have to be done quickly, SumUp can definitely keep up.
How We Researched the Best POS Systems for Bars
We take our impartial research and analysis seriously, so you can have complete confidence that we’re giving you the clearest, most useful recommendations.
For these POS systems, we focused on the fast-paced, high-volume nature of bars, heavily weighing our rankings on functionality that includes rapid order input, menu modifications, and strict inventory controls. Here’s an overview of our main testing categories for POS systems:
- Software (40%) — The capabilities provided by the POS product. Includes general features like ordering and payment functionality, as well as industry-specific tools like KSU uploads, and inventory-level stock tracking KDS software.
- Hardware (20)% — The quality of a POS’s hardware selection. The presence of an own-brand terminal, as well as hardware accessories like kitchen display systems, receipt printers, and barcode scanners.
- Value & cost efficiency (15%): The cost associated with acquiring and using the POS system, such as the initial purchase cost, transaction fees, licensing fees, subscription plans, and any additional charges or ongoing costs.
- User experience (25%): We test out the software to gauge how intuitive and easy to navigate it is. We also consider how easy the software is to navigate, and whether any errors took place during testing.
At Tech.co, we have a number of full-time in-house researchers who re-run this testing process regularly to ensure our results remain reflective of the present day.
What's The Best POS Systems for Bars in 2026?
Our research found that Square is currently the best POS option available to bars — because of its excellent hardware options, easy-to-use and intuitive interface, and affordable price points. For bars looking to streamline operations and optimize their growth, you can’t go wrong with Square.
I would also recommend Toast for businesses who need to manage complex operations, with in-depth tools. And, for high quality hardware, look no further than Clover.
Whether you’re choosing a POS system for a bar or liquor store, it’s important to keep in mind the specific requirements of your business.
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