Best iPad POS Apps

There's no getting around it, it has been a tumultuous time for retailers, with a global pandemic throwing the normal shopping experience out of the window. Shoppers are more cautious then ever before, and you can't afford to lose them. An iPad POS app can be a fantastic way to help reclaim some customer confidence, thanks to doing away with the need to handle cash and offering contactless transactions. If that's what your business needs, you can compare the best on the market now with our dedicated tool.

In our view, Square POS is the best iPad POS app on the market, closely followed by Vend and Shopify. Shopify a great fit for small businesses with no upfront fees and reasonable transaction fees. Vend POS is a good choice, however, giving you a free cash register and integrating with loads of third-party platforms. Shopify is cheaper than the other two and is a great choice for companies with an existing ecommerce presence.

All of them offer free trials and 24/7 support.

In This Guide

• The Best iPad POS Apps
• How to Choose an iPad POS App
• FAQ

The Best iPad POS Apps – Reviews

Most iPad POS apps claim to offer similar services. However, not all of them can live up to their own hype. We’ve done the research on the leading providers and found the ones actually worth considering:

1. Square — Offers a streamlined interface and a simple, unique pricing structure
2. Vend — Has loads of features built-in plus it integrates well with third-party functions
3. Shopify— It's cheap to get started and offers a great ecommerce service
4. Lightspeed — Has great online support and works with loads of different sales channels
5. TouchBistro — Designed specifically for the restaurant industry, it’s a good choice if you’re in the food business
6. SalesVu — A unique proposition with loads of free apps tied together with a paid-for dashboard
7. Revel — Its detailed analytics and CRM tools are impressive
8. Epos Now — An affordable and easy-to-use iPad POS app

Square POS

Square POS is defined by a slick, streamlined interface which is super easy to learn. Thanks to its unique pricing plan, Square POS is a great choice for small businesses.

Convinced? Use our quick comparison tool to find out if Square POS fits your business.

Square has no monthly fees. Instead, it charges 1.75% for all card transactions and 2.5% for other types of transactions. This means that there are no overhead costs, which can be a lifeline for small businesses.

See our full guide to Square POS pricing for more

If you’re a larger business using Square, you might be interested in its hardware package which costs $999 upfront or $49 per month. You’ll get a Square register, a customer display, an accessory hub, and all the accoutrements necessary to set them up.

Square isn’t just a great choice for its pricing, however. It also has an excellent inventory-tracking feature and great CRM tools. All told, Square POS is the best iPad POS app you can choose.

Vend POS

Vend POS is one of the most versatile iPad POS systems on the market. You can integrate it with loads of third-party apps including Xero’s accounting platform or QuickBooks’ sales analytics, for example.

Vend also works offline, handy if your wifi goes down and your iPad can’t connect. All your inventory and sales information will be backed-up to the cloud and will sync up again when you regain connection.

Vend offers customizable tax options, automated stock orders, and customer profiles that collect all the data about a customer’s purchasing habits in one location for you to easily view and analyse.

All these features make Vend one of the most high tech iPad POS apps. Prices start from $99 per month and rise to $129 per month.

Shopify POS

Shopify is a very strong POS system in its own right but it also offers a complete ecommerce package — including an online store builder.

Shopify’s principal benefits are its fast onboarding process, strong customer service, and its seamless ecommerce integration.

To find out if it's Shopify you need, or something else, try our comparison tool now.

Shopify’s cheapest POS plan is $29 per month but this will only give you access to basic sales and inventory tracking. It's more expensive plans start from $79 per month, giving you more advance features, more staff accounts, and cheaper credit card rates.

Lightspeed POS

Lightspeed POS’ retail app includes inventory, reporting, and analytics dashboards to help you keep track of everything you’ve been selling. Lightspeed POS also has a strong suite of CRM tools including loyalty programs and gift cards.

Lightspeed POS excels when it comes to sales channels. You can sell across loads of different platforms using Lightspeed including Amazon and Google Shopping.

Lightspeed POS has an extensive customer support program with webinars, live chat, email, and 24/7 telephone support. It also has a customer support forum where customers can pose questions or suggest features.

Lightspeed POS offers separate apps depending on what sort of business you run. Its ecommerce app costs $59 per month, while its restaurant and retail apps costs $69 and $99 per month, respectively. And, due to the coronavirus pandemic, you can currently get three full months for free.

TouchBistro POS

TouchBistro is aimed squarely at the restaurant industry. As such it has a range of features necessary for running a business. Servers can use the iPad app to take orders and manage tables, for example. You can even manage your restaurant’s menu and floor plan from the iPad app.

TouchBistro POS’ iPad app also has typical POS functions including inventory and staff management, sales analytics, and mobile payment options.

TouchBistro offers online user guides and how-to videos for in case you run into difficulty when using the app. Prices start from $69 per month for a single payment terminal. Two terminals costs $129 per month, while five will cost $249 per month. For $399 per month you can get unlimited payment terminals.

SalesVu POS

SalesVu POS offers loads of free apps which can be managed through one, central paid-for dashboard. It’s a slightly confusing set-up but it does mean that SalesVu POS can be a good choice for fledgling businesses.

Its iPad POS app works with a range of different hardware accessories from registers to receipt printers. It also gives you a range of features from cash management to customer relationship management tools.

While the iPad POS app is free to download and use, businesses will have to pay $75 per month per location in order to access all of SalesVu’s other apps which can make it a complete POS solution. If you’re curious and want to give SalesVu a try, it offers a 15-day free trial.

Revel POS

Revel POS has a great range of customer relationship management tools. For example, you can track returning customer behavior, issue gift cards and bespoke discounts, and store all your customers details in a database.

Revel POS’ iPad app offers a clear distinction between front of house and backroom functions. For example, front of house staff will be able to get a clear, easy to use interface. Backroom staff, on the other hand, can manage employees and inventories while also examining sales analytics.

Revel POS’ software-only plan costs $99 per month, per terminal and it can be tailored to three business types: retail, restaurant and bar, and “quick service” for coffee shops, delis, bakeries, and more.

Epos Now

Epos Now is a cheap and relatively simple POS system with a quick and easy setup process. The company claims that you can be up-and-running in just 15 minutes. Training staff is straightforward as well, thanks to the simple UI.

As with most other POS systems, Epos Now will help manage your inventory and track online and offline sales. It also has built-in functionality to print invoices and read barcodes.

Epos Now has a dedicated hospitality version, offering bill splitting, table management, and loyalty programs.

Epos Now offers a 30-day free trial before moving up to the paid-for plans which start at $39 per month. You can also get customized quotes if the pricing plans aren’t quite the right fit.

How to Choose an iPad POS App

You should have three main considerations in mind when choosing an iPad POS app.

1. Does it track your inventory and record sales?
2. Does the POS app work properly in your industry?
3. Does it support the payment processor you use?

All of the POS apps on this page will easily cover the first point. However, some are better suited to retail businesses such as Vend POS. Others work best with restaurant or hospitality businesses, such as TouchBistro.

The easiest way to find your perfect POS app is to let us do it for you with our POS system quotes form. You'll receive bespoke, no-obligation quotes for your business' POS system, all without the headache of endless hours of research (we've already done it).

Next Steps for Getting an iPad POS System

You don’t have to spend big to get a fully-featured iPad POS system. Plus, getting the right one can actually save your business money through reducing wastage and increasing efficiency.

Finding the right POS system can be a time-consuming process. As you can see from this article, there are plenty of them out there. Luckily, we've done all the legwork for you – all you need to do is fill in our quick comparison tool to find the best POS for your business.

iPad POS System FAQs

POS apps can seem confusing, so we answer some of the most common questions.

What’s the Best Restaurant iPad POS System?

Our top choice for a restaurant POS app is Revel POS. The division between the front of house interface and backroom functions makes it super easy to manage all the aspects of your restaurant.

Do I need an On-Premise POS System or a Cloud-Based POS System?

We’d choose a cloud-based POS system. All the POS software and data is backed up online, and can be updated by the vendor who hosts the software.

On-premise systems must be updated and maintained manually — often requiring a dedicated member of staff.

Cloud-based systems are easier and simpler to maintain. Plus, all of the apps on this page are cloud-based.

How much is a POS system?

Small, single-location businesses should pay around $50-100 per month for a POS system. POS systems costing closer to $100 per month will likely include more sophisticated customer support offerings and will be updated with new features more regularly.

Larger, multi-location businesses will have to pay between $100-200 per location per month. These plans might include hardware solutions and will likely have lower payment processing rates. If your business is large enough, you can always consider getting a bespoke quote.