Best Mobile POS Systems 2023 | Features & Pricing Breakdown

The best mobile POS system for business is Square POS, thanks to its simple setup process, predictable flat-rate pricing, and a stellar “Square Reader” device designed specifically for mobile use.

Other top picks worth considering include Lightspeed, which offers omnichannel loyalty tools to help build a customer base, and Clover, which has a host of great mobile POS features.

Mobile POSs open up vital revenue streams to businesses by letting them take payments from anywhere they choose. They're a great way for budding businesses to get their feet off the ground without fronting the cost of pricey hardware, and they simplify the ordering process too.

If you're in the market for a cost-effective and user-friendly mobile POS, this authoritative guide ranks and reviews the top options out there, based on the independent findings from our research team. Read on to learn how each mobile POS service compares to the rest and which is right for your business.

Once you're ready for the next step, take a minute to fill out our form and get quotes custom-fitted for you.

In this guide:

• Top 5 Mobile POS Systems
• What Is mPOS?
• What Are the Benefits of mPOS?
• Verdict: The Best Mobile POS
• Our Methodology
• Frequently Asked Questions

1. Square – Overall Best Mobile POS

• Tech.co overall rating: 4.5/5
• Price from: free (plus processing fees)
• Payment processing: Card transactions: 2.6% + 10¢. Keyed-in transactions: 3.5% + 15¢

Managing a business is hard enough as it is without the interference of complex software. Fortunately, if you're looking for a simple way to take orders and accept payments on mobile devices, we would recommend using Square. It's the best mobile POS system we've reviewed, and it's user-friendly and affordable too.

The service has a retail-specific software and a restaurant-specific one, each ranked by our experts as the top in their respective industries, and it's best for mobile as well, thanks to hardware designed specifically for mobile and tablet use.

Square POS features

Square's POS features are a cut above its competition. Due to the strength of its business management, stock management, and business development features, our research awarded the system a perfect 5/5 score in five out of six categories, making it the most versatile and high-quality POS we've reviewed.

While Square POS's features are strong across-the-board, its payment options stood out to our researchers in particular. Aside from standard payment options like cash, credit and debit cards, and mobile payment apps, Square POS accepts digital invoices, QR code payments, and invoices, and even links up to third-party BNPL services.

Square's customer loyalty program is also highly customizable too. For businesses looking to drive up purchases, the POS lets you choose a loyalty system that works best for you, choose specific terminology like ‘stamps' and ‘stars', and select multiple different reward levels.

Compared to competitors like Lightspeed, Clover, and Zettle, Square's till features fall slightly short. This is because Square doesn't offer a training mode to help staff learn the software: In fact, Toast is the only POS offering in this guide that does offer one.

Key features:

• CRM and Loyalty
• Detailed reports and analytics
• Sales forecasting
• Staff management and scheduling
• Inventory management
• Online orders
• Booking features
• Modify items straight from dashboard
• Schedule an Automatic Restock

The automations and ability to modify items while on the go both help make Square simple and easy: Perfect for small and mobile-only operations.

Pricing

If you're looking to keep overheads as low as possible, Square's system can be used for absolutely free. With Free, users will only be charged a per-transaction fee (2.6% + 10¢ for card-based and 3.5% + 15¢ for keyed-in sales), saving them from costly overhead prices. Paid plans with 24/7 support are available for $60 per month.

For more details on Square's pricing plans, fees, and a hidden charges, check out our full Square POS review.

2. Lightspeed – Best for Omnichannel Loyalty Tools

• Tech.co overall rating: 4.3/5
• Price from: $69 per month
• Payment processing: Card transactions: 2.6% + 10¢ Keyed-in transactions: 2.6% + 30¢

Lightspeed offers an integrated customer rewards system alongside omnichannel loyalty tools, and it has customer insight tools as well, which can help managers better target customer segments. While these services might be too granular for a small operation, they're great for larger businesses.

Another big benefit: Lightspeed POS has an impressive support, scoring 4.8/5 in Tech.co's testing. That's second only to the Square mobile POS, with round-the-clock live support on weekdays and set hours on weekends as well.

Lightspeed POS features

Lightspeed may not be the best retail POS system we reviewed (that accolade goes to Square), but the mPOS did perform well in our research.

In Tech.co's impartial POS testing, Lightspeed earns perfect scores (5/5) for its business management tools because of its advanced reporting and analytic features which let you measure customer demand and gain tailored marketing insights, and its powerful staff performance capabilities.

If your business stocks large or complex inventories, you're in luck too, as Lightspeed offers a number of unique stock management features like stock transfers, product categorization and supplier returns. All features that competitor like Toast and Clover lack.

Lightspeed also does well with till and business development features, meaning it can easily accept any major form of payment and has tools to help keep audiences engaged and growing. The service's mobile processing tools let you sell items easily, and extras like delivery support and online ordering open up new market segments.

Key features:

• Inventory alerts
• Margin reports
• Online ordering
• CRM and Loyalty
• Sell on the go
• Delivery support
• Set up and monitor staff goals
• Bulk product editing

The system includes one unique inventory feature, too: It tracks how long an item has been shelved, labelling the oldest items “dusty inventory.”

Pricing

Lightspeed offers two distinct pricing models for retail and hospitality businesses.

Lightspeed offers three hospitality packages, an Essentials plan ($69 per month), a Plus plan ($189 per month), and a Pro plan ($399), with an Enterprise option available too.

The POS's retail plans also start at $69 per month, for the provider's ‘Lean' plan, but cap at $199 per month, for its ‘Advanced tier', with custom quotes available too.

The Lightspeed service earned just a 2.6/5 score for its price in Tech.co's evaluation, below any other service in this guide. However, adding additional licenses is less costly, as each terminal after the first is just $29 per month, and its stellar features, support, and customer satisfaction still make it a great mobile pick for businesses that are willing to make the investment.

Check out how the provider's retail plans compare in our table below, or read our full Lightspeed POS review for a more detailed breakdown of the system's price points and features.

3. Clover – Great mPOS Features

• Tech.co overall rating: 4/5
• Price from: $14.95 per month
• Payment processing: Card transactions: 2.3% + 10¢. Keyed-in transactions: 3.5% + 10¢

The Clover POS has great features across the board, with Tech.co's independent POS researchers awarding it no less than 4 stars in every area of testing. The POS particularly shines when it comes to business and stock management. You can read more about these specific features below.

However, despite the quality of Clover's software, we were only able to give it a customer score of 2.8/5 because its helpdesk is only available from 8 am to 9 pm, Monday to Saturday. What's more, while it's Professional and Home & Field plans start from $14.95 per month, retail and food businesses can expect to spend a minimum of $60 to $90 per month — making the system a lot costlier than lots of its competitors.

Clover POS features

Clover offers more detailed reports than all top mobile POS systems but Square, with options for sales reports and overviews, and the ability to track tender and card types, item sales, order types, discounts, and taxes. Staff performance tracking is also feature-rich, logging number of transactions, amount collected, and refunds given, amongst more.

Key features:

• Staff management
• Customer reward program
• Split partial payment
• Menu editing
• Website integration
• Sales reporting
• Loyalty and CRM
• Role based permissions
• Real time reporting

Clover's offline mode is impressive, with a unique ability to accept payments within the offline mode for up to 7 days — a clear benefit for a mobile-first business with shaky internet access.

Pricing

Clover earned a just-okay 3/5 score in Tech.co's evaluation for pricing, due to the provider's costly software and hardware packages. With retail packages starting at $60 per month, and restaurant plans starting at $90 per month, Clover definitely isn't the most affordable POS on the market. If your main concern is pricing and value, our researchers found that Zettle and Square POS are the industry-leaders in this respect.

However, it's important to note that Clover's monthly prices include hardware costs too, partially justifying its steep fees.

For more details on what the service offers, read our full Clover POS review.

4. Toast – Best for Android Fans

• Tech.co overall rating: 3.9/5
• Price from: free (all transaction fees are 2.99% + 15¢)
• Payment processing with paid version: Card transactions: 2.49% + 15¢ Keyed-in transactions: 3.5% + 15¢

Our pick for the top mobile POS for Android devices is Toast. It won't work on iOS, so make sure you don't have a cabinet full of iPads. One additional caveat for Toast: It's a restaurant-only POS (the clue's in the foodie name). This makes it perfect for food businesses – but retailers should keep scrolling.

If it's for you, though, it'll be worth it. Toast's price rating (4.8/5) is also very high, landing the service second only to the tie between Square and Zettle when it comes to the value-to-cost ratio it provides businesses.

Toast POS features

Our researchers awarded Toast the highest rating for till features (4.3/5) out of all the leading POS providers, in addition to matching Square, Lightspeed, and Clover's 5/5 scores for both business and stock management tools.

Unlike the other mobile POS systems in this guide, Toast has a training mode, serving up a simulated version of the software that's useful for coaching new employees or testing different settings. Since it's for restaurants, the service has particularly detailed restaurant reports, covering factors including food costs and wastage, and it also has a menu engineering tool.

Key features:

• Sales forecasting
• Floorplan customization
• Online orders
• Reporting and analytics
• Staff hours
• Menu management
• Inventory management
• Food cost reports
• Waste tracking

Loyalty and CRM tools are not included with Toast's system (making it and Zettle the only POS systems on this list lacking them), although you can bridge this gap through third-party integrations.

Pricing

Toast starts with a limited free plan that charges 2.99% + $0.15 transaction fees. More features are available with the paid plans, from $69 per month to $165 per month. The service enables you to add unlimited users across all plans.

Read more with our Toast POS review or check out our guide to all the best restaurant POS systems.

5. Zettle – Great Value for Money

• Tech.co overall rating: 3.8/5
• Price from: free (transaction fees apply)
• Payment processing: Card transactions: 2.29% + 9¢. Keyed-in transactions: 3.49% + 9¢

Zettle's standout quality is the price. With an excellent free plan available, and very reasonable transaction rates to boot, Zettle is right up alongside Square as the best in the business.

The Paypal-owned mobile POS is a mixed bag when it comes to features: Its stock controls lack advanced capabilities like waste management, cycle counts, and inventory reporting, making it less suitable for businesses with large or specialist inventories. Zettle lacks an offline mode too, ruling it out for vendors with unstable internet connections.

Zettle POS features

Zettle's inventory capabilities include core functions like low stock alerts, bulk product uploads, and management tools. Ecommerce linkups include BigCommerce, Shopify, and WooCommerce, among others. Barcoding and QR codes are both only available through a third-party vendor, unlike every other POS service on this list (save for the restaurant-centric Toast, which offers QR codes but not barcodes)

Key features:

• Reports and analytics
• Floorplan customization
• Inventory management
• Sell on the go
• Staff hours

Zettle's reports cover sales by product or category, as well as top selling items, though they don't offer as many reporting options as Clover or the system with the most broad reporting functionality, Square. Offline mode and delivery are not supported. Check out our entire Zettle review for more.

Pricing

Like Square and Toast, Zettle is free to get up and running with, charging only transaction fees. Here's what those fees will cost you:

• 2.29% + 9 cents for card-based sales
• 3.49% + 9 cents for manual keyed-in transactions
• 2.9% + 9 cents for QR code transactions
• 3.49 + 9 cents for invoicing transactions

Zettle sells hardware, too: The first card reader is $29, although the charge jumps to $79 for every reader after the first. You will get unlimited users across all plans, another pricing plan perk that Zettle shares with Toast. Learn more with our full guide to Zettle's pricing.

What Is mPOS?

An mPOS, or mobile point of sale system, refers to the software and hardware that allows merchants to accept payments from their phone or tablet.

A traditional POS will use a terminal, the display screen and keypad you've likely seen whenever you go through a checkout line. A mobile POS uses a smaller hardware module that allows you to accept credit and debit card payments, combined with an iOS or Android app that gives the user access to core POS functions including sales management, inventory management, and analytics.

The use of mPOS systems has been steadily on the rise over the past decade. However, the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated their growth dramatically as businesses across the US were forced to adapt to contactless methods. Their popularity isn't fading either, with Statista projecting that the US mPOS market size will double from 2020 to 2025.

What Are the Benefits of mPOS?

• Flexibility – mPOS systems can be fixed in one destination, or used on the go. This makes the solution much more flexible than fully fledged POS systems.
• Value – mPOS systems don't require bulky expesive hardware. This makes them much more cost-effective than regular point-of-sale systems.
• Shorter wait times – Unlike regular POS systems, mPOS devices allow you to take payments anywhere. This allows you to serve customers when they're in the queue, keeping the line moving and minimizing wait time as a result.
• Scalable – While mPOS are a great launch pad for small businesses, most providers let you upgrade to larger software and hardware packages if your needs evolve.
• Quick set up – mPOS systems are easy to transport and can be set up in no time, making it easy for you work from multiple locations. They're straightforward to use too, with 62% of retail workers claiming that they've made their life easier.

Check out our full guide to the best POS systems for food trucks.

Our Methodology

Tech.co's research team settled on our mobile POS ranking after an intensive period of testing and analysis. First, we isolated the six core research areas that matter when it comes to a point of sale system. Here's what we mean by each:

• Till features – The POS system's ordering and payment processing ability, which covers payment types, receipts, and perks like bill splitting or QR codes.
• Business management features – The system's business operation functions, including types of reports, performance tracking, and sales forcasting.
• Stock management features – The system's inventory management tools, from tracking and adding items to barcode creation.
• Business development features – The system's customer relationship tools, like loyalty programs, ecommerce integrations, and brand awareness benefits.
• Price – The system's cost in relation to the value it provides.
• Help and support options – Types of support offered, including phone, email, live chat, knowledge center, and whether the hours for live support are 24/7.

We ranked each POS with a five-star scale in each category, before compiling all six scores to arrive at a single overall score for each provider.

Frequently Asked Questions