6 Best Restaurant POS Systems 2026: Which POS Is Best?

Square is the best restaurant POS, because of a well-priced entry plan, high-quality hardware options, and an intuitive app-based system that our testers enjoyed using. Plus, it’s growth-specific tools make it a great choice for restaurants looking to grow and scale.

There are tons of competent restaurant POS systems to choose from, though. So, whether you want an all-singing, all-dancing restaurant system for your small business or simply a fuss-free way to streamline ordering and payment processes, there’s something for everyone.

Check out the list of our top picks below, or use our free restaurant POS comparison tool to receive personal recommendations in minutes.

In this guide:

• Best Restaurant POS: Our Roundup
• Best Restaurant POS for Your Business Type
• Buying Guide: What Restaurants Should Look For in a POS System
• Methodology: How We Test POS System
• Verdict: Why Square is the Best Restaurant POS
• FAQs

What is the Best Restaurant POS System in 2026?

Click on the links below to jump to our reviews on each provider.

1. Square POS – Best for Businesses Wanting to Scale
2. Toast – Best for Established Restaurants with Complex Operations
3. Clover POS – Best for High Quality and Durable Hardware
4. SpotOn – Best for Simplifying Staff Communications
5. SumUp – Best for Speeding up Restaurant Operations
6. Epos Now – Best for Restaurants with Large Inventories

1. Square POS: Best for Businesses that Want to Scale with Growth Tools

• Price from: Free (with transaction fees)

Square offers an easy way for smaller businesses to expand, thanks to powerful growth tools, such as built-in email and SMS marketing campaigns, and detailed analytics reporting on sales trends and profit margins. Likewise, Square’s free plan allows businesses to avoid monthly fees while still offering powerful expansion options, giving even the newest of restaurants a chance to grow.

What do we like about Square?

• Generous free tier: Square’s free plan offers flexible payment options, inventory management features, and sales analytics, as well as a complimentary Square Reader for magstripe. This plan is a great starter for newer restaurants who are still developing a customer base, because you’ll only have to pay transaction fees until you decide to scale.
• Strong hardware options: Square has a range of POS hardware, including fully-fledged POS registers and payment terminals, that we found to be both durable and modern-looking in our tests. Plus, Square has a handheld POS option, perfect for busy restaurants that want to take orders on-the-go and not keep customers waiting.
• App-based approach: Square’s POS system is app-based, and we greatly enjoyed the iPad setup during our testing, which made Square all the more simple to get started with.
• Restaurant-focused tools: Square has plenty of tools targeted towards restaurants, including menu management features and table-side ordering. By choosing Square, restaurants can utilize a platform specifically designed with their needs in mind, and improve their efficiency in core task areas, such as ordering.
• Solid help and support options: Square provides support across phone and live chat, as well as an extensive knowledge center. When we posed a question to Square’s live chat in our tests, we received a response in less than 10 seconds, making the system a good choice for restaurants that want to solve problems quickly.

What don’t we like about Square?

• No dedicated training mode: Square doesn’t offer a training mode for new users, unlike two of our other top choices, Clover and Toast. This is a barrier for restaurants that are growing and onboarding new staff at a fast pace, who need to become accustomed to the system.
• No cost/profit management tool: Square is missing some profit-focused features such as a cost/profit management tool, which isn’t ideal for restaurants that want to keep an eye on their bottom line. If these kinds of tools are important for you, I’d recommend an option like Toast.

Images: Tech.co testing

How much does Square cost for restaurants?

Square pricing for restaurants starts at $0 per month with its free plan, plus transaction fees of 2.6% + 15¢ per sale. Below, you can view Square’s paid plan options and transaction fees:

• Plus: $49 per month | 2.5% + 15¢ for card | 2.9% + 30¢ for online
• Premium: $149 per month | 2.4% + 15¢ for card | 2.9% + 30¢ for online

Compared with the likes of Toast ($69 per month) and SumUp ($99 per month), Square sits well below the industry average for its first paid plan, making it a great budget option. Better yet, while Clover offers its virtual terminal for $14.95 per month, Square’s is free.

In terms of the jump from Plus to Premium, users will get access to more valuable tools, including seat management, course management, and reservation integrations. However, I’d say the Plus plan is suitable for most single-location restaurants, because it has more than enough features to suit daily operations, like serving and floor plans.

2. Toast: Best for Established Restaurants with Complex Operations

• Price from: Free (with transaction fees)

Toast works best for established restaurants that need the tools to keep up with plenty of simultaneous and complex operations, because its system is specifically designed with restaurants in mind, with in-depth and powerful tools for managing inventory, profit margins, and customer loyalty.

In addition, its hardware options come as part of its POS packages, making it straightforward for restaurants to equip multiple locations with all the tools they’ll need.

What do we like about Toast?

• Dedicated inventory management features: Toast provides real-time inventory updates and low stock alerts, and the system will let you re-order goods when inventory is low. This streamlines the process of handling stock and means restaurants won’t have to go through a third-party app to stay on top of inventory.
• Profit-focused tools: Toast offers an automatic tip-sharing feature, a profit margin calculator, and granular, mobile-friendly reports that will help restaurants consistently track incomings. For busy restaurants that want strong insights into how they can manage their margins, these tools are a great addition to a POS system.
• Cost management feature: Toast’s cost management feature lets you study the costs of labor and dishes, factoring in fixed overhead costs for a simple, unified view of total revenue. This means restaurants can get an in-depth understanding of where specifically they are losing money, a feature especially important as supplier prices continue to rise.
• Solid hardware packages: Toast has a server-friendly interface that our users deemed one of the easiest POS systems to use, because of its modern and intuitive interface. However, restaurants should be aware that only Android hardware is compatible with Toast, ruling it out for restaurants that want an iPad-based solution.

What don’t we like about Toast?

• Lack of help and support options: Toast doesn’t offer support via social media or email, so restaurants that prefer receiving assistance from these channels should look at Square or SpotOn.
• Features can be overwhelming: Toast has a lot of features dedicated to restaurants, which means it might not be effective for beginners that want to get up and running with a platform quickly, as there are a lot of elements to be navigated. I’d recommend Square instead, because it has enough features to effectively serve restaurants, but not overwhelm them.

Images: Tech.co testing

How much does Toast cost for restaurants?

Restaurants can get started completely for free with Toast if they purchase one of Toast’s Starter Kits, which includes both software and hardware. With this setup, restaurants will pay off hardware with transaction fees, based on the software plan chosen.

Here are the card transaction fees for each software plan:

• Basic: 3.09% + 15¢
• Core: 3.39% + 15¢
• Growth: 3.69% + 15¢

Alternatively, here are the paid plans for Toast, with transaction fees included:

• Point of Sale: $69/month | 2.49% + 15¢ in-person | 3.5% + 15¢ keyed-in
• Build Your Own: Custom | 2.49% + 15¢ in person | 3.5% + 15¢ keyed-in

Looking at the other providers on our list, including top choice Square ($49 per month) and Clover ($14.95 per month), Toast is on the more expensive side. That being said, neither Square nor Clover can match Toast’s restaurant capabilities in their first-tier plans, so larger restaurants with more complex operations will definitely benefit by paying more.

In terms of transaction fees, Toast offers some of the highest on our list for its Starter Kits. However, I’d still recommend the Starter Kits to new restaurants, particularly if you don’t yet have a high turnover rate.

Overall, though, depending on the size of your business, I’d go for the Point of Sale plan if you’re an established restaurant that wants a tool powerful enough to assist extensively. If you’re dealing with multiple locations and large inventories, I’d also explore the Build Your Own tier. 

3. Clover: Best for High Quality and Durable Hardware

• Price from: $14.95 for virtual terminal (with transaction fees)

Clover is best for restaurants wanting hardware that can withstand busy and sometimes messy environment, because of its durable and high-quality terminals that are as responsive, as they are nice to look at.

Likewise, Clover offers an expansive set of additional hardware options that will ensure an overall smooth and cohesive experience for restaurants, including a receipt printer and a handheld POS option, the Clover Flex.

What do we like about Clover?

• Robust inventory management: Clover is a strong option for large businesses running a complex inventory, because of features such as stock alerts, custom inventory systems, and real-time stock analytics that can streamline how stock is managed.
• Solid customer engagement tools: Clover offers a unique CRM app, Clover Rewards, that allows users to build contact lists, share promotions and rewards, and collect private feedback. In a market where users are looking for a more personalized experience, these features can help restaurants come face-to-face with what their customers want the most.
• Online Ordering features: Clover’s Online Ordering platform lets you manage online ordering and delivery processes in-house, allowing restaurants to keep up-to-date with popular delivery apps like Grubhub and Uber Eats. Plus, Clover’s integration with Stream, its in-house CRM, removes the need for data to be entered manually by employees when online orders are placed.
• High-quality hardware: Clover has the best hardware on the market right now, because of the quick response times we recorded in our tests, and its durable and intuitive nature. For higher-end restaurants that want to impress customers with effective hardware systems, Clover should be first on the list.

What don’t we like about Clover?

• Expensive and long contracts: Clover isn’t the best option for smaller restaurants getting started who don’t have much budget, because it’s starting price for restaurants is $135 per month on a 36 month contract, a big step up from the likes of Square and Toast.
• Difficult backend: Some of our testers struggled with using Clover’s backend functions, such as bulk-uploading items or applying discounts to items. For restaurants that are new to using POS systems, Clover may provide a steeper learning curve.

Images: Tech.co testing

How much does Clover cost for restaurants?

Clover’s starting price for restaurants is $14.95 per month with the provider’s virtual terminal. However, most restaurants will need one of the restaurant-focused plans, which start at $135 per month.

Here are all of the paid plans for quick-service restaurants with transaction fees. All prices are for 36 month contracts:

• Starter: $135 per month | 2.3% + 10¢ card | 3.5% + 10¢ keyed-in
• Standard: $185 per month | 2.3% + 10¢ card | 3.5% + 10¢ keyed-in
• Advanced: $245 per month | 2.3% + 10¢ card | 3.5% + 10¢ keyed-in

And, here are the paid plans for full-service restaurants:

• Starter: $179 per month | 2.3% + 10¢ card | 3.5% + 10¢ keyed-in
• Standard: $239 per month | 2.3% + 10¢ card | 3.5% + 10¢ keyed-in
• Advanced: $354 per month | 2.3% + 10¢ card | 3.5% + 10¢ keyed-in

Clover is the most expensive provider on our list. It tops Toast ($69 per month) and SumUp ($99 per month) in its starting price for restaurants, and its full-service starter is much more than SpotOn’s ($135 per month).

Its software and hardware packages come at a premium, however, because they are best suited to more established and larger restaurants that want to grow and impress customers.

Likewise, Clover has some of the lowest transaction fees, second only to SpotOn (1.99% + 25¢) on top of its monthly prices. Therefore, I’d recommend it for restaurants with a high sales volume, and a high number of monthly transactions. 

4. SpotOn: Best for Simplifying Staff Communications

• Price from: Free (with transaction fees)

SpotOn is best for restaurants that want to prioritize and manage staff effectively, mostly because of its dedicated labor management and staff scheduling integration, SpotOn Teamwork. Using Teamwork, restaurants can make use of features such as staff onboarding, shift management, payroll administration, and more.

What do we like about SpotOn?

• Staff scheduling software: SpotOn offers a labor versus revenue tool, as well as staff onboarding assistance, shift management, cost projections, and payroll administration through its labor management integration, Teamwork. For restaurants looking to keep track of a large team of staff, or even a rotating team, these tools will be highly beneficial because they can effectively track all employee processes.
• Hospitality-focused features: SpotOn has features specifically for restaurants, including flexible stock management tools, QR ordering options, and bill and tip management. It also offers built-in reservation tools that can let customers add themselves to a waitlist from your website or Google profile page, which are particularly beneficial for large or consistently busy restaurants regularly dealing with a high volume of customers.
• Low transaction fees: SpotOn has the lowest transaction fees (1.99% + 25¢ on all plans) compared with all the other providers on this list, which we compare more below. This makes it a great option for restaurants dealing with high turnovers.

What don’t we like about SpotOn?

• Lack of integration options: SpotOn doesn’t integrate with CRM, ecommerce apps, floor management apps, or booking tools. For restaurants that want a single platform to handle most of their operations for efficiency, we’d opt for an option like Square or Epos Now, as these providers offer much more in this category.
• Few hardware accessories: SpotOn doesn’t offer many hardware accessory options, lacking a printer, cash drawer, and scanner. It’s also incompatible for tablet-based systems, which is a drawback for restaurants hoping to save money on hardware. For high-quality accessories, our research suggests Clover is the best option.

Images: SpotOn

How much does SpotOn cost for restaurants?

Users can get started for free with SpotOn for restaurants, though not without a transaction fee of 2.89% + 25¢. Within this fee, users will also pay for hardware, making the free plan a great option for restaurants just getting started with the essentials.

Beyond the free plan, SpotOn offers two other restaurant-specific plans:

• POS Essentials: $55 per station, per month | 1.99% + 25¢ card transactions
• Build your own: Custom rates

Our research team rated SpotOn one of the best value POS systems, because of its affordability compared with systems such as Toast ($69 per month) and SumUp ($99 per month) and range of restaurant-specific features for the price. It’s also only slightly more expensive than our top choice, Square ($49 per month).

In terms of transaction fees, SpotOn is also the most budget-friendly. Across all of its plans, apart from the free option, users can pay as little as 1.99% + 25¢ per transaction.

Unless you’re just starting out, I’d say most restaurants can get away with the POS essentials plan with SpotOn, because of its extensive ordering, payments, and menu management features for the low price. However, more restaurants with multiple locations should take a look at SpotOn’s custom plan, particularly for more advanced features.

5. SumUp: Best for Restaurants Wanting to Speed Up Operations

• Price from: $99 per month (with transaction fees)

SumUp is the best choice for small restaurants and new POS users that want a quick and efficient system capable of speeding up operations, because of a combination of its simple, minimalist interface and speed-focused tools, such as a park order function, that allows users to save open orders and retrieve them at a later time.

What do we like about SumUp?

• Easy to use: A combination of both a minimalist frontend and highly responsive hardware, where tasks could be completed quickly during our testing, made SumUp incredibly easy to use. We’d recommend it for restaurants trying to speed up their general operations, or for restaurants that experience rushes throughout the day and need a system that can keep up.
• Restaurant-focused features: SumUp offers strong table management and floor plan features, as well as an effective bill/order splitting function that will quickly help customers paying separately with how much they need to pay. SumUp also has solid inventory management features, including bulk uploads and stock alerts.
• Sleek and professional hardware: SumUp has a range of modern-looking and professional hardware options, including a kitchen display system, receipt printer, and terminal. Equally, during testing, we found SumUp’s hardware to be responsive and quick — perfect for restaurants that want to orchestrate a professional but speedy service.
• Training mode available: SumUp has a training mode for new users, making it easy for restaurants to onboard staff onto the system quickly. For restaurants that are new to POS systems, or are in a period of growth where more staff might be needed, SumUp is a solid option.

What don’t we like about SumUp?

• Lacking effective knowledge center: SumUp’s knowledge center wasn’t as effective as Clover’s, for instance. A lot of our testers were turning to Google when they were using the platform, having not received useful answers. For beginners with a lot of queries, this is a potential hurdle.
• No handheld POS: SumUp doesn’t offer a handheld POS system like Square or Toast, meaning restaurants that enjoy providing a more flexible and mobile service might want to look to these providers instead.

Images: Tech.co testing

How much does SumUp cost for restaurants?

Restaurants will pay at least $99 per month for SumUp, including a transaction fee of 2.6% + 10¢ for card payments. Here are the full pricing plans SumUp has on offer, along with transaction fees:

• Connect Lite: $99 per month | 2.6% + 10¢ card | 3.5% + 15¢ online and keyed-in
• Connect Plus: $199 per month | 2.6% + 10¢ card | 3.5% + 15¢ online and keyed-in
• Connect Pro: $289 per month | 2.6% + 10¢ card | 3.5% + 15¢ online and keyed-in

On a monthly basis, SumUp’s starting price costs more than Square ($49 per month) and Toast ($69 per month), our two top options. It’s not quite as expensive as Clover ($135 per month), but considering that you’ll have to pay additional upfront or monthly costs for hardware (SumUp’s POS Suite costs $799 upfront), restaurants might end up paying quite a lot.

Overall, however, SumUp is a solid choice for new restaurants, particularly on the Connect Lite plan. That being said, growing restaurants might have to go up to at least the Connect Plus plan, to take advantage of features such as custom rewards and automated marketing.

6. Epos Now: Best for Restaurants with Large Inventories

• Price from: $39/month (with transaction fees)

Epos Now is a system specifically designed for restaurants with large inventories, thanks to its capable inventory management features that can cater to fast-moving stock, such as cost/profit reporting, low-stock alerts, and bulk upload options.

For full-scale restaurants that need to keep a handle on how stock is moving, particularly through large locations, these features are highly valuable.

What do we like about Epos Now?

• Robust inventory management features: Epos Now offers full-scale restaurants a vast range of tools to manage a complex inventory, thanks to low-stock alerts, bulk uploads, and a cost versus profit management tool. These tools are highly beneficial for restaurants with multiple branches, because the system effectively allows for the tracking of stock.
• In-depth reporting tools: Epos Now offers reports for item/category sales, individual team member sales based on shifts, discounts, promotions, returns, and more. For restaurants wanting a granular understanding of their performance, Epos Now is a great choice, because of the amount of ground its reports cover.
• Option to pay upfront: Epos Now gives businesses the opportunity to pay for its entire system — hardware and software included — upfront, at $349. For restaurants trying to ditch monthly fees, this is a great alternative.

What don’t we like about Epos Now?

• Lack of menu creation tools: Epos Now is severely lacking when it comes to menu creation. Users don’t have the option to create menus or upload an image of existing menus to convert them. This feature is readily available in Clover and Square.
• Steep learning curve: We experienced some difficulty using Epos Now in our testing. The frontend was often described as “clunky” and “confusing,” particularly when we had to carry out tasks such as splitting bills or managing orders. For fast-paced restaurants where efficiency is key to customer experience, we’d recommend a system like Toast, which we found far easier to use.

Images: Tech.co testing

How much does Epos Now cost for restaurants?

For a software-only plan, restaurants can expect to pay $39 per month for Epos Now, with a flat-rate transaction fee of 2.6% + 10¢. If you’d like to include hardware within your purchase, the price rises to $79 per month.

Epos Now also gives restaurants the opportunity to pay for their system upfront, rather than spend monthly fees. For example, it sells its “Complete Solution” for $1,099, which includes both hardware and software. This payment plan will be beneficial for restaurants that want to minimize long-term software and hardware expenses.

Epos Now isn’t as transparent about other providers when it comes to pricing, and I’d recommend going straight to the provider for the most accurate figures. That being said, it’s flat-rate transaction fee is well within the industry average, and is the same as providers such as SumUp.

Best POS for Your Restaurant Type

Buying Guide: How Restaurants Should Choose a POS System

The POS system you choose for your restaurant’s operations should suit the type of restaurant you run, the size of your business, and the features you’ll need, while being within the budget your restaurant has set.

Here are the main questions restaurants should ask themselves before settling on a POS:

• What is my budget? Budget-conscious and small restaurants should consider free plans, like Square’s, or cheaper starter plans like that of SpotOn. You should also bear in mind transaction fees, particularly if your restaurant processes a high number of sales, as well as any additional hardware you’ll need to purchase.
• What hardware do I need? Some providers, like Toast and Clover, have packages that include software and hardware together. However that isn’t always a sure sign that the package will have everything you need. Fast-paced restaurants might like a handheld POS, for example, and mobile options like food trucks might prefer an app-based setup that allows them to easily transport their system.
• Does the system have restaurant-specific features? Restaurants will need features such as inventory management, cost management, and staff scheduling, for example. Choosing a solution that is oriented for your industry, such as Toast, guarantees you’ll get access to all the features your restaurant will need.
• How many locations do I want to supply? If your restaurant has multiple locations, you’ll want a system that can keep up with operations across all of your chains, as well as effectively store all of the individual data for reports. A system like Toast, which is cloud-based, is a great choice here, because it ensures all of the relevant data can be stored and kept effectively.
• Is my restaurant on the move a lot? If you’re running a food truck, for example, you’ll need a system with offline functionality so that sales aren’t impacted by the absence of Wi-Fi. Likewise, you might want to opt for a more lightweight POS system that’s easy to transport, such as SumUp.
• How much POS knowledge do my employees have? You’re not the only one who’s going to be using the system, so figuring out what kind of POS knowledge your employees already have can help you choose one that suits their skill level. Plus, getting your employees’ opinions on the system will help them feel more motivated to use it.
• What integrations will I need? POS systems can act as a centralized hub for restaurants where all operations take place, if they offer the right kinds of integrations. These can be for accounting, CRM, and ecommerce, for example. You can learn more about the essential POS integrations in our dedicated guide.

What POS features should restaurants look for?

At a basic level, restaurants need a POS system that can effectively seat guests, take orders, calculate bills and discounts, and provide the correct payment option.

However, POS systems provide a lot more than that in 2026, and, below, I outline the main features restaurants should prioritize when evaluating a solution:

• Inventory management: Tracks orders and ingredients used
• Inventory alerts: Sends automatic personalized notifications when specific ingredients need to be restocked
• Employee tracking: Records which employee was operating which station, and at what time
• Table service: Tracks which tables will receive which orders
• Billing: Accepts cash, card, and contactless payment
• Loyalty programs: Offers deals and gift cards to attract repeat customers
• Customer engagement: Collects and securely manages approved contact lists for customer marketing, including email addresses and/or phone numbers
• Reservations: Allows workers to track meal reservations weeks or months in advance
• Online ordering: Allows quick-service restaurants to let customers place orders online

What POS hardware should restaurants look for?

From a POS system, restaurants will at least need a terminal, kitchen display system, a payment terminal/card reader, cash drawers, and a receipt printer to carry out their daily operations successfully.

However, there are some additional accessories that can streamline your restaurant’s functionality even more:

• Touchscreen display: Quicker and more portable than a desktop computer for running software. iPads are most common, though other tablets or smartphones can be used as well.
• Card readers for iPad: Cash tills aren’t enough anymore. Tiny card readers the size of a quarter can be plugged into an iPad’s headphone jack. They’re often sold by POS vendors and might be included in a POS package.
• iPad stands and docks: A stand, typically designed to swivel so that customers can easily sign their bill, is a must. These are also usually sold by specific vendors.
• Self-service kiosk: A larger stand, a receipt printer, and a large card reader can all serve as a kiosk for customers to check their orders out by themselves, cutting down on employee work in busy periods.
• Power supply: Don’t expect your iPad battery to outlast your customers: invest in compact portable chargers.

You’ll also want to make sure you are choosing the right hardware and software based on your business’ price range. You can learn more about how POS pricing is calculated on our dedicated page.

How We Test POS Systems for Restaurants

In total, we put 16 POS systems to the test, with a vigorous research and testing methodology. In our testing sessions, participants were asked to carry out tasks on POS software and describe their user journey, to help us understand what it’s like to use the systems first-hand.

In addition to first-hand testing, we developed a detailed methodology that focuses on six categories of investigation, including criteria like software features and help and support centers.

These categories were broken down into further subcategories, so we were able to drill down further into certain topics, to make our insights as granular and useful as possible. Here’s an overview of our main testing categories for POS systems:

When it comes to calculating a product’s final score, not all testing areas are weighted evenly, as we know some aspects matter more to our readers than others.

For example, we’ll prioritize certain industry-specific features for specific reviews, like an offline mode when reviewing POS systems for food trucks, or kitchen display systems (KDS) when reviewing restaurant POS systems.

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.

Learn more about our research.

FAQs