A point-of-sale system is the checkout: the app or terminal that rings up a sale, takes the card, prints or texts the receipt, and keeps count of what's left on the shelf. For a small shop or cafe, the bill has three parts: a software fee per location or register, a processing fee on every card payment, and the hardware. The software fee is the number vendors advertise, but on a busy counter the card fees are many times larger. Here is what each system charges, taken from the vendor's own US pricing pages, and what it adds up to for a shop doing $20,000 a month in card sales.
POS systems at a glance
| POS system | Entry software fee | In-person card rate | Keyed-in card rate | Hardware from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square | Free; Plus $49 a month per location | 2.6% + 15¢ (Free), 2.5% + 15¢ (Plus) | 3.5% + 15¢ | Reader $59 |
| SumUp | Free; POS Plus $49 a month | 2.6% + 10¢ | 3.5% + 15¢ | Terminal $249 |
| Clover (retail) | Basic: $349 device, no monthly fee listed | 2.6% + 10¢ (Basic), 2.3% + 10¢ (Standard) | 3.5% + 10¢ | Compact $349 |
| Shopify POS | Basic $39 a month ($29 billed yearly) | 2.6% + 10¢ (Basic) | Not published | Card reader $49 |
| Lightspeed Retail | Basic $109 a month ($89 billed annually) | 2.6% + 10¢ | Not published | Not published |
| Toast | Starter Kit from $0; Point of Sale from $69 a month | Not published | Not published | Starter Kit: no upfront cost |
What a shop with $20,000 a month in card sales pays each month
Show the numbers
| Value | |
|---|---|
| SumUp Free | $600 |
| Clover Basic | $600 |
| Clover Standard | $625 |
| Shopify Basic | $639 |
| Square Free | $640 |
| SumUp POS Plus | $649 |
| Square Plus | $669 |
| Lightspeed Basic | $709 |
| Shopify Basic + POS Pro | $728 |
| Square Premium | $749 |
At $20,000 a month, the whole field from SumUp to Square Premium spans $149. The cheapest software doesn't always win: a lower card rate is worth 0.1 percentage point × $20,000 = $20 a month, and the fixed fee on each payment matters as much as the percentage when tickets are small. At a $25 average ticket, Square's 15¢ costs $40 a month more than a 10¢ fee.
Square: best for starting free with one checkout app
Square's free plan includes the point-of-sale app, an item library that keeps count of inventory and sales, invoicing, booking and a basic online store; you pay only when you take a payment. Plus and Premium add industry features for retail, food and appointments, loyalty, email and text marketing, staff management and lower card rates. Every plan is billed per location:
| Plan | Monthly fee | Tap, dip or swipe | Online | Keyed in or card on file |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square Free | $0 | 2.6% + 15¢ | 3.3% + 30¢ | 3.5% + 15¢ |
| Square Plus | $49 per location | 2.5% + 15¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ | 3.5% + 15¢ |
| Square Premium | $149 per location | 2.4% + 15¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ | 3.5% + 15¢ |
Hardware is optional: Square's pricing page says you can take payments without it through Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android. Its hardware page lists the Reader for contactless and chip at $59, Square Stand at $149, Square Terminal at $299 with a built-in receipt printer, Square Handheld at $399 and Square Register at $899.
What to watch:
- Plus pays for itself only at high volume. Its 0.1-point lower rate saves $49 a month at $49,000 in monthly card sales; below that, Square Free costs less. Premium's extra $100 a month breaks even with Plus at $100,000.
- The fixed fee is 15¢. Most rivals here charge 10¢, so Square costs more per payment on small tickets.
- Some apps are per device. Square's pricing page lists a Kitchen Display app at $30 a month per device on Plus and the Square Kiosk app at $99 a month per device.
- Custom rates. Businesses processing over $250,000 a year can ask Square about custom pricing.
Square has no long-term contract: Plus and Premium have a 30-day free trial and you can cancel or switch plans anytime. The same account runs Square Appointments for salons, Square Invoices and Square Payroll, which starts at $35 a month plus $6 per person paid (compared in payroll for small business).
Choose it if you want to start at $0 with one app for the counter, invoices and an online store, and add a paid plan only when its features or volume justify it.
SumUp: best for the lowest bill at a simple counter
SumUp's free plan has no monthly cost: you buy a device and pay 2.6% + 10¢ per in-person payment, or 3.5% + 15¢ for online and manually entered cards. SumUp says it has no hardware rentals and no monthly minimums. POS Plus is $49 a month and adds multi-device sync, several ticket printers, a floor plan and cash-drawer management. The full SumUp POS starts at $99 a month.
The SumUp Solo card reader is $99 (listed as sold out when we checked) and the handheld SumUp Terminal is $249, one-time costs.
What to watch:
- Loyalty is expensive. SumUp's customer loyalty and SMS tools, Connect Plus and Connect Pro, are $269 and $349 a month.
- POS Plus doesn't lower the card rate. The in-person fee is the same 2.6% + 10¢ on both plans, so $49 buys features only.
Choose it if you want the lowest monthly bill for a simple counter or a market stall, and you don't need a large catalog or inventory tools.
Clover: best for an all-in-one countertop system
Clover sells complete systems with hardware, software and processing together. Its retail pricing page lists three, each payable upfront or over 36 months:
| System | Hardware | Upfront | Or over 36 months | In-person rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic (Starter plan) | Compact countertop terminal with built-in printer | $349 | $16 a month | 2.6% + 10¢ |
| Standard (Retail Growth) | Station Duo: 14" screen + 8" customer display, printer, cash drawer | $1,899 + $84.95 a month | $180 a month | 2.3% + 10¢ |
| Advanced (Retail Growth) | Station Duo + Flex handheld | $2,648 + $104.90 a month | $240 a month | 2.3% + 10¢ |
Keyed-in cards cost 3.5% + 10¢ on every plan, and Rapid Deposit (funds within minutes) costs 1.75%.
What to watch:
- Basic leaves features out. Itemized returns and exchanges and shift management are listed as not included in Basic.
- Standard's lower rate has a price. The 0.3-point saving is worth $60 a month at $20,000 in sales, which almost covers the $84.95 software fee, but the system costs $1,899 upfront against $349.
- Contracts and promotions. Clover's online offer for new merchants of a $450 statement credit (on Station, Mini or Flex, until December 31, 2026) requires a 3-year contract and $10,000 in card sales within the first four billing cycles. Clover also says the prices shown are only available on Clover.com; if a bank or reseller offers you a Clover, compare its quote line by line with these.
Choose it if you want a dedicated countertop terminal with a printer and cash drawer from one vendor, and you're happy to commit for three years.
Shopify POS: best for a shop that also sells online
Shopify POS is part of a Shopify plan, so the same catalog and inventory run your online store and your counter. Every paid plan includes basic in-person selling; POS Pro adds unlimited staff logins, staff roles, inventory counts and purchase orders, returns at any location and retail reports for $89 a month per location, billed yearly.
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly | In person | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $39 | $29 | 2.6% + 10¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Grow | $105 | $79 | 2.5% + 10¢ | 2.7% + 30¢ |
| Advanced | $399 | $299 | 2.4% + 10¢ | 2.5% + 30¢ |
The Shopify Tap & Chip Card Reader is $49 and the countertop POS Terminal $349. New accounts get a promotional $1 a month for the first 3 months.
What to watch:
- Third-party processors cost extra. Taking payments through a provider other than Shopify Payments adds a fee of 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced.
- Basic limits who can use the POS. Without POS Pro, staff access is limited and returns only work at the original purchase location.
Choose it if you sell online as well as in a shop and want one inventory for both; add POS Pro once you have staff on the register.
Lightspeed Retail: best for a shop with a large catalog
Lightspeed Retail is aimed at stores with lots of products and variants. Each plan includes one register, and prices are lower billed annually:
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed annually |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $109 | $89 |
| Core | $179 | $149 |
| Plus | $339 | $289 |
Card-present payments through Lightspeed Payments are 2.6% + 10¢ on every plan, and every plan includes integrated payments and inventory management.
What to watch:
- No published hardware prices. Lightspeed's hardware page lists devices but no prices.
- Priced by location and register. The pricing page asks for your number of locations and registers, and each plan includes one register. Lightspeed notes that prices can vary and additional service fees may apply depending on the business.
Choose it if you run a store with a big, changing catalog and will use purchase orders and inventory reports every week.
Toast: best for restaurants and cafes
Toast is a restaurant system first. Its Starter Kit starts at $0 a month for new customers with a single location, with a hardware kit and no upfront cost and up to 2 terminals; the price includes the first terminal's subscription, and more devices cost extra. The Point of Sale plan starts at $69 a month with hardware of your choice, and larger setups are quoted. A promotional bundle with Toast Payroll for new restaurants is $69 a month plus $9 per employee, against an original price of $90.
What to watch:
- The card rate isn't published. Toast mentions "flat-rate processing" and a Pay-as-You-Go option with an all-in-one platform rate, but its pricing page gives no figures. Get the rate in writing; that's why Toast is not in the chart.
- Toast hardware only. Toast's services work only on devices Toast approves, so leaving Toast later means replacing the hardware.
Choose it if you run a restaurant or cafe and want a system built for one, and get the processing rate quoted before you sign.
How the monthly cost is worked out
The chart assumes $20,000 a month in card sales, all paid in person on the vendor's reader, at a $25 average ticket (800 payments). It uses the software fee billed monthly, the plan's in-person rate, no promotions, no add-ons and no hardware bought upfront. Online or keyed payments would cost more at every vendor.
| POS system | Per month | How it is worked out |
|---|---|---|
| SumUp Free | $600 | $0 + 2.6% × $20,000 ($520) + 800 × 10¢ ($80) |
| Clover Basic | $600 | No monthly fee listed + $520 + $80; the $349 Compact is paid upfront |
| Clover Standard | $625 | $84.95 + 2.3% × $20,000 ($460) + $80; the $1,899 system is paid upfront |
| Shopify Basic | $639 | $39 + $520 + $80 |
| Square Free | $640 | $0 + $520 + 800 × 15¢ ($120) |
| SumUp POS Plus | $649 | $49 + $520 + $80 |
| Square Plus | $669 | $49 + 2.5% × $20,000 ($500) + $120 |
| Lightspeed Basic | $709 | $109 + $520 + $80 |
| Shopify Basic + POS Pro | $728 | $39 + $89 + $520 + $80 |
| Square Premium | $749 | $149 + 2.4% × $20,000 ($480) + $120 |
Toast is left out because it doesn't publish its card rate.
How to choose
- Just starting, one counter? SumUp or Square Free: no monthly fee and a reader under $250.
- Want one app for the counter, invoices and bookings? Square, adding Plus only when you need its features or pass about $49,000 a month in card sales.
- Selling online too? Shopify POS, with POS Pro once staff work the register.
- A big catalog to manage? Lightspeed Retail, billed annually.
- A countertop system with printer and drawer, from one vendor? Clover, after reading the contract terms.
- A restaurant? Toast, with the processing rate in writing.
Whichever you pick, compare the card rate and the per-payment fee before the software fee: on $20,000 a month, the card fees run from $540 to $640 at the vendors here with a published rate, while the software runs from $0 to $149.