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The champion retail POS systems are casual to use, reliable, and simplify managing inventory, customer, and worker data.
Retail businesses request a POS strategy that goes beyond ringing up income and accepting payments. A bully POS strategy has robust inventory absorption tools, omnichannel sales, streamlined lawsuit narration absorption (CRM) features, worker management, and reports that assistance successful concern decisions.
- Best overall: Square for Retail
- Best for omnichannel sales: Shopify POS
- Best for mobile income and inventory: Hike POS
- Best for prime of outgo processor: Clover
- Best for analyzable inventory management: Lightspeed Retail
Top retail POS comparison
Alongside pricing, determination are immoderate important features that acceptable isolated the champion retail POS bundle connected the market. The array beneath illustrates which of the apical 5 retail POS systems see these cardinal features.
| Square for Retail | 4.66 | $0 | 2.5%–2.6% + $0.10 | Yes | Yes |
| Shopify POS | 4.48 | $5 | 2.4%–2.7% + $0.10 | Yes | Yes |
| Hike POS | 4.28 | $69 | Varies | Yes | Yes |
| Clover | 4.14 | $14.95 | Varies | Yes | Yes |
| Lightspeed Retail | 4.08 | $89 | 2.6% + $0.10 | Yes | Yes |
| * For card-present transactions ** Mobile apps and readers for selling crossed the income floor, events, curbside, etc. |
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Square for Retail: Best overall
Our rating: 4.66 retired of 5
Image: Square
Square for Retail is specialty POS bundle from Square’s ample ecosystem of POS solutions. Similar to each of Square’s escaped options, the Square for Retail introduction program includes each the features you request to tally a retail business. Square tin afloat enactment tiny industries specified arsenic startups and tiny businesses arsenic good arsenic larger multi-location and omnichannel businesses.
Why I chose Square for Retail
Square for Retail is the lone POS retired of the dozens I person evaluated that gives you each that you request to judge payments in-person and online, negociate inventory and employees, and physique an e-commerce store for free.
What’s adjacent amended is that Square for Retail has plans catered to your concern arsenic it grows, too. And if you are acceptable for much specialty features, you tin easy get Square’s add-ons for tools similar loyalty programs, invoicing, squad management, and more.
Pricing
Square for Retail has 3 subscription plans:
- Free: $0; basal inventory tools, online store, cross-location bid management.
- Plus: $89/month per location; escaped features on with precocious inventory and reporting tools.
- Premium: Custom pricing; Plus program features and precocious worker and lawsuit absorption functionalities
*There is simply a escaped 30-day proceedings connected the Plus plan.
Square POS is locked successful with Square Payments arsenic a outgo processor. Here are its fees:
- In-person: 2.5%–2.6% + $0.10
- Online: 2.9% + $0.30
- Manual entry: 3.5% + $0.15
- Afterpay: 6% + $0.30
Custom rates are disposable if you process much than $250,000 annually.
Square hardware options:
- Square Kiosk: $149
- Square Terminal: $299
- Square Register: $799
Features
- Customizable checkout surface with hotkeys.
- Customer profiles.
- Inventory absorption specified arsenic multi-location tracking, debased banal alerts, and inventory counts.
- Free e-commerce tract builder (Square Online).
- Mobile POS apps (iOS and Android).
- Tap-to-pay diagnostic successful the mobile app.
- Employee absorption functionalities similar displacement scheduling and swapping, customized support settings, and enactment logs (on Plus plan).
Square Register is 1 of Square’s hardware options. Image: SquarePros and cons
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Shopify POS: Best for omnichannel sales
Our rating: 4.48 retired of 5
Image: Shopify
Shopify POS is an fantabulous prime for retailers that either already usage Shopify for their e-commerce stores oregon are looking to merchantability online and successful person. You tin take either the standalone Shopify POS, which comes with a precise basal online store, oregon leverage Shopify’s e-commerce solution with Shopify POS for a seamless and almighty omnichannel setup.
Why I chose Shopify POS
Shopify is wide known for its best-in-class e-commerce level and is chiefly known for online selling. However, Shopify POS is arsenic impressive. I similar its customizable checkout interface, its newest hardware options (POS Go, an all-in-one mobile POS, and barcode scanner), and, astir importantly, its broad omnichannel selling features.
Curbside pickup, vessel from store, returns, and multi-location inventory tracking are each effortless, acknowledgment to the integration of Shopify POS with the Shopify e-commerce platform.
Pricing
Shopify POS offers 2 subscriptions:
- Starter: $5/month; 1 POS Lite determination included.
- Retail: $89/month; 1 POS Pro determination included.
Shopify besides offers e-commerce plans that see the POS Lite for free. Add a POS Pro for $89 per period per location.
- Shopify Starter: $5/month.
- Basic: $39/month.
- Shopify: $105/month.
- Advanced: $399/month.
*Shopify offers a three-day escaped proceedings positive the archetypal period for $1 crossed each plans.
Shopify’s outgo processing fees alteration based connected the plan:
- In-person: 2.4%–2.7% + $0.10
- Online: 2.4% + 30 cents–2.9% + $0.30
Shopify POS hardware options:
- Tap & Chip Card Reader: $49
- POS Go: $299
- Shopify POS Terminal: $349
- Countertop Kit: $459
Features
- Mobile app enactment for tap-to-pay.
- Omnichannel income — browse in-store, bargain online; bargain online, pickup in-store (BOPIS); judge returns in-store for online purchases; vessel from store — each seamlessly syncing.
- Sell connected societal media, marketplaces, and wholesale marketplaces.
- Employee management, way idiosyncratic performances, and entree permissions.
- Robust selling tools specified arsenic pb generation, email marketing, and merchandise reviews.
- Thousands of disposable integrations from the Shopify App Store.
- Customer profiles with lawsuit loyalty reports and patterns (on Pro plan).
- In-depth retail analytics (on Pro plan).
A presumption of the Shopify POS app. Image: ShopifyPros and cons
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Hike POS: Best for mobile income and inventory
Our rating: 4.13 retired of 5
Image: HIke
Hike POS offers fantabulous inventory and bid absorption features, customized reports, and worker absorption tools that tin easy rival fashionable retail POS solutions. It besides gives you flexibility implicit which outgo processor you tin usage for your business.
Why I chose Hike POS
Hike comes with a mobile app that is highly rated by real-world users, making it an perfect prime for income astatine mobile events if you don’t person hardware. I besides similar that it has its ain escaped inventory scanner app you tin usage for banal inventory.
While you request to upgrade your Hike subscription to unlock online sales, I’m inactive impressed that Hike doesn’t complaint immoderate transaction fees for going with your preferred outgo providers, dissimilar Shopify, which charges astir 2%, and Square, which is exclusive to Square Payments.
Pricing
- Essential: $59/month billed annually oregon $69/month billed monthly, based connected 1 determination and register.
- Plus: $99/month billed annually oregon $119/month billed monthly, based connected 1 determination and register.
- Enterprise: Custom-quote.
Features
- Barcode scanning, merchandise search, and speedy pat functions for checkout.
- Customer profiles with behaviour insights.
- Built-in loyalty program.
- Inventory features specified arsenic real-time tracking, low-stock alerts, barcoding, acquisition orders, and vendor management.
- Mobile app connected iOS and Android.
- Multi-location inventory and reporting.
Hike POS dashboard connected an iPad. Image: Hike POSPros and cons
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Clover: Best for prime of outgo processor
Our rating: 4.14 retired of 5
Image: Clover
Clover is simply a unreality POS strategy owned by the outgo web Fiserv. Any merchant services supplier operating connected the Fiserv web tin merchantability the Clover POS with its merchant services bundle built in. This allows you to take your preferred outgo supplier and inactive spell with Clover’s POS and its proprietary hardware.
Why I chose Clover
Clover bundles its hardware and bundle to springiness you a retail-specific POS system. You tin bargain the strategy consecutive from Clover oregon done immoderate of the merchant providers successful the Fiserv network. Its industry-grade POS hardware is designed to beryllium light, mobile, and pass via cellular LTE signals oregon WiFi.
Pricing
Clover has 3 subscription plans:
- Starter: $14.95/month.
- Standard: $49.95/month.
- Advanced: $69.90/month.
*Software fees are the aforesaid passim the locations wherever Clover is purchased.
Transaction fees:
- Card-present: 2.3%–2.6% + $0.10
- Manual entry: 3.5% + $0.10
*The above-mentioned fees are reflected connected Clover’s website arsenic of this writing, but fees volition alteration based connected wherever you acquisition your Clover POS hardware.
Features
- Automated merchandise tracking, banal level adjustments for returns and exchanges, and determination transfers.
- Ability to judge Venmo, scan-to-pay, store credit, lay-away, acquisition card, and buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) payments.
- Ability to connect photos of customers to their profiles, solicit feedback connected receipts, and reply straight done the POS.
- Loyalty programme features.
- Receive accelerated deposits (additional 1.5% processing fee) — get wealth wrong minutes of a recognition paper sale.
Clover’s registry dashboard. Image: CloverPros and cons
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Lightspeed Retail: Best for analyzable inventory management
Our rating: 4.08 retired of 5
Image: Lightspeed
Lightspeed Retail is 1 of the champion retail POS systems due to the fact that of its blase and top-of-the-line inventory tools and in-depth analytic reports. It has much than 40 income and inventory reports, with built-in e-commerce and loyalty programs.
Why I chose Lightspeed Retail
Lightspeed Retail allows retailers to negociate acquisition orders with a built-in catalog and make merchandise bundles and aggregate variants. Its inventory instrumentality has a forecasting instrumentality that helps expect inventory needs and foretell buying trends, which is what I similar astir the software. Its reports travel with actionable insights that assistance you marque decisions astir your business.
Pricing
Lightspeed Retail gives you 3 subscription options:
- Basic: $89/month billed annually oregon $109/month billed monthly, based connected 1 determination and register.
- Core: $149/month billed annually oregon $179/month billed monthly, based connected 1 determination and register.
- Plus: $239/month billed annually oregon $289/month billed monthly, based connected 1 determination and register.
Payment processing fees:
- Card-present fees: 2.6% + $0.10
- Manual entry: 2.6% + $0.30
Features
- Built-in acquisition ordering and tracking functions, peculiar orders, and forecasting instrumentality to foretell buying trends and expect inventory needs.
- Supplier directory and built-in merchandise catalog.
- Customer profiles.
- Built-in reports that screen inventory, sales, worker performance, and much — with actionable concern tips.
- Automated loyalty programme (available successful Core and Plus plans).
- In-house e-commerce level (available successful Core and Plus plans).
Lightspeed Retail dashboard presumption for Stock Control. Image: Lightspeed RetailPros and cons
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How bash I take the champion retail POS for my business?
A retail POS strategy is the cardinal hub for your retail business. It doesn’t conscionable process income and judge payments. Look for a retail POS strategy that tin assistance negociate inventory, oversee employees, and assistance physique a lawsuit basal with loyalty and selling efforts. Consider besides 1 that tin cod information to stitchery reports that assistance you successful purchasing and staffing decisions.
Methodology
I evaluated dozens of point-of-sale systems and scored them utilizing our in-house rubric of 20 information points with the pursuing categories — pricing, bundle features, hardware, installation and security, and idiosyncratic reviews. I prioritized POS systems that are based successful the unreality but connection offline mode (hybrid), are reliable, casual to use, and supply features that enactment concern growth.
This nonfiction and methodology were reviewed by our retail expert, Meaghan Brophy.
English (US) ·