Best Cloud Based POS Systems for Retail

Website: https://squareup.com

Best for: Small shops that want zero commitment

Starting price: $0 per month (Free plan)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Free plan with no monthly fee; No contract, cancel anytime

Cons: Flat rates get expensive at high volume; Hardware is sold separately

Square is the default starting point for a small retail shop. The Free plan costs $0 per month per location, with in-person card processing at 2.6% plus 15 cents and online processing at 3.3% plus 30 cents. Plus costs $49 per month per location with in-person processing at 2.5% plus 15 cents, and Premium costs $149 per month with 2.4% plus 15 cents. Plus and Premium both offer a 30-day trial. The free plan includes the full POS app, inventory, invoices and an online store, and Square absorbs chargeback costs, which no other major POS here matches.

The honest catch is rate rigidity. Flat rates do not move until the business clears about $250,000 a year in processing, when custom Pro pricing opens up, so a high-volume shop overpays compared with an interchange-plus quote. Hardware is also separate: a card reader costs $59, a terminal $299 and a full register $899. For a new or low-volume shop, though, Square is the lowest-commitment way to start.

Website: https://www.shopify.com/pos

Best for: Shops that sell online and in store

Starting price: $89 per month per location (POS Pro)

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: Best online and in-store sync; POS Lite is included with any Shopify plan

Cons: Pro needs a Shopify subscription on top; $89 per location adds up for multi-store shops

Shopify POS is the right choice for a shop that sells online and in a physical store, because stock, customers and orders sync across both channels. POS Lite is included free with any Shopify plan, starting with Basic at $39 per month. POS Pro costs $89 per month per location, or $79 per month on annual billing, with a 12-month new-to-Pro offer at $67 per month, and a 14-day trial. Pro adds advanced inventory, staff permissions and reporting that Lite lacks.

The cost stacks up. Pro needs a Shopify plan on top of the $89 per location, so a single store on Basic plus Pro costs $128 per month before card processing, and each extra location adds another $89. A shop that only sells in store, with no online channel, will find Square or Zettle cheaper. Choose Shopify POS when the online store and the physical shop must share one stock list.

Website: https://lightspeedhq.com

Best for: Specialty retail with complex inventory

Starting price: $89 per month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: Deepest inventory tools for specialty retail; Built-in eCommerce on every tier

Cons: No free plan; Extra registers and locations cost extra, with some prices unpublished

Lightspeed Retail is the inventory-first POS for specialty shops. Basic costs $89 per month on annual billing, or $109 month to month, with Core at $149 and Plus at $289 on annual billing. Each plan includes one register and built-in eCommerce, and the card-present rate is 2.6% plus 10 cents on every plan. Size and color matrices, serialized products, special orders, layaways and multi-store transfers are all handled, and purchase orders flow from vendor catalogs through NuORDER.

The buying process is the drawback. There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial, and extra registers cost $59 per month each, while extra locations and hardware have unpublished prices, so the total cost is not clear until a quote arrives. A single-register boutique will find Basic enough, but a multi-store business should get the full quote in writing before committing.

Website: https://www.clover.com

Best for: Bundled hardware and software

Starting price: $16 per month for 36 months (Retail Basic bundle)

Free plan: No

Pros: Hardware and software bundled in one monthly price; Low in-person rate of 2.3% on higher bundles

Cons: 36-month subscription is non-cancelable; Sold through banks and resellers, so terms vary

Clover sells hardware and software as one bundle, which suits a shop that wants a single monthly bill. Retail Basic costs $16 per month for 36 months, or $349 upfront, and includes the Compact countertop terminal with Starter software. Retail Standard costs $180 per month for 36 months, or $1,899 plus $84.95 per month, and includes the Station Duo with Retail Growth software. In-person card rates run from 2.6% plus 10 cents on Basic to 2.3% plus 10 cents on Standard and Advanced, with keyed-in payments at 3.5% plus 10 cents.

The 36-month subscription is the catch. Clover bundles are non-cancelable for the term, and unless the business tells Clover at least 30 days before the term ends whether it will return or buy the equipment, the subscription extends at the same monthly charge. Clover is also sold by banks and resellers, so a plan bought elsewhere can carry different terms from the prices on clover.com. Read the contract before signing.

Website: https://www.eposnow.com

Best for: Low software-only price

Starting price: $39 per month (software only)

Free plan: No

Pros: Low software-only price; Cloud-based, so sales data is available from any device

Cons: Hardware costs extra, and the complete system costs more; No free plan listed

Epos Now offers one of the lowest software-only prices here. The software-only option costs $39 per month, while the complete system costs $84 per month plus $399 for hardware, and another listing puts the full system at $79 per month. Because the system is cloud-based, sales, stock and reports are available from any device, and integrations with common accounting and eCommerce tools connect the till to the rest of the business. The software-only price makes Epos Now attractive for a shop that already owns hardware.

The hardware math needs care. The $39 figure covers software only, so a shop that needs a terminal, printer and drawer will pay the complete-system price instead, and the $79 and $84 figures show that the bundle price is not fixed. No free plan is listed, and trial availability is not confirmed on the vendor pricing page. Get the full bundle quote in writing before comparing Epos Now with a system that includes hardware.

Website: https://pos.toasttab.com

Best for: Restaurants that also sell retail

Starting price: $90 per month (Toast Retail)

Free plan: No

Pros: Strong reporting and 24/7 support; Built for high-volume food service

Cons: Built for restaurants first, retail is a secondary product; Hardware is Toast-only and processing is bundled

Toast is the leading POS for restaurants, and it also sells a retail product, Toast Retail, which starts at $90 per month. The restaurant plans are better known: the Starter Kit costs $0 per month for software with higher processing rates, and the Point of Sale plan costs $69 per month per terminal with processing at 2.49% plus 15 cents. Toast Care support is included with every subscription, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and the reporting is strong for a busy food business.

For a pure retail shop, Toast is a weak fit. The platform is built for restaurants first, and the retail product is secondary, so a clothing or gift shop will find features built for tables, kitchens and menus that it does not need. Hardware is Toast-only, and processing is bundled, so the shop cannot shop around for a better card rate. Choose Toast when the business is a restaurant that also sells retail, not when retail is the whole business.

Website: https://www.zettle.com

Best for: No monthly fee

Starting price: $0 per month (2.29% + 9 cents per transaction)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: No monthly fee, you only pay per sale; Simple setup with no contract

Cons: Limited inventory and staff tools compared with Square or Lightspeed; No monthly plan means no volume discount on rates

PayPal Zettle is the simplest way to take cards with no monthly bill. The software costs $0 per month, and each card payment costs 2.29% plus 9 cents, which is lower than Square Free at 2.6% plus 15 cents. Setup is quick, there is no contract, and the card reader is sold separately. For a market stall, pop-up shop or small store with low volume, Zettle is the cheapest way to start taking cards.

The limits show as the business grows. Inventory, staff and reporting tools are thinner than Square or Lightspeed, and there is no monthly plan, so there is no volume discount on the card rate for a high-volume shop. A business that outgrows Zettle will need to move its stock and customer data to a fuller POS. For a small shop that wants the lowest possible fixed cost, though, Zettle is hard to beat.

• Count locations: Square Plus costs $49 per location per month, Shopify POS Pro costs $89 per location per month, and Lightspeed Basic costs $89 per month with one register included.
• Count registers: Lightspeed charges $59 per month for each extra register.
• Check the card rate: Square Free charges 2.6% plus 15 cents in person, Clover Retail Basic charges 2.6% plus 10 cents, and Zettle charges 2.29% plus 9 cents.
• Budget hardware: a Square card reader costs $59, a terminal $299 and a register $899, while Clover Retail Basic includes the Compact terminal at $16 per month for 36 months.
• Check the contract: Clover bundles run 36 months and are non-cancelable, while Square and Zettle have no contract.