Independent · sourced · Updated June 2026
Best POS Systems (2026)
The cheapest pos systems is Clover at $0/mo. 3 offer a free tier (Clover, Square POS, Toast POS). This page compares 8 options on entry price, free tier, HIPAA/SOC 2 and best-for — every figure linked to its source, updated June 2026.
8 options compared on price, free tier, compliance and fit — ranked cheapest-first. Every figure links to the vendor's own page and the date we captured it; quote-only tiers show “—”, never a guess.
Key takeaways
- Cheapest: Clover at $0/mo (Clover Go Starter).
- Typical paid price: from $29/mo, median $69/mo, up to $89/mo — across 7 with published pricing.
- Free tier: Clover, Square POS, Toast POS.
- HIPAA-ready: Square POS.
- Tracked: 8 vendors, data current through 2026-06-15.
Comparison
| # | POS System | Entry price | Free | HIPAA | SOC 2 | Best for | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clover | $0/mo Clover Go Starter | Yes | — | — | Businesses wanting an open app ecosystem on dedicated Clover hardware | nerdwallet.com |
| 2 | Square POS | $0/mo Free | Yes | Yes | — | Solo operators and micro-businesses wanting $0/month software | squareup.com |
| 3 | Toast POS | $0/mo Quick Start Bundle | Yes | — | — | Independent and multi-unit full-service restaurants | nerdwallet.com |
| 4 | Shopify POS | $29/mo Basic (with POS Lite) | No | — | Yes | DTC brands scaling from ecommerce into physical retail | nerdwallet.com |
| 5 | Lightspeed Restaurant | $69/mo Starter | No | — | Yes | Full-service and multi-location restaurants needing offline resilience and floor management | lightspeedhq.com |
| 6 | TouchBistro | $69/mo Point of Sale | No | — | — | Full-service restaurants wanting an iPad-native POS with built-in floor management | touchbistro.com |
| 7 | Lightspeed Retail | $89/mo Basic | No | — | Yes | Independent and multi-location specialty retailers needing deep inventory management | lightspeedhq.com |
| 8 | Epos Now | — | No | — | — | Small retail and hospitality businesses wanting cloud POS accessible from any device | quote-only |
Prices are the lowest published self-serve monthly rate as captured on the linked source. Annual-billing and usage details are on each vendor's record in our open dataset.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest pos systems?
Clover has the lowest published entry price at $0/mo (Clover Go Starter), as of 2026-06-15.
How much does pos systems cost per month?
Across the 7 pos systems with published paid pricing, the median starting price is $69/mo, ranging from $29/mo to $89/mo, as of 2026-06-15. 3 also offer a free tier. 1 are quote-only.
Which pos systems have a free plan?
Clover, Square POS, Toast POS offer a free tier.
Which pos systems support HIPAA?
Square POS state HIPAA support (a BAA). Always confirm current scope with the vendor.
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How we compiled this
Published self-serve USD pricing was collected from each vendor's official pricing page and/or reputable 2025-2026 review sources where the official page returned 403, JS-only content, or non-USD geolocated prices. Toast's official pricing page returned HTTP 403; pricing confirmed via NerdWallet (Jan 2026) and MerchantMaverick (Jan 2026). Clover's official website rendered JS-only with no pricing content; pricing confirmed via NerdWallet (updated May 2026) and MerchantMaverick (Dec 2025). Shopify's pricing page geolocated to EUR; USD pricing confirmed via NerdWallet (Feb 2026) corroborated by the NerdWallet Shopify POS review (Feb 2026). Lightspeed Retail pricing obtained from the official lightspeedhq.com/pos/retail/pricing page (annual rates) cross-referenced with MerchantMaverick (Dec 2025) for monthly equivalents. Lightspeed Restaurant pricing from the official restaurant pricing page corroborated by MerchantMaverick (Dec 2025). Where a vendor publishes only annual billing, the monthly equivalent (annual total / 12) is recorded in monthlyUsd with the month-to-month rate in notes. Quote-only tiers have monthlyUsd null. minutesIncluded, callsIncluded, overagePerMin, and overagePerCall are null on every plan as this is a non-telephony vertical.
Last verified 2026-06-15. We re-check published prices and compliance on a recurring cadence and update this page when they change.
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