Most small businesses pick a point of sale system the same way they pick a lunch spot: whatever is closest and whatever a friend used. Then the monthly bill, the card rates and the hardware lock-in show up, and switching costs more than choosing carefully would have. The good news is that the decision is simpler than the sales pages make it sound.
At Ecommerce Paradise, I teach people to build online stores, and a growing number of them also sell in person at pop-ups, trade shows and small showrooms. This guide compares six POS systems on plan price, card rates, hardware and fit. Every number comes from the vendor’s own page, checked in October 2026, and where a page does not show a figure I say “not shown” instead of guessing.
If you are still deciding what to sell, start with my guide to what high-ticket dropshipping is, because a pure dropshipper does not need a card reader at all. Some links below are affiliate links, so I may earn a commission if you sign up, at no extra cost to you.
Sell Online and In Person From One Inventory
Shopify POS keeps in-store and online inventory in sync, and Shopify lists a 3-day free trial followed by 3 months for $1 a month. Set up the store first and add the register when you need it.
The Six Best POS Systems for Small Business at a Glance
Here is how the six systems compare on starting price, in-person card rate and best use. Prices are in US dollars, and “not shown” means the vendor’s page did not display a number when I checked.
| System | Starting software price | In-person card rate | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify POS | Basic plan $39 monthly or $29 annual, POS Pro adds $89 per location | 2.6% + 10¢ on Basic | Merchants who sell online and in person |
| Square | Free plan at $0 per location | 2.6% + 15¢ on Free | Simple setups and low upfront cost |
| Lightspeed Retail | Basic at $89 a month | 1.5% card-present | Stores with deeper inventory needs |
| Stripe Terminal | No software fee listed | 2.7% + 5¢ | Builders who want to design their own checkout |
| Clover | Not shown | Not shown | Counter-service shops that want a bundled terminal |
| Toast | Starter package from $0, pay-as-you-go | Not shown | Restaurants and food service |
If you already run or plan to run an online store, I would start with the first row. The rest of this guide explains why, and who should pick something else.
Do You Actually Need a POS System?
If you sell only online, you do not. Your store platform already takes payments, and a card reader would sit in a drawer. A POS earns its place when customers pay in person: at a pop-up table, a trade show, a local market, a showroom or a pickup counter.
High-ticket buyers add one more reason. Someone who spends $2,000 on a product often wants to see it first, and a small showroom or event booth can close that sale on the spot. If that sounds like your plan, a POS that shares inventory with your store will save you from overselling.
The simplest test is to ask whether you will take at least a few in-person payments every month. If the honest answer is “maybe someday,” skip the hardware, run your online store first, and add a register when real demand appears.
What to Compare Before You Choose
Four things decide most POS purchases. The first is the card rate, because it applies to every sale you will ever make. A difference of 0.2 percentage points looks small, but on $10,000 of monthly sales it is $20 a month.
The second is the software plan. Some systems charge nothing and make their money on processing, while others charge a monthly fee and give you a lower rate. Which one wins depends on your volume.
The third is hardware. A reader can cost $59, while a full register can cost several hundred dollars more, and some vendors tie their hardware to their processing.
The fourth is inventory. If you also sell online, your POS and your store should share one stock count, or you will sell the same item twice.
1. Shopify POS: Best if You Also Sell Online
Shopify POS is the one I recommend first to anyone building an online store, because it runs on the same account as your site. According to Shopify’s POS page, it keeps inventory in sync across in-store and online sales and works with the rest of Shopify’s commerce tools.
The Shopify pricing page lists in-person card rates of 2.6% + 10¢ on Basic, 2.5% + 10¢ on Grow and 2.4% + 10¢ on Advanced. Basic is $39 a month billed monthly or $29 a month billed yearly, Grow is $105 or $79, and Advanced is $399 or $299. Plus starts from $2,300 a month.
POS Pro is the upgrade for busier retail. The POS pricing page shows it at $89 a month per location, billed yearly, with unlimited staff logins, roles and permissions, inventory management and returns at any location. The page does not name a POS Lite plan, and it does not list a hardware price list.
One hardware item is shown. The Verifone Victa Mobile is listed at a $449 value, free per location with POS Pro Yearly, with a $10 activation fee per device. My Shopify pricing guide covers which plan you need.
Best for: merchants who sell online first and want the in-person register on the same inventory.
2. Square: Best for a Low Upfront Cost
Square is the easiest way to start taking cards with almost no commitment. Its pricing page lists a Free plan at $0 per location, Plus at $49 and Premium at $149.
In-person rates are 2.6% + 15¢ on Free, 2.5% + 15¢ on Plus and 2.4% + 15¢ on Premium. Online and invoice rates are 3.3% + 30¢ on Free and 2.9% + 30¢ on the paid plans. Plus and Premium each include a 30-day free trial.
Hardware is clearly priced on Square’s hardware page: the contactless and chip reader is $59, the Terminal is $299, the Stand is $149, the Handheld is $399 and the Register is $899. The first magstripe reader is listed as free, limited to one per account.
If you are comparing Square against building on Shopify, read my Shopify vs Square Online comparison.
Best for: small sellers who want no monthly fee and the cheapest way to start.
3. Lightspeed Retail: Best for Deeper Inventory Control
Lightspeed targets retailers with larger catalogs and more complex stock. Its Retail pricing page lists Basic at $89 a month, Core at $149 and Plus at $289, each with one register included.
The card-present rate is shown as 1.5% on all three plans. Card-not-present rates, hardware prices, users, locations and the free trial length are not shown, and the page notes that prices can vary and additional service fees may apply. It offers annual billing that it says can save up to 18%, without listing the annual rates.
That 1.5% looks strong next to the others, but you pay for it in the monthly plan, so run the math for your volume before you assume it is cheaper.
Best for: retail stores with many products that need tighter inventory tools.
4. Stripe Terminal: Best for Builders
Stripe suits owners who want to design their own checkout or who already take payments through Stripe online. Its pricing page lists in-person card rates of 2.7% + 5¢ for domestic cards and wallets, plus 1.5% for international cards.
Readers are the Stripe Reader M2 at $59, the S700 and S710 at $299 each, and the T600 at $329. No Terminal software subscription fee is listed, though cellular connectivity costs $10 per reader per month on enabled readers.
Stripe gives you building blocks, not a finished retail system, so expect to rely on a developer or an app for inventory and reporting. For a safety net, read my guide on why a single payment processor is a risk.
Best for: technical owners who want control over the checkout.
5. Clover: Pricing Not Shown
Clover is a popular counter-top terminal sold through banks and processors, which is part of why its pricing is hard to pin down. The Clover pricing page did not load its plan details when I checked, so I will not quote a software price, processing rate or hardware cost.
If you are considering it, ask for a written quote that lists the monthly software fee, the card rate and the contract length. Also ask what happens to your hardware if you leave. Those three answers matter more than any headline price.
Best for: counter-service shops that want a bundled terminal and are happy to get a custom quote.
6. Toast: Built for Restaurants
Toast is a restaurant system, so most product sellers can skip it. The Toast pricing page lists a Starter Package that includes a pay-as-you-go plan, and its description says pricing starts at $0 a month.
Plan-level prices, processing rates and contract terms are not shown on the page. Hardware and implementation costs vary by package and installation, and 0% interest financing is available by application. The pricing applies to new customers and single locations.
Best for: restaurants, cafes and food service businesses.
Skip the Hardware Until You Need It
Square lists a Free plan at $0 per location and a contactless reader at $59. It is the lowest-risk way to take your first in-person payment.
What Each Option Costs per Month at $10,000 in Sales
Rates are hard to compare in the abstract, so this table runs the numbers. It assumes 100 in-person sales of $100 each in a month, which comes to $10,000. It is my arithmetic from the figures above, so treat it as an estimate and not a quote.
| Option | Card fees | Plan fee | Monthly total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lightspeed Basic | $150.00 | $89 | $239.00 |
| Shopify Basic (annual) | $270.00 | $29 | $299.00 |
| Square Free | $275.00 | $0 | $275.00 |
| Square Plus | $265.00 | $49 | $314.00 |
| Stripe Terminal | $275.00 | $0 | $275.00 |
Two cautions apply. The Shopify figure includes a plan you would pay for anyway if you run an online store, so the true added cost of the register is lower. The Lightspeed figure leaves out the additional service fees its page mentions.
The bigger point is that card rates between these options differ by only a few dollars at this volume. Inventory, reporting and how well the system fits your store matter more than the last tenth of a percent.
How to Choose the Right POS
Start with where you sell. If you have an online store, pick the system that shares its inventory, because overselling a $2,000 item is expensive. If you only sell at events, a free-plan system with a cheap reader is enough.
Next, estimate your monthly in-person volume honestly. Below a few thousand dollars, a no-monthly-fee plan usually wins. Above that, a paid plan with a lower rate can pay for itself.
Then check hardware costs and contracts. Ask whether you can bring your own processor, what happens to the reader if you leave and whether there is a cancellation fee.
Finally, test the checkout yourself. Ring up a fake sale, process a return and run an end-of-day report before you commit. If those three tasks feel clumsy, your staff will hate them too. My roundup of the best ecommerce platforms helps if you are still choosing where the whole business lives.
Common Mistakes When Buying a POS
The first mistake is buying hardware before you have customers. Start with a $59 reader, not an $899 register, and upgrade once the sales justify it.
The second is ignoring the contract. Some terminals come with multi-year terms, and the exit cost can exceed what you saved on the monthly fee.
The third is running two separate inventories. If your online store and your register each keep their own count, you will oversell sooner or later.
The fourth is forgetting backup. Keep a second way to take payments in case your processor freezes your account, which is more common in high-ticket and high-risk categories than most owners expect. My list of high-risk payment processors is a good place to start.
Where In-Person Sales Fit in a High-Ticket Business
High-ticket products sell on trust, and trust is easier to build face to face. A weekend booth or a small showroom can feed your online store with warm leads, and your POS records every one of those buyers.
Before you spend on hardware, get the foundation right. Choose a profitable category with my high-ticket niches list. Then line up reliable fulfillment with my guide to finding dropshipping suppliers.
Set the company up properly with my business formation guide. You will need a legal entity and a business bank account before most processors approve you.
Taxes matter too. The IRS explains the rules in its guide to Form 1099-K reporting for payment cards, which is the form your processor may send you.
The US Census Bureau publishes a quarterly e-commerce report that shows how much of retail now happens online, which helps you judge how much to invest in in-person sales.
If you’re brand new, start with my free mini course. When you’re ready to go deeper, the High-Ticket Dropshipping Masterclass covers the full model.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best POS system for a small business?
It depends on how you sell. If you also have an online store, Shopify POS keeps both channels on one inventory. If you only take occasional in-person payments, Square’s Free plan at $0 per location is the lowest-risk way to start.
Do I need a POS system if I sell online only?
No. Your store platform handles payments. A POS only makes sense when customers pay you in person, such as at a pop-up, a trade show or a showroom.
Which POS has the lowest card fees?
On the pages I checked, Lightspeed lists the lowest card-present rate at 1.5%, but it comes with a monthly plan starting at $89. Shopify’s Advanced plan lists 2.4% + 10 cents, and Square Premium lists 2.4% + 15 cents.
Can I use my own payment processor?
It varies by vendor, and the pages I read did not say. Ask each vendor in writing before you buy hardware, because some systems tie their readers to their own processing.
How much does POS hardware cost?
Square lists a contactless reader at $59 and a Register at $899. Stripe lists readers from $59 to $329. Shopify and Lightspeed did not show a hardware price list on the pages I read.
Ready to Pick Your Register?
Build the store first, then add in-person sales on the same inventory. Shopify makes that one account instead of two.
Want me to build the whole store for you? Check out my done-for-you store service → and skip the platform setup work entirely. Prefer to build it yourself with a guide? Join my coaching program →.
Related Articles
If you found this useful, these guides go deeper on related topics:
- Shopify Pricing Plans in 2026: Which Plan Do You Actually Need?
- Best Ecommerce Platforms in 2026: 10 Options Compared
- Shopify vs Square Online in 2026: Which Platform Is Right for Your Business?
- 6 Best Ecommerce Platforms for Small Businesses in 2026
- Best High-Risk Payment Processors in 2026: 12 Providers Compared
Trevor Fenner is an ecommerce entrepreneur and world traveler from Seattle, Washington, and the founder of Ecommerce Paradise, a platform focused on helping entrepreneurs build and scale profitable high-ticket ecommerce and dropshipping businesses. With over a decade of hands-on experience, Trevor specializes in high-ticket dropshipping strategy, niche and product selection, supplier recruiting and onboarding, Google & Bing Shopping ads, ecommerce SEO, and systems-driven automation and scaling. Through Ecommerce Paradise, he provides free education via in-depth guides like How to Start High-Ticket Dropshipping, advanced training through the High-Ticket Dropshipping Masterclass, and fully done-for-you turnkey ecommerce services for entrepreneurs who want a faster, more hands-off path to growth. Trevor is known for emphasizing sustainable, real-world ecommerce models over hype-driven tactics, helping store owners build scalable, sellable, and location-independent brands.
He maintains homes in Seattle and Bali, spends most of the year overseas, and usually returns to Seattle for about a month each summer.
