Best POS systems for retail (2026)

Methodology — how these picks were made

Best for a single-location shop that wants published numbers: Square

Square publishes more of its pricing than the rest of this group: 2.6% + 15¢ in person on the free plan, 2.5% + 15¢ or 2.4% + 15¢ on paid plans, 3.3% + 30¢ or 2.9% + 30¢ online, 3.5% + 15¢ keyed or card-on-file, and 1% (minimum $1) for ACH — all readable before a sales call. Hardware is sold outright at published shop prices, and its pricing page states there is no locked-in contract. The trade-offs: the paid-plan monthly price loads dynamically and is not in the page source, the rate is blended regardless of card type, and Square terminals only run Square's own processing.

Best for a retailer who also sells online: Shopify POS

Shopify POS is the one provider in this comparison that publishes both the option and the price of using an outside payment provider — an extra 2%, 1% or 0.6% depending on plan — which means the processing itself can be shopped even after the POS decision is made. From a Canadian connection its pricing page rendered CA$49, CA$132 and CA$517 by plan, in-person processing at 2.6%, 2.5% or 2.4% plus 0¢, and a Plus tier from CA$3,400 on a one- or three-year term with a POS Pro add-on at CA$119 per location billed yearly. US-dollar amounts were not verified on the date checked, since the page localises by connection — confirm US pricing directly before comparing it to the other three.

Best for multi-location retail: Lightspeed

Lightspeed publishes retail plans at $89, $149 and $289 per month, each with one register, with annual billing stated to save up to 18% — a structure that scales predictably across the multiple registers and locations a growing retail chain needs to budget for. It also publishes the most complete contract detail here: 90 days' notice not to renew, and an early termination amount equal to the remainder of the term plus repayment of any discounts received. Its retail pricing page shows a 1.5% card-present figure for Lightspeed Payments with a note that additional service fees may apply and prices vary; its service agreement makes Lightspeed Payments mandatory in eligible jurisdictions, with an unpublished extra monthly fee for a third-party processor.

Best for a fixed hardware-plus-software number: Clover

Clover packages device and software pricing on a 36-month framing — retail from $16 per month over 36 months or $349 up front, with higher tiers at $1,899 plus $84.95 per month and $2,648 plus $104.90 per month. That gives a single, published all-in figure for a retailer who wants budget certainty before ordering hardware, at the cost of no published card-processing rate and no published cancellation or early-termination detail on the pricing pages; Clover's processing is sold as part of the package, and the online prices shown apply to buying through its own site.

Master comparison table

Figures below come from each vendor's own published pricing or terms pages, checked 17 September 2026. Where a vendor withholds a figure, the cell says "not published."

Full detail, sources and provider-by-provider pages: POS pricing compared: what ten providers publish.

Bring-your-own-processor: the honest answer for retail

Of the four systems above, only Shopify POS publishes a bring-your-own-processor path — an extra fee of 2%, 1% or 0.6% by plan to use an outside payment provider instead of Shopify Payments. Square and Clover sell processing bundled with the POS, and Lightspeed's service agreement makes its own payments mandatory in eligible jurisdictions with an unpublished extra fee for a third party. If keeping the processing negotiable matters more than any single feature, that narrows the field before you compare anything else — and on the three bundled systems, ask directly, in writing, whether an exception exists for your account.

Where an independent agent fits

CELER Merchants is an independent agent, not a processor: we take a merchant's last three months of statements to the market and make processors compete for the account, and the winning processor pays us out of the processing margin — the merchant pays nothing extra for the shopping. On Shopify POS, that quote can be compared directly against Shopify's own blended rate plus the published third-party fee. On Square, Clover and Lightspeed, processing is sold bundled with the system, so the leverage moves earlier: get the full rate, by channel, in writing before signing, because there is no published route to changing processor later without changing the till.

The free statement analysis reads an existing statement line by line and returns an itemised, interchange-based quote — useful whether or not the POS decision has been made yet.

What to get in writing before choosing any retail POS

1. The processing rate in full, by channel — card-present, keyed, online — with monthly fees itemised separately from the percentage.
2. The monthly software cost per register and per location, in US dollars if the page you read localised the currency.
3. Whether hardware is bought outright, rented, or financed under a separate agreement, and the name of that agreement.
4. The contract term, renewal mechanism, notice period and early termination amount as an actual number.
5. How your product catalogue, inventory and customer data export if you switch systems later.

Related reading

• POS pricing compared: what ten providers publish
• Clover vs Square
• Lightspeed vs Shopify POS
• Best Square alternatives for restaurants and retail
• Best Clover alternatives for restaurants and retail
• Best Shopify POS alternatives for retail
• Best credit card processing for retail
• Retail payment processing and POS

Square, Shopify, Lightspeed and Clover are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here for identification only. CELER Merchants is independent and is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, any of these companies. No ranking, score or star rating on this page reflects hands-on testing. Prices and terms change; confirm current pricing with each provider before deciding.