Find the Right POS System
The most comprehensive directory of pos systems. Compare top tools with honest reviews, pricing, and real-world use cases.
How to Choose the Right POS System in 2026
What to Look For
- ✓Industry-specific design -- restaurant, retail, and service businesses have fundamentally different workflow needs; choose a POS built for your industry rather than adapting a generic system.
- ✓Payment processing flexibility -- some POS systems lock you into their proprietary payment processor while others let you choose any processor; compare effective processing rates including any gateway fees.
- ✓Hardware requirements and costs -- evaluate whether you need countertop terminals, handheld devices, kitchen displays, or self-service kiosks, and compare upfront hardware costs against monthly lease options.
- ✓Inventory management depth -- for retail, assess whether the POS handles variants (size, color), low-stock alerts, purchase orders, and multi-location inventory sync natively or requires add-on software.
- ✓Offline functionality -- internet outages should not stop your sales; confirm the POS can process transactions offline and sync data when connectivity is restored.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a POS system cost?+
Can I use a POS system for both in-store and online sales?+
What happens if my internet goes down while using a cloud POS?+
Quick Comparison
Featured tools at a glance
| Tool | Category | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📱Mobile POS | Freemium | The all-in-one POS for every business size | |
| 🍽️Restaurant POS | Freemium | Purpose-built POS for the restaurant industry | |
| 🏪Retail POS | Paid | Flexible POS with a marketplace of business apps | |
| 🏪Retail POS | Paid | Unified commerce for online and in-store selling | |
| 🏪Retail POS | Paid | Advanced POS and commerce platform for ambitious merchants |
Browse by Category
5 categoriesFeatured Tools
Hand-picked by our team
Square
The all-in-one POS for every business size
Toast
Purpose-built POS for the restaurant industry
Clover
Flexible POS with a marketplace of business apps
Shopify POS
Unified commerce for online and in-store selling
Lightspeed
Advanced POS and commerce platform for ambitious merchants
All Tools
Complete directory
The all-in-one POS for every business size
Purpose-built POS for the restaurant industry
Flexible POS with a marketplace of business apps
Unified commerce for online and in-store selling
Advanced POS and commerce platform for ambitious merchants
Enterprise-grade iPad POS for restaurants and retail
All-in-one restaurant management POS system
Trusted enterprise restaurant POS from NCR
Integrated POS and payments for local businesses
Payment technology solutions for growing businesses
Cloud POS with plug-and-play simplicity
Intuitive retail POS now part of the Lightspeed family
Simple mobile POS backed by PayPal
Affordable card payments for micro and small businesses
Transparent interchange-plus POS and payments