POS system cost for small business: software, hardware and card fees
Quick answer
A small-business POS system costs anywhere from $0 to about $400 a month in software, plus hardware from $59 for a card reader to $899 or more for a full counter setup, plus card processing at roughly 2.4% to 2.6% plus a fixed fee per in-person sale[1][3][7].
Here's the bit people miss. Card fees are usually the biggest line. On $20,000 a month of card sales, processing runs about $550 to $600 a month, far more than most software plans. So shop on the rate and the contract first, features second.
What are you actually paying for with a POS system?
Three bills, really. Software (often a monthly plan, sometimes $0). Hardware (bought outright, financed, or bundled). And payment processing, a percentage of every card sale plus a few cents.
The first two are easy to compare. The third is where the money goes. It scales with your sales, forever.
Some providers bundle all three into one monthly figure, especially with longer contracts. That can be convenient. It can also make it hard to see what you're paying for each piece, which is why I'd always ask for the processing rate in writing before signing anything.
| System | Software / month | Hardware | In-person card rate | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square | $0 Free · $49 Plus · $149 Premium | Reader $59 · Terminal $299 · Register $899 | 2.6% / 2.5% / 2.4% + 15¢ | Manual entry 3.5% + 15¢ |
| Toast (restaurants) | Starter Kit from $0 · Point of Sale from $69 | Toast-approved hardware only | Not published | Rates quoted, not listed |
| Clover (retail) | Included in bundles, or $84.95–$104.90 with upfront hardware | $349 to $2,648 upfront, or $16–$240/mo for 36 months | As little as 2.3% + 10¢ | 36-month payment terms |
| Shopify POS | $39 Basic · $105 Grow · $399 Advanced | Sold separately | 2.6% / 2.5% / 2.4% + 10¢ | POS Pro +$89/mo per location |
| Lightspeed Retail | $89 Basic · $149 Core · $289 Plus (billed annually) | Sold separately | 2.6% + 10¢ | Annual billing for those prices |
Square, Toast, Clover, Shopify POS or Lightspeed: what does each cost?
Square
Square has three plans: Free at $0, Plus at $49 per location a month and Premium at $149. In-person card rates drop as you go up, from 2.6% + 15¢ on Free to 2.5% + 15¢ on Plus and 2.4% + 15¢ on Premium. Plus and Premium come with a 30-day free trial, and businesses processing over $250,000 a year can ask about custom pricing[1]. Keyed-in card payments cost 3.5% + 15¢[2].
For a lot of small shops, the Free plan is genuinely enough to start. That's unusual in this market.
Toast
Toast is built for restaurants. Its Starter Kit is listed from $0 a month for one or two terminals, the Point of Sale plan from $69 a month, and a "Build Your Own" option is custom-priced. Those prices are for new customers with single locations[4].
The catch: Toast doesn't publish its card processing rates on the pricing page. It also notes that it's a payment facilitator rather than a card processor, and that its services only run on Toast-approved hardware[4]. Get the processing quote in writing and compare it with the rates below.
Clover
Clover advertises card processing from "as little as 2.3% + 10¢" per transaction[5]. "As little as" is doing some work there, so treat it as the best case. Its retail bundles are sold two ways: monthly over 36 months ($16, $180 or $240 a month) or with the hardware paid upfront ($349, $1,899 or $2,648), where the bigger bundles add $84.95 or $104.90 a month[6].
Thirty-six months is three years. Make sure you're fine with that before you sign.
Shopify POS
Shopify's in-person selling sits on top of its regular plans: Basic $39, Grow $105 and Advanced $399 a month, with in-person card rates of 2.6%, 2.5% and 2.4% plus 10¢. POS Pro, for fuller store features, adds $89 a month per location, and Plus starts at $2,300 a month on a three-year term[7]. A natural fit if you already sell online with Shopify.
Lightspeed Retail
Lightspeed is aimed at retailers with bigger inventories. Plans are listed at $89 (Basic), $149 (Core) and $289 (Plus) a month when billed annually, which Lightspeed says saves up to 18%. Card-present payments are 2.6% + 10¢[8].
So what does a POS really cost per month?
Let's make it concrete. Say you run a small gift shop (an example) doing $20,000 a month in card sales, about 500 sales averaging $40. Here's what software plus card fees would come to on each published plan.
| Setup | Software | Card fees | Monthly total | Yearly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square Free | $0 | $520 + $75 = $595 | $595 | $7,140 |
| Shopify POS Basic | $39 | $520 + $50 = $570 | $609 | $7,308 |
| Square Plus | $49 | $500 + $75 = $575 | $624 | $7,488 |
| Lightspeed Basic | $89 | $520 + $50 = $570 | $659 | $7,908 |
| Square Premium | $149 | $480 + $75 = $555 | $704 | $8,448 |
Interesting, right? The free plan wins at this volume, and the gap between cheapest and priciest is about $109 a month. That's real money ($1,308 a year), but it's not the difference between profit and loss. Choosing a system your staff can actually use matters at least as much.
Notice too how the 10¢ fixed fee on Shopify and Lightspeed matters when your average sale is small. A coffee cart selling $5 lattes feels that 15¢ much more than a furniture store does.
Want to see your own processing costs? Our guide to credit card processing fees breaks the rates down, and the Break-Even Calculator shows how many sales it takes to cover your fixed costs.
How much does POS hardware cost?
Hardware is a one-off, mostly. Square's US store lists a contactless reader at $59 (with your first magstripe reader free), Square Terminal at $299, Square Handheld at $399, a stand for your own iPad at $149, Square Register at $899 and the self-serve Kiosk at $1,999. Register can also be paid at $44 a month over 24 months[3].
Clover and Toast tend to bundle hardware into plans or promotions. Toast was advertising 60% off hardware for a limited time when we checked[4]. Promotions come and go, so look at the total over the contract, not the headline discount.
Honestly? If you're a market stall, a $59 reader and the phone in your pocket gets you trading. You don't need a $2,000 counter on day one.
When does a paid POS plan pay for itself?
On Square, the paid plans buy you a lower card rate (plus extra features). The rate cut alone covers the fee at a predictable point:
Plus saves 0.1% of card volume, so it breaks even at $49,000 a month in in-person card sales ($49 ÷ 0.001). Premium saves 0.2%, so it breaks even at $74,500 a month ($149 ÷ 0.002)[1]. Below those numbers, you'd upgrade for the features, not the savings.
Same logic for any provider: work out what the lower rate saves on your real volume, then compare it with the monthly fee.
What do POS users complain about?
Trustpilot isn't a perfect sample, as unhappy customers are more likely to post. But patterns are useful.
Square (US) holds a 3.6 TrustScore from 7,506 reviews, and Trustpilot's AI summary says reviewers find it easy to use[9]. Clover sits at 1.9 from 2,211 reviews, with the summary citing hidden fees, rising costs and long contracts that are hard to cancel[10]. Toast is at 2.7 from 1,499 reviews; reviewers mention slow support and unexpected fees[11].
Notice how many complaints are about contracts and fees rather than features. That's the part to read carefully.
Before you commit, I'd check three things on paper: the exact processing rate, the contract length and exit fee, and who owns the hardware if you leave. Then budget the rest of your tools with the Software Stack Cost Calculator or read what a small business pays for software.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a POS system cost for a small business?
Software runs from $0 (Square Free, Toast Starter Kit) to about $400 a month (Shopify Advanced), hardware from $59 for a reader to $899+ for a register, and in-person card processing about 2.4%–2.6% plus 10¢–15¢ per sale on published plans (checked Oct 2026).
What is the cheapest POS system?
On published prices, Square's Free plan ($0 a month, 2.6% + 15¢ per in-person sale) plus a $59 reader is about as cheap as it gets. Toast's Starter Kit is also listed from $0 a month, but its processing rates aren't published.
Is Square or Clover cheaper?
Clover advertises rates from as little as 2.3% + 10¢, lower than Square Free's 2.6% + 15¢, but its retail bundles are sold over 36 months or with upfront hardware and, on the bigger bundles, a monthly fee. Compare the full contract cost, not just the rate.
Does Toast publish its processing rates?
Not on its pricing page as of Oct 2026. Toast lists software prices and says it's a payment facilitator; ask for the processing rate in writing.
When is Square Plus worth it?
On the lower card rate alone, Square Plus ($49) pays for itself at about $49,000 a month in in-person card sales, and Premium ($149) at about $74,500. Below that, upgrade only if you need the features.
Do I have to sign a contract for a POS system?
Not always. Square's plans are monthly, while Clover's retail bundles are priced over 36 months and Shopify Plus uses a three-year term. Check the length and the early-exit terms before signing.
Sources
Prices, rates and contract terms come from each provider's own pages and Square's pricing press release; review figures from Trustpilot, checked Oct 2026. POS pricing and promotions change often; confirm before you buy. See our editorial policy, methodology and affiliate disclosure.
- [1] Square press release: unified pricing and packaging (Free, Plus, Premium): https://squareup.com/us/en/press/unified-pricing-and-packaging (checked Oct 2026)
- [2] Square Support: What are Square's fees?: https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/5068-what-are-square-s-fees (checked Oct 2026)
- [3] Square hardware store (US): https://squareup.com/us/en/hardware (checked Oct 2026)
- [4] Toast POS pricing: https://pos.toasttab.com/pricing (checked Oct 2026)
- [5] Clover pricing: https://www.clover.com/pricing (checked Oct 2026)
- [6] Clover retail POS systems: https://www.clover.com/pos-solutions/retail (checked Oct 2026)
- [7] Shopify POS pricing: https://www.shopify.com/pos/pricing (checked Oct 2026)
- [8] Lightspeed Retail POS pricing: https://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/retail/pricing/ (checked Oct 2026)
- [9] Trustpilot: Square (US) reviews page: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/squareup.com/us (checked Oct 2026)
- [10] Trustpilot: Clover reviews page: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/clover.com (checked Oct 2026)
- [11] Trustpilot: Toast reviews page: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/toasttab.com (checked Oct 2026)