Merchants look past Square when per-location plans plus bundled card processing no longer fit: restaurants that want a dedicated kitchen workflow, retailers that want deeper inventory, and shops that want to choose their own processor. Most move to Lightspeed Retail, Loyverse, KORONA POS or Shopify POS.
Visibility in our rankings can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within
the shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review or of this page. How it works:
placement disclosure · editorial process.
What each alternative does differently
1. Lightspeed Retail
Retail POS with purchasing and multi-store stock control · Canada
Built around retail inventory and sold as published monthly plans of $89, $149 and $289 on its retail pricing page, with extra locations and registers priced on top. Its page also advertises a saving when you use Lightspeed Payments, so processing is still tied to the plan.
Switch from Square if you run one or several stores and inventory depth matters more than a $0 entry plan.
Pricing: Published monthly plans per location, billed higher without Lightspeed Payments; extra registers cost more. (free trial)
Full review: #1 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Lightspeed Retail →
2. Loyverse
Free tablet POS for small cafés and shops · Cyprus
The core POS, loyalty program, kitchen display and multi-store management are free. Paid add-ons are priced separately: sales history beyond 31 days at 7 euros per store a month, employee management at 5 euros per employee, advanced inventory at 25 euros per store. No restaurant floor-plan scope is claimed on that page.
Switch from Square if you want a free core POS and will pay only for the add-ons you actually use.
Pricing: Core POS free, including multi-store back office and kitchen display; paid add-ons for sales history and advanced inventory per store, and employee management per employee. (free plan)
Full review: #2 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Loyverse →
3. KORONA POS
Processor-agnostic retail POS with month-to-month terms · United States
Priced per terminal rather than per location, at $59 for Core on its pricing page, with higher plans adding inventory and multi-location tools. It states no setup fees and no forced contracts, and it lists several processor options, so you are not tied to one card network.
Switch from Square if you want to keep your own card processor and pay per register.
Pricing: Published monthly plans per register, month-to-month, with the merchant choosing among supported card processors. (free trial)
Full review: #3 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit KORONA POS →
4. Shopify POS
Store checkout tied to a Shopify online shop · Canada
Sits inside a Shopify store plan, so online and in-person selling share one catalog. Its pricing page shows lower in-person card rates on higher store plans and a separate POS Pro charge per location. It makes most sense when the web shop leads and the shop counter follows.
Switch from Square if your online store is the main business and the shop counter is secondary.
Pricing: In-person selling is included with every Shopify plan; POS Pro is charged per location per month, and in-person cards run through Shopify Payments. (free trial)
Full review: #7 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Shopify POS →
5. SpotOn
Restaurant and retail POS with local service reps · United States
Restaurant-focused, with a published $0 per station plan that includes hardware but carries higher card rates and a two-year minimum term, and a $55 month-to-month plan with lower rates and bought hardware. Multi-unit operators are quoted. Expect to read the contract before signing.
Switch from Square if you run a restaurant and want a published plan that bundles hardware.
Pricing: Published per-station plans: a $0 plan with included hardware, higher card rates and a two-year minimum term, or a month-to-month plan with lower rates and hardware bought outright; multi-unit setups are quoted. (none)
Full review: #12 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit SpotOn →
6. TouchBistro
iPad POS for independent full-service restaurants · Canada
Aimed at restaurants only, with a point-of-sale bundle starting at $69 a month and an equipment bundle starting at $119. Its pricing page says 24/7 support is included in the subscription. There is no retail or appointment mode to fall back on.
Switch from Square if you run a sit-down restaurant and want a product built for table service.
Pricing: Monthly software per location with paid add-ons for reservations, online ordering and loyalty; integrated payments optional in some markets. (none)
Full review: #11 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit TouchBistro →
7. Epos Now
UK POS for retail and hospitality with hardware bundles · United Kingdom
UK-founded and sold mainly as a hardware-plus-subscription bundle: its UK page advertises a complete system from 299 pounds and a payments, care and support subscription from 54 pounds a month on a 12-month term. Promotions change often, so confirm current terms.
Switch from Square if you are in the UK and want a one-off hardware bundle with a support plan.
Pricing: Hardware bundles bought or financed, plus monthly software and optional Epos Now Payments. (none)
Full review: #9 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Epos Now →
8. Clover
All-in-one terminals and software from Fiserv · United States
We could not load Clover's pricing page, so we state no price. It is the other large hardware-led POS in the US and is usually bought through a bank or reseller, which means the processing terms come with the sales channel rather than with the software.
Switch from Square if a local bank or reseller offers you a Clover bundle with terms you have compared in writing.
Pricing: Hardware bought outright or financed, plus a monthly software plan and Fiserv card processing; terms vary a lot by sales channel. (none)
Full review: #5 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Clover →
9. Toast
Restaurant POS with kitchen, ordering and payroll built in · United States
Toast's pricing page blocked our fetch, so we state no price. It is a restaurant-specific system with its own hardware and payments, and the category ranking covers its starter plan. It does not serve retail or appointment-based businesses.
Switch from Square if you run a restaurant and want one vendor for software, hardware and payments.
Pricing: Hardware plus monthly software per location and Toast payments; a low-upfront starter plan trades hardware cost for higher processing. (none)
Full review: #6 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Toast →
10. SumUp POS
Card reader and simple POS for micro-merchants · United Kingdom
SumUp's US page we fetched was thin, so we state no price. It is a payments company first and offers a lighter POS, so it is a fit for small sellers who care about a low fixed cost. Check which plans exist in your own country.
Switch from Square if you sell in small volume and want a payments-first provider with a light POS.
Pricing: The Free POS plan costs nothing beyond pay-as-you-go card fees; POS Plus adds features for a monthly fee, and POS Pro terminals and software are sold as monthly bundles, with prices and rates varying by country. (free plan)
Full review: #13 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit SumUp POS →
11. Revel Systems
iPad POS for multi-location restaurants and retail · United States
Revel's site stopped our fetch behind a browser check, so we state no price. The category file treats it as quote-based, which usually means a sales process and a contract term. Expect a longer setup than Square's self-serve sign-up.
Switch from Square if you run a larger or multi-site operation and accept a quoted contract.
Pricing: Quote only; software per terminal with a minimum term, plus hardware and processing through Shift4 in most deals. (none)
Full review: #8 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Revel Systems →
