10 Best POS for Quick Service Restaurant in 2026

Quick comparison

The best POS for quick service restaurant

#1

Square for Restaurants

Best for: Single-location quick-service restaurants that want to start free and pay only processing fees

★★★★★★★★★★4.6/5 on G2 (1,211 reviews, checked Nov 2026)

Visit squareup.com

Starting priceFree (Free plan; Plus $60/month per location, 30-day free trial)

Free planYes — Free plan ($0, unlimited devices, pay processing only)

Square for Restaurants is the cheapest way to open a quick-service counter: the Free plan costs $0, covers unlimited devices and locations, and includes the menu manager, order manager and table management. You pay only the 2.6% + 10c processing on each card sale. Plus costs $60 a month per location, plus $40 a month per added countertop device, and adds unlimited kitchen display screens, advanced reporting, coursing and 24/7 support.

The trade-off is that the Free plan is deliberately basic. Live sales reporting, close-of-day reports and the kitchen display wait for Plus, and online ordering and loyalty live in separate Square products. Buy Square when you want to start at $0 with no contract and no hardware lease; buy Toast or Lightspeed when the restaurant needs the full hospitality stack from day one.

What we like

• A genuinely free plan: unlimited devices and locations, menu manager and order manager at $0
• No long-term contracts and no hardware leases — cancel anytime
• Plus at $60/month per location adds unlimited kitchen display screens, advanced reporting and 24/7 support
• Flat 2.6% + 10c in-person processing with no monthly fee on the Free plan

Watch out for

• Advanced features such as coursing and live sales reporting need Plus at $60/month per location
• A standalone kitchen display subscription costs extra on the Free plan
• Online ordering and loyalty are separate products, not part of the restaurant POS plans

#2

Toast

Best for: Quick-service restaurants that want the restaurant-only POS most US operators already know

★★★★★★★★★★4.2/5 on G2 (376 reviews, checked Nov 2026)

Visit pos.toasttab.com

Starting price$69/month (Point of Sale plan; $0 Starter Kit option)

Free planYes — $0 Starter Kit (higher processing rate)

Toast is the restaurant POS other systems are measured against, because it was built only for restaurants. The Point of Sale plan costs $69 a month and covers menu management, table and course management, cloud reporting and 24/7 support, with card-present processing at 2.49% + 15c. The $0 Starter Kit trades the monthly fee for a higher processing rate, which suits a brand-new counter doing low volume.

The catch is the add-on stack. Online ordering, loyalty, gift cards, email marketing and the kitchen display are all separate monthly charges, so a typical independent ends up paying $200–$400 a month once the modules it actually uses are added. Hardware is Toast-only and contracts typically run two years. Choose Toast when you want the deepest restaurant feature set and staff who already know the system.

What we like

• Built only for restaurants: menu, coursing, handheld ordering, kitchen display and online ordering in one stack
• The $0 Starter Kit lets a new restaurant start with no monthly software fee
• Point of Sale at $69/month pairs core POS with 2.49% + 15c card-present processing
• Largest restaurant POS install base in the US, so staff often already know it

Watch out for

• Online ordering, loyalty, gift cards and the kitchen display are paid add-ons, so the real bill runs well above $69/month
• Hardware is Toast-only — you cannot bring your own terminals
• Contracts typically run two years, and you must use Toast for payment processing

#3

Lightspeed Restaurant

Best for: Growing quick-service spots that want strong reporting and multi-location tools on iPad

★★★★★★★★★★4.3/5 on G2 (55 reviews, checked Nov 2026)

Visit lightspeedhq.com

Starting price$69/month (Starter plan)

Free planNo

Lightspeed Restaurant starts at $69 a month for the Starter plan, which covers a customizable POS, menu manager, floor plans, Advanced Insights and integrated payments at 2.6% + 10c. It runs on iPad hardware you already own, and Lightspeed AI insights come on every plan rather than being held for the top tier. Essential costs $189 a month and adds contactless ordering, online ordering, order and pay at the table and multi-location management.

The step-ups are the thing to price before you buy. Premium costs $399 a month, the kitchen display is a paid add-on, and every extra register and location adds to the bill. Reviewers also report occasional bugs. Pick Lightspeed when reporting depth and multi-location control matter most; pick Square or Toast when you want a lower ceiling on the monthly bill.

What we like

• Lightspeed AI insights are included on every plan, not held for the top tier
• Strongest reporting in this list, with floor plans, advanced insights and multi-location management
• Highest-rated support of the iPad POS options here, at 4.3/5 on G2
• Runs on iPad hardware you already own, with contactless ordering on higher plans

Watch out for

• Essential at $189/month and Premium at $399/month are steep steps up from the $69 Starter plan
• The kitchen display is a paid add-on at about $30 per screen per month
• Extra registers and locations cost more, so the bill grows with the business

#4

TouchBistro

Best for: Counter-service restaurants that need an iPad POS that keeps working when the internet drops

★★★★★★★★★★4.1/5 on G2 (108 reviews, checked Nov 2026)

Visit touchbistro.com

Starting price$69/month (Point of Sale plan, per license)

Free planNo

TouchBistro is an iPad POS built only for restaurants, and its standout trait is resilience: the system runs on a local network, so orders keep flowing when the internet dies. The Point of Sale plan starts at $69 a month per license and covers menu management, floor plans, table management, staff management and reporting. The Essentials Bundle costs $119 a month and adds restaurant-grade hardware and integrated payments with $0 upfront.

The limits are the Apple lock-in and the add-on prices. TouchBistro runs on iPads only, and online ordering, reservations, loyalty and marketing are all separate charges that can push the real bill past $300 a month. Contracts run a year, with the remaining balance due on early exit. Choose TouchBistro when uptime during an internet outage matters more than anything else.

What we like

• Hybrid local/cloud design: orders keep flowing on the local network when the internet drops
• Calm, readable interface that new staff pick up in a single shift
• Essentials Bundle at $119/month adds hardware and integrated payments with $0 upfront
• One-year contract, shorter than the two-year terms most rivals require

Watch out for

• iPad-only — there is no Android or Windows option
• Online ordering, reservations and loyalty are paid add-ons that can push the bill past $300/month
• Plans require an annual contract, with the remaining balance due if you cancel early

#5

Clover

Best for: Quick-service restaurants that want hardware and software in one bundle from a single vendor

★★★★★★★★★★3.8/5 on G2 (109 reviews, checked Nov 2026)

Visit clover.com

Starting price$89.95/month (quick-service Starter plan, per device)

Free planNo

Clover is a Fiserv-owned POS sold mostly through payment processors and resellers, which is why two merchants can pay very different prices for the same terminal. Bought direct from Clover, quick-service software starts at $89.95 a month per device, with online ordering, line-busting, tips and reporting included, and in-person processing from 2.3% + 10c. Hardware runs from the $349 Compact to the $1,899 Station Duo.

The pricing is the thing to pin down before signing. Resellers set their own rates and contract terms, device bundles are commonly financed over 36 months, and the hardware is proprietary — Clover software does not run on third-party terminals. Buy Clover when you want one vendor for hardware, software and processing; buy Square when you want a price you can verify on a public page.

What we like

• Quick-service plans from $89.95/month per device, with online ordering, line-busting and tips included
• Wide hardware range from the $349 Compact to the Station Duo, all from one vendor
• Large app marketplace for loyalty, accounting and delivery integrations
• In-person processing from 2.3% + 10c on the higher quick-service tiers

Watch out for

• Prices vary by reseller — the same terminal can cost different amounts from different sellers
• Hardware is proprietary; Clover software does not run on third-party terminals
• Device bundles are commonly financed over 36 months, which locks you in

#6

SpotOn

Best for: Independent restaurants comparing bundled hardware deals with strong support

★★★★★★★★★★4.4/5 on G2 (249 reviews, checked Nov 2026)

Visit spoton.com

Starting price$0/station (All-In plan; POS Essentials $55/station/month)

Free planYes — All-In plan ($0/station, hardware included, 2-year term)

SpotOn is transparent about the trade-off. All-In costs $0 per station with hardware included, but processing runs 2.79% + 20c and the plan needs a two-year minimum term. POS Essentials costs $55 per station a month, is month-to-month, and cuts the card rate to 2.45% + 15c — but you buy the hardware, the Station 15 at $750 on promotion. The Core Bundle adds online ordering, marketing and profit tools for $50 a month plus 0.20% of card volume, capped at $200.

At low volume the $0 plan wins; at $60,000 a month in card sales the All-In rate premium costs hundreds more a month than Essentials plus its subscription. SpotOn holds the highest G2 score here at 4.4/5, with support the most-praised strength. Choose SpotOn when bundled hardware and good support matter more than the lowest processing rate.

What we like

• Highest G2 score in this list at 4.4/5, with reviewers praising support most
• All-In at $0/station includes hardware, reservations, waitlist and loyalty
• POS Essentials at $55/station is month-to-month, with the lower 2.45% + 15c card rate
• Commission-free online ordering through SpotOn Order and the GoTo Place app

Watch out for

• The $0 All-In plan needs a two-year minimum term and charges the highest processing rate here
• Hardware is purchased outright on the month-to-month Essentials plan
• The Core Bundle add-on grows with card volume, up to $250/month at high volume

#7

Shift4 Dine

Best for: Budget-conscious quick-service restaurants that want free hardware for a flat monthly fee

Visit shift4.com

Starting price$29.99/month (per terminal, free hardware included)

Free planNo

Shift4 Dine, formerly SkyTab, is the cheapest flat fee in this list: $29.99 a month per terminal, with the hardware included and $0 upfront. The standard kit covers a touchscreen workstation, cash drawer, receipt printer and card reader, and loyalty, reservations and waitlist are built in rather than sold as add-ons. Online ordering is an optional $34.99 a month add-on you can decline, and the standard processing rate is 2.75% + 15c.

The deal is paid for with lock-in. You must use Shift4 for payment processing, the contract runs 36 months and auto-renews, and merchants report annual per-device fees on top of the monthly charge. G2 reviewers also split sharply on reliability, with billing disputes the most common complaint. Pick Shift4 Dine when the upfront cost is the barrier; avoid it if you want freedom to choose your processor.

What we like

• Cheapest flat fee here: $29.99/month per terminal with hardware included and $0 upfront
• The standard kit covers a touchscreen workstation, cash drawer, receipt printer and card reader
• Loyalty, reservations and waitlist are built in rather than sold as add-ons
• Online ordering is an optional $34.99/month add-on you can decline

Watch out for

• You must use Shift4 for payment processing — no bringing your own processor
• A 36-month auto-renewing contract with early-termination fees
• Merchants report annual per-device fees on top of the $29.99 monthly charge

#8

Epos Now

Best for: Independents that want to buy the full countertop system upfront with software included

★★★★★★★★★★4.6/5 on G2 (29 reviews, checked Nov 2026)

Visit eposnow.com

Starting price$39/month (software only; Complete system $349 upfront + $79/month)

Free planNo

Epos Now takes the opposite approach from the free-software vendors: buy the system. The software-only plan starts at $39 a month with a 30-day free trial, and the Complete system is $349 upfront plus $79 a month for the countertop terminal, printer and card machine. The software covers inventory, staff management, CRM and sales reporting, with more than 100 app integrations, and processing through Epos Now Payments runs 2.6% + 10c in person.

The headline number is rarely the real number. Promotional bundles commonly require a paid support package, contracts of three to five years are normal, and early exit means paying 100% of the remaining fees. Demand a written quote that itemizes software, support, hardware and processing separately, then compare it against the $0-start options before signing.

What we like

• Software-only plan from $39/month, with a 30-day free trial to test it first
• Complete system bundles terminal, printer and card machine in one purchase
• More than 100 app integrations cover accounting, loyalty, delivery and reporting
• Highest G2 score here alongside Square, at 4.6/5, with reviewers praising easy setup

Watch out for

• Contracts commonly run three to five years, with 100% of remaining fees due on early exit
• A paid support package often pushes the effective monthly cost above the advertised software fee
• Payment processing runs through Epos Now Payments, with limited third-party processor choice

#9

Revel Systems

Best for: Multi-location quick-service chains that need deep reporting and enterprise controls

★★★★★★★★★★4.1/5 on G2 (146 reviews, checked Nov 2026)

Visit revelsystems.com

Starting price$99/month (per terminal, billed annually; 3-year contract, 2-terminal minimum)

Free planNo

Revel is the chain operator's pick in this list. The software starts at $99 a month per terminal, billed annually, and covers POS, inventory, employee and customer management, reporting and analytics, with flat 2.49% + 15c processing through Revel Advantage. It was one of the first cloud iPad POS systems, and it is built for multi-location operators who need real-time data across every site.

The commitment is the catch. The $99 rate needs a three-year Revel Advantage agreement and a minimum of two terminals, onboarding starts at $674, and the marketing site now redirects to Shift4, which acquired Revel in 2024. Some reviewers report support has slipped since the acquisition. Choose Revel for a growing chain; a single counter will find Square or Toast cheaper and simpler.

What we like

• Enterprise reporting, inventory, CRM and employee management in the base software
• Flat 2.49% + 15c processing through Revel Advantage, with no card-brand surprises
• Built for multi-location operators, with real-time data across every site
• Strong POS integration, the strength G2 reviewers cite most

Watch out for

• A three-year Revel Advantage contract and a two-terminal minimum to get the $99 rate
• Onboarding starts at $674 and is mandatory
• Some reviewers report support has slipped since Shift4 acquired Revel in 2024

#10

NCR Aloha

Best for: High-volume quick-service chains and franchises that need enterprise-grade reliability

★★★★★★★★★★3.9/5 on G2 (336 reviews, checked Nov 2026)

Visit ncr.com

Starting priceCustom quote (NCR Voyix publishes no price)

Free planNo

NCR Aloha is the restaurant industry's legacy leader: more staff are trained on Aloha than on any other POS, and large chains still sign new agreements. Aloha Cloud is the cloud product for independents and emerging chains, with real-time reporting and multi-location menu control, while Aloha Essentials is the Windows-based hybrid for high-volume operations. Hardware comes at $0 upfront inside a subscription bundle.

The price is the problem: NCR Voyix publishes no price, so every quote is custom and you cannot compare costs without a sales call. 2026 reviews report Aloha Cloud's Pro package at about $175 a month per terminal, with processing through NCR Voyix Payments — but that figure is reported, not published, so treat the vendor's quote as the authority. Buy Aloha when you run a chain; a counter will do better on a published price.

What we like

• The restaurant industry's legacy leader — more staff are trained on Aloha than any other POS
• Aloha Cloud runs in the cloud with real-time reporting and multi-location menu control
• Keeps taking orders when the internet drops, with true on-site redundancy on Essentials
• Hardware available at $0 upfront inside a monthly subscription bundle

Watch out for

• NCR Voyix publishes no price — every quote is custom, so you cannot compare costs upfront
• Sales and support often run through resellers, not directly with NCR Voyix
• G2 reviewers cite expensive support contracts, costly add-ons and slow support response times

The best pos for quick service restaurant counters is the one your staff can run at full speed on a Friday night: fast order entry, a kitchen display that never loses a ticket, and a card rate that does not eat the margin on a $12 lunch. We ranked the ten tools below by fit for the most common buyer — a single-location quick-service restaurant — starting with the free plans and ending with the enterprise systems, and every price was checked on November 8, 2026.

How to choose the best pos for quick service restaurant

• Count your terminals first. Most systems here charge per device, so a two-terminal counter pays double the headline price on TouchBistro, Clover, Revel and SpotOn Essentials — only Square Free covers unlimited devices at $0.
• Compare the card rate, not just the monthly fee. Processing runs 2.3%–2.8% plus 10–25c per sale, and at $60,000 a month in card sales a 0.3-point gap is worth $180 a month — more than most software fees in this list.
• Check the offline mode. TouchBistro and NCR Aloha keep taking orders when the internet drops; cloud-only systems stop. If your connection is unreliable, this matters more than any feature list.
• Price the add-ons before you sign. Online ordering, loyalty, kitchen display and reservations are paid extras on Toast, TouchBistro and Lightspeed, and they can double or triple the monthly bill.
• Read the contract term. Toast typically asks for two years, Revel three, Shift4 Dine 36 months — while Square and SpotOn Essentials are month-to-month. The exit fee is part of the price.

A POS runs the counter, but it does not fill the seats. If the restaurant also needs to show up on Google Maps and in AI answers, our local SEO guide for restaurants covers the visibility side, and our local SEO service handles it for you. Before you print new menus or run a promotion, generate a review link with the free Google review link generator — it takes thirty seconds and turns happy regulars into public reviews.

Whatever you shortlist, run it on a real rush before you commit. The free plans and trials in this list are long enough to run one genuine week — your menu, your staff, your lunch crowd — and that week tells you more than any review can. Check two things in the trial: that orders reach the kitchen without a second look, and that the end-of-day report matches the cash drawer. Every tool here can do the job on paper; only a live service shows whether it does it at your speed.

Quick-service restaurant POS pricing: what you will actually pay

Take a single-location quick-service restaurant doing $60,000 a month in card sales on two terminals. On list prices, the software costs $0 a month on Square Free or SpotOn All-In, $59.98 on Shift4 Dine, $63 on Epos Now ($39 plus $24 for the second register), $69 on Toast or Lightspeed Starter, $100 on Square Plus ($60 plus $40 for the second device), $110 on SpotOn Essentials, $138 on TouchBistro, $179.90 on Clover, and $198 on Revel. NCR Aloha is a custom quote, so it sits outside this comparison.

Over a year, that is $0 on Square Free, about $720 on Shift4 Dine, $756 on Epos Now, $828 on Toast or Lightspeed, $1,200 on Square Plus, $1,320 on SpotOn Essentials, $1,656 on TouchBistro, about $2,159 on Clover, and $2,376 on Revel. Two of those numbers need adjusting before they are real: Toast covers the first terminal in its $69, so a second terminal costs extra on a figure Toast does not publish, and Revel's $99 rate is billed annually under a three-year contract with a two-terminal minimum.

Then comes the bill that matters more. Processing at $60,000 a month in card sales costs $1,380 a month at Clover's 2.3% low end, $1,470 on SpotOn Essentials at 2.45%, $1,494 on Toast or Revel at 2.49%, $1,560 on Square, Lightspeed or Epos Now at 2.6%, $1,650 on Shift4 Dine at 2.75%, and $1,674 on SpotOn All-In at 2.79% — all before the 10–25c per-transaction fee. That is $16,560–$20,088 a year in processing against $0–$2,376 a year in software. If card payments are the business, compare providers in our guide to payment processing software for small business before you sign anything.

Three costs sit outside every number above. First, hardware: $0 upfront on Shift4 Dine, SpotOn All-In and TouchBistro Essentials, but $349–$1,899 per terminal when you buy it, and $750 for a SpotOn Station 15 on the Essentials plan. Second, the add-ons — online ordering, loyalty, kitchen display and reservations — which are separate monthly charges on most tools here. Third, the exit: early-termination fees on the multi-year contracts, and annual per-device fees that merchants report on Shift4 Dine. Price all three before you commit to a monthly figure.

Know the difference: the software fee vs the processing rate

The confusion in this category is between two different bills that arrive under one brand. The software fee is the monthly subscription for the POS itself — $0–$99 per terminal in this list. The processing rate is the percentage plus per-transaction fee the payment processor takes on every card sale, typically 2.3%–2.8% plus 10–25c. They are priced separately, they are negotiated separately, and the processing rate is almost always the larger cost.

That split explains the $0 plans. Square Free, Toast Starter Kit and SpotOn All-In charge no monthly software fee, but they charge a higher processing rate than the paid plans from the same vendor — SpotOn All-In at 2.79% + 20c against 2.45% + 15c on Essentials, for example. At $60,000 a month in card sales, that 0.34-point gap costs about $204 a month, which is far more than the $55 Essentials subscription it replaces. A $0 plan is only free below the volume where the rate gap overtakes the subscription.

There is a second, quieter confusion: per-location pricing versus per-terminal pricing. Square Plus charges per location with extra devices at $40 a month each, while TouchBistro, Clover, Revel and SpotOn Essentials charge per terminal or per license. A three-terminal counter pays $60 + $80 on Square Plus but $207 on TouchBistro and $270 on Clover. Always multiply the headline price by your terminal count before comparing two systems.

Quick comparison: tool type by need

Mistakes to avoid

• Budgeting on the software fee alone. Processing costs $1,380–$1,674 a month at $60,000 in card sales — ten times the software fee on most tools here. Compare the card rate first, then the subscription.
• Buying on the $0 plan without doing the rate math. A $0 plan with a higher processing rate costs more than a paid plan above modest volume: SpotOn All-In at 2.79% costs about $204 a month more than Essentials at $60,000 in card sales.
• Forgetting the second terminal. Most systems charge per device, so a two-terminal counter pays double the headline price. Multiply before you compare.
• Signing a multi-year contract for the hardware. Free hardware on Shift4 Dine and SpotOn All-In comes with 36-month and two-year terms, and early exit means termination fees plus, on Shift4 Dine, reported annual per-device fees.
• Pricing the bundle on the promo offer. Epos Now's Complete system price moves with promotions, and its support package is often extra. Get a written quote that itemizes software, support, hardware and processing separately.

How we chose

We checked each vendor's own pricing page on November 8, 2026 where the vendor publishes prices — Square, Toast and TouchBistro — and recorded the starting price exactly as shown. Lightspeed, Clover, SpotOn, Shift4 Dine and Epos Now do not publish a single static pricing page, so their figures come from the vendors' own pricing pages and current offers as read by independent October–November 2026 checks, cross-checked across at least two sources each; Revel's $99 figure is the widely reported starting price from the vendor's published rate card, and NCR Aloha publishes no price at all, so it is listed as a custom quote. Ratings come from G2 pages read on November 8, 2026, except Shift4 Dine, whose G2 and Capterra scores conflict sharply across third-party reports, so we show no rating for it rather than pick one. We ranked the tools by fit for the most common buyer — a single-location quick-service restaurant — not by brand size. No vendor paid for a place in this list, and none of the links here are affiliate links.

What to do next

Start with the free plan or trial of your top pick and run it through one real lunch rush. Check that orders reach the kitchen without a second look, that the end-of-day report matches the cash drawer, and that the card rate on your actual volume beats the plan you would pay for. If the counter is sorted but new customers are not finding you, our monthly SEO service handles the visibility side — or compare providers in our guide to mobile payment apps for small business. Once your tools are in place, find out what's holding your rankings back.

Sources we checked (22)

• Square for Restaurants pricing — squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/restaurants/pricing (checked November 8, 2026)
• Toast POS pricing guide — pos.toasttab.com/blog/on-the-line/toast-pricing (checked November 8, 2026)
• Toast POS pricing — pos.toasttab.com/pricing (checked November 8, 2026)
• Lightspeed POS pricing 2026 — bestguide.com/review/lightspeed-pos/ (checked November 8, 2026)
• TouchBistro pricing — touchbistro.com/pricing (checked November 8, 2026)
• Clover pricing — clover.com/pricing (checked November 8, 2026)
• Clover POS pricing by business type — ecommerceparadise.com/clover-pricing/ (checked November 8, 2026)
• SpotOn pricing — spoton.com/pricing (checked November 8, 2026)
• SpotOn pricing guide — gingerserve.com/guides/spoton-pricing (checked November 8, 2026)
• Shift4 Dine POS review — posusa.com/shift4-dine-pos-review/ (checked November 8, 2026)
• Epos Now POS review — tech.co/pos-system/epos-now-pos-review (checked November 8, 2026)
• Revel Systems POS review — posquote.com/review/revel-systems/ (checked November 8, 2026)
• NCR Aloha POS review — posusa.com/aloha-pos-review/ (checked November 8, 2026)
• G2 Square Point of Sale reviews — g2.com/products/square-point-of-sale/reviews (checked November 8, 2026)
• G2 Toast reviews — g2.com/products/toast/reviews (checked November 8, 2026)
• G2 Lightspeed Restaurant vs Toast — g2.com/compare/lightspeed-restaurant-vs-toast (checked November 8, 2026)
• G2 TouchBistro comparison — g2.com/compare/maitre-d-vs-touchbistro-restaurant-pos (checked November 8, 2026)
• G2 Clover reviews — g2.com/products/clover/reviews (checked November 8, 2026)
• G2 SpotOn reviews — g2.com/products/spoton/reviews (checked November 8, 2026)
• G2 Epos Now reviews — g2.com/products/epos-now/reviews (checked November 8, 2026)
• G2 Revel Systems reviews — g2.com/products/revel-systems-revel-systems/reviews (checked November 8, 2026)
• G2 Aloha Cloud reviews — g2.com/products/aloha-cloud/reviews (checked November 8, 2026)