Best Tablet POS System

Square POS is the best tablet POS system in the industry because it works well for almost any type of business, it’s compatible with iOS and Android tablets and there are no upfront costs (except your tablet). Square doesn’t charge a monthly fee for its software, and you even get a free card reader to accept credit cards.

There are payment processing fees, but you’re going to pay those no matter which POS system you use. Processing fees vary depending on how you accept payments. Square is an omnichannel solution, so you can use it for online sales or over the phone, for example. Here are the rates you should expect per transaction using Square’s POS:

• In person: 2.6% plus $0.10
• Online: 2.9% plus $0.30
• Manual key: 3.5% plus $0.15

Square’s base POS software includes inventory management so you can easily track your stock. You can modify items in your inventory, which is vital for restaurants and mobile food trucks. If you can’t find a feature you need from Square, you’re likely to find it in the marketplace where there are hundreds of apps you can integrate to make your POS system even more powerful.

Learn more: Read our full Square review and Square pricing guide.

Who should use it:

Square is easy to use, includes built-in payment processing and there are no monthly fees to use the tablet POS software, so it’s an ideal pick for almost any small business. It’s especially a good choice for solo sellers and small businesses just getting started because of the flat fees for processing.

Shopify is one of the most well-known tablet POS systems on the market. It offers point-of-sale solutions for many types of business, whether you’re selling online, in store or both. In addition to its powerful POS software, Shopify offers its own payment processing solution, hardware bundles and mobile card readers.

Base pricing for Shopify ranges from $39 to $399 monthly, depending on which of the three plans you choose. If you use Shopify Payments for processing transactions, you’ll get a discount on fees on higher-priced plans. The Shopify Payments rates per transaction are as follows:

• Basic Plan
  • Online: 2.9% plus $0.30
  • In person: 2.7%
• Grow Plan
  • Online: 2.6% plus $0.30
  • In person: 2.5%
• Advanced Plan
  • Online: 2.4% plus $0.30
  • In person: 2.4%

Keep in mind that if you choose to use your own merchant account with a Shopify POS plan, you’ll have to pay a 0.5% to 2% fee per transaction, depending on the plan you choose.

Regardless of the plan you pick, you’ll get an e-commerce-ready website, unlimited online products you can list and inventory management of up to eight locations. Use your tablet with Shopify hardware to turn your iOS or Android tablet into a countertop POS. Also, all of your locations sync automatically with Shopify POS, so you can sell and ship items from any warehouse or store location and you’ll see updated counts across all locations.

Learn more: Read our full Shopify review.

Who should use it:

Small businesses needing an online and in-store tablet POS solution would do well with Shopify. You can use your tablet for retail point-of-sale, for pop-up events or sell online with a Shopify website (or your own).

Loyverse sets itself apart from other top tablet POS systems for its free software and included loyalty program (most other POS software charge extra for loyalty features). The base POS software is free to use and it’s compatible with iOS and Android devices. You get the standard POS features you need to run a business online or off, including inventory management, the ability to accept various types of payments and reporting.

The primary reason to choose the open source Loyverse POS software is for its free loyalty program. You can track customers and their purchases and keep notes on them for future interactions—it’s similar to having a mini customer relationship management (CRM) program. Additionally, you can set up a points system to encourage repeat purchases, administer loyalty cards and then turn those loyalty points into discounts for your customers.

There’s no built-in payment processing with Loyverse, which could be a pro or con, depending on your perspective. If you have an established business, you likely already have a merchant services account to handle payment processing, so Loyverse could be a good choice for you. Newer businesses may have difficulty finding their own merchant account, so a different tablet POS system may be a better fit. The good news is Loyverse doesn’t charge its customers a transaction fee for using a third-party processor.

Loyverse only charges for add-on features, including employee management ($25 per month per store), advanced inventory ($25 per month per store) and integrations ($9 per month per store). You can try out any of the optional feature sets in a 14-day free trial to see if it suits your business.

Who should use it:

Loyverse is best for established businesses that already have a merchant services account and are looking for a solid loyalty program at no added cost.

TouchBistro is a specialty tablet POS system with restaurants in mind. The POS software is only compatible with iOS, so it’s suitable for food service businesses that primarily use iPads for countertop and mobile POS. Pricing is a bit high compared to similar tablet POS software, starting at $69 per month.

Your monthly subscription to TouchBistro gives you access to tools not typically found in retail POS software. You’ll get restaurant-specific features, such as menu and table management, tableside ordering and floor plan management. Standards such as reporting, inventory management and integrations are included, as is staff management. It’s the details that make a difference with TouchBistro; for example, inventory management includes recipe logging, so you can more easily track costs and portions for more accurate stock counts and repurchasing.

There are optional services that you can add on at an extra cost to make TouchBistro more functional for your food service business. Gift cards, a loyalty program, online ordering, marketing and reservations come with monthly fees ranging from $25 to $229 per month. You can opt for TouchBistro’s built-in payment processor (by Chase) or keep your existing merchant account provider.

Learn more: Read our full TouchBistro review.

Who should use it:

TouchBistro is one of the best restaurant POS systems, honed specifically for food service businesses and iPads.

Lightspeed is an iPad POS system that can work well for a myriad of businesses, but its features are most helpful for retailers. It’s an expensive system compared to some of the best tablet POS platforms available, and it doesn’t support the Android operating system, so it’s a bit limiting for some businesses.

Where Lightspeed shines is with its inventory management features. You get more than the standard stock counts that most tablet POS software provide. Lightspeed gives you built-in purchase ordering, lots of integrated vendor catalogs and you can import items with its bulk item import tool. If the features in the three plans aren’t enough for you, Lightspeed can create a custom POS solution to fit your needs.

All three Lightspeed plans offer a single register for the cloud-based POS software, built-in payment processing and 24/7 support. Payment processing rates are the same across all three plans, too: 2.6%, plus 10 cents per transaction (card-not-present rate is 2.6%, plus 30 cents per transaction). The only way to get lower rates is to opt for the quote-based plan intended for enterprises.

Learn more: Read our full Lightspeed POS review.

Who should use it:

Lightspeed offers a version of its tablet POS software for restaurants, but the base program is intended for retailers. You can upgrade your plan to get omnichannel POS support, but it will get pricey.