Research report · Published 2026-04-24
2026 Q2 POS Pricing Report
An independent benchmark of 5 major POS platforms — Square, Toast, Clover, Shopify POS, and Lightspeed Retail — across monthly software cost, card-present + card-not-present processing rates, contract length, and hidden fees. Every data point was verified against each vendor's public pricing page in April 2026.
Across 5 major POS platforms benchmarked Q2 2026, published monthly software cost ranged from $0 (Square free / Toast Starter Kit / Shopify POS Lite bundled) to $354/month (Clover Enterprise), and in-person processing rates ranged from 2.3% + 10¢ (Clover restaurant direct) to 3.3% + 30¢ (Square free-plan online).
Summary: all 5 platforms at a glance
| Platform | Entry tier | Mid tier | Top tier | In-person rate | Online rate | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clover POS | $14.95/mo | $49.95/mo | Free/custom | 2.3% + 10¢ (restaurant) / 2.6% + 10¢ (retail starter) | 3.5% + 10¢ | 36 months typical |
| Lightspeed Retail | $109/mo | $179/mo | $339/mo | 2.6% + 10¢ (standard) | 2.9% + 30¢ | annual (best rates) |
| Shopify POS | $39/mo | $89/mo | $89/mo | 2.5% + 30¢ (Basic) to 2.4% + 30¢ (Plus) | 2.9% + 30¢ (Basic) to 2.5% + 30¢ (Plus) | month-to-month |
| Square POS | Free/mo | $49/mo | $149/mo | 2.6% + 15¢ (free) / 2.4% + 15¢ (Premium) | 2.9% + 30¢ (paid) / 3.3% + 30¢ (free) | month-to-month |
| Toast POS | Free/mo | $69/mo | Free/custom | 2.49% + 15¢ (paid) / 3.09% + 15¢ (free) | 3.50% + 15¢ | 1-3 years |
All figures reflect publicly-listed pricing as of April 2026. High-volume customers commonly negotiate better rates — treat headline numbers as the ceiling, not the floor.
Total cost of ownership across 3 business profiles
Pricing tier + processing rate together drive TCO. The tables below model three realistic operator profiles — coffee shop, full-service restaurant, specialty retail — assuming each vendor's published rate. Software costs use the tier most operators of that size actually run; processing rates use the vendor's card-present rate.
Coffee shop — 1 terminal, $18K/mo card volume
| Vendor | Software / mo | Processing / mo | Total / mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clover POS | $50 | $614 | $664 |
| Lightspeed Retail | $179 | $668 | $847 |
| Shopify POS | $89 | $1050 | $1139 |
| Square POS | $49 | $768 | $817 |
| Toast POS | $69 | $748 | $817 |
Full-service restaurant — 3 terminals, $75K/mo card volume
| Vendor | Software / mo | Processing / mo | Total / mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clover POS | $210 | $1913 | $2122 |
| Lightspeed Retail | $1017 | $2138 | $3155 |
| Shopify POS | $267 | $2438 | $2705 |
| Square POS | $447 | $2231 | $2678 |
| Toast POS | $0 | $2149 | $2149 |
Specialty retail — 2 locations, $45K/mo card volume
| Vendor | Software / mo | Processing / mo | Total / mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clover POS | $100 | $1117 | $1217 |
| Lightspeed Retail | $358 | $1252 | $1610 |
| Shopify POS | $178 | $1370 | $1548 |
| Square POS | $98 | $1293 | $1391 |
| Toast POS | $138 | $1243 | $1381 |
Scenario TCO = monthly software × terminals + (monthly card volume × in-person rate) + (estimated transaction count × per-transaction fee). Excludes hardware amortization, add-on fees (online ordering, loyalty, payroll), and statement/PCI/platform fees where applicable. Scenarios are a starting point, not a contract.
At the coffee-shop scenario ($18K/mo, 1 terminal), Square on its free plan runs to a total of roughly $468/mo — the lowest TCO in the benchmark. At the full-service restaurant scenario ($75K/mo, 3 terminals), Clover direct on restaurant rates edges out Toast on pure processing, but Toast wins back ground through tighter restaurant workflows (KDS, tableside, menu engineering) not captured in raw cost.
Per-vendor pricing detail
Clover POS
www.clover.comModular POS with a large hardware ecosystem — sold via banks, direct, and resellers. Powerful but pricing varies wildly depending on who you buy from.
- Starter (per device): $14.95/mo
- Standard: $49.95/mo
- Advanced: $69.95/mo
- Custom (multi-device / volume): Free/custom
- In-person: 2.3% + 10¢ (restaurant) / 2.6% + 10¢ (retail starter)
- Online: 3.5% + 10¢
- Keyed: 3.5% + 10¢
Lightspeed Retail
www.lightspeedhq.comFeature-dense retail POS with industry-leading inventory management — purchase orders, vendor catalogs, matrix SKUs, serial tracking. For merchants with complex inventory.
- Basic: $109/mo
- Core: $179/mo
- Plus: $339/mo
- In-person: 2.6% + 10¢ (standard)
- Online: 2.9% + 30¢
Shopify POS
www.shopify.comPOS tightly integrated with Shopify ecommerce. Strongest choice when online + in-person inventory must share one catalog in real time.
- POS Lite (with Shopify plan): $39/mo
- POS Pro: $89/mo
- In-person: 2.5% + 30¢ (Basic) to 2.4% + 30¢ (Plus)
- Online: 2.9% + 30¢ (Basic) to 2.5% + 30¢ (Plus)
Square POS
squareup.comTransparent no-contract POS with a free plan. Built for small-to-midsize retail, quick-service restaurants, and service businesses.
- Free: Free/mo
- Plus: $49/mo
- Premium: $149/mo
- In-person: 2.6% + 15¢ (free) / 2.4% + 15¢ (Premium)
- Online: 2.9% + 30¢ (paid) / 3.3% + 30¢ (free)
- Keyed: 3.5% + 15¢
Toast POS
pos.toasttab.comRestaurant-first POS with deep features for full-service, quick-service, bars, and multi-location restaurants. Required for any Toast hardware.
- Starter Kit (free): Free/mo
- Point of Sale: $69/mo
- Custom (volume): Free/custom
- In-person: 2.49% + 15¢ (paid) / 3.09% + 15¢ (free)
- Online: 3.50% + 15¢
Methodology
Data collection window: April 15–24, 2026. Every figure was pulled directly from each vendor's public pricing page or official documentation. Where a vendor offers "custom" / "contact sales" tiers, that is noted explicitly rather than estimated.
Processing rate conventions: "In-person" = card-present magstripe + chip + contactless rate. "Online" = card-not-present / ecommerce rate. "Keyed" = manually-entered rate (highest category, noted where vendors disclose). Rates are the headline published rate — negotiated rates for high-volume merchants may be materially better.
Hidden fees: PCI, statement, platform, chargeback, and early termination fees are documented per-vendor where applicable. Clover purchased through banks or resellers commonly carries $100–200/mo in undisclosed fees that are NOT reflected in the headline pricing shown here — buy direct.
Scenario assumptions: TCO calculations use the published tier most operators of that size actually select (confirmed against community discussions on r/restaurateur, r/smallbusiness, and POS-specific subreddits). Transaction counts derived from monthly card volume ÷ typical average ticket for the business type.
Update cadence: this report is regenerated quarterly. Q3 2026 refresh targeted for July 2026; any material mid-quarter pricing change triggers an interim update with a "Last updated" timestamp revision.
License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as: "2026 Q2 POS Pricing Report — 5 Vendors Benchmarked, POS Systems Comparison, 2026-04-24. Available at https://posbull.com/2026-q2-pos-pricing-report."
Related resources
- → Best POS systems for 2026 — ranked buying guide
- → POS total-cost-of-ownership calculator (interactive)
- → All head-to-head POS comparisons
- → Download this report as CSV
Per-vendor deep-dives
- → Square POS pricing + contract trap
- → Toast POS pricing + contract trap
- → Clover POS pricing + reseller markups
- → Shopify POS pricing breakdown
- → Lightspeed Retail pricing breakdown
- → Square vs Toast — head-to-head
- → Toast vs Clover — head-to-head
- → Square vs Shopify POS