The best hospitality POS systems

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We tested 11 top point of sale (POS) platforms across 37 different criteria, and found that Square is the best hospitality POS system in 2026, thanks to its unrivalled usability and free plan.

We conducted a new set of hands-on user testing of specific platforms in May 2026 and confirmed that Square is still the easiest-to-use platform, making it suitable for bars, cafés, coffee shops, hotels and the best POS systems for restaurants.

While hospitality sales might have seen a slump in April, the upcoming World Cup is expected to bring a much needed financial boost to UK businesses, and our guide will help you select the best POS system to run your sales smoothly.

The best hospitality POS systems: quick comparison

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		Best for	Pricing from	Key benefits
SPONSORED	BEST OVERALL
Epos Now	Square	Clover	SumUp	Toast	Lightspeed	takepayments	TouchBistro
Combining hospitality and retail	Best overall POS system for hospitality businesses	Fast-paced hospitality environments	Mobile food trucks	Established restaurants with complex operations	Multi-location restaurant chains	Neighbourhood cafés	A tailored POS option
Hardware: From £299 Monthly subscriptions: From £25/month	Free plan	£1/month (on an 18-month contract)	Free plan	£80/month	£79/month	Quote-based	$69/month (pricing available in US dollars only)
Inventory tracking 24/7 support Easily connect to delivery apps	Excellent help and support options Free plan Automatically share tips between your employees based on working hours	Exceptional POS hardware and accessories Fingerprint login on the Clover Terminal   Lots of tools to boost the efficiency of your staff	Great range of hardware and accessories Inventory management tools with stock alerts and cost management Mobile and QR code ordering	Customer engagement tools to build loyalty programmes Strong inventory management, including stock alerts Built-in reservation tools	Watch a demo before you buy Grows with your business Customisable floor plans Customer loyalty features	Real-time reporting Easy inventory management Dedicated account manager	Staff management software Strong floor planning tools In-depth reporting features
Get Quotes	Visit Square	Get Quotes	Get Quotes	Get Quotes	Try Lightspeed	Get Quotes	Get Quotes

1. Square: best hospitality POS system overall

Overall rating: 4.8
In person transaction fee: 1.75%
POS terminals starting cost: £149 + VAT
Contract length: none
Recommended for: cafés, bakeries, coffee shops, food trucks, street food vendors, quick-service restaurants (QSRs), taprooms, independent bars

Square is the best POS system for hospitality businesses thanks to its unmatched usability, depth of software features and completely free starter plan.

During my testing of Square, I was impressed with how clean and slick the interface was, being able to handle rapid-fire inputs and corrections of a food order in under three minutes.

I found the backend was equally as intuitive as the frontend interface. Source: Startups.co.uk

Technical mishaps during dining rushes can have an impact on profit margins, but I was impressed by Square’s support network, with a deep library of troubleshooting guides and actual human assistance available via phone, 9am to 5pm on weekdays.

You’ll have to upgrade to the Square for Restaurants Plus plan to unlock 24/7 phone support, as well as seat management, course management and customisable floor plans.

How did Square perform in my test run?

I conducted a recent hands-on testing session of Square, which involved a dry run of a complex food and drinks order, with variables and nested modifiers, as well as discounts, to see how well it can manage a large basket of items.

 

I was extremely impressed with how fast and responsive Square’s interface was, completing the front-to-back test in 8.7 minutes, much faster than the overall average completion time of 18 minutes.

Eddie Harris Senior Reviews Writer

What are some of Square’s standout features?

Along with being extremely easy to use, Square has an impressive depth of hospitality features which include:

• Square is one of the few POS systems that can natively support automated tip sharing.
• Square is the best iPad-based POS system: particularly convenient if you already own an iPad and are willing to use it for your POS needs.
• Square POS can seamlessly connect with its own first-party kitchen display system (KDS).
• Square AI is built into the back office and can help quickly answer sales questions.
• Square has an excellent range of terminals and accessories (I was personally impressed with how well constructed and responsive the Square Terminal was).

How much does Square cost?

Square’s flexible, low cost approach is ideal for cash flow sensitive hospitality owners who are fighting against rising labour costs. This makes Square the best fit for early-stage businesses who need to keep outgoings to a minimum.

What our researchers think

I’m a huge fan of the Square interface. When we tested it on an iPad, I found it really easy to navigate as everything was clearly labelled and the interface was really modern and clean looking, which made it even easier to find all the functions I needed.

Ollie Simpson Senior Research Executive

2. Clover: best for fast-paced hospitality environments

Overall rating: 4.4
In person transaction fee: quote-based
POS terminals starting cost: £9.99 + VAT per month
Contract length: quote-based (previously advertised as 18 months)
Recommended for: high-volume full-service restaurants, high-foot traffic pubs and bars, nightclubs, microbreweries, boutique cafés, high-SKU fast-casual venues

Clover stands out by providing a range of excellent POS machines, that are best for handling fast-paced environments, especially mid-to-large high-volume restaurants.

The standout feature on the Clover Station Duo for me was the fingerprint scanner. This feature wasn’t included on any other device I tested, and meant I could rapidly access the terminal.

The speedy fingerprint scanner, which is on the top right of the POS terminal, is definitely a standout feature. Source: Startups.co.uk

In our test run we found the Clover terminal to be highly functional and adept at fast ordering, with clear buttons and fast search functionality (when it came to the rapid-fire ordering section, Clover came in just a nose behind Square at just over three minutes).

Another major benefit of Clover is the wide Clover App Market: the modularity of the software means you can pay for third-party apps when and if you need them, with specialist applications like:

• SeatOn Reservations for guest management
• SevenRooms for online booking and ensuring you can be accessed by Google AI
• Commerce Sync for connecting to you accounting software so you can stay MTD compliant
• Thrive Inventory for enhanced stock tracking

Read more: The best POS systems for pubs and bars

What are some of Clover’s standout features?

Clover has feature-rich software that’s able to support ambitious hospitality owners looking to scale, including:

• Clover Dining supports interactive table-mapping, with visual cues for the status of a table (when a customer is ready to pay for example).
• Clover has profit tracking and stock alerts — handy for monitoring your inventory of beer kegs and bottles.
• There is deep menu configuration, which supports nested modifiers, reducing the chance of an ordering error.
• Clover also has a commission-free online ordering page.

How much does Clover cost?

Established restaurants will be best suited to Clover’s bespoke transaction fee structure, although the contract-based model won’t be beneficial to smaller cafés and eateries.

Clover generally requires steep upfront fees for hardware. However, it’s currently running a promotion where you can get a device for £9.99 per month.

What our researchers think

The Clover hardware was the most modern and sleek for me, out of all the POS systems we tested, I’d liken it to Apple in the way it looks, with glossy white colours.

 

Using the system was really simple too. It’s laid out with icons and looks similar to an iPad, so there’s no issues with learning to use it — plus the finger print recognition was so useful and meant I could log in quicker than any other system we tested.

Ollie Simpson Senior Research Executive

3. SumUp: best for mobile food trucks

Overall rating: 4.2
In person transaction fee: 1.69%
POS terminals starting cost: £99 + VAT
Contract length: none
Recommended for: mobile food trucks, street vendors, kiosks, micro-cafés, coffee stands

SumUp provides a zero-monthly-fee model, with a quick and easy setup and an affordable POS terminal that makes it the best choice for mobile food trucks and early stage hospitality businesses. 

The SumUp Terminal is a standalone, durable handheld POS device that can currently be purchased for a one-off upfront fee of £99 + VAT, and comes with a free SIM card pre-installed.

The SumUp Terminal is a handheld POS device with dual WiFi and a free SIM card. Source: Unsplash.com

SumUp’s interface is simple and minimal, which results in a short learning curve. We were able to complete most tasks in our test run incredibly fast and creating orders was highly intuitive.

SumUp keeps things simple, but it does support scalability with its more advanced plans:

• POS Plus (£29 + VAT per month): provides floor management, order transfers and 24/7 support
• POS Pro (£49 + VAT per month): customised card reader fees, detailed ingredient/allergen information and advanced reporting

What are some of SumUp’s standout features?

Even on the contract-free, no monthly-fee plan, SumUp still has great features like:

• It has a free SumUp Business Account which provides next-day access to your funds, including weekends.
• It has a “takeaway” toggle for automatic VAT calculation.
• SumUp provides access to a basic online store builder.
• It allows you to offer automated loyalty points, stamp cards and birthday rewards to customers, straight from the terminal.

Read more: The best takeaway POS systems for small businesses

How much does SumUp cost?

The simplicity and transparency of SumUp’s pay-as-you-go plan is a great choice for first-time business owners who want to ease cash-flow anxiety.

If you do begin to take in a larger amount of monthly sales, then you can upgrade to the Payments Plus plan (£19 + VAT per month) which unlocks low 0.99% transaction fees (recommended if you’re taking in more than £3,000 per month in card sales).

What our researchers think

I really liked how easily you could set up QR code ordering and customise it to your business, which is great for serving customers more efficiently. On the back-office side it has really great inventory management and analytical tools, which make it a breeze when tracking your stock.

Ollie Simpson Senior Research Executive

4. Toast: best for complicated kitchens

Overall rating: 4.1
In person transaction fee: quote-based
POS terminals starting cost: quote-based
Contract length: typically between one and three years
Recommended for: high foot traffic, full-service restaurants, fine dining establishments, quick-service restaurants, nightclubs, busy bars, multi-location hospitality businesses

Toast has been built on a serious, industry-specific infrastructure with excellent inventory management tools, making it best suited to established restaurants with complex kitchen demands. 

Toast deftly combines advanced menu management, loyalty tools, and tableside ordering capabilities into one cohesive POS ecosystem.

Toast comes with built-in customer engagement tools so you can build your own loyalty programmes. Source: Startups.co.uk

Despite being a complex and highly-functional piece of software, Toast still retains impressive usability, with smooth back office navigation and a helpful step-by-step onboarding process.

Toast also provides its own first-party countertop terminal, the Toast Flex. The Toast Flex has adjustable height and the screen can be flipped, so it’s adaptable to a range of different hospitality environments.

What are some of Toast’s standout features?

Toast’s higher price point comes with a comprehensive range of hospitality-focused features like:

• Toast has automated tip-allocation.
• It features strong mobile-QR code ordering workflows.
• There is granular food-cost tracking to keep margins lean.
• A sandbox training mode allows staff to become confident using the system.
• Integration with xtraCHEF can provide recipe-level stock tracking.
• The Toast IQ AI-powered assistant can assist with tasks like smart menu pairing.

How much does Toast cost?

Toast, starting at an entry-tier of £80 + VAT per month, is one of the most expensive options on the roundup. With additional hardware and setup fees this can easily price out smaller cafés and food trucks that would be better off with SumUp or Square.

However, the depth of features will be worth the money for more established restaurants and establishments who need enterprise-level software.

5. Lightspeed Restaurant: best for multi-location chains

Overall rating: 3.9
In person transaction fee: quote-based
POS terminals starting cost: quote-based
Contract length: typically starts from 12 months
Recommended for: high-volume (over £500,000 in annual transaction volume) multi-site chains, hotel restaurants, bistros, large bars, fine dining and full-service restaurants

Lightspeed Restaurant is the best choice for multi-chain restaurants due its ability to handle operational complexity through advanced features, like master menu control, and allowing for inventory tracking of ingredient and item counts across separate stockrooms.

Lightspeed also allows for cross-location insights, so instead of having to cobble together separate site data, you get a unified look at your reporting in real-time via:

• Automated visual charts to show which menu items are performing well, and which aren’t
• Front-of-house employee efficiency tracking
• Hourly heat-maps so you can visualise when service slowdowns are occurring

Read our full Lightspeed review

Our testing found that creating a floor plan was easy and intuitive with Lightspeed Restaurant. Source: Startups.co.uk

Lightspeed’s standout feature though is the excellent loyalty and engagement functionality. Within Lightspeed’s POS cloud you can track guest purchasing behaviour, marketing loyalty balances and corporate gift cards.

What are some of Lightspeed Restaurants standout features?

Beyond the multi-site and loyalty features, Lightspeed Restaurant has advanced tools and features like:

• It features granular ingredient-level tracking that links ingredients to multiple wholesale vendors, tracks purchase price history and sets dynamic par levels.
• There is 24/7 assistance via live chat and phone support.
• Lightspeed Tasks is a recent addition to the platform for effective task management.
• Lightspeed includes built-in reservation functionality.

How much does Lightspeed Restaurant cost?

With a starting price of £79 + VAT (per location, per month) Lightspeed is a premium option that will price out more modest hospitality businesses.

Note that features like Lightspeed Tasks and the Advanced Insights are only available from the Core tier (£149 + VAT per month, per location). It’s an expensive plan, but complex, multi-site businesses will need this long-term operational feature depth.

Simple, low-SKU businesses, like a micro-pub or coffee stand, will be much better off with Square or SumUp.

What our researchers think

Although Lightspeed may start slightly higher in monthly price than some other options, it’s well worth the money. When I tested the front end, I was really impressed with how easy and quick it was to take an order, and the fact that this could all be done through an iPad means that you can be on the go and speed up serving times.

Ollie Simpson Senior Research Executive

6. takepayments: best for neighbourhood cafés

Overall rating: 3.8
In person transaction fee: quote-based
POS terminals starting cost: £55 + VAT per month
Contract length: 12 months
Recommended for: independent, single-site businesses, fast-casual dining, quick-service restaurants, independent bars, bed and breakfasts, local cafés, bakeries, delis

takepayments is best for neighbourhood cafés and quick-service counters thanks to the all-in-one countertop terminal, which saves on counter space, and a detailed onboarding process.

Unlike restaurant chains, local café owners are responsible for the often tricky and technical POS setup process themselves. However, takepayments provides dedicated human-led onboarding support from its Welcome Team. 

Read our full takepayments review

takepayments’ dual-screen terminal is ideal for showing customers their order total to avoid confusion. Source: Startups.co.uk

For local cafes and QSRs, takepayments provides a good middle ground between the simplicity of SumUp and the complexity of Lightspeed. While it doesn’t suffer from feature overload, takepayments does have great features, like built-in visual table layouts and automatic daily cash drawer reconciliation for operational efficiency.

What are some of takepayments’ standout features?

Aside from the all-in-one terminal and comprehensive onboarding, takepayments also features:

• It has interactive drag-and-drop floor mapping.
• A quick-suspend “tabs” module allows you to pause and retrieve ongoing customer checks from any terminal.
• The UK-based customer service team is available seven days a week.
• It has a CRM module included for taking reservations.
• There are timekeeping tools for your staff members.

How much does takepayments cost?

While takepayments doesn’t have a pay-as-you-go plan, the monthly cost is still lower than Lightspeed and Toast, it comes with a POS terminal, and you’ll benefit from the tailored fee structure that is bespoke to your business needs.

A key bonus to using takepayments is that you’ll also benefit from fast next-day payouts, which is a primary reason we chose it as the best merchant account for small businesses.

What our researchers think

I loved how simple and easy to use the takepayments POS system was. The layout was really clearly divided into each section which minimised any confusion or mistakes when adding an order.

 

I was also really impressed by their onboarding and support. They have someone to take you through the processes and they can also remotely log in (with your permission, of course). So, when you have a problem they can see exactly what is happening and fix it 10 times quicker!

Ollie Simpson Senior Research Executive

7. TouchBistro: best for a tailored POS option

Overall rating: 3.7
In person transaction fee: quote-based
POS terminals starting cost: quote-based
Contract length: typically begins from 12 months
Recommended for: independent full-service restaurants, gastropubs, taprooms, high-end boutique dining, and emerging multi-site venues

TouchBistro provides a modular software structure where you can add-on tools like online ordering and loyalty rewards, making it the best option to avoid rigid all-in-one bundles in favour of a tailored model.

Unlike other competitors, which have been built for both retail and hospitality sectors, or built for retail first and had hospitality functionality bolted on, TouchBistro has been built specifically and only for restaurants.

We found TouchBistro’s software very easy to use in our testing. Source: Startups.co.uk

TouchBistro has been designed specifically to be used on Apple products, allowing your staff to add complex menu modifiers and customise dish alterations directly from an iPad. We found the frontend interface to be sleek and user friendly, though we found the backend reporting to be slightly disjointed due to fragmented data.

What are some of TouchBistro’s standout features?

TouchBistro is a specialised software with hospitality specific tools like:

• A hybrid architecture runs on both the cloud and an on-premise server, allowing you to place orders and route tickets to your KDS in the event of an internet outage.
• TouchBistro allows for granular ingredient tracking.
• It also has a responsive, drag-and-drop visual floor plan.

How much does TouchBistro cost?

TouchBistro’s POS system starts at $69 per month, and while the modular system can really keep things streamlined, adding multiple add-ons increases the baseline cost, which can get expensive if you need a full suite of features.

There are extra hardware and software options — such as a customer-facing display and an inventory management tool that integrates with the POS — available for an additional cost.

What our researchers think

What I love about TouchBistro is the ability to pick and choose what features you want. You don’t have to pay extra for something that you won’t actually need and it means you’re getting a package tailored to you, but what’s great is that their pricing is still completely transparent.

 

I also found that the menu and stock customisation was one of the best I’ve seen.

Ollie Simpson Senior Research Executive

8. Epos Now: best for combining hospitality and retail

Overall rating: 3.7
In person transaction fee: from 1.3%
POS terminals starting cost: £299 + VAT
Contract length: typically 24 to 36 months
Recommended for: multi-revenue establishments that blend dining and retail, independent hotels, quick-service restaurants, specialty coffee houses, cocktail bars, gastropubs with overnight rooms

Epos Now is the best POS platform for mixed-revenue businesses providing both hospitality and retail services, thanks to an extensive app marketplace that bridges different inventory types including:

• Shopify and WooCommerce for combining hospitality with ecommerce selling
• Caterbook PMS for guest accommodation at hotels and inns
• Epos Now Order & Pay for QR-code ordering to free up your staff
• Loyalzoo or LoyaltyDog for customer rewards across both retail and hospitality

For boutique hotels with kitchens, a bakery selling branded merchandise or a craft brewery with a taproom, Epos Now can handle these environments with a unified interface that can handle both high-SKUs as well as restaurant operations.

Read our full Epos Now review

Epos Now provides an impressively sturdy terminal. Source: Startups.co.uk

These types of environments will also benefit from Epos Now’s dedicated, sturdy countertop terminal. During my testing, I appreciated the wide 15.6-inch display, which made inputting commands a very smooth process, and there’s the bonus of the customer facing screen.

What are some of Epos Now’s standout features?

Epos Now has been built to handle a wide variety of different business types, with standout tools like:

• It has in-depth inventory management tools, like raw-component ingredient tracking.
• Epos Now features cross-sector VAT mapping that allows for automated tax profiles at checkout.
• It can facilitate mixed-revenue promotions, like being able to offer 10% off a bag of coffee beans along with a lunch order.
• Standalone Mode allows you to take payments with the card reader even when it won’t connect to your integrated payment method (the main till, for example).

How much does Epos Now cost?

Epos Now offers a range of software and hardware packages to suit your specific requirements, and it frequently runs promotions and discounts on the Epos Now countertop terminal, which comes packaged with the POS software.

What our researchers think

This is a great choice if you want some high-quality hardware. It has tonnes of features in the backend to create loyalty programmes and floor plans, and being able to access this from the terminal itself is something that very few platforms actually allow.

Ollie Simpson Senior Research Executive

How did we test hospitality POS systems?

Our independent researchers evaluated 11 of the top hospitality systems in the UK, including hands-on testing at our London offices.

We tested the hardware, frontend and backend of the POS systems using a framework (developed by our head of research) that reflects the pain points and needs of hospitality business owners.

To ensure our experiences remain accurate and relevant, I retested several of the top platforms in May 2026.

We evaluated the POS systems against six key criteria, weighted by their importance to hospitality entrepreneurs. We recently worked with our research department to adjust these weightings to reflect the needs of hospitality owners in 2026:

How functional is the software? (35%)

We tested the core features required for hospitality POS software, including table/floor management, reservation options, customer engagement capabilities, tip management, the capability of the KDS and how it handles menu creation.

What hardware does the platform provide? (20%)

We examined the range of POS terminals the platform is able to provide, including how portable they are, the customer display and the display size. We also looked at the accessories such as tablet stands, cash drawers and printers.

How easy to use is the platform? (20%)

To determine the usability we conducted a hands-on test of the software, recreating a hospitality workflow that involved configuration of the system, inventory management, processing sales, applying discounts and running reports.

How much does the POS system cost? (10%)

We conducted analysis on all the potential outgoings involved with the platform, which included upfront costs, subscription costs, transaction fees and exit fees.

What are the help and support options like? (10%)

We researched the different types of customer support available, and the responsiveness and accuracy of the answers of the knowledge base.

What is the provider’s reputation within the industry? (5%)

We took into account user reviews, online comments and how likely our testers would be to recommend the platform.

How to choose a POS system for your hospitality business

Before choosing the best POS for your business, consider these industry-specific factors:

• Cost: a lot goes into the cost of a POS system. There’s the terminal, software subscription costs, setup fees, transaction fees and the price of any additional accessories you might need.
• Features: the system you choose should have all the essential features you need to run your hospitality business. For example, a takeaway service might need mobile and QR code ordering, whereas a larger restaurant will require extensive floor planning.
• Hardware: what hardware is right for you? Are you running a small café that could use the portability of an iPad? Or are you running a busy hotel that needs a more sturdy, large-screen countertop terminal? Bear in mind the typical lifespan of POS hardware is five–seven years for quality terminals, so buying equipment isn’t just a one-off cost.
• Free trials: many hospitality POS systems offer a free demo. It’s always worth testing it before you make any financial commitments.
• Accessories: you might need additional hardware, like a cash drawer or a barcode scanner. Make sure these are compatible with your system before you buy them.
• Security: POS systems handle customers’ sensitive information, so look for systems that offer data encryption and regular security checks and updates.
• Help and support: inevitably, things go wrong and issues happen, especially in the high-pressure world of hospitality. Make sure you’ll have access to the help and support you need via the contact channels you prefer.

Summary: the best POS systems for small businesses

Square is the best POS system for hospitality businesses, thanks to the convenient free plan, that you can easily download onto a smartphone, and the overall usability of the platform.

Platforms like Toast and TouchBistro have been designed with the hospitality industry in mind. While they cost more, they offer more advanced features that some may appreciate, for instance, TouchBistro offers sophisticated floor-planning solutions.