Best Point-of-Sale Systems (POS) for Restaurants of 2021

There are numerous decisions that restaurant owners must make when opening an eatery. Menu, location, hours, and employees all factor in, but a well-functioning restaurant point-of-sale (POS) system will also prove crucial to your success. U.S. News rated the top POS systems, including those that provide features for both retail and restaurants, to determine what works best for each unique restaurant.

The Best Restaurant POS System Ratings

Square

Square earns a score of 4.3 and the No. 1 spot in our ratings for the Best POS Systems of 2021, Best POS Systems for Retail, and Best POS Systems for Restaurants lists. Square differentiates itself by only charging transaction fees for its basic software, and you would probably recognize its white square plug-in payment processors. Square also offers a free version of its POS software tailored for restaurants, with premium restaurant-specific features available with a paid subscription. Learn more in our Square review.

Epos Now

Epos Now rates No. 2 in our list of the Best POS Systems for Restaurants, tying with Toast, TouchBistro, and ShopKeep, and No. 2 in our Best POS Systems of 2021 with a score of 4. The primary appeal of Epos Now is its flexibility; the cloud-based software is available in three different price tiers and can run on most devices. Still, online resources for troubleshooting Epos Now are scarce, and the flexible software becomes pricey as businesses expand. Learn more in our Epos Now review.

Toast

With a score of 4, Toast POS ties Epos Now, TouchBistro, and ShopKeep, earning the No. 2 spot in our ratings of the Best POS Systems for Restaurants. The Android-based software runs on an array of hardware, giving restaurants flexibility. You can target Toast POS for a variety of restaurant types, like bakeries and bars, but add-ons all cost extra. Learn more in our Toast Review.

TouchBistro

TouchBistro earns a score of 4, placing it at the No. 2 spot in our rating of the Best POS Systems for Restaurants, also tying with Epos Now, Toast, and ShopKeep. Offering a restaurant-specific POS means that TouchBistro includes a variety of features and third-party integrations designed exclusively for restaurants, such as accounting and inventory management software. The TouchBistro system only operates on iPads and other specific third-party hardware, and full-service restaurants will get more out of it than food trucks and other small eateries. Learn more in our TouchBistro review.

ShopKeep

Achieving a score of 4, ShopKeep places No. 2 in both our rating of the Best POS Systems for Restaurants (tied with Epos Now, Toast, and TouchBistro) and our rating of the Best POS Systems of 2021. The tablet-based POS system aims for simplicity, with a user-friendly interface and pay-as-you-go system that works for all small businesses. The cloud-based system enables more flexibility, but ShopKeep increases in price as businesses expand in complexity and to multiple locations. Learn more in our ShopKeep review.

Lightspeed

The No. 6 Best POS Systems for Restaurants and the No. 4 Best POS Systems of 2021, Lightspeed POS earns a score of 3.9. Lightspeed's most unique feature is a golf-specific POS system, but the POS provider also includes restaurant and retail options. Lightspeed's customer service also proves helpful to restaurants of all sizes. Still, a complex pricing system and additional costs for many features hinder Lightspeed POS. Learn more in our Lightspeed review.

Clover

Scoring 3.6 in our rating, Clover is the No. 7 Best POS Systems for Restaurants and the No. 5 Best POS Systems of 2021. Clover offers merchant account plans for counter service restaurants, table service restaurants, and food trucks. These plans incur a monthly cost (plus additional costs) and include standard POS features, plus tools to help manage employees, tips, and more. Clover does not offer onboarding programs, but it provides online guides and a call center for support. Learn more in our Clover review.

Revel Systems

With a score of 3.4, Revel Systems is rated No. 8 on our Best POS Systems for Restaurants list and No. 6 on our Best POS Systems of 2021 list. Monthly fees for Revel Systems start at $99, with additional hardware and software add-ons quickly adding up. Revel Systems only works on iPads, making the software a more cost-prohibitive option, albeit easy to use. Still, Revel Systems' ability to scale may prove worth the cost for businesses with multiple locations. Learn more in our Revel Systems review.

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What is a Restaurant Point-of-Sale (POS) System?

POS systems enable businesses to handle numerous functions, including payment processing, and cash management. Restaurant POS systems come with a slew of additional restaurant-specific features designed specifically to help all types of eateries function. Restaurants types include full-service, quick-service, fast-casual, food trucks, and more.

Restaurant POS systems differ in what additional features they offer and how much they cost. These features run the gamut from menu and table management to automatic specialized discounts for happy hour and other promotions. Plus, many restaurant POS systems offer third-party integration with accounting and tax as well as item and inventory software. Many of the options are tablet-based (some require an iPad), which allows customers to self-order or employees to juggle multiple tables and special requests efficiently.

All of this functionality makes restaurant POS systems powerful ways to increase your restaurant's profits and efficiency.

What to Look for in a Restaurant POS System

The first step to purchasing a POS system is categorizing your business. Is it a restaurant or a combination of restaurant and retail? Great, you’ll want to keep reading for more info on how to choose the right POS system for your business. If you're looking for retail-only options, check out our rating of the Best Retail POS Systems. Also, consider what type of eatery you operate, as the required hardware and features for a food truck will be drastically different than those needed for a full-service restaurant.

Potential hardware includes tablets for taking orders and managing tables, a variety of tools to accept payments (swipe, tap, cash registers, and more), printers for receipts and orders, and kitchen and menu display systems. Software considerations include systems for managing tables, refunds, and menus, as well as third-party software integrations for online ordering (DoorDash and Postmates), inventory management (Bevchek), employee scheduling and payroll (Push Operations), and accounting (QuickBooks).

Final considerations when looking for a restaurant POS system include training, customer support, and scalability. POS systems are only worthwhile if everyone in your restaurant knows how to utilize them.

Companies offer an assortment of training options, both on-site and online. Similarly, ongoing customer service varies among restaurant POS suppliers. Be sure you know who to contact for software and hardware issues as this can differ, and make sure you’re aware of the maximum wait time for a response. For small or new restaurants, how well a POS system scales may not seem important, but prices change as you purchase additional software and hardware. Be sure your POS meets both your restaurant’s current and future needs.

How Much Does a Restaurant POS Cost?

Restaurant POS systems could incur four types of costs: installation fee, monthly cost, hardware fee, and transaction fee. Installation fees are often optional (when available) and include the price to set up the hardware and software for a restaurant POS system. Monthly cost (best thought of as a month-to-month subscription fee) covers the software license fees, as well as whatever add-ons you end up choosing, and this fee varies based on how many POS systems and locations you operate.

Similarly, hardware fees differ even within providers based on what hardware you need. Some POS systems only work on specific equipment (iOS or Android, for example), and POS providers occasionally offer discounted hardware bundles.

The final POS cost comes from payment processing fees, which are often a set percentage of each sale plus a few cents. Processing fees typically vary depending on a few factors, including whether a purchase is made in a physical location or ordered online and the average number of transactions your business makes.

Be sure to keep free trials in mind when making your purchase, but remember that a 14-day free trial will likely end just as your restaurant finishes adjusting to a new POS system.

Best Point-of-Sale (POS) Systems of 2021

POS systems often include features designed specifically for restaurants or retail establishments. These ratings focus on companies that offer both restaurant and retail POS systems.

For more information, visit our page on the Best Point-of-Sale (POS) Systems of 2021.

Best Point-of-Sale (POS) Systems for Retail of 2021

These POS systems include features for retail businesses. While some of them also include restaurant options, these ratings only take into account each POS provider's retail-specific features.

For more information, visit our page on the Best Retail Point-of-Sale (POS) Systems of 2021.

The Best POS Systems of 2021

Directory of U.S News Point-of-Sale (POS) System Guides

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How U.S. News Evaluated POS systems

We explain what matters most when it comes to POS systems by sourcing experts and professional reviewers. We also provide an unbiased evaluation of POS systems. Our goal is to empower businesses with the information and tools they need to make informed decisions. More information about our 360 Reviews methodology for evaluating POS systems is available here.