Key takeaways
- Square is our #1 for drinks-led shops: no contract, a free order-ahead page and an on-screen tip prompt from day one.
- Toast is the pick for cafés that sell food, run their own app or have several locations.
- On a $6 ticket, the flat fee matters most. The card fee runs $0.25 to $0.37 a drink depending on the plan.
- Paid plans land within about $50 a month of each other at 4,000 tickets; a higher-rate $0 plan costs $100 to $250 a month more.
Our top 5 picks
- Our #1 pick
Square for Restaurants
Best for most coffee shops that sell mostly drinks
- No long-term contract
- Customer-facing tipping display and a free online ordering page on every plan
- Square Kiosk and loyalty available as add-ons
Watch: Free-plan phone support is limited to the first 90 days; kitchen display and kiosk are paid add-ons
Toast
Best for cafés that sell food, run an app or have several locations
- Native kiosks, online ordering and a branded mobile app
- Loyalty program with points, birthday and time-based bonuses
- Menu publishing and store pricing across locations
Watch: 24 or 36 month contract and a quoted rate; $0.15 on every small ticket adds up
SpotOn
Best for published rates and a month-to-month plan
- Essentials plan is 2.45% + $0.15 and month to month
- Commission-free online ordering and a guest app for loyalty in its Core Bundle
- 24/7 support for POS, payments and hardware
Watch: The $0 All-In plan is 2.79% + $0.20 with a 2-year minimum, the costliest rate on a $6 ticket
Clover
Best for a tight budget when the terms are good
- Software from $14.95 a month per device
- Direct in-person rate listed at 2.5% + $0.10
- Clover Flex handheld for line-busting
Watch: Bank resellers can sign you to 36 months and set their own rates
Lightspeed Restaurant
Best for a café with a bigger food menu on iPads
- Runs on iPads
- Modifiers on every plan
- Strong multi-location tools on top plans
Watch: From $69 a month, kitchen display is $30 a screen, and the processing rate is not published
How we ranked them
- Cost on a small ticket. On a $6 sale the flat per-transaction fee is a big part of the bill. See the worked example below.
- Drink modifiers. Size, milk, shots, syrups and "no foam" on one fast screen, passed to the bar as a clear ticket.
- Order ahead and loyalty. A pickup ordering page or app, and a way to reward regulars.
- Tipping on the screen. A guest-facing tip prompt at the counter.
- Kiosk, multi-location and contract. What happens when you add a line or a second shop, and how long you are locked in.
Every fact on this page comes from the vendors' own 2026 pricing and product pages, NerdWallet's 2026 cafe POS review and our sourced guides. Vendors can't pay to change a ranking.
What a $6 ticket costs on each plan
Most POS fee talk is about the percentage. On a small ticket, the flat part matters more. Here is the card fee on one $6.00 drink, using the in-person rates published or reported in 2026.
| Plan | Rate | Fee on $6.00 | Share of ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clover (direct, reported) | 2.5% + $0.10 | $0.25 | 4.2% |
| SpotOn Essentials | 2.45% + $0.15 | $0.30 | 5.0% |
| Toast Point of Sale plan | about 2.49% + $0.15 | $0.30 | 5.0% |
| Square Plus | 2.5% + $0.15 | $0.30 | 5.0% |
| Square Free | 2.6% + $0.15 | $0.31 | 5.1% |
| Toast Starter Kit | about 3.09% to 3.69% + $0.15 | $0.34 to $0.37 | 5.6% to 6.2% |
| SpotOn All-In | 2.79% + $0.20 | $0.37 | 6.1% |
Now stretch it over a month. At 4,000 tickets of $6 (about $24,000 in card sales), the fee plus the monthly software fee comes to about:
- Square Free: $1,224 ($0 software)
- SpotOn Essentials: $1,243 ($55 per station, one station)
- Square Plus: $1,249 ($49 software)
- Toast Point of Sale plan: $1,267 ($69 software)
- Toast Starter Kit: about $1,342 at 3.09%, more at higher rates
- SpotOn All-In: $1,470
The takeaway: at coffee-shop ticket sizes the paid plans and Square Free land within about $50 a month of each other, while a higher-rate $0 plan costs $100 to $250 a month more. Toast's rate is quoted per business, so ask for it in writing. Lightspeed does not publish a rate, so we left it out of the table. Check your own volume in the processing fee calculator and read what Toast charges and the Toast pricing guide for the break-even point.
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How many POS stations do you need?
About a minute. No cost, no obligation.Coffee-shop features, system by system
| Need | Square | Toast | SpotOn |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drink modifiers | Combos, value meals and menu options; modifier detail not spelled out on its pages | Order-entry screens built for quick modifications; digital tickets for detailed drinks | Ask in the demo |
| Order ahead | Free branded online page for pay-ahead pickup, commission-free | Online ordering for pickup and curbside; Pro tier adds time-based ordering rules; branded mobile app | Commission-free SpotOn Order and GoTo Place guest app in the Core Bundle |
| Loyalty | Integrated loyalty; price not listed on its pages | Points by spend or visit, rewards you choose, birthday and time-based bonuses; price not published | Loyalty inside the Core Bundle ($50 a month plus 20 bps of card volume, capped at $200 per location) |
| Tip on screen | Customer-facing tipping display | Suggested tip amounts on guest-facing screens and mobile payments | Ask in the demo |
| Kiosk | Square Kiosk $99 a device a month, or Kiosk Lite $30 to $50; Plus and Premium only | Native self-order kiosk | Third-party integration |
| Multi-location | One dashboard for devices and locations; fullest tools on Premium | Menu publishing and store pricing | Shared menus and comparative reporting |
| Contract | None | 24 or 36 months | Essentials month to month; All-In 2 years |
Clover and Lightspeed also handle modifiers; Lightspeed lists them on every plan. For the full feature checklist, tick your must-haves in the POS comparison grid.
Why Square is our #1 for most coffee shops
A typical coffee shop is one counter, mostly drinks, a few pastries and a line at 8 a.m. Square fits that well. There is no contract, so you can leave if it does not work. The online ordering page is free on every plan, the guest tip screen is there from day one, and the Free plan has the lowest software cost on this list. It is also easy to add a second counter on a cheap iPad.
Watch two things. Phone support on the Free plan is limited to the first 90 days. And the kitchen display ($20 to $30 a device each month) and kiosk are paid add-ons. See Toast vs Square for the full comparison.
When Toast is the better pick
Toast is our #2 overall, and the right choice when your coffee shop looks more like a café. It is the stronger fit if:
- You sell real food. NerdWallet calls Toast the best pick for larger coffee shops that serve food, and its kitchen tools, payroll and Toast Tables come from one vendor.
- You want your own app and loyalty. Toast offers a branded mobile app, a loyalty program with birthday and time-based bonuses, and commission-free online ordering.
- You want a kiosk. Toast's self-order kiosk is native, with no extra integration.
- You plan more than one location. Toast has menu publishing and store pricing across stores.
The cost is a 24 or 36 month contract and a quoted rate. On the $0 Starter Kit, a $6 drink costs about 5.6% to 6.2% in card fees. If you pass roughly $10,000 to $20,000 a month in card sales, the $69 plan at about 2.49% + $0.15 brings that near 5.0%, level with Square.
When to pick something else
- Published rates and no lock-in: SpotOn Essentials is 2.45% + $0.15 and month to month, the lowest published rate on a $6 ticket besides Clover. Skip its $0 All-In plan for a coffee shop; the $0.20 flat fee hurts. See SpotOn or read Toast vs SpotOn.
- Lowest per-ticket cost and a good seller: Clover is reported at 2.5% + $0.10 direct, and software starts at $14.95 a month per device. Bank resellers can sign you to 36 months and set their own rates, so read the agreement.
- A big food menu on iPads: Lightspeed starts at $69 a month, lists modifiers on every plan and adds the kitchen display at $30 a screen. Its rate is not published, so get it in writing.
Serving a full food menu with table service? See the best POS systems for small restaurants. Not sure which fits? Get matched to a vendor based on your answers.
Common questions
What is the best POS for a coffee shop?
For a one-counter shop that sells mostly drinks, Square is our top pick: no contract, free online ordering and a tip screen. Toast is better for cafés with food, a branded app, kiosks or more than one location.
How much do card fees cost on a $6 coffee?
About $0.25 to $0.37, or roughly 4% to 6% of the ticket. The $0.15 or $0.20 flat fee is the biggest part, so a plan with a lower flat fee can beat one with a slightly lower percentage.
Can customers order ahead and earn loyalty points?
Yes on Square, Toast and SpotOn. Square has a free branded online ordering page for pay-ahead pickup. Toast offers online ordering, a branded app and a points-based loyalty program. SpotOn includes its guest app and loyalty in the Core Bundle.
Do I need a kiosk in a coffee shop?
Most single shops do not. A kiosk costs $99 a device a month on Square Plus or Premium, and Toast sells its own. It pays off when the line, not the barista, is the bottleneck.
Prices and features from Square, Toast, SpotOn and Lightspeed vendor pages, NerdWallet's cafe POS review and the sources in our linked guides, checked October 2026. Confirm anything that decides your choice in writing.
Disclosure: we are referral partners for Toast and SpotOn. If you request a quote through a link on this page and become a customer, we may receive a fee at no cost to you. Partner fees do not change what we recommend. How we make money.
