Our top 5 picks
- Our #1 pick
Toast
Best overall for small restaurants
- $0 Starter Kit plan to get started
- Kitchen display and Toast Go handhelds are part of the standard system
- Payroll, online ordering and reservations from one vendor
Watch: 24 or 36 month contract; above about $10,000 to $20,000 a month in card sales, the $69 plan costs less than the Starter Kit
SpotOn
Best for published pricing
- Rates printed on its pricing page
- Essentials plan is month to month
- 24/7 support for POS, payments and hardware
Watch: The $0 All-In plan has a 2-year minimum
Square for Restaurants
Best if you won't sign a contract
- No long-term contract
- Free plan, paid for in a higher processing rate
- Runs on iPads or Square hardware you own
Watch: Kitchen display needs a paid plan, $20 to $30 a device each month; support is mostly online
Clover
Best when a seller you trust offers good terms
- Software from $14.95 a month per device
- Clover Flex handheld
- Month to month when bought direct
Watch: Bank resellers can sign you to 36 months
Lightspeed Restaurant
Best for iPad-first cafés with a bigger menu
- Runs on iPads
- Native online ordering
- Strong multi-location tools on top plans
Watch: From $69 a month and usually an annual contract
How we ranked them
We scored each system on what a small restaurant pays for every day:
- Restaurant tools in the box. Kitchen display, handhelds, online ordering and payroll without stitching together apps.
- Real cost on your card volume. Processing is about 90% of what a POS costs, so a low monthly fee can still be the expensive choice.
- Contract and hardware. How long you are locked in, and whether the hardware is worth anything if you leave.
- Support. Whether someone answers the phone on a Friday night.
Every fact on this page comes from the vendor's own 2026 pricing and product pages and from our sourced guides. Vendors can't pay to change a ranking.
Why Toast is our #1 for small restaurants
Toast is built only for restaurants, and the parts a small restaurant needs come from Toast itself: the kitchen display and Toast Go handhelds are part of the standard system, and payroll, online ordering and reservations (Toast Tables) are Toast products rather than third-party apps. The $0 Starter Kit gets a new restaurant running with no monthly software fee, paid for through a higher processing rate of about 3.09% to 3.69% + $0.15.
The trade-offs are the contract, usually 24 or 36 months, and the rate, which Toast quotes per restaurant instead of publishing. Once you pass roughly $10,000 to $20,000 a month in card sales, the $69 Point of Sale plan at about 2.49% + $0.15 costs less than the Starter Kit. Our Toast pricing guide has the full break-even table.
When to pick something else
- You want the rates in writing before you talk to anyone: SpotOn prints its rates, from 2.45% + $0.15, and its Essentials plan is month to month. See Toast vs SpotOn.
- You won't sign a contract at all: Square has no long-term contract and runs on iPads you own. See Toast vs Square.
- A seller you trust offers Clover on good terms: Clover software starts at $14.95 a month per device, but bank resellers can sign you to 36 months, so read the agreement.
Compare them on your own numbers
Put your yearly card sales into the processing fee calculator to see a year of fees on each plan, or tick your must-haves in the POS comparison grid to re-rank these systems for your restaurant.
Common questions
What is the best POS for a small restaurant?
Toast is our top pick for most small restaurants because the kitchen display, handhelds, online ordering and payroll all come from one restaurant-only vendor, and the $0 Starter Kit keeps the start-up cost low. Square is the better choice if you will not sign a contract.
Is there a free POS for restaurants?
Toast, SpotOn and Square all have a $0 software plan. Each one charges a higher processing rate instead, so the free plan costs more than a paid plan once your card sales grow.
How much does a restaurant POS cost a month?
Software runs from $0 to about $69 a month for one location on these systems, plus hardware and add-ons. Processing fees are the bigger number: roughly 2.4% to 3.7% of card sales plus about $0.15 a transaction.
Prices and features from vendor pages 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.
