Best Free POS Systems (2027)

The rate is 2.6% + 15 cents in person, mid-range on this page. On $10,000 a month in card sales that is $260 in percentage fees, plus 15 cents on each of 400 transactions, which is $60, landing at $320. Compare that against PayPal's 2.29% + $0.09 on the same volume: $229 plus $36, which is $265. Square costs about $55 a month more at that level, and that difference buys you freedom from PayPal's payment lock-in.

Three features sit outside the free plan: kitchen display, kiosk software and text message marketing. A cafe that wants a kitchen screen should look at Loyverse, where it is free. For a market stall or a service business, none of the three matter.

Pricing: $0/mo (Square Free). 2.6% + 15 cents in person.

Two things narrow that advantage. The system works only with PayPal payments, so you are choosing a processor as well as a POS, with no option to shop the rate later. And keyed-in cards cost 3.49% + $0.09, which is 1.2 percentage points above the card-present rate. If you take phone orders or type in card numbers, model your mix carefully: a business that keys 30% of sales loses most of the advantage.

For a seller already inside PayPal taking card-present payments, this is the cheapest route on the page. For anyone else, the lock-in deserves weighing against roughly $60 a month.

Pricing: $0/mo. 2.29% + $0.09 card present.

The limit that will bite is reporting. The free plan shows only 31 days of sales history. A month is enough to run the week, not enough to compare this November with last November or to spot a seasonal pattern. If you need year-over-year numbers, that is an upgrade.

Employee management and advanced inventory are also paid. Add-ons start at $5 a month per store, with employee management at $25 a month per store. A three-location operation wanting staff management pays $75 a month, which is no longer a free POS system for small business, so price your real configuration rather than the headline.

Pricing: free. Add-ons from $5/mo per store. Employee management $25/mo per store.

Interchange-plus suits higher volume. The markup is small and transparent, but the underlying interchange varies by card, so a business with a lot of rewards-card customers pays more than one taking mostly debit. At low volume the flat rates from Square or PayPal are easier to budget and often cheaper. At higher volume, interchange-plus usually wins.

The hardware is not free: the card reader is $199 and the Smart Terminal $349, or $32 a month for 12 months, which totals $384. Buying the terminal outright saves $35. Factor $199 or $349 into your first-month cost, because the $0 software line does not cover it.

Pricing: $0 software. Interchange + 0.40% + 8 cents in person. Card reader $199. Smart Terminal $349, or $32/mo for 12 months.

Two unknowns make this harder to compare than the others. Contract terms and termination fees vary, so there is no single number to quote, and final pricing depends on underwriting, meaning the rate you are quoted may not be the rate you get. Both facts come from the vendor itself.

Treat the 2.6% + $0.10 as an opening position rather than a price. Get the term, the termination fee and the final rate in writing after underwriting, then compare that against Square's published, non-negotiable numbers. If the final package beats Square, take it. If it only matches, Square's no-contract position is worth more.

Pricing: Essentials $0/mo. 2.6% + $0.10 in person.

The term is the trade. Toast is not month-to-month. Leaving the Pay-as-you-go plan early costs $150 for every month left in the term. On a two-year agreement with 18 months remaining, that is $2,700 to walk away. Before you take free hardware, price what leaving would cost at the point you are most likely to want to leave, which is usually the first year.

The card rate for the Starter Kit is not published. On a page about cost, that is the number that decides everything, and its absence means you cannot compare Toast against Square or PayPal here. Get the rate in writing before you sign, and run it against your projected card volume.

Pricing: $0/mo Starter Kit for eligible new customers.

SpotOn publishes the alternative, which makes the math unusually clear. POS Essentials runs 2.45% + $0.15. The difference is 0.34% plus a nickel per transaction. On $30,000 a month that is $102 in percentage alone, which is $1,224 a year and $2,448 across the two-year All-In term, plus the per-transaction gap on top. Weigh that against what the hardware would have cost outright.

Two further conditions: All-In needs a two-year term, and processing minimums apply. If your sales fall below the minimum, ask what you owe. A seasonal business should take that question seriously before signing for two years.

Pricing: All-In $0 per station. 2.79% + $0.20 card present. POS Essentials 2.45% + $0.15.