Best Open Source POS Systems (2027)

Four POS projects you can read, modify and host yourself. The license is free. The hosting, updates, security and PCI compliance are your problem, or someone's you pay. This page covers what each actually costs once you account for that.

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  • Best overall: Odoo Point of Sale (Community). LGPL-3.0, v20.0 shipped September 2027, with card terminal modules for five processors.
  • Cheapest managed hosting: ERPNext POS. GPL-3.0, with Frappe Cloud sites from $5 per month.
  • Best for self-hosting: NexoPOS. GPL-3.0, v6.2.4 released October 2, 2027, on PHP 8.2+ with MariaDB or MySQL.
Illustration: developer working at a workstation beside a shop till

Top Open Source POS Systems at a Glance

  • Cheapest managed hosting

    ERPNext POS (Frappe)

    GPL-3.0, with Frappe Cloud sites from $5 per month, which is $60 a year. Open source without running your own server. The POS docs name no card terminal integration.

    Free self-hosted. Frappe Cloud from $5/mo.

  • Best for self-hosting

    NexoPOS

    GPL-3.0, with v6.2.4 released October 2, 2027, the most recent release on this page. Runs on PHP 8.2 or later with MariaDB or MySQL. A Windows client is sold in its marketplace.

    Free self-hosted. Cloud price not stated.

Why Open Source Matters for Your POS

Open-source POS software lets you read and change the code, host it yourself and skip license fees. In exchange, you handle hosting, updates, security and card-payment compliance, or pay someone to.

Two cases where that trade works and where it does not. A shop with an in-house developer needs a checkout step no off-the-shelf POS offers: with source access they build it in an afternoon, and with a proprietary POS they file a feature request and wait indefinitely. The other case is a store that saves on license fees and then spends weekends fixing its self-hosted server, which is a real cost that never appears on any pricing page.

The honest framing is this: open source moves cost from a subscription line to a labor line. If you have the developer, that trade is usually worth it and the customization ceiling disappears. If you do not, a $5 per month managed host or a $31.10 per user plan is cheaper than the hours you will spend, and you should price those against a proprietary POS rather than against zero. PCI compliance deserves particular attention, because self-hosting a system that touches card data moves that burden onto you.

What to Look for in an Open Source POS System

  • 1. The license, and what it actually permits you to change

    Read the license identifier, not the word open source. Odoo Community is LGPL-3.0, while ERPNext and NexoPOS are GPL-3.0. GPL-3.0 is copyleft: derivative works you distribute must carry the same license. LGPL-3.0 is more permissive about linking proprietary modules. If you plan to build and sell extensions, that distinction decides your business model.

  • 2. Whether you self-host, or pay for managed cloud hosting

    All four run self-hosted at no license cost. The managed options differ sharply. Frappe Cloud starts at $5 per month, Odoo's Standard plan is $31.10 per user per month on a 12-month discount, Dolibarr's hosting is priced by each partner, and NexoPOS has not published a cloud price. Self-hosted POS software costs nothing to license and something real to run, so price your actual configuration, including user count on per-user plans.

  • 3. Payment processing and who carries PCI responsibility

    This is the weakest area across the category. Only Odoo names card terminal modules, for Adyen, Stripe, Mercado Pago, Razorpay and Viva.com. ERPNext's POS docs name no card terminal integration. Dolibarr's card terminal settings for Stripe Terminal and SumUp are confirmed only in the source code. NexoPOS names no payment integrations. Any open-source POS with payment processing attached puts PCI compliance on you when you self-host.

  • 4. Whether the project is actively developed

    An abandoned open-source project is a liability, not a saving. Two of these have dated releases: Odoo 20.0 shipped in September 2027, and NexoPOS v6.2.4 on October 2, 2027. Dolibarr and ERPNext release dates are not stated in this brief. Check the repository's commit history yourself before committing a business to any of them.

  • 5. Paid support or a partner network

    Free software with no support channel means your outage is your problem at 7pm on a Saturday. Dolibarr works through partners who set their own prices. Odoo's support position for self-hosted Community is not stated, which is a real gap. Establish who you call before you need to call them.

  • 6. Hardware and add-on support

    NexoPOS sells a Windows client through its marketplace, though the free version watermarks receipts. Before you commit, confirm that your existing scanner, receipt printer and cash drawer have working drivers or community modules, because an open-source POS with barcode scanning on paper is not the same as one that drives the scanner already on your counter.

Compare Open Source POS Software Side by Side

Every system here is free to self-host. The columns that decide the real cost are Paid cloud plan, Payment integration and Support. A free license with no payment integration and no support channel is a development project, not a POS.

POS system License Hosting Paid cloud plan Payment integration Latest release Support Best for
Odoo Point of Sale (Community)Best overall LGPL-3.0 Self-hosted, or Odoo's paid plans Standard $31.10 per user/mo on a 12-month discount, $38.90 full price Adyen, Stripe, Mercado Pago, Razorpay, Viva.com v20.0, September 2027 Not stated for self-hosted Community POS inside a full open-source ERP
ERPNext POS (Frappe) GPL-3.0 Self-hosted, or Frappe Cloud Frappe Cloud sites from $5/mo None named in the POS docs Not stated Frappe Cloud Open-source POS with low-cost managed hosting
Dolibarr TakePOS Not stated Self-hosted, or partner hosting Priced by each partner Stripe Terminal and SumUp, confirmed only in source code Not stated Partner network Free web POS with invoicing and CRM
NexoPOS GPL-3.0 Self-hosted. PHP 8.2+, MariaDB or MySQL Cloud price not stated None named v6.2.4, October 2, 2027 Not stated Self-hosted web POS with a Windows client

Features, licenses and prices verified November 2026. Not stated means the detail was not published in the sources available, not that the capability is absent.

Odoo Point of Sale (Community): Best for POS inside a full open-source ERP

Odoo Community is LGPL-3.0, and version 20.0 shipped in September 2027, which makes it one of two systems here with a confirmed recent release. The POS is a module inside a full ERP, so inventory, accounting and sales live in the same database rather than syncing between tools.

Payments are where Odoo separates itself from the rest of this page. It is the only system here with named card terminal modules: Adyen, Stripe, Mercado Pago, Razorpay and Viva.com. The other three name either nothing or something confirmed only in source code. For a business that needs card payments working on day one rather than as a project, that gap is the whole decision.

Two things are unresolved. Odoo's pricing page does not say whether its paid plans run Community, so you cannot tell from public information whether the $31.10 per user per month Standard plan gives you the open-source edition or the proprietary one. And support for self-hosted Community is not stated. Ask both questions before you budget, because a per-user plan at $31.10 scales very differently from a flat self-hosted install.

Pros

  • LGPL-3.0, more permissive than GPL for proprietary extensions
  • Card terminal modules for five processors
  • v20.0 shipped September 2027

Cons

  • Unclear whether paid plans run Community
  • Support for self-hosted Community not stated
  • Per-user pricing scales with headcount

Pricing: free self-hosted. Odoo Standard $31.10 per user per month on a 12-month discount, $38.90 full price.

ERPNext POS (Frappe): Best for open source without running a server

ERPNext is GPL-3.0 and runs on Frappe Cloud with sites from $5 per month, which is $60 a year. That is the cheapest managed path to open-source POS on this page by a wide margin: Odoo's Standard plan costs more for a single user in two months, $62.20, than Frappe Cloud costs in a year.

For a shop that wants source access and the right to leave, without a server to patch, that combination is unusual. You get the GPL-3.0 code and someone else handles uptime.

Two caveats. The Docker quick start is for evaluation only, so do not mistake a working demo for a production deployment path. More seriously, the POS documentation names no card terminal integration at all. On a page where Odoo lists five processors, that absence is the deciding weakness. Confirm how you will take cards before committing, because we will integrate it later is a development project with a PCI scope attached.

Pros

  • Frappe Cloud from $5/mo, the cheapest managed hosting here
  • GPL-3.0
  • No server to run

Cons

  • POS docs name no card terminal integration
  • Docker quick start is evaluation only
  • Release date not stated

Pricing: free self-hosted. Frappe Cloud sites from $5/mo.

NexoPOS: Best for a developer-run store self-hosting on its own server

NexoPOS is GPL-3.0 and released v6.2.4 on October 2, 2027, the most recent dated release on this page. It runs on PHP 8.2 or later with MariaDB or MySQL, which is an ordinary stack that most shared hosts and any VPS will handle. For a team that already runs PHP infrastructure, deployment is a known quantity.

A Windows client is sold through the NexoPOS marketplace, which matters if your counter runs Windows rather than a browser. The free Windows version watermarks receipts, so budget for the paid client if you hand receipts to customers.

The gaps are payments and support, and both are significant. No payment integrations are named at all, meaning card processing is something you build or bolt on yourself, with the PCI scope that implies. Cloud prices are not shown. No support position is stated. Read NexoPOS as the right answer when you have developers and the wrong one when you do not.

Pros

  • v6.2.4 released October 2, 2027, the most recent here
  • Ordinary PHP 8.2+ and MariaDB or MySQL stack
  • Windows client available

Cons

  • No payment integrations named
  • Free Windows version watermarks receipts
  • Cloud prices and support not stated

Pricing: free self-hosted. NexoPOS Cloud price not stated.

Dolibarr TakePOS: Best for a free web POS with invoicing and CRM attached

Dolibarr TakePOS is the POS front end on top of Dolibarr's ERP and CRM, so a small business gets invoicing, customer records and a till from one install. For an operation that currently runs a POS and a separate invoicing tool, consolidating those is the pitch.

Hosting comes through partners who each set their own prices, so there is no single figure to quote and no published entry point. That is workable if you want a local partner who knows your setup, and it means you cannot compare the cost against Frappe Cloud's $5 per month without a conversation first.

Two gaps worth resolving before deployment. The card terminal settings for Stripe Terminal and SumUp are confirmed only in the source code, not in documentation, which means the integration may work but is not vendor-supported in any way you could rely on. And no license identifier or release date appears in this brief, so verify both against the project repository yourself.

Pros

  • POS, invoicing and CRM in one install
  • Partner network for support
  • Free to self-host

Cons

  • Card terminal settings confirmed only in source code
  • Hosting priced individually by partners
  • License and release date not stated

Pricing: free self-hosted. Partner hosting priced by each partner.

Which Open Source POS Fits Your Situation

You want POS, inventory and accounting in one open-source system

Go with Odoo Point of Sale (Community). It is LGPL-3.0, version 20.0 shipped in September 2027, and its POS has card terminal modules for Adyen, Stripe, Mercado Pago, Razorpay and Viva.com. That payments list is the reason to pick it over the other three, none of which can match it. As an open-source retail POS software choice with inventory attached, nothing else here is close.

You want open source without running your own server

Go with ERPNext POS on Frappe Cloud. ERPNext is GPL-3.0 and Frappe Cloud sites start at $5 per month, which works out to $60 a year. Resolve the card payment question first, because the POS documentation names no terminal integration. An open-source cloud POS system still needs a way to take cards.

You run a developer-led store and self-host on your own hardware

Go with NexoPOS. It is GPL-3.0, released v6.2.4 on October 2, 2027, and runs on PHP 8.2 or later with MariaDB or MySQL. A Windows client is sold in its marketplace. You will be building the payment integration yourself, so scope that before you start. As open-source POS software for Linux servers, the stack is ordinary and well understood.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is open-source POS software actually free?

The license is. Running it is not. All four here cost nothing to self-host, but you absorb hosting, updates, security patching and PCI compliance, or you pay someone. Managed options exist at published prices for two of them: Frappe Cloud from $5 per month, and Odoo's Standard plan at $31.10 per user per month on a 12-month discount. Price the labor, not just the license.

Which license do these use, and does it matter?

Odoo Community is LGPL-3.0. ERPNext and NexoPOS are GPL-3.0. Dolibarr's license is not stated in this brief. It matters if you plan to distribute modifications or sell extensions, because GPL-3.0 is copyleft and requires derivative works you distribute to carry the same license, while LGPL-3.0 is more permissive about linking proprietary code.

Can open-source POS take card payments?

Only Odoo names supported card terminals: Adyen, Stripe, Mercado Pago, Razorpay and Viva.com. Dolibarr's Stripe Terminal and SumUp settings are confirmed only in source code. ERPNext's POS docs name no integration, and NexoPOS names none. If card payments are non-negotiable, this question narrows the field to one.

Who handles PCI compliance if I self-host?

You do. Hosting a system that stores, processes or transmits card data puts the compliance obligation on your organization rather than on a vendor. That is the single largest hidden cost in self-hosted open-source POS, and it is the main argument for either a managed host or a payment integration that keeps card data out of your systems entirely.

Are these projects still actively developed?

Two have dated releases in this brief: Odoo 20.0 from September 2027 and NexoPOS v6.2.4 from October 2, 2027. ERPNext and Dolibarr release dates are not stated here. Check each repository's commit history and issue activity yourself before deploying, because an abandoned project costs more than a subscription.

Can I get paid support?

Dolibarr works through a partner network, with partners setting their own prices. Frappe Cloud is ERPNext's managed offering. Odoo's support position for self-hosted Community is not stated, and NexoPOS states none. Decide who you call during an outage before you have one.

Will it work with my existing scanner, printer and cash drawer?

Check per device before you commit. NexoPOS sells a Windows client through its marketplace, with the free version watermarking receipts. For the others, hardware support depends on community modules and your own integration work. An open-source POS that cannot drive your existing hardware is a development project with a shopping list attached.

Our Verdict on Open Source POS

Odoo Point of Sale (Community) is the pick for most businesses, because it is the only system here with named card terminal support across five processors, it is LGPL-3.0, and v20.0 shipped in September 2027. Payments are where open-source POS usually fails, and Odoo is the one that solved it. ERPNext POS is the runner-up if you want the cheapest managed route at $5 per month on Frappe Cloud and you can answer the card payment question yourself. NexoPOS suits a developer-run store self-hosting on PHP, with the most recent release here and the most work ahead of you.

Before you commit to any of them, price the labor honestly and confirm who carries PCI responsibility. Open source moves cost from a subscription to a payroll line. It does not remove it.

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