Best POS Systems for Bars and Pubs (2027)

Eight systems compared on what a bar actually runs: pre-authorized tabs, split checks, happy hour rules and tip distribution. One of the eight states happy hour pricing. None of the eight states age verification at the point of sale. Facts checked October 27, 2027.

Reviewed by CanComCo, Partner Experience Manager. Updated November 2027.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. This does not affect our recommendations. See our Editorial Policy.

Best overall for bars: Toast. Pre-authorized tabs, handhelds and mobile order and pay at the bar.
Only one with happy hour rules: Hike. It is also the only one that tracks keg levels.
Happy hour is the feature that can break the law. Texas requires it to end at 11 p.m. and bans two-for-one.

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Illustration: a bar service station with a payment terminal and clean glassware behind

Our Top Bar and Pub POS Picks at a Glance

Three cards, eight systems. All eight carry a full mini-review in section 5. The five not carded are SpotOn, TouchBistro, Lightspeed Restaurant, Square and PayPal POS (Zettle), left out here because the structure allows three cards, not because they rank lower than every carded system.

Best overall for bars

Toast

Pre-authorized tabs so staff are not holding cards behind the bar, handhelds for table-side ring-in, and mobile order and pay. Tips Manager handles distribution. The most complete bar feature set here.

Starter Kit from $0/month for software. Point of Sale from $69/month, first terminal subscription included, new customers and single locations only. That is $828 a year. Source: pos.toasttab.com/blog/on-the-line/toast-pricing, post dated Oct 20, 2027

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Only one with happy hour pricing rules

Hike

The single system here that states happy hour pricing rules, and the only one that tracks keg levels. It also splits tabs and tracks sales and voids per staff member.

From $59/mo billed annually, or $69 monthly. That is $708 a year against $828, a $120 saving for paying annually. General Hike POS pricing, not bar-specific. Source: hikeup.com/pricing

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Best free option

Loyverse

Free to run, with open tickets, splits, modifiers and drink-component tracking so a cocktail draws down its ingredients. Employee management costs extra.

Free. Employee management add-on $25/mo per store, which is $300 a year per store. Source: loyverse.com/en-us/pricing

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Why a Restaurant POS Is Not a Bar POS

A restaurant check opens when people sit and closes when they leave. A bar tab opens when someone hands over a card at 9 p.m. and may close at 2 a.m., after four rounds, two transfers between bartenders and a split across six people who have been drinking. That is a different machine. Open tabs need card pre-authorization so nobody is stacking plastic in a tray behind the bar, and on this page three of the eight systems state it: Toast, SpotOn and Lightspeed Restaurant.

Then there is the rush. Between 10 and midnight your bartenders need to ring a round of four simple drinks in seconds and split a tab by item, course or seat without reading a manual. TouchBistro states a Fast Bar register mode with table transfers. Lightspeed splits by item, course or seat. Square's bars page names open checks and auto gratuity, but it does not show split checks or pre-authorization, and split checks appear on its restaurants pricing page under Plus and Premium rather than Free.

Happy hour is where this page turns from a features comparison into something you should read carefully. One of the eight systems, Hike, states happy hour pricing rules. That is the feature most bar owners assume is standard, and it is close to absent. It is also the feature that can put you in breach of state law. Texas says happy hour prices must end at 11 p.m. and that two-for-one sales at on-premise retailers are illegal. Massachusetts prohibits free drinks, sales below the price regularly charged that calendar week, and an unlimited number of drinks for a fixed price during any set period, with some of those bans carrying an exception for private functions not open to the public. A pricing engine that cheerfully runs a 2-for-1 will do it in Texas too.

One more absence worth naming before the table. Age verification or ID-scan prompts at the point of sale do not appear on any bar page we read. Not one of the eight. If you expected your POS to prompt a bartender to check an ID, no vendor here says it does.

“Managing open tabs and split payments during busy evenings used to slow down our staff. Our bar POS system has made handling customer orders and payments much easier.”

Bar Owner

The table below sets all eight against those questions and marks every cell the vendor has not published.

Compare the Top Bar and Pub POS Systems

Two columns carry the findings. Age verification at the POS is empty across all eight systems. Happy hour pricing rules is filled by one. Neither is a research gap; no vendor bar page we read states them.

POS system	Starting price	Open tabs with card pre-authorization	Split checks	Happy hour pricing rules	Age verification at the POS	Tip calculation and distribution	Offline mode
ToastBest overall for bars	Starter Kit from $0/mo for software. Point of Sale from $69/mo, first terminal subscription included, new customers and single locations only. Price from a blog post dated Oct 20, 2027	Yes	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Yes, Tips Manager	Not stated
SpotOn	All-In Plan $0 per station per month, with processing minimums and a 2-year minimum term. POS essentials $55 per station per month, month-to-month	Yes	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Yes, automated calculation, split and distribution	Yes
TouchBistro	Point of Sale from $69/mo. Essentials Bundle from $119/mo. Hardware, processing and other fees extra on both	Not stated	Yes, plus table transfers and a Fast Bar register mode	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Yes
Lightspeed Restaurant	Starter $69, Essential $189, Premium $399 USD. Pricing cards show no billing period	Yes	Yes, by item, course or seat	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated
Hike	From $59/mo billed annually, $69 monthly. General Hike POS pricing, not bar-specific	Not stated	Yes, split tabs	Yes, apply happy hour pricing rules	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated
Loyverse	Free. Employee management add-on $25/mo per store	Not stated	Yes, splits with open tickets and modifiers	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated
Square	Conflict between two Square pages. Restaurants pricing page: Free $0, Plus $69, Premium $165 per location per month. Bars page FAQ: Plus $60, Premium from $299. Not resolved	Not stated. The bars page does not show it	Listed on the restaurants pricing page under Plus and Premium, not Free. The bars page does not show it	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated. The bars page names auto gratuity	Not stated
PayPal POS (Zettle)	No monthly or setup fees. Card-present 2.29% plus $0.09 per transaction. First card reader $29, one per new business user, standard $79. Terminal $199	Not stated	Not stated. Tabs and split checks appear only in a general FAQ answer, not as a stated feature	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated

Features and prices verified October 27, 2027 from the vendor pages named in Sources. Not stated means the vendor has not published the detail on the pages we read, not that the capability is absent.

Toast: Best overall for bars that run tabs and want staff off the till

Toast states the three things a busy bar needs most: open tabs with card pre-authorization, handhelds so a bartender can ring in away from the register, and mobile order and pay so a table orders another round without flagging anyone down. Tips Manager handles the calculation and distribution that otherwise lives in a spreadsheet at 3 a.m.

Pricing starts at $0 a month for Starter Kit software, with Point of Sale from $69 a month including the first terminal subscription, which is $828 a year. Read the condition: that rate applies to new customers and single locations only, and the figure comes from a Toast blog post dated October 20, 2027 rather than a pricing page.

Inventory runs through integrations rather than natively. Toast lists more than 200 integrations, so a bar inventory tool connects rather than ships with it, which is a real distinction when you are costing a pour. Split checks, happy hour rules and offline mode are not stated on the bar page we read. Neither is age verification, like everything else here.

Pros

Open tabs with card pre-authorization
Handhelds and mobile order and pay at the bar
Tips Manager for calculation and distribution
More than 200 integrations for inventory tooling

Cons

$69 applies to new customers and single locations only
Price taken from a blog post rather than a pricing page
Split checks, happy hour rules and offline mode not stated
Inventory through integrations rather than native

Pricing: Starter Kit from $0/month for software. Point of Sale from $69/month, first terminal subscription included, new customers and single locations only. Source: pos.toasttab.com/blog/on-the-line/toast-pricing (post dated Oct 20, 2027)

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SpotOn: Best for tip distribution and for staying open when the internet drops

SpotOn pairs one-tap tabs with pre-authorization against automated tip calculation, splitting and distribution, which is the combination a bar with a tip pool actually needs. Add offline mode and the bar keeps ringing when the connection goes, which on a Friday is the difference between service and a queue.

It is the only system here offering two genuinely different commercial structures. The All-In Plan is $0 per station per month, with processing minimums and a two-year minimum term. POS essentials is $55 per station per month, month-to-month, which is $660 per station a year with no lock. If you do not want a two-year commitment, the second option exists and most comparisons never mention it.

Split checks, happy hour rules and age verification are not stated. Inventory comes through MarginEdge, an integration rather than a native feature, which the page presents as such.

Pros

One-tap tabs with pre-authorization
Automated tip calculation, split and distribution
Offline mode
A month-to-month option at $55 per station alongside the $0 plan

Cons

The $0 plan carries unquantified processing minimums and a 2-year term
Split checks and happy hour rules not stated
Inventory through MarginEdge rather than native
Age verification not stated

Pricing: All-In Plan $0 per station per month, page states processing minimums apply and a 2-year minimum term. POS essentials $55 per station per month, month-to-month. Source: spoton.com/pricing

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TouchBistro: Best for fast ring-in and moving a tab around the room

TouchBistro's Fast Bar register mode is built for the part of the night when a bartender has four people deep at the rail and no time for a menu tree. Add bill splitting and table transfers and you can move a tab from the bar to a booth without reopening anything. Offline mode keeps it running when the connection does not, and staff permissions control who can void.

The pricing needs reading twice. Point of Sale starts at $69 a month and the Essentials Bundle at $119, which is $828 and $1,428 a year respectively. Both carry the same note: hardware, processing and other fees extra. That phrase does a lot of work, and the extras are not quantified on the page.

Pre-authorization, happy hour rules, tip distribution and age verification are not stated. Bar inventory appears as a list of solutions to connect rather than a built feature.

Pros

Fast Bar register mode for rush ring-in
Bill splitting and table transfers
Offline mode
Staff permissions

Cons

Hardware, processing and other fees extra on both tiers, none quantified
Card pre-authorization not stated
Happy hour rules and tip distribution not stated
Inventory through listed solutions rather than native

Pricing: Point of Sale from $69/mo (hardware, processing and other fees extra); Essentials Bundle from $119/mo (processing and other fees extra). Source: touchbistro.com/pricing

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Lightspeed Restaurant: Best for splitting a bill exactly how a group wants it

Lightspeed is the most specific system here on the split, offering bills split by item, course or seat. For a cocktail bar where one person had two rounds and four others had one, that granularity settles the argument at the till rather than in the car park. It also states pre-authorized tabs, which puts it in a group of three.

The pricing is the problem, and it is a gap rather than a condition. Starter is $69, Essential $189 and Premium $399 USD, and the pricing cards show no billing period. Those could be monthly or annual figures and nothing on the page settles it. A $399 difference between readings is not a rounding error, so get the period in writing before you compare Lightspeed against anything else here.

Happy hour rules, tip distribution, offline mode, inventory and age verification are not stated on the bar page we read.

Pros

Bills split by item, course or seat
Pre-authorized tabs
Three published tiers in USD
Built for restaurant and bar operations

Cons

Pricing cards show no billing period, so the tiers cannot be compared
Happy hour rules and tip distribution not stated
Offline mode not stated
Age verification not stated

Pricing: Starter $69; Essential $189; Premium $399 USD. Pricing cards show no billing period. Source: lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/pricing

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Hike: The only system here with happy hour pricing rules, and the only one tracking kegs

Hike is alone on this page in two ways. It states happy hour pricing rules, which seven of eight do not, and it tracks keg levels, which matters to a taproom pouring from a cellar rather than selling bottles. It also splits tabs and tracks sales and voids per staff member, which is how you find the bartender who is comping rounds.

Before you take the happy hour feature as settled, read the compliance section on this page. A pricing rule engine is only useful if it can express what your state allows: ending at 11 p.m. in Texas, avoiding two-for-one there, and avoiding below-weekly-price or unlimited-for-fixed-price structures in Massachusetts. Ask Hike to show you those rules built, not described.

Pricing is from $59 a month billed annually or $69 monthly, which is $708 against $828 a year, a $120 saving for paying up front. Note that this is general Hike POS pricing rather than a bar-specific plan. Pre-authorization, tip distribution, offline mode and age verification are not stated.

Pros

The only system here stating happy hour pricing rules
Keg-level tracking for taprooms
Split tabs
Sales and voids tracked per staff member

Cons

Card pre-authorization not stated
Tip distribution and offline mode not stated
Pricing is general Hike POS pricing, not bar-specific
Age verification not stated

Pricing: from $59/mo billed annually ($69 monthly). General Hike POS pricing. Source: hikeup.com/pricing

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Loyverse: Best free option for a small bar that wants tabs and splits

Loyverse costs nothing to run and still states the basics a small bar needs: open tickets, splits and modifiers, plus drink-component tracking so a cocktail draws down the gin rather than counting as one abstract sale. For a single-room pub or a new taproom watching every dollar, starting at zero with working tabs is a real position.

The cost appears when you add staff. Employee management is a $25 per month add-on per store, which is $300 a year per store, and for a bar running shifts that is not optional for long. Price the add-on, not the free tier.

Pre-authorization, happy hour rules, tip distribution, offline mode and age verification are not stated. That is a longer list of absences than anything else here, which is the trade for free.

Pros

Free base plan
Open tickets, splits and modifiers
Drink-component tracking for cocktails
No minimum term stated

Cons

Employee management costs $25 per month per store
Pre-authorization and tip distribution not stated
Happy hour rules and offline mode not stated
Age verification not stated

Pricing: Free. Employee management add-on $25/mo per store. Source: loyverse.com/en-us/pricing

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Square: Resolve the pricing conflict before you shortlist it

Square publishes two different prices for the same products on two of its own pages, and we could not resolve which is current. The restaurants pricing page lists Free at $0, Plus at $69 and Premium at $165 per location per month. The bars page FAQ says Plus is $60 and Premium starts at $299. The Plus gap is $9 a month, which is $108 a year. The Premium gap is $134 a month: $1,980 a year against $3,588, a difference of $1,608. That is not a detail to settle after signing.

The feature picture needs the same care. Square's bars page names open checks and auto gratuity, and it does not show split checks or card pre-authorization. Split checks do appear on the restaurants pricing page, under Plus and Premium rather than Free. So the free tier that attracts a new bar does not include the split, and the bar-specific page does not confirm the tab behavior.

Happy hour rules, tip distribution, offline mode and age verification are not stated. Treat the demo as a fact-finding exercise and get both the price and the tier-by-tier feature list in writing.

Pros

A genuine $0 starting tier
Open checks and auto gratuity named on the bars page
Split checks available on Plus and Premium
Widely used, so staff may already know it

Cons

Two Square pages give different prices for Plus and Premium, up to $1,608 a year apart
The bars page does not show split checks or pre-authorization
Split checks are not on the Free tier
Happy hour rules, tip distribution and offline mode not stated

Pricing: restaurants pricing page lists Free $0, Plus $69, Premium $165 per location per month; the bars page FAQ says Plus $60 and Premium from $299. Conflict not resolved. Sources: squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/restaurants/pricing, squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/restaurants/bars

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PayPal POS (Zettle): Lowest fixed cost, least stated for a bar

PayPal POS carries no monthly or setup fees, which makes it the cheapest standing cost on this page. Card-present transactions run at 2.29% plus $0.09, so an $8 drink costs 27 cents to take and a $40 tab costs $1.01. The first card reader is $29, one per new business user against a standard price of $79, a $50 saving, and the terminal is $199.

The page is headed POS system for restaurants and bars and its terminal section mentions inventory management. That is the extent of the bar-specific claim. Tabs and split checks appear only in a general FAQ answer rather than as stated features, so we do not count them, and you should not either until the vendor confirms them for your setup.

Pre-authorization, happy hour rules, tip distribution, offline mode and age verification are not stated. For a taproom with a short list and fast service this may be all you need. For a cocktail bar running tabs all night, confirm the tab behavior first.

Pros

No monthly or setup fees
Card-present at 2.29% plus $0.09, so a $40 tab costs $1.01
First card reader $29 against a $79 standard price
Page addresses restaurants and bars, with inventory management on the terminal

Cons

Tabs and split checks appear only in a general FAQ answer, not as stated features
Pre-authorization and happy hour rules not stated
Tip distribution and offline mode not stated
Percentage pricing costs more than a flat fee as volume grows

Pricing: no monthly or setup fees; card-present 2.29% + $0.09 per transaction; first card reader $29 (one per new business user, standard $79); terminal $199. Source: paypal.com/us/business/pos-system/pricing

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How to Choose the Right POS for Your Bar or Pub

Start with the tab, because that is what breaks first

Open tabs with card pre-authorization are stated by three of the eight systems here: Toast, SpotOn and Lightspeed Restaurant. If your bar runs tabs all night, that is your shortlist before anything else matters. Ask what happens when a pre-auth expires mid-evening and what the bartender sees, because the failure mode is a card that will not settle at closing.
Make the happy hour rule engine prove it can obey your state

One of eight states happy hour pricing rules. Before you treat that as a win, check what your state allows. Texas says happy hour prices must end at 11 p.m. and that two-for-one sales at on-premise retailers are illegal. Massachusetts prohibits free drinks, sales below the price regularly charged that calendar week, and an unlimited number of drinks for a fixed price during any set period, with some bans carrying an exception for private functions not open to the public. Only these two states were researched. A pricing engine that cannot express a hard end time or block a two-for-one is a liability, not a feature. This page is not legal advice and no system here is described as making your bar compliant with any alcohol rule.
Do not expect your POS to check IDs

Age verification or ID-scan prompts at the point of sale do not appear on any bar page we read, for any of the eight. That matters because the rules are real: Texas requires a seller to visually inspect and scan a buyer's ID for off-premises sales under the permit types its page lists, with visual inspection alone applying only where the seller cannot access the internet, and says that for the permit types it lists including the Mixed Beverage Permit, age verification is not required but recommended. California allows a licensee to refuse service to anyone who cannot produce adequate written evidence of age, with the accepted documents listed in Business and Professions Code section 25660. Your door and bar policy carries this, not your software. Only Texas and California were researched.
Price the tier that actually has the feature

Square's split checks sit on Plus and Premium, not Free, so the free tier that gets you in the door does not split a tab. Loyverse is free until you add employee management at $25 per store per month, which is $300 a year. Toast's $69 applies to new customers and single locations only. TouchBistro lists hardware, processing and other fees as extra on both tiers without quantifying them. Build your comparison from the tier that includes what you need.
Check whether a published price has a period attached

Lightspeed Restaurant's pricing cards show Starter at $69, Essential at $189 and Premium at $399 USD with no billing period shown. A figure without a period is not a price. Square publishes two different sets of numbers for Plus and Premium across its restaurants pricing page and its bars page FAQ, up to $1,608 a year apart on Premium. Get both the number and the period in writing.
Work out whether inventory is native or an integration

Hike states keg levels and Loyverse states drink components, which are the two native answers here. Toast lists more than 200 integrations, TouchBistro lists bar inventory solutions, and SpotOn lists MarginEdge. Those are connections, not built features, and they carry their own cost and setup. If liquor inventory management is why you are shopping, that distinction decides the budget.
Keep your tip records in mind, because the IRS asks for them

Employers operating a large food or beverage establishment file IRS Form 8027, which reports food and beverage receipts and the tips shown on charge receipts, and employers also keep employee tip reports. The 2027 instructions, dated October 8, 2027, describe establishments in the 50 states or D.C. that provide food or beverages for consumption on the premises other than fast-food operations, where tipping is customary, with more than 10 employees on a typical business day in the preceding calendar year. We cannot confirm that any system on this page produces the data for that form. Ask, and take the answer to your accountant.

Frequently Asked Questions About Bar and Pub POS

Which of these can hold an open tab with the card pre-authorized?

Toast, SpotOn and Lightspeed Restaurant state open tabs with card pre-authorization. TouchBistro, Hike, Loyverse, Square and PayPal POS do not state it on the pages we read. If POS with tab management for bars is your main requirement, that is a field of three.

Does any of these verify a customer's age at the point of sale?

No. Age verification or ID-scan prompts at the POS do not appear on any bar page we read, for any of the eight systems. If POS with age verification for alcohol sales is what you are searching for, none of these states it, and you should treat door and bar policy as the control rather than the software. Ask each vendor directly before you assume otherwise.

Which one handles happy hour pricing?

Hike, which states happy hour pricing rules. The other seven do not state them on the pages we read. Before relying on it, check what your state permits: Texas requires happy hour prices to end at 11 p.m. and bans two-for-one at on-premise retailers, and Massachusetts prohibits free drinks, below-weekly-price sales and unlimited drinks for a fixed price, with some exceptions for private functions. Only those two states were researched.

Why does Square show two different prices?

Because two Square pages disagree and we could not resolve which is current. Its restaurants pricing page lists Plus at $69 and Premium at $165 per location per month. Its bars page FAQ says Plus is $60 and Premium starts at $299. Annualized, the Premium figures are $1,980 and $3,588, which is $1,608 apart. Get the current price in writing before you commit.

What does it cost to take a card on a bar tab?

PayPal POS publishes card-present pricing at 2.29% plus $0.09, so an $8 drink costs 27 cents, a $40 tab costs $1.01 and a $120 tab costs $2.84. The other systems on this page do not publish a card rate on the pages we read, so their processing cost sits outside the monthly figures shown here. Ask every vendor for an effective all-in rate on your real average tab.

Which of these keep working when the internet drops?

SpotOn and TouchBistro state offline mode. The other six do not state it on the pages we read. For a bar running card payments through a busy Friday, that is worth testing in the demo rather than taking on trust.

Do any of these track liquor or keg inventory natively?

Hike states keg-level tracking and Loyverse states drink components, so a cocktail draws down its ingredients. Toast, TouchBistro and SpotOn reach inventory through integrations: more than 200 integrations, a list of bar inventory solutions, and MarginEdge respectively. A bar inventory management POS and a POS that connects to one are different purchases with different costs.

How We Chose These POS Systems

We read each vendor's own bar or pub page and its pricing page on October 27, 2027, recorded what each states, and cited the page behind every line. Where a capability appears only in a general FAQ answer rather than as a stated feature, we do not count it, which is why PayPal POS's tabs and split checks are marked that way. Where two of a vendor's own pages disagree, we show both and say the conflict is unresolved, which is why Square's row carries two sets of prices. Where a published figure has no billing period attached, as with Lightspeed Restaurant's pricing cards, we say so rather than assuming monthly.

We have not run any of these systems in a working bar, we have not been briefed by any of these vendors, and we have no survey or study data of our own to cite. Clover's US bar pages could not be read, so it is neither ruled in nor out. Age verification prompts at the POS appear on no bar page we read among these eight; one vendor outside this table names them, which is why we say the feature exists somewhere in the market and not that it is unavailable. Regulatory passages come from the IRS, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the Massachusetts regulations named in Sources, and describe what those pages say. Only Texas, California and Massachusetts were researched, and we did not research Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau rules for taprooms or tip pooling law. Nothing here is legal or tax advice, and no system is described as making a bar compliant with any rule.

Read our full method at /how-we-review/. Reviewed by CanComCo, Partner Experience Manager. Updated November 2027.

Our Verdict: Best Bar and Pub POS Overall

Toast is the pick for a bar that runs tabs, because it states the three things that decide a busy night: open tabs with card pre-authorization, handhelds for ring-in away from the register, and Tips Manager for distribution. Confirm the $69 rate applies to you, since it covers new customers and single locations only, and the figure comes from a blog post rather than a pricing page. SpotOn is the runner-up and the better answer if tip distribution and offline mode matter more than handhelds, and it is the only vendor here offering a month-to-month route at $55 per station against its $0 plan with a two-year term.

Two cautions for the whole category. Happy hour pricing rules are stated by one of eight, and that feature carries state-law constraints a POS can help you breach: Texas requires an 11 p.m. end and bans two-for-one, Massachusetts bans below-weekly-price and unlimited-for-fixed-price structures. And age verification at the point of sale is stated by none of the eight. Build your door policy and your pricing rules with your own advisor, then make the software fit them.

Find the right POS Compare POS systems

Best POS Systems for Bars and Pubs (2027)

Our Top Bar and Pub POS Picks at a Glance

Toast

Hike

Loyverse

Why a Restaurant POS Is Not a Bar POS

Compare the Top Bar and Pub POS Systems

Toast: Best overall for bars that run tabs and want staff off the till

Pros

Cons

SpotOn: Best for tip distribution and for staying open when the internet drops

Pros

Cons

TouchBistro: Best for fast ring-in and moving a tab around the room

Pros

Cons

Lightspeed Restaurant: Best for splitting a bill exactly how a group wants it

Pros

Cons

Hike: The only system here with happy hour pricing rules, and the only one tracking kegs

Pros

Cons

Loyverse: Best free option for a small bar that wants tabs and splits

Pros

Cons

Square: Resolve the pricing conflict before you shortlist it

Pros

Cons

PayPal POS (Zettle): Lowest fixed cost, least stated for a bar

Pros

Cons

How to Choose the Right POS for Your Bar or Pub

Start with the tab, because that is what breaks first

Make the happy hour rule engine prove it can obey your state

Do not expect your POS to check IDs

Price the tier that actually has the feature

Check whether a published price has a period attached

Work out whether inventory is native or an integration

Keep your tip records in mind, because the IRS asks for them

Frequently Asked Questions About Bar and Pub POS

How We Chose These POS Systems

Our Verdict: Best Bar and Pub POS Overall