Real all-in cost math, software fees + card processing + contracts, not sticker prices.
Almost every small-business POS advertises $0 per month. What the label rarely shows is the card-processing cut, around 2.6% of every card sale, that becomes your real monthly bill. On $12,000 a month in card sales, a flat 2.6% is roughly $312 gone before you pay a single subscription. This guide compares 9 US POS systems on the number that actually decides the cheapest option, total cost at your card volume, across software, processing, hardware and contracts. Running a restaurant? Read our dedicated cheapest restaurant POS guide instead.
For most independent US retailers and service businesses, the cheapest setup is free software paired with your own low-rate card processor. Timeline POS is the clearest example: the Windows software is free permanently, and Timeline Digital charges zero transaction fees because it does not process your cards. You accept payments through your own bank terminal or a low-cost reader, and the processing rate you negotiate goes to that provider, not to us. That structure is why a free-software + bring-your-own-processor setup usually costs the least once card fees are counted, and the gap widens as your card volume grows.
It is not the only good answer. If you want one app for POS and payments at low volume, Square Free is hard to beat. For the lowest flat US card rate in an all-in-one app, PayPal Zettle (2.29% + 9¢) leads. The winner genuinely changes with your card volume and needs, which is what the tables below show.
Cheapest software
Timeline POS, Square, Loyverse, Zettle, SumUp ($0)
Cheapest all-in-one at low volume
Square Free
Lowest flat US card rate (all-in-one)
PayPal Zettle, 2.29% + 9¢
Cheapest as card volume grows
Free software + your own/interchange-plus processor
Cheapest mobile / market POS
SumUp or Zettle + a reader
Cheapest for restaurants
See the dedicated restaurant guide
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This guide draws on Timeline Digital’s hands-on experience deploying and configuring POS systems for small businesses, single-location retail, cafés, salons and small chains, and on each vendor’s published US rate card. We earn no affiliate commission on any system listed. Where a vendor quotes custom rates (Toast, Clover, Lightspeed Payments), we say so and use the most widely reported figure rather than presenting an estimate as a guaranteed rate. Primary sources are each vendor’s official pricing page: Square, PayPal Zettle, SumUp, Lightspeed, Clover and Toast.
Every system is judged on the same six factors, then run through the same cost math at three card-volume levels (below). Because we make two of the products compared, we do not rank Timeline first by default, the cheapest choice changes with card volume and business type, and we say where a competitor wins.
Authored by Timeline Digital’s POS engineering team, makers of Timeline POS and Timeline Restaurants POS. Reviewed by Usama Asif, Founder & CTO, Timeline Digital. Pricing last verified July 2026.
Monthly software fee, card-processing rate, hardware cost and what each one is best for. USA pricing verified July 2026, always confirm current rates with the vendor, POS pricing changes often.
| POS System | Monthly Software | Card Processing | Hardware | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timeline POS (free Windows app) | $0 forever | None — bring your own processor | Runs on a Windows PC you already own. No proprietary hardware. | Retail shops, cafés and service businesses that already have (or want to choose) their own card reader |
| Square (Free plan) | $0 | 2.6% + 15¢ in person; 3.3% + 30¢ online (Free-plan rate, USA) | First magstripe reader free; Terminal $299, Stand $149 | Businesses that want one app for POS and card processing at low volume |
| PayPal Zettle | $0 | 2.29% + 9¢ in person; 3.49% + 9¢ keyed (USA) | Reader $29 (first), $79 additional | Micro-businesses and mobile sellers wanting the lowest flat US card rate |
| Loyverse POS | $0 core; add-ons $5–$25/mo per store | None from Loyverse; you connect a processor (Square, SumUp, Zettle) | Runs on any iPad or Android tablet | Cafés and small shops that prefer a tablet interface |
| SumUp | $0 (pay-as-you-go) | 2.6% + 10¢ in person (USA); ~1.69% in the UK/EU | Card reader (~$29–$79) | Market stalls, pop-ups and mobile merchants, cheapest hardware in the UK/EU |
| eHopper POS | $0 Essential; $39.99/mo per terminal (Freedom) | Processor-dependent | Runs on Windows or Android; bundles available | Convenience stores and quick-service counters (free-tier limits vary, confirm current) |
| Lightspeed Retail (Basic) | $89+/mo (annual billing) | ~2.6% + 10¢ with Lightspeed Payments | Sold separately / quoted | Small retailers needing multi-location and deep inventory |
| Clover | $14.95/mo (Essentials, with 36–48 mo Fiserv contract) | 2.3% + 10¢ (restaurant) to ~2.6% + 10¢ (retail) | Bundled into the plan (Flex, Mini, Station) | Merchants wanting one hardware + software stack (note the multi-year processor contract) |
| Toast (Starter Kit) | $0 (restricted); paid plan $69/mo | ~2.49% + 15¢ on paid plans; the $0 Starter Kit bundles a higher, custom-quoted rate (~2.99%+) | Free Starter Kit (promo) | Small restaurants, see our dedicated restaurant guide for the full picture |
Prices shown for USA merchants. UK, Germany, Canada and Australia rates differ, check the vendor’s local site. Card-processing fees are charged by the processor, not the software vendor, except where the POS bundles a processor (Square, Toast, Clover). For bring-your-own-processor systems (Timeline POS, Loyverse), your card rate depends on the reader or bank you choose.
Sources (official vendor pricing pages, checked July 2026): Square, PayPal Zettle, SumUp, Lightspeed, Clover and Toast, Loyverse and eHopper.
Split the question in two. On software fees, several systems are $0: Timeline POS, Square, Loyverse, SumUp and PayPal Zettle. On card-processing fees, the lowest rates come from systems that don’t force a flat bundled rate:
The lowest software fee is easy to find, $0 is common. The lowest total fee depends on your card volume: at low volume a flat-rate app is fine; as volume grows, keeping your own processor or moving to interchange-plus usually wins. Timeline POS charges nothing on either side because it does not process cards, so your only card cost is whatever your chosen reader or bank charges.
The same small business at three card-volume levels. These are illustrative figures, not quotes: they assume an average ticket of about $25 (so transactions = card volume ÷ 25) and, for the bring-your-own-processor row, an illustrative 1.5% bank rate. Independent merchant rates commonly run 1.3%–2.0% interchange-plus and depend on your card mix, volume and negotiation. Card fees are what move the total, software rarely does.
A small shop, café or side business.
| POS setup | Software | Card fees | Total / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timeline POS + your bank reader @ ~1.5% | $0 | ~$75 | ~$75 |
| PayPal Zettle (2.29% + 9¢) | $0 | ~$133 | ~$133 |
| SumUp (2.6% + 10¢) | $0 | ~$150 | ~$150 |
| Square Free (2.6% + 15¢) | $0 | ~$160 | ~$160 |
| Clover retail (~2.6% + 10¢) | $14.95 | ~$150 | ~$165 |
A steady single-location retailer or busy café.
| POS setup | Software | Card fees | Total / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timeline POS + your bank reader @ ~1.5% | $0 | ~$180 | ~$180 |
| PayPal Zettle (2.29% + 9¢) | $0 | ~$318 | ~$318 |
| SumUp (2.6% + 10¢) | $0 | ~$360 | ~$360 |
| Clover retail (~2.6% + 10¢) | $14.95 | ~$360 | ~$375 |
| Square Free (2.6% + 15¢) | $0 | ~$384 | ~$384 |
A higher-volume shop, where the processing rate matters most.
| POS setup | Software | Card fees | Total / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timeline POS + your bank reader @ ~1.5% | $0 | ~$300 | ~$300 |
| PayPal Zettle (2.29% + 9¢) | $0 | ~$530 | ~$530 |
| SumUp (2.6% + 10¢) | $0 | ~$600 | ~$600 |
| Clover retail (~2.6% + 10¢) | $14.95 | ~$600 | ~$615 |
| Square Free (2.6% + 15¢) | $0 | ~$640 | ~$640 |
The Timeline POS row excludes any per-transaction fee your own bank or reader may add. Bundled processors (Square, Clover) cannot be renegotiated, which is why the gap widens with volume. Figures rounded; verify your own rate before deciding.
The table gives the headline number. This section is the honest commentary, what each one is like to run and where the cost trap tends to hide.
$0/mo · $0 transaction fees from Timeline · Windows desktop
Timeline POS is built by Timeline Digital, a custom-software company working since 2013 with 860+ clients across 25+ countries. It is a free Windows app for retail shops and small businesses: fast billing, unlimited products, barcode scanning, inventory with low-stock alerts, customer records, orders, and sales reports you can export to PDF or CSV. It runs completely offline, all data stays on your machine, and there is no subscription, trial or feature paywall.
The important detail: Timeline POS does not process card payments. To take cards you connect a reader or terminal you choose, your bank’s machine, a SumUp or Zettle device, and the card fee goes to that provider at your negotiated rate. That is why Timeline POS users can pay less overall, you are not locked into a flat 2.6%. If you run a restaurant with table service, kitchen tickets and recipe inventory, use the sister product Timeline Restaurants POS, which adds those features; plain Timeline POS is built for retail and counter-style businesses.
$0/mo · 2.6% + 15¢ per in-person card, 3.3% + 30¢ online (Free-plan rate, USA)
Square is the most widely used free POS in the USA, and for low-volume businesses it is hard to beat, a polished app, a free reader in the mail, and it runs on any iPhone, iPad or Android. The trade-off is the processing rate: 2.6% + 15¢ per tap in person (the flat fee rose from 10¢ to 15¢ under Square’s unified pricing), and 3.3% + 30¢ for online sales on the Free plan. On $10,000/month in card sales that is roughly $320 in fees (at ~400 card transactions), your real monthly bill, not the $0 on the plan page. Great for shops doing under about $5,000/month on card; the math turns against you as volume climbs.
$0/mo · 2.29% + 9¢ in person, 3.49% + 9¢ keyed (USA) · reader $29
Among all-in-one apps that bundle processing, PayPal Zettle currently has the lowest common US in-person rate at 2.29% + 9¢, below Square and SumUp. There is no monthly fee, the first reader is $29, and it ties into PayPal for online payouts. The POS app is simpler than Square’s, but for a small shop or mobile seller that mainly needs fast, low-cost card acceptance, Zettle is often the cheapest branded option per card sale.
$0/mo core · bring your own processor · add-ons $5–$25/mo per store
Loyverse is a popular free café and shop POS that runs on an iPad or Android tablet, handles modifier groups and split bills cleanly, and connects to SumUp, Square or Zettle for card acceptance. The core product is free, and notably its kitchen-display feature is free too. Where costs appear is the paid add-ons: Employee Management and Advanced Inventory are each about $25/month per store, and an unlimited-sales-history add-on is about $5/month per store. A fully-equipped setup lands around $25–$55/month in software before card processing, still reasonable if you prefer a tablet over a Windows counter.
$0/mo · 2.6% + 10¢ in person (USA); ~1.69% in the UK · reader ~$29–$79
SumUp is the go-to for mobile merchants in the UK and Europe, where the reader is cheap (~£29) and the rate is about 1.69%. In the USA the in-person rate is 2.6% + 10¢, so it is comparable to Square rather than dramatically cheaper. There is no monthly fee and no contract. The app is basic, products, discounts, simple reports, but for a food truck, market stall or a business that visits clients, that is usually all you need, and you can be taking payments the same day.
$0/mo Essential · $39.99/mo per terminal (Freedom) · processor-dependent rates
eHopper runs on Windows, Android and Poynt terminals, which gives it more hardware flexibility than most. The free Essential plan works for a small shop but its limits (products, registers and monthly transactions) vary by source and change over time, so confirm the current caps before you commit. Staff management and deeper inventory move you to the paid tier at $39.99/month per terminal. A decent short-term option, though many operators outgrow the free plan sooner than expected.
Lightspeed Retail from $89/mo · Clover $14.95/mo (Essentials, contract) · Shopify POS Lite free with a Shopify plan
Once a free tier stops covering your needs, these are the sensible next steps, but none is a cost-cutting play. Lightspeed Retail starts at $89/month (annual billing) with strong multi-location inventory. Clover looks cheap at $14.95/month (Essentials), but the hardware is financed inside a multi-year agreement (commonly 36–48 months) and you are locked to Fiserv processing, so read the contract, not just the monthly figure. Shopify POS Lite is included with any Shopify plan (from $39/month) and is worth it mainly if you already sell online and want unified inventory. Each earns its keep for the right business; for pure lowest cost, a free app plus your own processor still wins.
$0 Starter Kit or $69/mo · ~2.49% + 15¢ on paid plans; $0 plan bundles a higher, custom rate
Toast is a genuinely strong restaurant platform, but it is built for food service, not general retail, and it bundles processing with a multi-year contract. The advertised $0 Starter Kit carries a higher, custom-quoted processing rate (commonly reported around 2.99%+), while the ~2.49% + 15¢ figure applies to paid plans. If you run a restaurant, weigh it properly in our dedicated restaurant POS guide rather than here.
POS stands for point of sale, the system you use to take an order, charge a customer and record the transaction. A good one also tracks stock, generates daily reports and stores customer data. The difference between cheap and free is usually where the money is taken: Square is free software but takes 2.6% + 15¢ of every card tap; Toast is free software but bundles processing on a contract; Timeline POS is free software with no processing cut at all, because it does not touch your card payments, you handle processing separately with your own reader at whatever rate you negotiate.
Add three lines: the monthly software fee, your card fees (processing rate × your monthly card sales, plus the fixed fee × number of card transactions), and hardware spread over its life. Ignore the sticker price on its own, for most businesses the card line is the biggest, so start there. The formula: total ≈ software + (rate × card sales) + (fixed fee × transactions) + hardware/months.
There is no single right answer. A small shop and a food truck both want low costs but need different things. Here is the honest pick for each.
Cheapest pick: Timeline POS or Square Free
Single-location retail needs barcode scanning, a product catalogue and clean end-of-day reports. Timeline POS handles all three at $0 software with no card cut from Timeline. Square Free is the pick if you want one app for POS and card payments and are comfortable with 2.6% + 15¢ per tap.
Cheapest pick: Timeline POS or Loyverse
A counter café needs fast checkout, quick product selection and stock tracking. Timeline POS covers this on a Windows counter at no charge. If you rely on per-item modifiers (milk type, cup size), Loyverse handles those cleanly on an iPad with a free kitchen-display, and Timeline Restaurants POS adds them for food service. Either way, your real cost is the card rate you negotiate, not the software.
Cheapest pick: SumUp, Zettle or Square
Mobile-first means a phone or tablet with a $29–$79 reader. Square has the most polished iOS/Android app; PayPal Zettle has the lowest US flat rate; SumUp has the cheapest hardware in the UK/EU. No monthly fee, no contract, runs on your phone’s data.
Cheapest pick: Timeline POS or Square Appointments
If appointment booking matters, Square Appointments has a free tier. If you mainly invoice at the end of a visit, Timeline POS is cheaper, $0 ongoing and no per-transaction cut. Both work for a single-chair or small-team setup.
Cheapest pick: Lightspeed or Shopify POS
Several outlets need central inventory and consolidated reporting. Lightspeed Retail (from $89/month) and Shopify POS handle this well. Not cheap in absolute terms, but the time saved reconciling stock across locations can justify the fee.
Cheapest pick: Shopify POS or Square
If you sell online and in person, unified inventory is the problem to solve. Shopify POS (with your Shopify store) and Square both sync web and in-store stock. Neither is cheap by this page’s standard, but the hours saved make the fee worth it.
Restaurants have a different cost structure, table service, kitchen tickets, modifiers, split bills and online ordering, and the cheapest choice differs from retail. The short version: the same logic applies, free software plus your own processor is usually cheapest, and among bundled restaurant systems Toast’s $0 plan carries a higher processing rate than its paid plan. For table service and kitchen features from Timeline, use Timeline Restaurants POS (a separate free product with floor plans, recipe inventory and end-of-day reports), not the retail Timeline POS.
We keep the full restaurant cost tables, by-format picks and restaurant FAQs on the dedicated guide so both pages stay focused:
Straight answers on POS costs for small businesses, software fees, card fees, contracts and hidden costs.
For most small shops and service businesses in the USA, the cheapest setup is a POS that charges no software fee and does not take a cut of card sales, so you keep your own payment processor. Timeline POS fits that description: the software is $0 permanently and Timeline Digital charges no transaction fee because it does not process card payments, you run cards through your own bank terminal or reader at the rate you negotiate. If you prefer one app for both POS and card processing, Square Free is the next cheapest at low volume, at 2.6% + 15¢ per in-person tap with no monthly fee. (Timeline Digital develops Timeline POS; see our methodology and disclosure below.)
There is no single answer, it depends on whether you mean software fees or card-processing fees. For software, several systems are $0 (Timeline POS, Square, Loyverse, SumUp, Zettle). For card processing, the lowest rates usually come from systems that let you bring your own processor or use interchange-plus pricing rather than a flat bundled rate. Timeline POS charges nothing and lets you keep your own reader; Loyverse and Lightspeed also separate software from payments; interchange-plus processors such as Helcim, and bring-your-own-processor systems such as KoronaPOS, can beat a flat 2.6% for established businesses. Among flat-rate all-in-one apps, PayPal Zettle (2.29% + 9¢) is currently the lowest common US in-person rate.
Yes, several. Timeline POS, Square (Free plan), Loyverse (core), SumUp and PayPal Zettle all have no monthly software fee. The catch is that most of them still earn money on card processing, so your real monthly cost is the percentage they take on every card sale, not the $0 on the plan page. Timeline POS is the exception in that it takes no card cut at all, because it does not process payments, you pay your own processor separately. If you want a genuinely $0 software bill and control over your card rate, that is the combination to look for.
Software ranges from $0 to about $90/month for the entry plans in this comparison. The bigger number for most businesses is card processing, typically 2.3% to 2.9% plus a fixed few cents on every card sale. A small business doing $10,000/month in card payments pays roughly $230 to $290/month in processing alone, regardless of the software plan. Hardware is a one-time cost ($0 if you reuse a PC or phone, up to a few hundred dollars for a terminal). The only reliable way to lower the biggest line, processing, is to negotiate your own rate or use a POS that does not take a card cut.
The software fee is what you pay for the POS app, monthly or nothing at all. The card-processing fee is a separate charge, a percentage plus a small fixed amount, taken on every card payment by whoever processes the card. With bundled systems (Square, Toast, Clover) the POS vendor also processes your cards, so both fees come from the same company and you cannot shop around. With Timeline POS the two are fully separate: the software is free and you choose your own processor, so you can negotiate the processing rate independently.
The software can be genuinely free, but "free" usually refers only to the app. Square, Loyverse, SumUp and Zettle charge no software fee yet still earn a percentage of every card sale, which is your real cost at any volume. Timeline POS is free on the software side and takes no card cut because it does not process payments, so the only card cost is whatever your own bank or reader charges. Always separate the two questions: is the software free, and who processes the cards and at what rate?
As card volume rises, the percentage rate matters far more than the monthly software fee, so the cheapest choice shifts toward whoever gives you the lowest processing rate. At $20,000/month in card sales, a flat 2.6% costs about $520/month in percentage alone, while a negotiated interchange-plus or bring-your-own rate near 1.5% costs roughly $300. That is why higher-volume businesses often save the most by pairing free software (like Timeline POS) with their own low-rate merchant account, or by moving to an interchange-plus processor, rather than staying on a flat bundled rate.
At low volume the percentage barely matters, so the cheapest option is whichever has no monthly fee and no upfront cost. A free app plus a phone or a reader you already own gets you selling for close to nothing. Square Free, PayPal Zettle and SumUp are all good low-volume choices because there is nothing to pay until you make a sale. Timeline POS is a strong pick if you already have a Windows PC and want $0 software with no card cut. Avoid multi-year contracts and financed hardware until your volume justifies them.
You can avoid transaction fees charged by the POS software, but not the fees charged by whoever processes the card. Timeline POS charges $0 in software and $0 in transaction fees because it does not process payments, so nothing is taken by the software vendor. You still pay your bank, card terminal or reader a processing fee on card sales at whatever rate you have with them. The only way to pay literally zero on a sale is to take cash. Anyone promising card acceptance with no processing fee at all is not counting the processor.
Timeline POS has no contract and no processor lock-in, because it is a one-time free download and you keep your own card processor. Square, PayPal Zettle, SumUp and Loyverse are also month-to-month with no lock-in on the software side. The systems to read carefully are the ones that bundle hardware and processing, Clover (commonly 36–48-month agreements with Fiserv processing) and Toast (multi-year processor contracts), where switching processors mid-term can carry penalties. Always read the payment-processing agreement, not just the software plan page.
Beyond the headline software fee, watch for: fixed per-transaction fees (9¢–30¢) on top of the percentage; PCI-compliance or "service" fees ($5–$25/month on some processors); statement fees; hardware financed at high APR (a "free" terminal can cost far more over a multi-year contract); add-on subscriptions for kitchen display, online ordering, loyalty or extra registers; processor minimums; and early-termination penalties. Ask any vendor for the total all-in cost at your monthly card volume, and the full list of recurring fees, in writing.
For a single-location retail shop, Timeline POS is the cheapest on software at $0, with unlimited products, barcode scanning, inventory tracking and reports, and no card cut because you keep your own reader. If you want built-in card payments in one app, Square Free is the cheapest branded option at low volume. For growing multi-location retail, Lightspeed Retail (from $89/month) adds deeper inventory but is not a cost-cutting choice. Match the pick to your card volume: reuse-your-own-processor wins as volume grows; all-in-one wins when volume is low.
Yes. SumUp, PayPal Zettle, Square and Loyverse all run on Android and iOS with a paired card reader costing roughly $29 to $79. For occasional sales, markets, events or mobile service calls, a phone-based POS is the cheapest route, with no monthly fee and no contract. The card-processing rate still applies to every card sale, so it is the number to compare between them.
Paying makes sense when a subscription buys something a free app cannot: live inventory and sales sync across several locations, a hosted dashboard you can open from anywhere, bundled hardware and phone support, or deep integrations with accounting and e-commerce. For a single shop that mainly wants fast billing, stock tracking and low running cost, a free option such as Timeline POS is hard to beat on price. Decide from your card volume and how many locations you run, not from the sticker price alone.
Most POS systems charge you somewhere, a monthly fee, a cut of every card payment, or both. Timeline POS charges neither: no software fee and no transaction fee from Timeline Digital, because you keep your own card processor. Download it onto a Windows PC, add your products, and it runs indefinitely at zero software cost, billing, inventory, customers and reports included. You pay only your own processor’s rate on card sales.