6 Best Touch-Screen POS Systems of October 2025
Many POS systems run on proprietary or third-party touch-screen hardware.
Learn more Touch-screen point-of-sale (POS) systems operate with touch-screen hardware, like a tablet, register, handheld card reader or kiosk to help move the checkout process along quickly. Most POS systems
Here are some of our picks for the best touch-screen POS systems:
- Square: Best overall touch-screen POS system.
- Clover: Best for choosing your own payment processor.
- SpotOn Restaurant: Best customizable restaurant option.
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Best all-in-one payments service
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.6% + $0.15
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Monthly fee
$0
Starts at $0/month for unlimited devices and locations.
on Square's website
Pros
- Offers a free mobile card reader and free POS software plan.
- Can subscribe to related services, such as payroll, that integrate with its POS system.
- No termination fees or long-term contracts.
- No chargeback or PCI compliance fees.
Cons
- Complex businesses might prefer a processor that integrates with more specialized POS systems.
Best all-in-one payments service
Square
Best for Overall touch-screen POS system
Best for Overall touch-screen POS system
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.6% + $0.15
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Monthly fee
$0
Starts at $0/month for unlimited devices and locations.
on Square's website
Pros
- Offers a free mobile card reader and free POS software plan.
- Can subscribe to related services, such as payroll, that integrate with its POS system.
- No termination fees or long-term contracts.
- No chargeback or PCI compliance fees.
Cons
- Complex businesses might prefer a processor that integrates with more specialized POS systems.
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.3% + $0.10
Online: 3.5% + $0.10
Online: 3.5% + $0.10
Monthly fee
$0
and up.
on Clover's website
Pros
- Free plan available if you’re only using a mobile card reader.
- 24/7 phone support.
- All restaurant plans include no-fee online ordering, and retail plans let you integrate with existing online stores.
- Offers a variety of plans tailored to six specific types of businesses.
- Can pair POS systems with third-party payment processors.
Cons
- Promotions require a three-year contract.
- May be subject to early termination fees if you use Clover as your payment processor.
- Online payment processing rates are more expensive than competitors.
Clover POS
Best for Choosing your own payment processor
Best for Choosing your own payment processor
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.3% + $0.10
Online: 3.5% + $0.10
Online: 3.5% + $0.10
Monthly fee
$0
and up.
on Clover's website
Pros
- Free plan available if you’re only using a mobile card reader.
- 24/7 phone support.
- All restaurant plans include no-fee online ordering, and retail plans let you integrate with existing online stores.
- Offers a variety of plans tailored to six specific types of businesses.
- Can pair POS systems with third-party payment processors.
Cons
- Promotions require a three-year contract.
- May be subject to early termination fees if you use Clover as your payment processor.
- Online payment processing rates are more expensive than competitors.
Payment processing fees
1.99% + $0.25
For most cards in paid plans.
Monthly fee
$0
and up.
on SpotOn's website
Pros
- Offers a free plan.
- Restaurants can customize plans by adding loyalty programs, reservation capabilities, online ordering or employee scheduling software.
- 24/7 phone support.
- No long-term contract or termination fees.
Cons
- Charges setup fee.
- Offline mode includes the hidden cost of a router.
SpotOn Restaurant
Best for Customizable restaurant touch-screen POS
Best for Customizable restaurant touch-screen POS
Payment processing fees
1.99% + $0.25
For most cards in paid plans.
Monthly fee
$0
and up.
on SpotOn's website
Pros
- Offers a free plan.
- Restaurants can customize plans by adding loyalty programs, reservation capabilities, online ordering or employee scheduling software.
- 24/7 phone support.
- No long-term contract or termination fees.
Cons
- Charges setup fee.
- Offline mode includes the hidden cost of a router.
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.6% + $0.10
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Monthly fee
$39
and up for e-commerce plans with POS Lite; Can upgrade to POS Pro for an extra $89.
on Shopify's website
Pros
- No long-term contracts or termination fees.
- All plans include an online store.
- Built specifically for online sellers.
- 24/7 chat support.
Cons
- No free plan options.
- Cannot process cards in offline mode.
Shopify Retail POS
Best for Building an online store
Best for Building an online store
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.6% + $0.10
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Monthly fee
$39
and up for e-commerce plans with POS Lite; Can upgrade to POS Pro for an extra $89.
on Shopify's website
Pros
- No long-term contracts or termination fees.
- All plans include an online store.
- Built specifically for online sellers.
- 24/7 chat support.
Cons
- No free plan options.
- Cannot process cards in offline mode.
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.6% + $0.10
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Monthly fee
$109
for Basic plan, $179 for Core plan, $339 for Plus plan.
on Lightspeed's website
Pros
- Includes detailed inventory management tools for creating product variants.
- No long-term contracts.
- 24/7 live chat support.
- Generate unlimited barcode labels.
Cons
- No free plan options.
- Accounting integrations are only available in Core and Plus plans.
Lightspeed Retail POS
Best for Tracking retail inventory
Best for Tracking retail inventory
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.6% + $0.10
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Monthly fee
$109
for Basic plan, $179 for Core plan, $339 for Plus plan.
on Lightspeed's website
Pros
- Includes detailed inventory management tools for creating product variants.
- No long-term contracts.
- 24/7 live chat support.
- Generate unlimited barcode labels.
Cons
- No free plan options.
- Accounting integrations are only available in Core and Plus plans.
Pros
- No long-term contract or termination fees.
- Accepts a variety of payment types, including Venmo and PayPal payments.
- Inexpensive card reader with a keypad, plus built-in payment processing and a free mobile app lets you quickly accept in-person payments on the go.
- Low in-person processing fees for a flat-rate processor.
Cons
- Accepting online transactions involves additional monthly fees, depending on your gateway.
- No offline mode.
PayPal POS
Best for Touch-screen POS that accepts QR code payments
Best for Touch-screen POS that accepts QR code payments
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.29% + $0.09
Online: 3.49% + $0.09
Online: 3.49% + $0.09
Monthly fee
$0
Pros
- No long-term contract or termination fees.
- Accepts a variety of payment types, including Venmo and PayPal payments.
- Inexpensive card reader with a keypad, plus built-in payment processing and a free mobile app lets you quickly accept in-person payments on the go.
- Low in-person processing fees for a flat-rate processor.
Cons
- Accepting online transactions involves additional monthly fees, depending on your gateway.
- No offline mode.
Jump to
Full details: Best touch-screen POS systems
Square
Best overall touch-screen POS system
Why we like it: Square offers reliable and affordable POS software, with a couple of proprietary touch-screen hardware options. The Square Register is a fully integrated register that has both a merchant-facing and customer-facing display. The customer-facing side includes a card terminal and contactless option. The Square Terminal is a small handheld device capable of accepting card and contactless payments. It comes equipped with a powerful battery and receipt printer for full mobile capabilities.
The Square Register and Terminal both offer monthly payments plans. Other Square POS hardware and software is compatible with iPads and mobile devices, making it an even more affordable option if you want to cut costs on hardware. Read our full Square POS review
Monthly POS software fees
Hardware costs
Payment processing fees
Clover
Best for choosing your own payment processor
Why we like it: Clover is one of the few popular POS system providers that lets third-party payment processors sell its hardware, in case you don’t want to use Clover as your processor. If you go that route, though, make sure to purchase your Clover hardware from your processor of choice so that it’s programmed correctly. Clover offers two registers — the Station Solo and Station Duo — that both include a 14-inch touch-screen display and receipt printers. The Station Duo is a little more robust, accepting all forms of payment (as opposed to just chip and card swipe), and includes both customer- and merchant-facing displays.
Other hardware includes the Clover Mini, a smaller 8-inch touch-screen display that can accept all payment options, and the Clover Flex handheld POS system, which has a 6-inch touch-screen display and can also accept dip, swipe, tap or contactless payments. Both the Clover Mini and Flex handheld are compatible with larger Clover POS hardware, and are scalable with your growing business.Payment plans are available if you don’t want to front the full hardware cost, and monthly prices are dependent on which software plan you choose. Read our full Clover POS review
Monthly POS software fees
Hardware costs
Payment processing fees
Shopify
Best for building an online store
Why we like it: While most of the options listed here enable online ordering in some capacity, Shopify is built specifically for online-first businesses. If you prioritize online sales and need a robust online storefront, Shopify lets you choose from more than 200 website templates so that you can build the right solution for your business. It also sells a variety of touch-screen POS hardware devices for in-person sales, including a countertop kit that’s compatible with iPads and a handheld mobile POS system. Processing rates decrease as plans scale up. Read our full Shopify POS review
Monthly POS software fees
Hardware costs
Payment processing fees
Lightspeed
Best for tracking retail inventory
Why we like it: Lightspeed’s retail POS system stands out for its inventory tracking capabilities. You can set reorder points, manage stock at multiple locations and assign product variants to signal different colors or sizes. The system also connects with a B2B catalog of suppliers and their products, which lets you import product details and images directly instead of having to rewrite each description yourself. This is a big time-saver if you sell a wide variety of items. Lightspeed sells iPad stands that can be paired with card readers, cash drawers, barcode scanners and receipt printers to create a touch-screen POS system. Read our full Lightspeed Retail POS review
Monthly POS software fees
Hardware costs
Payment processing fees
SpotOn Restaurant
Best customizable restaurant touch-screen POS
Why we like it: SpotOn’s restaurant POS plans are highly customizable and let you choose from a range of add-ons, including flat-rate DoorDash delivery, digital and tableside ordering capabilities, gift cards, reservations and loyalty programs. And if none of the plans listed fit your restaurant’s needs, you can customize your own.
The company’s proprietary hardware includes two touch-screen countertop options that pair with a customer-facing display, along with a handheld POS device built for mobility with straps and belt hooks. This may be a good option if your restaurant does a lot of mobile ordering, either tableside or in a drive-thru line for instance. One drawback is that SpotOn doesn’t list its pricing for all hardware options, so you’ll have to reach out to the company for details.
Monthly POS software fees
Hardware costs
Payment processing fees
» MORE: Best restaurant POS systems
PayPal POS
Best touch-screen POS that accepts QR code payments
Why we like it: In addition to accepting chip and contactless credit card payments, the PayPal POS terminal's touch-screen POS system lets you accept Venmo and PayPal QR code payments from customers. You enter the purchase amount on the touch-screen POS system, select PayPal or Venmo as the method of payment and the system generates a QR payment code for your customer to scan. Hardware options include a handheld POS terminal or an iPad swivel stand that you can use on its own or with a cash drawer. Read our full PayPal POS review
Monthly POS software fees
Hardware costs
Payment processing fees
Methodology
NerdWallet’s point-of-sale systems provider ratings reward companies whose products and services are priced well and work in a variety of payment scenarios, among other criteria. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including cost, system capabilities, contract requirements, customer service and integrations and add-ons. Learn more about how we rate point-of-sale (POS) systems providers
These ratings are a guide, but services, hardware and pricing can vary widely from business to business and provider to provider. We encourage you to shop around and compare several providers.
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