The 8 Best POS Systems for Restaurants in 2025

The best POS systems for restaurants in 2025 are GloriaFood, Square, Epos Now, Toast, TouchBistro, SpotOn, Clover, and Lightspeed.

Did you know that 62% of full-service restaurant customers want to use contactless or mobile payment options when dining out?

If you want to accept a variety of payment methods, improve your speed of service, and serve more customers in a day, you must use an efficient restaurant POS system.

But with countless options out there, what are the best POS systems for restaurants? In this article, we will present you with the most popular restaurant POS software solutions and how they rank based on the key features they provide, so you can make the best choice for your business.

Instead of getting lost in all the information out there, we’ve compiled an easy-to-follow list of the best POS systems for restaurants, ranked based on pricing and these key features:

• Free hardware included
• Intuitive color-coded menu design
• Payment variety
• Straightforward menu editor
• Free online ordering integration
• Staff management features
• In-store and online analytics
• Offline mode
• Round-the-clock support

✅ Free hardware included

✅ Intuitive color-coded menu design

✅ Payments by cards, smartwatches, and digital wallets

✅ Straightforward menu editor

✅ Free online ordering integration

✅ Staff management features

✅ In-store and online restaurant analytics

✅ Offline mode

✅ Round-the-clock support

Pricing: $49 per location (2-year subscription) that includes a FREE starter kit with:

• Premium POS workstation with low profile base
• Ultra-secure countertop payment device
• Front-of-house receipt printer
• Employee RFID Cards for instant POS login
• Cash drawer (limited offer available until August 31st, 2025)

One of the newest, sharpest POS solutions that can take your restaurant to the next level, the GloriaFood POS system was created to make your work easier and increase customer satisfaction.

The sales-focused POS layout is easy to use with intuitive gestures and is designed to adapt to your type of business, be it:

• Table-service
• Quick service
• Bar
• Coffee shop
• Ice-cream shop
• Food truck
• Deli
• Brewery
• Bakery

✅ Free hardware included

✅ Intuitive color-coded menu design

✅ Payments by cards, smartwatches, and digital wallets

✅ Practical menu editor

➕ Free online ordering integration (available as a separate add-on)

✅ Staff management features

✅ In-store and online restaurant analytics

✅ Offline mode

✅ Round-the-clock support

Pricing: Starting from $0/mo with processing fees 2.89% + 25c that includes hardware: 15” SpotOn Station, guest-facing display, stand, cash drawer, receipt printer.

While the free plan may seem attractive, the big processing fees and lack of extra features won’t let you experience the full potential of this restaurant POS system. The more expensive plans include must-have features that make your work easier.

Is SpotOn better than Toast?

According to public user reviews, SpotOn scores highly than Toast. But, by analyzing the free included features and pricing, Toast ranks before SpotOn.

How does SpotOn POS compare to competitors?

SpotOn is a great solution for restaurants who are willing to pay to enjoy the more advanced features, but if you want to get the best solution for your restaurant, look over at the dedicated solution for food businesses from GloriaFood POS and make your own choice.

✅ Free hardware included

✅ Intuitive color-coded menu design

✅ Payments by cards, smartwatches, and digital wallets

✅ Practical menu editor

✅ Free online ordering integration

➕ Staff management features (advanced features available with monthly subscriptions)

✅ In-store and online restaurant analytics

✅ Offline mode

➕ Round-the-clock support (UK-based support, 7 days a week, from 8am to midnight)

Pricing: for a full-service restaurant, the starter pack is $179/month if you have a contract for 36 months or $1,799+ $89.95/month if you prefer to pay monthly. The hardware included is Station Solo – 14″ merchant-facing POS, cash drawer, and receipt printer.

Clover is a pricier POS system as the starter pack only provides a merchant-facing POS, cash drawer, and receipt printer. To get the hand-held POS and access to additional features like payment by smartphone, you will have to choose a more expensive plan.

Does Clover accept all cards?

The Clover POS system accepts all types of credit and debit cards, plus digital wallets like ApplePay.

What are common Clover issues?

Online users have reported the following problems with the Clover POS system: connectivity issues, system freezes, software bugs, and hardware malfunctions.

❌ Free hardware included (to process payments, you must purchase hardware, such as Square Reader, Square Stand, and Square Terminal)

✅ Intuitive color-coded menu design

✅ Payments by cards, smartwatches, and digital wallets

✅ Straightforward menu editor

✅ Free online ordering integration

➕ Staff management features (essential features are available for free, for more advanced ones, like reporting, there is an additional cost)

✅ In-store and online restaurant analytics

✅ Offline mode

✅ Round-the-clock support

Pricing: Free + processing fees for the basic plan without additional features and $69/mo. per location + processing fees for the most popular one. Hardware must be purchased separately.

Square attracts small restaurants that don’t need many additional features with the free plan, where they only have to purchase the hardware and pay the processing fees. For restaurant owners who are ready to pay more, Square offers a variety of more complex features.

What are the disadvantages of Square POS?

Some of the disadvantages of Square POS mentioned by users on public forums are limited support options, lack of advanced features, and high fees for bigger businesses.

Which POS is better than Square?

Taking into account the included features listed above and the intuitive use of technology, the GloriaFood POS System is a better choice than Square for all types of restaurants, both full-service, and fast-food. GloriaFood offers support by providing you with customer success manager and 24/7 access to knowledge resources.

❌ Free hardware included

✅ Intuitive color-coded menu design

✅ Payments by cards, smartwatches, and digital wallets

✅ Practical menu editor

➕ Free online ordering integration (requires payment for ongoing use)

✅ Staff management features

✅ In-store and online restaurant analytics

✅ Offline mode

✅ Round-the-clock support

Pricing: $449 up-front or $39 per month (for a startup business with a 12-month term). Hardware must be acquired separately.

Compared to other POS systems, Epos Now is reportedly harder to get used to, but also suitable for businesses with a large inventory. If you want access to customer support, which can be very useful, you will have to opt for the pricier plans.

Is Epos Now good for small businesses?

Just like the GloriaFood POS system, Epos Now is a good choice for small restaurants because it has a variety of features that streamline operational processes, such as staff management and restaurant analytics.

How much does Epos Now charge for card processing?

For card payments, Epos Now charges 1.7% per transaction. This flat rate is available for Visa, Mastercard, Diners, and Discover transactions.

❌ Free hardware included (hardware must be purchased, with a variety of payment plans)

✅ Intuitive color-coded menu design

✅ Payments by cards, smartwatches, and digital wallets

✅ Practical menu editor

➕ Free online ordering integration (available for a flat monthly fee)

✅ Staff management features

✅ In-store and online restaurant analytics

✅ Offline mode

✅ Round-the-clock support

Pricing: starting from $69/month

Toast is an intuitive restaurant POS system that is best suited for larger restaurants, as small restaurants may find the variety of features too complicated. The tools provided by the system will make managing a restaurant easier, for example, real-time inventory updates and automatic tip-sharing.

Who is Toast’s biggest competitor?

Some of the most popular Toast competitors are Square, Clover, TouchBistro, and Lightspeed. The GloriaFood POS system is also an increasingly popular payment solution for food businesses that restaurant owners are interested in.

Is Toast POS just for restaurants?

No, Toast POS will also work for retail, food service, and other business concepts that include both. They have a more generic solution, GloriaFood is dedicated to the growth of food businesses and hotels (room service, on premise dining).

❌ Free hardware included (they offer hardware bundles or you can purchase your own compatible hardware)

✅ Intuitive color-coded menu design

✅ Payments by cards, smartwatches, and digital wallets

✅ Practical menu editor

➕ Free online ordering integration (available as a separate add-on with a monthly fee)

✅ Staff management features

✅ In-store and online restaurant analytics

✅ Offline mode

✅ Round-the-clock support

Pricing: starting from $69/month

If you’re looking for a simple POS system, TouchBistro is a great option as it is easy to use and includes features such as menu management, table management, and restaurant analytics. However, you will have to pay extra to also provide online ordering or table reservations.

Is Toast better than TouchBistro?

Both POS systems are great choices for restaurants, but TouchBistro is better suited for simpler restaurant operations. If you are looking for the best POS system for restaurants, consider GloriaFood that works for every type of food business, be it full-service or quick-service.

What are the system requirements for TouchBistro?

TouchBistro requires a late 2018 or newer Mac Mini with an 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD for the server. Moreover, iPads must run iPadOS 14 or later.

❌ Free hardware included (available for purchase, both in bundles and individual items)

✅ Intuitive color-coded menu design

✅ Payments by cards, smartwatches, and digital wallets

✅ Practical menu editor

➕ Free online ordering integration (online ordering available as a paid add-on)

➕ Staff management features (free trial, requires paid subscription for access)

✅ In-store and online restaurant analytics

✅ Offline mode

✅ Round-the-clock support

Pricing: Essential plan for $189

Lightspeed is a POS system that is available for restaurants, yet not specifically tailored for them as it focuses more on stores that have barcoded inventory. However, it comes with a variety of features you can use, such as automating your bookkeeping and payroll, and workforce management.

What are the disadvantages of Lightspeed POS?

Users have complained online of the following problems with the Lightspeed POS: high cost for smaller businesses, lack of inventory management, and complex interfaces.

Is Square better than Lightspeed?

Due to their pricing structures, Square is a better choice for smaller restaurants while Lightspeed is suited for bigger restaurants that are already making a big profit and can cover the high costs.

While all the options presented above come with advantages and disadvantages, the GloriaFood POS system wins on two criteria:

• Pricing

Choosing between the best POS systems for restaurants becomes easier when you focus on the money. Some of the options provided above either have a large price tag, which works for an already established and profitable business, or draw you win with a free plan that doesn’t include many features.

On the other hand, GloriaFood POS is very transparent with the pricing. You pay an affordable monthly fee, and you get to enjoy the free starter kit and many other amazing features.

• Most critical and added value features

Some POS systems boast about their useful features, only to find out afterward that you must pay extra if you want to enjoy them.

If you choose the GloriaFood restaurant POS system, you are guaranteed to enjoy all of the following features for a low monthly subscription:

• Accept payments with cash, debit or credit cards, smartphones, and smartwatches;

• Customized dashboard that speeds up service: with easy-to-use search function and color-coded menu categories that adapt to your type of business;

• FREE online ordering system integrated that enables you to accept online orders using the POS system and automatically send them to the kitchen;

• In-store and online ordering analytics that can be accessed from the same dashboard for an overall view. You can monitor your sales, best-selling items, employee logs and much more;

• Printer management that can improve operational speed when you connect multiple printers in key areas of your restaurant such as bar and pizza station;

• Staff management features such as training module, assigning different responsibilities to different workers, and monitoring employee logs;

• Menu management: where you can update menu items, set up stock for dishes, add an out-of-stock label and many other useful functions;

• Offline mode: So internet problems will not hinder your operations as you will still be able to open checks and accept payments;

• 24/5 Support: That is responsive and helpful, plus training materials that you can use when you want to know more about the POS.

On top of all of the useful GloriaFood POS features, you also get access to the whole GloriaFood ecosystem that can help you grow your revenue:

• Sales and SEO optimized website to help you boost online ranking and sales;
• Automated email marketing campaigns to persuade customer to place more orders;
• Promotions module to increase the average order value;
• Kickstart module to attract more new customers.

If you’re ready to improve operational processes and speed of service, take the next step and choose one of the best POS systems for restaurants: GloriaFood. You can rely on the best technology and constant support from our team to grow your business day by day.

Do you have more questions related to what are the best POS systems for restaurants and how to choose the perfect one for your business? Read on to find the answers:

The GloriaFood POS system is the perfect payment solution for small restaurants. The POS system is equipped with numerous features that help you earn more and grow your business. Combined with the perfectly integrated free online ordering system, you will be prepared to take you restaurant to the next level.

Toast, Lightspeed, and Clover are great options, but if you are looking to get the most out of your money, GloriaFood is the best POS in the UK. Not only does it include the most amount of key features available for free, but it is also priced affordably.

To pick the best restaurant POS system for your restaurant, you must look for the following features:

• Ability to accept multiple payment methods
• Offline mode
• Customized dashboard for your type of food business
• In-store analytics
• Integrated staff management features

For a more in-depth answer, read our dedicated article:

What Is the Best Restaurant POS System in 2025?

A POS system is an essential piece of technology for every successful restaurant. If you want to provide clients with a fast service that will increase customer retention and boost sales, you need to budget for an efficient POS system, like the one from GloriaFood.

The best POS system from GloriaFood costs only $49/per location for a 2-year subscription and include a FREE POS starter kit that will meet your every need:

• Premium POS workstation with low profile base
• Ultra-secure countertop payment terminal
• Front-of-house receipt printer
• Employee RFID Cards for instant POS login

For more information about costs, check out our pricing page.