Touch Screen POS Systems That Could Make Your Life Easier In 2023

Best overall touch screen POS. 

Square's easy-to-use, versatile, and affordable POS system has been an industry game-changer. Add in good customer support, numerous features, and competitive credit card processing fees, and it's easy to see why so many small businesses turn to Square for their POS solutions. Square is also extremely affordable. In fact, the Square POS app is completely free. Square POS is best for iOS devices, but it also runs on Android devices.

Square's free POS app comes with all the features you need to get started. This includes inventory management, employee management, digital gift cards, a free online store hosted by Weebly, and reports. You can also access a wide range of integrations with the Square App Marketplace. If you need a more robust system for your restaurant, consider upgrading to Square For Restaurants. Retailers can also access more advanced retail features by signing up for Square For Retail.

As previously mentioned, Square's basic POS app is completely free. However, you will have to pay credit card processing fees, which are fairly competitive. You may also want to upgrade your plan by investing in one of Square's paid add-ons, including Square Loyalty, Square Payroll, and Square Marketing.

Best touch screen POS system for retail stores.

Lightspeed Retail is one of the most fully-featured tablet POS systems out there for retail.

While Lightspeed can support up to enterprise-level size businesses, this cloud-based system is ideal for small and medium-sized businesses that want powerful functionality -- think unlimited inventory, integrated eCommerce, work order management, and customer relationship management. Lightspeed Retail also makes it easy to transfer inventory between different store locations.

Lightspeed is among the pricier systems on this list, and various integrations to extend its functionality, such as eCommerce, can make it even more expensive. So it's not going to be the right POS for every business. But if you want a super robust POS that you can operate from any desktop browser (meaning you don't have to buy expensive iPad registers), Lightspeed Retail might just be right for you. The POS is especially suited for apparel businesses but can accommodate virtually any type of retail setup, including rentals.

Pricing starts at $69/month if you pay annually ($89/month if you pay month-to-month), although you'll need to upgrade your plan for features such as accounting software integration and eCommerce.

If Lightspeed Retail isn't the right choice for your business, there are additional Lightspeed products to consider, including Lightspeed Restaurant.

Best touch screen POS for retailers that sell in-store and online. 

Shopify started as an online shopping cart for businesses that wanted an easy way to sell their products online. Eventually, Shopify extended its offering to include a POS system for in-person sales. As you might expect, Shopify POS does a great job integrating online and offline sales for retail businesses that also do eCommerce with Shopify.

Best for small restaurants looking to add or upgrade their POS. 

Lavu is another highly popular iPad POS system for restaurants. It is not the most advanced restaurant POS there is, but it is equipped to handle the needs of most small-to-medium restaurants (or cafes, bars, coffee stands, etc.). Some features that make this POS system a hit include its customizable table layout and menus, easy employee management, advanced menu management, and useful integrations. Lavu also has solid customer service, which is included in the standard monthly fee. Multiple locations are also supported.

Customers have complained about occasional glitches with the Lavu software, but the company releases frequent updates to solve any bugs or complaints. The UI is intuitive and while the system is fairly easy to learn, there is a slight learning curve when compared to other options on the market. Affordable and highly customizable, Lavu is a strong and growing contender in tablet POS systems for restaurants.

Pricing for a single Lavu terminal starts at $69/month. A loyalty program and gift cards are also available as add-ons. You can use LavuPay, Lavu's in-house credit card processor, or choose a supported third-party processor like Square or PayPal.

Best for restaurants that want an Android-based POS system. 

Android-based Toast POS is a robust, cloud-based POS system for restaurants. It can accommodate any size or type of restaurant, and features like tableside ordering, labor management, and inventory management make Toast a force to be reckoned with on both the front and back ends. Toast is intuitive and easy to use for servers, while also providing detailed reporting, customer data, and menu options.

Although we love Toast's strong feature set and the fact that it uses Android tablets instead of iPads (cheaper hardware costs, less of a theft risk), keep in mind that if you want every single feature Toast offers, it's gonna cost ya. For example, online ordering, table management, delivery management, and gift card support all carry an extra monthly charge. You also can't choose your own credit card processor to use with this POS and must use Toast's in-house processor (which Toast users seem to like, at least). What really sets Toast apart from a lot of other cloud-based POS systems, however, is its excellent customer support – an indispensable quality in any POS, given the inherent complexity of a system that lets you take payments, process orders, and manage almost all aspects of your business.

Toast has a Starter plan that is ideal for smaller restaurants just getting started with a POS system. Two paid plans are also available starting at $165/month and include advanced features like online ordering and delivery, the Toast Takeout app, gift cards, and loyalty programs. Some features are also available as add-ons for an additional monthly fee. Only Toast's in-house credit card processing is supported.

Best for restaurants that want a locally-installed iOS-based POS system. 

TouchBistro is one of the few systems on our list that, while tablet-based, is not cloud-based; rather, your data is stored locally on your restaurant's iPad or Mac. TouchBistro can readily handle the POS needs of just about any size/type of eatery, from a food truck to a full-service restaurant. Since TouchBistro stores data on local servers, it's probably best for single-location restaurants (if coordinating data between locations is important to you). Keep in mind, though, that you will need an internet connection to process credit cards.

Some great features of TouchBistro include table management, menu management, kiosk option, tableside ordering, split-payment option, bar tabs, and sales reports. Customer service doesn't seem to be as responsive as some users would like, though 24/7 support via phone and email is included in the standard cost.

TouchBistro pricing starts at $69/month. Reservations, online ordering, gift cards, and loyalty programs are add-ons available for an additional monthly fee. TouchBistro is compatible with Mercury, Cayan, Moneris, PayPal, and several other gateways.

Best touch screen POS for independent fashion retailers. 

With its exclusive focus on fashion retailers, Quetzal is an iPad POS that's best suited for stores that sell clothing, shoes, and/or accessories. This system has a streamlined iOS aesthetic; the interface seriously looks like it could have been designed by Apple itself. Quetzal also uses a compact, sleek register, Star Micronics’ mPOP system.

Of course, functionality is more important than aesthetics when it comes to a POS, but Quetzal doesn't come up short in terms of function either. We like the clothing/shoe matrix, in-depth sales reports, "tag cloud," loyalty program, employee leaderboard, and "sales thermometer," in particular. One place area where Quetzal may be lacking is with integrations. There aren't many third-party integrations, but there are enough to cover the basics.

At only $75/location, the price is right as well, especially as there is no charge for additional users or terminals. Quetzal supports multiple credit card processors, including EVO Payments, Moneris, Worldpay, and Chase Merchant Services. While it doesn't have a huge market share of the overall retail POS segment, Quetzal's niche focus makes it a functional, affordable, and visually appealing choice for emerging independent clothing brands.

Best free touch screen POS for small businesses. 

Loyverse checks off many of the boxes in terms of what makes for good POS software. Loyverse is easy to use (and teach to your employees), and it has a solid set of basic features suitable for smaller businesses, particularly those that are new to POS systems. Customer service has received rave reviews, which isn't that common in the POS sphere. Perhaps best of all, though, is that the software is completely free. Loyverse can be used on your iPhone, iPad, or Android smartphone or tablet.

Loyverse supports multiple locations. Some of the features you can expect from this software include return management, cash management, inventory tracking, order transfers between locations, sales analytics, and a customer loyalty program. Basic inventory is a bit limited, and some users have reported bugs in the ticketing system, but overall, it's a solid system, especially since it's free. Loyverse integrates with other software and apps such as QuickBooks, Xero, and SyncApps, but you'll have to pay $9/month for these integrations.

Most of Loyverse's services are available at no charge. This includes the POS, Loyverse Dashboard, Loyverse Kitchen Display, and Loyverse Customer Display. In addition to its integration add-on, you can also purchase employee management or advanced inventory for $25/month for each add-on. Available credit card processors are Worldpay, SumUp, and CardConnect.