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Join For FreeBest Hospitality POS Systems
These full-featured and reasonably priced POS apps offer must-have features for the hospitality industry, like online booking and staff management.
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WRITTEN & RESEARCHED BY
Lead Staff Writer
Last updated onUpdated
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REVIEWED BY
Lead Staff Writer
Our content reflects the editorial opinions of our experts. While our site makes money through referral partnerships, we only partner with companies that meet our standards for quality, as outlined in our independent rating and scoring system.
Hospitality point of sale systems can make it easier for a restaurant, bar, hotel, or any service industry business to keep things running smoothly.
Modern POS features such as self-ordering, staff management, and contactless payments help hospitality businesses accommodate higher-than-normal sales volumes, even when short-staffed. The best POS systems are easy to use, affordable, and full of the smart hospitality industry features you need.
Learn More About Our Top Picks
| Company | Best For | Next StepsBest For |
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Square POS
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Lightspeed Restaurant
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Revel POS
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TouchBistro
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Toast POS
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| Show Fewer Options |
Read more below to learn why we chose these options.
Table of Contents [hide][show]
- What To Look For In A Hospitality POS
- Top 5 Hospitality POS Systems
- Square POS: Best For Affordable, Month-To-Month Pricing
- Lightspeed Restaurant: Best Hotel POS
- Revel POS: Best For Customizability
- TouchBistro: Best For Reservation Management
- Toast POS: Best For Digital Ordering
- Hospitality Point Of Sale Systems That Didn't Make The Cut
- Find The Right Hospitality POS Software For Your Growth
Table of Contents
- What To Look For In A Hospitality POS
- Top 5 Hospitality POS Systems
- How The Best POS Systems For Hospitality Compare
- Square POS: Best For Affordable, Month-To-Month Pricing
- Square POS
- Why We Chose Square For Best POS With Month-To-Month Pricing
- Square POS Hospitality Features
- Square POS Pricing
- Square Processing Fees
- What To Watch Out For
- Lightspeed Restaurant: Best Hotel POS
- Lightspeed Restaurant
- Why We Chose Lightspeed Restaurant Best For Hotels
- Lightspeed POS Hospitality Features
- Lightspeed POS Pricing
- Lightspeed Processing Fees
- What To Watch Out For
- Revel POS: Best For Customizability
- Revel POS
- Why We Chose Revel Systems Best For Customizability
- Revel POS Hospitality Features
- Revel Systems Pricing
- Revel Processing Fees
- What To Watch Out For
- TouchBistro: Best For Reservation Management
- TouchBistro
- Why We Chose TouchBistro Best For Reservation Management
- TouchBistro POS Hospitality Features
- TouchBistro POS Pricing
- TouchBistro Processing Fees
- What To Watch Out For
- Toast POS: Best For Digital Ordering
- Toast POS
- Why We Chose Toast Best POS For Digital Ordering
- Toast POS Hospitality Features
- Toast POS Pricing
- Toast Processing Fees
- What To Watch Out For
- Restaurant POS Review Methodology
- Hospitality Point Of Sale Systems That Didn't Make The Cut
- Find The Right Hospitality POS Software For Your Growth
What To Look For In A Hospitality POS
Your hospitality POS should include hospitality-specific features for your industry, whether you own a hotel, restaurant, cafe, etc. There are also certain features that all quality POS systems have, such as transparent merchant services contracts and good customer support.
Here are some important features to seek out when shopping for hospitality point of sale systems:
- Monthly Software Pricing: Ideally, you will be able to pay for your POS software on a monthly basis.
- Digital Payment Acceptance: Your POS should let you accept all major forms of digital payment—NFC, virtual terminal, Apple Pay, BNPL, QR code payments, etc.
- Transparent Processing Fees: Whether the POS uses flat-rate processing, interchange-plus, or another processing model, the POS provider should make it clear exactly what processing fees you will be charged.
- Option To Purchase POS Hardware: You should have the option to buy your POS equipment outright rather than just leasing it (buying will save you a lot of money in the long run).
- Restaurant-Specific Features: A restaurant POS should include table management, tipping, reservations, food ingredient tracking, and other restaurant management features.
- Hotel PMS Integrations: Hotel property management system (PMS) integrations are essential for any hotel business shopping for a POS.
- Employee Management: The hospitality industry historically has a lot of turnover, so it’s important that your system has good staff management features to keep track of shifts, tips, performance, and more.
- Online Ordering And/Or Online Reservation Booking: Your hospitality POS should allow your customers to place food orders online and/or make online bookings.
Note that if POS doesn’t provide a niche feature that you need out of the box, the POS might integrate with third-party business software—for example, restaurant delivery software—that includes the needed functionality.
Top 5 Hospitality POS Systems
Let’s take a look at some of our favorite hospitality POS systems for 2023 and beyond. Check out our top picks and how they compare:
- Square POS: Best For Affordable, Month-To-Month Pricing
- Lightspeed Restaurant: Best Hotel POS
- Revel POS: Best For Customizability
- TouchBistro: Best For Reservation Management
- Toast POS: Best For Digital Ordering
How The Best POS Systems For Hospitality Compare
| Square | TouchBistro | Lightspeed | Toast | Revel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | |||||
| Payment processing | Square only | TouchBistro or compatible processor | Lightspeed or compatible processor | Toast only | Revel Advantage or compatible procesor |
| Hardware | iPad | iPad | iPad | Android | iPad |
| Contract | Month-to-month | 1 year | 1 year | 2 years | 3 years |
| Restaurant software integrations | |||||
| Hotel PMS integrations |
Square POS: Best For Affordable, Month-To-Month Pricing
Pricing Range
$0/monthContract Length
NoneEquipment Cost
$49-$799Get a free card swiper from Square at no cost when you create a free account. Claim your card reader.
Pros
- Simple, affordable pricing (including free plan)
- Industry-specific features for restaurants and service businesses
- Straightforward month-to-month terms
- Numerous feature and POS hardware options
Cons
- Third-party processor means less account stability
- Features may not be as deep as dedicated hospitality POS
Why We Chose Square For Best POS With Month-To-Month Pricing
Square is an excellent POS for any small business that offers an affordable month-to-month software plan with no contract and in-house flat-rate payment processing.
Even though Square wasn't built for hospitality per se, there are multiple different ways a hospitality business can use Square. You can use Square's free POS system with paid or free add-ons and integrations tailored to your business needs, like team management, marketing, or restaurant software integrations. Or use one of Square's industry-specific POS systems, such as Square for Restaurants or Square Appointments, which have free and paid plans, depending on how deep of a feature set you need.
When To Use Square
Square is ideal for:
Smaller, newer hospitality businesses with smaller transaction sizes---such as coffee shops, small restaurants, food trucks, and cafes.
Lightspeed Restaurant: Best Hotel POS
Pricing Range
$189-$399+/monthOnline Ordering
YesEquipment Cost
$129-$519Pros
- Competitive pricing with a one-year term
- Integrated flat-rate payment processing
- Restaurant-specific features
- Hotel management software integrations
Cons
- Limited offline mode
- Pricey add-ons
Why We Chose Lightspeed Restaurant Best For Hotels
Lightspeed is a powerhouse in the mobile POS and payment processing worlds, combining the two to provide an affordable restaurant point of sale for iPad with integrated flat-rate processing.
Lightspeed Restaurant is geared toward all things hospitality. In particular, Lightspeed advertises that its POS works well for restaurants located in a hotel, though any type of restaurant can use Lightspeed POS. One reason why Lightspeed is one of the best POS for restaurants is because of its excellent inventory management. Lightspeed also offers specific PMS integrations for hotels.
When To Use Lightspeed Restaurant
Lightspeed is ideal for:
All types of restaurants that can afford the splurge, especially for any restaurants within a hotel.
Get Started With Lightspeed Restaurant
Revel POS: Best For Customizability
Pricing Range
Quote-basedOnline Ordering
YesEquipment Cost
Call for quotePros
- An exhaustive, customizable feature set
- Strong offline mode
- Capable of handling enterprise-level businesses
- Intuitive iPad interface
Cons
- Long-term commitment
- Pricey for a cloud POS
Why We Chose Revel Systems Best For Customizability
Revel is an advanced iPad POS system that can be made to fit almost any industry, including hospitality businesses such as restaurants. Revel is powerful enough to handle multilocation establishments and is used by several nationwide quick-serve franchises.
During setup, Revel will customize the POS for your specific business needs. In addition to Revel's inherent customizability, some other things we like about Revel include its rock-solid offline mode to keep your business going even during an internet outage and its constant feature additions and improvements.
When To Use Revel Systems
Revel is ideal for:
High-volume, medium-to-large, multilocation businesses, particularly those that need a highly customizable system.
(Small businesses just starting out may be better off starting with a low-commitment POS such as Square.)
TouchBistro: Best For Reservation Management
Pricing Range
$69/monthOnline Ordering
Add-onEquipment Cost
Call for quotePros
- Affordable pricing
- Multiple payment processing options
- Excellent online reservations suite
- Hybrid iPad POS uses both cloud and local server
Cons
- Not suited for large, multilocation establishments
- Somewhat basic POS functions
Why We Chose TouchBistro Best For Reservation Management
TouchBistro is affordable for small food establishments like food trucks and smoothie carts but can also be used for full-service restaurants and bars, with all of your iPads syncing to a local Mac Mini.
Though TouchBistro's core POS functionality is somewhat basic, TouchBistro Reservations is a highly useful add-on for sit-down restaurants. With this add-on enabled, TouchBistro lets you accept reservations through your restaurant's website, TouchBistro's mobile app, or Google Reservations, and keep track of guest records.
When To Use TouchBistro
TouchBistro is ideal for:
Any single-location restaurant or bar, particularly if you want in-depth reservation management.
Toast POS: Best For Digital Ordering
Pricing Range
$0/mo - $69/mo; with custom plans availableOnline Ordering
YesEquipment Cost
$0+ if you agree to a higher processing ratePros
- Restaurant-grade Android POS hardware
- Complete restaurant management system
- Free plan available
- Full digital ordering suite with tableside ordering & payments
Cons
- Processing fees can be high
- No built-in reservation system (though it does integrate with OpenTable and Tock)
Why We Chose Toast Best POS For Digital Ordering
Unlike the other choices on our list, Toast uses Android POS devices instead of iPads. Since Toast's POS hardware, is purpose-built for the restaurant industry, it can survive spills and drops. Using Toast Go handheld devices, servers can use to accept orders and payments at the table.
Toast is incredibly feature-rich and in addition to core POS functionality, the system also has numerous high-tech features that businesses can use to create a fully digital restaurant ordering system.
When To Use Toast
Toast is ideal for:
Modern quick-serve or fast-casual restaurants that want a complete restaurant management and payment system.
Restaurant POS Review Methodology
Merchant Maverick has been researching and reviewing POS providers since 2012. Our writers have tested over 100 different point of sale systems, evaluating pricing, features, ease of use, customer service, and user reviewers. Read more about how we rate POS providers.
When comparing different POS software systems, we consider many data points, including relative pricing, the depth of niche features offered, the price of hardware, and any associated payment processing fees. Our lists of the best providers include only apps we’ve deemed worthwhile from multiple vantage points. The POS vendors we pick share qualities such as widespread availability, accessibility, user-friendliness, and reasonable pricing. We also look carefully at niche features, such as check-splitting, inventory management, eCommerce, loyalty programs, gift cards, and more.
We spend an average of 10-15 hours researching and updating each one of our lists, making sure the providers included meet our internal standards for quality and reputation.
80+
Vendors evaluated
65+
Attributes assessed per vendor
20+
Features weighed
30+
Combined years of experience
Hospitality Point Of Sale Systems That Didn't Make The Cut
Find The Right Hospitality POS Software For Your Growth
Choosing a POS system can be a time-consuming process since there are many factors to consider. You first need to figure out your POS budget, and then you can compare hospitality POS systems in terms of their features and the value they provide.
For example, a moderately-priced restaurant-specific POS system may offer features such as raw ingredient management, while a lower-priced general POS may lack this feature, requiring you to buy a separate inventory app.
Besides, features and software costs, payment processing fees and contract length should be major considerations when it comes to choosing your hospitality POS. In terms of processing fee models, flat-rate and cost-plus pricing typically provide the best value for most businesses.
Need more options? Take a look at some more restaurant POS systems we recommend.
Shannon Vissers
Lead Staff Writer at Merchant Maverick
Shannon has been writing for Merchant Maverick about small business software and financing since 2015. She started writing professionally about business topics in 2005. Shannon has been featured in the Washington Post, Reader's Digest, US News, MSN, Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, and other publications. She has a bachelor's degree in English from San Diego State University and currently resides in San Diego, California.
View Shannon Vissers's professional experience on LinkedIn.
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