Point of Sale (POS)
Open source and free-tier POS systems for retail, restaurants, and small business.
For online checkout / payment processing see Payments. For inventory behind the till see Inventory & Asset Management. For ERP-grade POS see ERP Systems.
Open source / self-host
- ★ ERPNext POS — full POS that shares the same DB as accounting / inventory / CRM. GPLv3. Default if you'll grow into ERPNext anyway.
- ★ Odoo POS — Community Edition is free; very polished; works offline; receipt printer / cash drawer integrations. Advanced restaurant features (table management) sit in Enterprise.
- Floreant POS — Java; restaurant-focused; long-running.
- Chromis POS — fork of Unicenta oPOS; retail / hospitality; LGPL.
- uniCenta oPOS — original; long-running.
- OpenBravo POS / POS2 — older; less active.
- NextPOS / Loyverse-flavored OSS forks — vet activity.
- Lightspeed Free — note: Lightspeed dropped most free options in 2024; current "free" is a trial.
- WallacePOS — PHP / browser-based.
- Wcpos / WooPOS — POS layered on WooCommerce.
Hosted (free tiers worth knowing)
- ★ Square POS — free hardware-light tier; pay-as-you-go on transactions (~2.6% + 10¢ in US). The de-facto SMB default in the US.
- SumUp — similar; EU-friendly; pay-per-transaction.
- Loyverse Free — full POS app with inventory; free for unlimited devices; sells paid add-ons (loyalty, employee mgmt).
- Helcim, Clover — paid; Clover hardware is widely deployed.
- Toast (restaurants), TouchBistro (restaurants), Lightspeed Restaurant — paid.
- Shopify POS Lite — bundled free with any Shopify plan.
Restaurant-specific
- ★ Toast — US incumbent; expensive but feature-complete.
- TouchBistro, Lightspeed Restaurant, Square for Restaurants — alternatives.
- Floreant POS — OSS; the cleanest free pick.
- Odoo POS Restaurant — Enterprise feature; floor plan, kitchen tickets.
- OpenTable / Resy / SevenRooms — reservations side, see Appointment Booking.
Retail-specific
- ★ Square POS — default for small retail.
- Lightspeed Retail — mid-market; paid.
- Vend (now Lightspeed) — same.
- Shopify POS — strongest if you also have an online store.
- ERPNext POS / Odoo POS — OSS.
Hardware
- Receipt printers — Star, Epson; ESC/POS protocol.
- Cash drawers — driven by printer's RJ-12 port.
- Card readers — Square, Stripe Terminal, SumUp readers.
- Barcode scanners — anything HID-class works with browser-based POS.
- Stripe Terminal — pair with custom POS via Stripe SDKs; popular for bespoke vertical SaaS.
Build-your-own POS (for vertical SaaS)
- ★ Stripe Terminal SDK — most modern vertical-SaaS POSes embed this.
- Square Reader SDK — alternative.
- Adyen Terminal API — enterprise.
- PAX / Verifone — terminal hardware abstraction layers.
License watch-outs
- ERPNext is GPLv3; Odoo Community is LGPLv3 (modules vary).
- Floreant, Chromis, OpenBravo — varies; check each fork.
- Hardware-driver libraries are often LGPL or proprietary; review before bundling.
Pick this if…
- Default US retail, free hardware-light: Square POS.
- Free OSS, will grow: ERPNext POS or Odoo POS.
- Restaurant OSS: Floreant POS (or Odoo POS Restaurant in Enterprise).
- Restaurant SaaS, willing to pay: Toast or TouchBistro.
- Hardware retail with online store: Shopify POS.
- Building a vertical SaaS that includes payments: Stripe Terminal or Square Reader SDK.