Best restaurant POS and management software in 2026: Toast, Square, Clover, Lightspeed, TouchBistro and Ali-E compared
Restaurant software covers the floor plan, order taking, the kitchen display, payments and, more and more, online ordering, inventory and payroll. The biggest cost differences hide outside the software price: card processing, hardware, kitchen screens and contract terms.
Disclosure: Ali-E CRM is our product. We included it and wrote plainly where it falls short. Prices come from each vendor's own pricing page as read on October 31, 2026, in US dollars before tax. Vendors change prices often, so check the current page before you buy.
Quick comparison
| Software | Best for | Starting price (Oct 2026) | Card processing (as published) | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toast | Full-service restaurants that want a restaurant-only platform | Starter Kit from $0/mo; Point of Sale from $69/mo | Pay-as-you-go 3.09%; traditional plan 2.49% | Only Toast-approved hardware; extra devices cost more |
| Square for Restaurants | Cafes, counters and bars that want to start free | Free $0; Plus $49/mo per location; Premium $149/mo | 2.6% + 15¢ in person on Free, 2.4% + 15¢ on Premium | Kitchen display app $30 per device per month on Plus |
| Clover | Restaurants that want hardware inside the subscription | Full service Starter $179/mo on a 36-month subscription, or $1,799 hardware plus $89.95/mo | 2.3% + 10¢ in person | Subscriptions cannot be canceled during the term |
| Lightspeed Restaurant | Multi-location groups that need deep reporting | Starter from $69 (confirm billing terms in the quote) | Not published | Kitchen display $30 per screen per month; several add-ons quoted |
| TouchBistro | Full-service restaurants on iPad | POS from $69/mo; Essentials bundle from $119/mo with hardware and payments | Not published | Reservations, loyalty and other add-ons are quoted |
| Ali-E CRM (Restaurant edition) | Small restaurants and cafes that want POS plus stock, finance and team on devices they own | Free until December 1, 2026; from then Starter $29/mo for 3 users plus Restaurant edition $39/mo per location | Not listed | New product, public launch November 2026; fewer delivery and hardware integrations |
Toast
Toast is built only for restaurants and covers POS, table and order management, online ordering and delivery, marketing, payroll and scheduling, xtraCHEF invoices and inventory, and the Toast IQ assistant, with 24/7 support. Its Starter Kit has a $0 software plan if you pay 3.09% per transaction and no hardware cost; the traditional option is 2.49% with hardware paid upfront. The Point of Sale plan starts at $69/mo. Toast runs only on its own approved hardware.
Square for Restaurants
Square for Restaurants has a free plan per location. Plus ($49/mo) adds inventory tracking and close-of-day reports, and Premium ($149/mo) adds coursing and seat management. In-person card fees are 2.6% + 15¢ on Free and 2.4% + 15¢ on Premium. The kitchen display app costs $30 per device per month on Plus ($20 on Premium), and kiosks cost extra. Hardware starts at $59.
Clover
Clover bundles hardware and software. Full-service plans run from $179/mo (Starter) to $354/mo (Advanced) on a 36-month subscription, or you buy the hardware upfront from $1,799 and pay $89.95/mo or more for the software. In-person processing is 2.3% + 10¢. Read the FAQ carefully: Clover subscriptions are non-cancelable and non-refundable for the term, and banks that resell Clover may price it differently.
Lightspeed Restaurant
Lightspeed Restaurant lists Starter at $69, Essential at $189 and Premium at $399, plus an Enterprise quote; confirm the billing period in your quote. It is strong on menu management, floor plans, advanced insights and multi-location inventory. The kitchen display costs $30 per screen per month, and add-ons such as reservations and gift cards are priced by sales.
TouchBistro
TouchBistro is an iPad POS for full-service restaurants: POS from $69/mo, or the Essentials bundle from $119/mo that includes integrated payments and hardware. Commission-free online ordering, reservations, loyalty, marketing, gift cards and a kitchen display are add-ons quoted on request. Support is available 24/7.
Ali-E CRM (Restaurant edition)
Ali-E's Restaurant edition runs the shift on phones and tablets you already own: a floor plan where you tap a table and see its live status, orders taken at the table that go straight to the kitchen display, a QR menu in eight languages so guests order from their own phone, and closing a table in one tap with dish and revenue analytics. The built-in AI books tables and closes checks on request. Because it is part of the Ali-E platform, inventory, purchase orders, finance, payroll and staff live in the same system, so sales show up in stock and in the P&L without double entry.
Where it falls short: Ali-E is new (public launch on November 1, 2026), it does not sell its own terminals, and it has fewer delivery-app and hardware integrations than Toast, Square or Clover. If you want one company to supply the card reader, processing and software together, those three fit better. Ali-E is free until December 1, 2026; after that, the Ali-E pricing page lists Starter at $29/mo for three users plus the Restaurant edition at $39/mo per location.
How to choose
- Price the whole stack for a year: software, hardware, kitchen screens, online ordering and card processing on your real monthly card volume.
- Read the contract term. Some bundles lock you in for 36 months; month-to-month plans cost more per month but let you leave.
- Check whether the POS runs on hardware you already own or requires the vendor's devices.
- Look past the POS: inventory, recipes, payroll and accounting either live in the same system or need extra tools and integrations.
What is the cheapest restaurant POS in 2026?
Square for Restaurants and Toast both offer a $0 software plan: Square's Free plan per location and Toast's Starter Kit with pay-as-you-go processing at 3.09%. Both earn on card fees. Ali-E CRM is free until December 1, 2026, and runs on phones and tablets you already own.
Do I need special hardware for a restaurant POS?
Toast runs only on Toast-approved hardware, and Clover bundles its own devices. Square sells hardware from $59. Ali-E CRM's floor plan, order taking and kitchen display run on an iPhone or in any browser, so no extra hardware is required.
Which restaurant POS locks you into a contract?
Clover's restaurant plans are 36-month subscriptions that cannot be canceled during the term. The other vendors in this comparison do not state contract terms on their pricing pages, so ask for them in writing before you sign.