Best Restaurant POS Systems in the UK for 2026
A fair look at restaurant POS options for UK venues, with published prices checked in October 2026, what each suits and the costs that are not on the price tag.
Updated 6 min read
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Key takeaways
- There is no single best restaurant POS: the right one depends on your size, whether you want one company for payments and software, and how many screens you need.
- Square has a free plan and published card rates, Lightspeed prices by till, TouchBistro and Toast quote the full setup, and DineHarbor charges a flat price per location.
- Compare the same setup over a full year: software, hardware, card fees, kitchen screens, online ordering and exit terms.
- Where a vendor does not publish a price, treat it as a quote and ask for it in writing.
In short: pick a restaurant POS by totalling a full year of what you will really use, not by the headline monthly price. Prices below were read on each vendor's own page in October 2026. Where a page did not load or does not publish a number, we say so.
Searching for the "best" restaurant POS mostly returns lists written by vendors. This one tries to be useful to you: what each option publishes, what it appears to suit, and what to ask before you sign. We do sell one of the systems listed, DineHarbor, so we hold it to the same standard and show where it does not fit.
What to compare
Before any names, decide what the system must do on your busiest night.
- Taking orders: how many tills, waiter phones and tables.
- The kitchen: a printer, or screens, and how many stations.
- Other channels: your own online ordering, QR table ordering, a kiosk.
- Payments: one company for software and cards, or your own provider.
- The total: hardware, card fees, add ons and the contract.
Our guide to what a restaurant POS costs gives the sum to use for each quote.
The options at a glance
Prices are as of October 2026, from each vendor's own page, and exclude VAT unless stated.
| System | What the vendor publishes | Best known for |
|---|---|---|
| Square for Restaurants | Free plan; Plus £69 a month per location plus processing; cards 1.75% in person (Square UK, pricing) | Free entry, own hardware, published card rates |
| Lightspeed Restaurant | Basic €89, Core €159, Pro €249 a month; extra registers €49 (Lightspeed) | Plans by number of tills, built in stock on higher plans |
| TouchBistro | From $69 a month for the POS, from $119 with payments and hardware (TouchBistro); the page shows dollars | Table service restaurants, quote for kitchen screens and online ordering |
| Epos Now | Hardware bundles and a 12 month subscription from £54 a month; rates not shown (Epos Now) | Bundled hardware and payments |
| Toast (UK) | Pages exist for the UK; its site blocked our tools, so check the vendor's page | Strong in the United States |
| Clover (UK) | Table Service plan £59.95 a month; hardware from £15 to £30 a month excluding VAT; card rates by quote (plans, restaurants) | Own hardware rented monthly, bespoke payment pricing |
| DineHarbor | Starter £69, Growth £129, Unlimited £219 a month per location; 30 day free trial, no card (pricing) | Flat price with screens, online ordering and QR included |
We could not read Toast's prices from its own pages, so we have not guessed them. Our Toast comparison explains what we could and could not confirm.
Square for Restaurants
Square is a payments company first. Its UK page lists a free plan with no monthly fee, a Plus plan at £69 a month per location, and a 30 day trial of Plus. Processing is separate: its pricing page shows 1.75% for UK cards in person and 1.4% plus 25p online. Kitchen display starts from £15 per device a month and a kiosk is £35 per device a month. A Square Register costs £699 plus VAT.
Suits: a small venue that wants to start for nothing and is happy to use Square's hardware and payments. Watch for: device add ons that grow the bill, and that card rates tie you to Square. See our side by side with Square.
Lightspeed Restaurant
Lightspeed's UK pricing page lists Basic, Core and Pro, with one, two and three registers included and extra registers at €49 each. A kitchen display and QR ordering are add ons on Basic and included on Core and Pro. The ordering kiosk is an add on on every plan with no price shown. The page shows euros while its FAQ mentions pounds, so confirm the currency. Payment rates are not stated.
Suits: a restaurant that wants a deeper system with stock control and is comfortable pricing by till. See the Lightspeed comparison.
TouchBistro
TouchBistro's page shows a Point of Sale plan from $69 a month and an Essentials bundle from $119 a month with payments and hardware, and a custom setup by quote. Kitchen display and online ordering are quote only. It says it charges no commission on online orders. The page uses dollar signs and does not name a country, so ask for a UK quote in pounds.
Suits: table service venues that want a system built around the floor plan and are happy to take a quote.
Epos Now
Epos Now's UK pricing page shows a discounted complete solution that needs a 12 month payments, care and support subscription starting at £54 a month, with hardware shown from £149 to £349 depending on the bundle. Card rates and VAT status are not stated, and several promotional prices appear side by side.
Suits: a venue that wants hardware, support and payments in one bundle. Ask for the total in writing, since the page gives several prices.
Clover
Clover's UK plans page lists Payments at £0, Register at £39.95 and Table Service at £59.95 a month, without saying whether VAT applies. Table Service includes bill splitting, a floor plan, kitchen printers and service charges. Hardware is rented: its restaurants page lists the Flex at £15, the Mini at £20 and the Station Duo at £30 a month plus VAT. Card rates are bespoke, so you need a quote. See Square vs Clover.
DineHarbor
DineHarbor is a restaurant ordering and operations platform. Every plan includes the till, kitchen screens, waiter phones, online ordering and QR table ordering. Starter is £69 a month per location (£684 a year), with two tills, two kitchen screens and five waiter phones. Growth is £129 (£1,284 a year) and adds self order kiosks, driver apps and up to five locations. Unlimited is £219 (£2,184 a year). Prices exclude VAT and there is a 30 day free trial without a card.
It does not sell hardware, does not process cards itself (you connect your own provider, or use Stripe Terminal readers), does not connect to Deliveroo, Uber Eats or Just Eat, and has no iPhone app in the App Store yet: it runs in a browser on an iPad and installs on Android.
Suits: an independent or small group that wants one flat price and its own online ordering with no commission. Not for: anyone who needs delivery app orders on the till or a single supplier for hardware and cards.
How to choose in an afternoon
- List the devices for your busiest service: tills, kitchen screens, waiter phones, kiosks.
- Ask each vendor for a written quote for exactly that list, with card rates and the contract term.
- Add hardware, then multiply the monthly figures by twelve.
- Ask what happens to your data and menu if you leave.
- Run a trial service on the two you like best.
Where to go next
If you already have a system, our guide to switching restaurant POS covers menus, data and timing. For kitchen screens see do you need a kitchen display, and for your own ordering see online ordering without commission.
Questions and answers
What is the best POS system for a UK restaurant?
It depends on your venue. A very small start suits a free plan such as Square's, a growing restaurant may want kitchen screens and online ordering in the price, and a bigger group needs multi-site reporting. Total the setup you need for a year before choosing.
Do I need special hardware?
Some vendors sell their own tills and readers, which you then depend on. Others, including DineHarbor, run on tablets and phones you already own. Ask each vendor what hardware is required and what it costs.
Is the monthly price the whole cost?
No. Card processing, hardware, kitchen screens, kiosks, online ordering and support can all be priced separately. Add them up for the setup you actually need.
Can I switch POS later?
Yes, but ask about data export and contract terms first. Our guide to switching a restaurant POS covers the checklist.
See it in DineHarbor
About the author
Editorial team
The DineHarbor team writes this blog for restaurant owners and managers. Every article is checked against the product before it is published, so what we describe is what the software does.
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