Is a Free Restaurant POS Really Free?
Is there a truly free restaurant POS? What Square, Zettle and SumUp charge once you add card fees, hardware and add ons, with prices checked in October 2026.
Updated 3 min read
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Key takeaways
- A free POS plan usually means no monthly software fee, with the cost moved into card processing, hardware and paid add ons.
- Square, Zettle and SumUp each publish a card rate of roughly 1.69% to 1.75% in person, and hardware is sold separately.
- Free works best for a very small venue with simple needs; kitchen screens, kiosks and loyalty are paid per device on Square.
- Do the sum for a full year at your own card volume before you call anything free.
In short: a free POS is free to start, not free to run. You pay through card fees, hardware and add ons. That can be a good deal for a small venue and a poor one at scale. Prices below come from each vendor's own page in October 2026.
Where the cost goes
- Card processing: a percentage of every card sale, and sometimes a fixed amount.
- Hardware: a reader, a terminal or a register.
- Add ons: kitchen screens, kiosks, loyalty, online ordering.
- Time: setup, and moving later if you outgrow it.
What the free options publish
As of October 2026, prices exclude VAT where stated.
| Option | Monthly fee | Card rate in person | Hardware |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square (UK) | Free plan, £0 plus processing (Square) | 1.75% UK cards | Reader £19, Terminal £149, Register £699, plus VAT |
| Zettle | No recurring fees (Zettle) | 1.75% | Reader from £29 for new users, Terminal from £149 |
| SumUp | None on pay as you go; Payments Plus £19 a month optional (SumUp) | 1.69%, or 0.99% on domestic consumer cards with Payments Plus | Solo Lite £25, Solo £79, Terminal £135 |
| Loyverse | Check the vendor's page | Not applicable | Its page blocked our tools |
Zettle and SumUp are mainly card readers with simple selling tools, not full restaurant systems. Square's free plan is a till. Our card readers comparison goes through the three.
Where free stops
On Square, a kitchen display starts at £15 per device a month, a kiosk is £35, and its Plus plan for restaurants is listed at £69 a month. A table plan and coursing sit in Plus. So a venue that needs a screen in the kitchen and table management is no longer on the free plan. See Square for restaurants compared.
A worked example
This uses made up round numbers. A cafe takes £15,000 a month by card.
| Option | Card fees a month |
|---|---|
| Square at 1.75% | £262.50 |
| SumUp pay as you go at 1.69% | £253.50 |
| SumUp Payments Plus: 0.99% on domestic consumer cards, plus £19 | £148.50 plus £19, about £167.50 if every card is domestic consumer |
The saving from SumUp's plan only holds if your cards are the domestic consumer kind; international, corporate and premium cards cost 1.69%. At £2,700 of such sales a month the £19 plan about breaks even. Check your own mix.
What free cannot give you
A free plan does not usually include a restaurant's whole workflow: a kitchen display, waiter phones, stock control and your own ordering page are separate or paid. If you will need them within a year, price that setup now.
Where DineHarbor fits
DineHarbor has no free plan: it offers a 30 day free trial with no card, then £69, £129 or £219 a month per location, excluding VAT. Every plan includes the till, kitchen screens, waiter phones and online ordering, and you bring your own card provider. It suits restaurants that need the whole workflow and would otherwise pay for add ons. A single stall with simple needs may do better on a free plan.
A short checklist
- Estimate monthly card sales and the share of each card type.
- List every device you will need within a year.
- Price add ons per device for each option.
- Ask whether you can change card provider later.
Questions and answers
Is there a completely free restaurant POS?
Some systems have a free software plan, but you pay card processing and usually for hardware. Square's UK plan has no monthly fee, with fees on payments. Add ons are paid.
What does Square's free plan include?
Square's UK page describes basic functionality for taking orders and payments with no monthly subscription. Kitchen display starts from £15 per device a month and kiosks are £35.
Do Zettle and SumUp charge monthly fees?
Zettle's page lists no recurring fees. SumUp's pay as you go readers carry no monthly fee, and an optional Payments Plus plan is £19 a month, as of October 2026.
When should I move from a free plan?
When add ons per device, card fees or missing features cost more than a plan that includes them. Review it every year.
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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