Retail POS Retailers usually start shopping for a Shopify POS alternative for one of four reasons: the $89/mo-per-location POS Pro gate (where the serious retail tools live), the 0.6–2% fee for using a processor other than Shopify Payments, an inventory workload Shopify can't carry (deep size/color matrices, heavy receiving), or a simple wish for a cheaper, in-person-first setup. All four prices and gates below were re-checked against official pages and multiple independent sources on 2026-08-13.
Square is the best Shopify POS alternative for budget-led, mostly in-person stores: a genuine $0 plan, flat-rate processing and the easiest setup, from $49/mo per location if you need inventory tracking.
Lightspeed Retail is the alternative when inventory is the business: purchase orders, receiving, transfers and serial tracking that out-depth Shopify even with POS Pro — at ~$89–$289/mo on annual billing.
Clover fits if you want polished, buy-once hardware and reseller-negotiated pricing. One honest caveat: none of the three beats Shopify at omnichannel — if online and in-store sync is your core need, staying put is a valid answer.
Quick Picks
Square
$0 entry plan, transparent flat-rate processing, free Square Online store and the simplest migration off Shopify for small catalogs.
Jump to breakdown ↓Lightspeed Retail
POs, receiving, transfers, serial numbers and work orders — the escape hatch for SKU-heavy stores that outgrew Shopify's inventory.
Jump to breakdown ↓Clover
Own your hardware outright and fill gaps via a big app market. Official online bundles from $16/mo (36-mo terms); resellers may differ.
Jump to breakdown ↓Keep Shopify POS if…
Online + in-store sync, BOPIS and cross-channel returns drive your revenue, or you plan to scale locations — no alternative here matches that stack.
Re-read our Shopify review →Alternatives at a Glance
| Shopify POS (today) | Square | Lightspeed Retail | Clover | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Our score | 4.0 / 5 | 3.8 / 5 | 3.6 / 5 | 3.0 / 5 |
| Starting software cost | $20/mo (annual) | $0/mo | ~$89/mo (annual)* | $16/mo Starter (official online)* |
| Advanced retail tier | POS Pro $89/mo per location | Plus $49 / Premium $149 per location | Core $149 / Plus $289* | Retail Growth $84.95/mo (official online)* |
| In-person processing | ~2.4–2.7% (Shopify Payments) | 2.6% + 15¢ (Free) | 2.6% + 10¢ | 2.6% / 2.3% + 10¢ (official)* |
| Own processor allowed? | Yes, but 0.6–2% extra fee | No — Square required | Core plan and up | Limited (reseller-set) |
| Inventory depth | Good (Pro-gated) | Basic (Plus-gated) | Best-in-class | Basic (paid apps for POs) |
| Omnichannel | Best-in-class | Good (Square Online included) | Fair (eCom in transition) | Fair (app-based) |
| Hardware model | Buy; BYOD tablet OK | Buy; wide lineup, financing | Buy; iPad-based | Buy once; proprietary devices |
Shopify and Square figures re-verified against official pages 2026-09-05 (Shopify's official pricing page does not publish in-person percentages — the ~2.4–2.7% range is corroborated by two independent sources). Lightspeed and Clover figures are official (verified 2026-09-05); Clover reseller quotes may differ.
The Alternatives, Ranked
1. Square — Best Budget Alternative
3.8/5
Square is where cost-conscious Shopify merchants land. The Free plan is genuinely $0 per location — POS, a Square Online web store, gift cards and Tap to Pay on your phone, with processing at 2.6% + 15¢ per in-person transaction. Since the October 2025 restructuring, the paid ladder is simple: Plus at $49/mo per location unlocks inventory tracking, purchase orders, barcode labels and stock counts; Premium at $149/mo adds PO import, transfer orders and 24/7 phone support.
What you gain leaving Shopify: a $0 floor instead of $20–27/mo, no third-party-processor penalty (because there is no choice of processor), the easiest setup we've tested, and a 30-day free trial on paid plans. What you give up: Shopify's unified online-to-store engine. Square Online is a solid free web store, but cross-channel returns, endless aisle and per-location inventory sync are shallower, and Square processing is mandatory — you can never shop your rates.
Pros
- $0 plan with POS and web store included
- Simple flat rates: 2.6%/2.5%/2.4% + 15¢ in person by plan
- Easiest migration target for small catalogs
- 30-day trial on paid plans
Cons
- Inventory tracking, POs and labels gated to Plus ($49)
- Square processing mandatory — no rate negotiation
- Omnichannel depth below Shopify
- Free-plan phone support ends after 90 days
Switch to Square if: your sales are mostly in person, your catalog is modest, and monthly software cost is the metric you care about. Read the full Square review, see Shopify POS vs Square head-to-head, or visit Square →
2. Lightspeed Retail — Best for Inventory-Heavy Retail
3.6/5
If you're leaving Shopify because inventory keeps breaking — 100-variant-per-product caps, light receiving workflows, no native work orders — Lightspeed Retail is the answer. Its catalog handles matrix variants, serialized items, vendor catalogs, purchase orders, receiving and transfers with a depth that out-classes everything on this page, and its reporting is the strongest we review. Multi-location and warehouse workflows are where the ~$89–$289/mo price starts to look reasonable.
What you gain: best-in-class inventory operations, processor choice from the Core plan up, and analytics that go far beyond Shopify's standard reports. What you give up: price and simplicity. Lightspeed is the most expensive system we cover — officially $89 (Basic) / $149 (Core) / $289 (Plus) per month on annual billing, with month-to-month Basic closer to ~$99–109 — annual commitments are standard, its ecommerce story is in transition, and it runs on iPads only.
Pros
- Deepest inventory: POs, receiving, transfers, serials
- Strong multi-location and warehouse tooling
- Best reporting in this group
- Own processor allowed on Core and up
Cons
- Highest cost; annual billing typical (~$89–289/mo)
- Lightspeed Payments required on Basic
- eCom in transition — verify current state
- Steeper learning curve; iPad-only
Switch to Lightspeed if: SKUs, receiving and transfers are your daily reality — bike shops, jewelers, high-variant specialty retail, multi-store operators. Read the full Lightspeed review, see Shopify POS vs Lightspeed, or visit Lightspeed →
3. Clover — Best Buy-Once Hardware
3.0/5
Clover is the hardware argument. The Flex handheld, Mini and Station Duo are the best-feeling devices we've handled, and you buy them once (street prices roughly $599–749, $799–849 and $1,799–1,899 respectively) instead of re-equipping every time plans change. The App Market fills gaps — loyalty, advanced inventory, ecommerce — and day-to-day operation is genuinely easy.
What you gain: owned hardware, a huge app ecosystem, and pricing you can negotiate because Clover is sold through Fiserv and independent resellers. What you give up: flexibility. Clover now publishes official online bundles (Starter $16/mo, Retail Growth $84.95/mo plus $1,899 hardware, 36-month terms), but reseller quotes still vary — get everything in writing. Retail fundamentals are thinner than Shopify's too: no native purchase orders or cycle counts, and processing is tied to your Fiserv/reseller relationship.
Pros
- Excellent one-time-purchase hardware
- Intuitive day-to-day selling
- Large App Market for add-ons
- Reseller competition can sharpen quotes
Cons
- Reseller-dependent final rates; online bundles on 36-month terms
- No native purchase orders or cycle counts
- Processing tied to Fiserv/reseller
- Contract terms vary — read carefully
Switch to Clover if: you want to own your registers outright, your catalog is simple, and you're willing to shop two or three reseller quotes. Read the full Clover review, see Shopify POS vs Clover, or visit Clover →
What Switching From Shopify Actually Costs
Budget the migration before you budget the subscription:
- Hardware doesn't carry over. Card readers and payment devices are locked to each system. Expect $49–59 for an entry reader or $299–899 per full register on the new system.
- Data does — with effort. Products and customers export cleanly from Shopify as CSV; plan time to remap categories, verify barcodes and re-upload images.
- Processing changes too. Leaving Shopify Payments means setting up Square, Lightspeed Payments or a Fiserv/reseller account. If you negotiated rates, get new ones in writing.
- Your online store is tied to Shopify. Shopify POS ships with a Shopify ecommerce plan — cancelling it closes the web store. If online sales matter, keep the ecommerce plan running or budget a replatform.
- Plan 2–6 weeks. Export, import, train staff, run one slow day on the new system before going fully over. Our buying guide walks through the sequence.
Which Alternative Is Cheapest at Real Volume?
Worked example for one store doing $30,000/month in card sales (≈600 transactions, ~$50 average ticket, all in person, no paid apps):
| System (entry retail setup) | Software /mo | Processing /mo | Total /mo | Year one |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Basic + POS Lite (baseline) | $27 | ~$780 (~2.6%) | ~$807 | ~$9,684 |
| Square Free | $0 | ~$870 (2.6% + 15¢) | ~$870 | ~$10,440 |
| Square Plus | $49 | ~$840 (2.5% + 15¢) | ~$889 | ~$10,668 |
| Lightspeed Basic (annual billing) | $89 | ~$840 (~2.6% + 10¢) | ~$929 | ~$11,148 |
| Clover (Starter / Retail Growth) | $16 / $84.95* | 2.6% / 2.3% + 10¢* | $349 / $1,899 hardware | 36-mo online terms |
The counterintuitive part: at $30k/month, leaving Shopify for Square's “free” plan costs roughly $750 more per year because the 15¢-per-transaction fee outpaces a $27 subscription. Square wins below roughly $5k/month in card sales, and Lightspeed's premium buys inventory depth rather than savings. Clover's true cost depends entirely on your reseller quote. Assumes all sales are card-present at each system's entry rate; get rates in writing before you sign.
FAQ
What is the best Shopify POS alternative overall?
Square, for most stores leaving Shopify: it's cheaper at entry ($0), simpler to run, and covers a basic web store on every plan. Choose Lightspeed Retail instead if inventory depth is why you're leaving, and Clover if owned hardware and reseller-negotiated pricing matter more than omnichannel. None of the three matches Shopify's online-to-store sync.
Can I keep my payment rates when I leave Shopify?
No. Shopify Payments only runs on Shopify, so switching means moving to Square's mandatory processing (2.6% + 15¢ on the Free plan), Lightspeed Payments on Basic (~2.6% + 10¢ commonly quoted, Core+ allows other processors), or a Fiserv/reseller arrangement with Clover. Use the switch as a chance to get rates in writing.
Will switching save me money?
Only at low volume. Under roughly $5k/month in card sales, Square Free usually beats Shopify Basic. At $30k/month our math puts Shopify ~$750/year cheaper than Square Free. The real Shopify cost driver is POS Pro ($89/mo per location) — if you don't need Pro's gates, the cheapest fix may be staying on POS Lite.
What happens to my online store if I cancel Shopify?
Shopify POS is bundled with a Shopify ecommerce subscription, so cancelling closes the web store, checkout and online catalog. If ecommerce revenue matters, either keep the Shopify plan and replace only the in-store workflow, or budget a full replatform — this is the most underestimated cost of leaving.
How long does a switch take?
Plan 2–6 weeks: export products and customers from Shopify, remap and import, verify barcodes, rebuy payment hardware, train staff, and run one quiet day on the new system before cutting over.