POS choice is a five-year decision that's painful to undo. The four systems below cover the vast majority of new specialty café installs. None is universally best. Each is right for a specific café profile.

The four systems, summarised

POS	Monthly software	Processing fee	Best for
Square for Restaurants	$60-165/mo (Plus)	2.6% + 10¢ in-person	Cafés with simple menus, multi-location ambitions, US/CA/UK/AU/IE
Toast	$69-165/mo	2.49% + 15¢ (negotiable)	Cafés with full food programs, US-focused
Lightspeed Restaurant	$69-189/mo	2.6% + 10¢ (or use own processor)	Cafés that want hardware flexibility and inventory depth, global
Loyverse	Free / paid add-ons	Use any processor	Single-location cafés in emerging markets or with tight startup budgets

Square for Restaurants

Strengths: Lowest friction to start. Hardware is excellent and reasonably priced ($799 register, $169 terminal). Software is intuitive — new staff can be productive in under an hour. Payment processing is built-in with no separate merchant account setup. Strong for multi-location: the dashboard scales cleanly.

Weaknesses: Processing rate is non-negotiable at scale. If you're doing $40K+ monthly card volume, you'll pay materially more than competitors with negotiable rates. Inventory and food costing features are weaker than Lightspeed or Toast. Online ordering is functional but plain.

Buy if: You're a first café with a coffee-forward menu, you want to launch fast, and you don't have a separate merchant relationship.

Toast

Strengths: Built specifically for restaurants/cafés. Strong on full food programs — kitchen display systems, course timing, modifier complexity. Processing rates are negotiable above $10K monthly volume; large operators get materially better deals. Reporting depth is excellent.

Weaknesses: US-focused; international support is thin. Hardware is bundled into a multi-year lease in most contracts — read it carefully before signing. Onboarding is heavier than Square. The contract structure is less operator-friendly than the alternatives.

Buy if: You're in the US, you have a full kitchen, and you have enough volume to negotiate processing rates.

Lightspeed Restaurant

Strengths: Hardware flexibility — runs on iPads or your existing hardware, no proprietary lock-in. Strong inventory and supplier management. Multi-location features are robust. International — works in 100+ countries. You can use your own payment processor (Stripe, Adyen, local processor) if you have a relationship.

Weaknesses: Pricing is opaque without a sales call. Setup is more complex than Square. The user interface, while powerful, takes new staff longer to learn.

Buy if: You're operating internationally, you want processor flexibility, or your inventory management is sophisticated (multi-roaster wholesale, recipe-based costing).

Loyverse

Strengths: The free tier is genuinely usable. Pay only for add-ons (advanced inventory, employee management). Hardware runs on basic Android tablets and printers — your total setup cost can be under $400. Use whatever payment processor you want.

Weaknesses: Reporting is basic. Multi-location features are limited. Customer support is forum-based, not phone. Integrations are thinner than the paid alternatives.

Buy if: You're in an emerging market, your startup capital is constrained, or you want to test concept-fit before committing to a heavier system.

The hidden costs to ask about

Hardware lease vs purchase. Toast leases bundle hardware into multi-year contracts. Square sells hardware outright. Calculate total cost over five years, not month one.
Processing rate at your volume. Above $25K monthly, every basis point matters. Get a written quote at projected volume.
Integration costs. Online ordering, loyalty program, accounting sync (QuickBooks/Xero), inventory — each may be an add-on.
Cancellation terms. Toast contracts have early-termination fees. Square is month-to-month. Read it.
Reserve holds. All payment processors can hold funds during fraud reviews. Ask about reserve policy.

What we'd choose

For a first café with a coffee-forward menu in the US/Canada/UK/Australia: Square for Restaurants Plus tier.

For a café with a substantial kitchen in the US: Toast, after negotiating processing rates.

For an international café or one with serious inventory needs: Lightspeed Restaurant.

For an emerging-market or budget-constrained launch: Loyverse free tier, with the upgrade path to a paid POS once revenue justifies it.

Switching later is expensive

Whichever you choose, plan to stay for at least three years. Migrating menu data, training staff, and re-integrating accounting and online ordering is a multi-week project. Choose carefully.

For more on the operational decisions around opening, see our pieces on writing a business plan and choosing an espresso machine.