Compare POS Systems in Australia

A point-of-sale (POS) system is the software and hardware you use to ring up sales, take payments, and track what you sell. It can run on a tablet, a dedicated terminal, or a full register. Any business that sells in person benefits from one: even a basic free app like Square or Zeller gives you receipts, sales reports, and card payments, while a fuller system adds inventory, staff, and multi-location management.

It depends on the model. Some systems are free to use and charge only a per-transaction card rate (Square at 1.6%, Zeller and Tyro at 1.4%). Others charge a monthly software fee: Lightspeed Restaurant from $40/mo, Shopify from $56/mo, Lightspeed Retail from $129/mo, and Tower Systems from $220/mo. Hardware (readers, terminals, stands) is usually a separate one-off cost, from around $65 for a card reader. The calculator above estimates your monthly software plus processing cost so you can compare like for like.

An EFTPOS terminal just takes card payments. A POS system does that plus everything around the sale: items and pricing, inventory, staff, reporting, and often loyalty and online ordering. Some providers blur the line: Tyro is an EFTPOS provider that integrates with hundreds of POS systems, while Square and Zeller bundle a free POS app with their card hardware.

Integrated payments (Square, Zeller, Shopify, Lightspeed Retail) keep one provider, one rate, and one support line, and the card cost is easy to compare. Systems that use third-party processing (Loyverse, Tower Systems, Hike) let you choose or keep your own card provider, which can mean a sharper rate if you negotiate, but you manage two relationships. For those systems the calculator shows the software cost only and notes that processing fees are additional.

Hospitality venues usually want table management and floor plans, split billing, kitchen or order routing, delivery platform integration (Uber Eats, DoorDash), and staff rostering. Lightspeed Restaurant, Impos, Idealpos, SwiftPOS, and Toast are built for hospitality; Square for Restaurants and POSApt also cover cafes and smaller venues well.

Retailers prioritise inventory management, barcode scanning, purchase orders, e-commerce sync, and accounting integration (Xero, MYOB). Lightspeed Retail and Shopify POS are strong all-rounders, Tower Systems suits specialty retail (newsagents, pet, bike, jewellery), and Hike offers a flexible, Xero-friendly option.

Often yes. Loyverse and Hike run on a tablet or computer you already own, and Shopify, Lightspeed, and Square run on iPad with an add-on card reader. Bring-your-own-device keeps upfront hardware costs low, though a dedicated terminal can be sturdier for high-volume counters.

Many POS systems keep working offline and sync once the connection returns, but the detail varies. Square, Zeller, Lightspeed, and most enterprise systems support offline trading (SwiftPOS is known for a strong offline mode), while some, like Shopify POS, are more limited. If you trade somewhere with patchy internet, check each provider offline capabilities before you commit.