Square is great, but it is not free. Here are 7 alternatives compared on their published plans — and which ones are worth a look.
Why people leave Square
- Transaction fees: 2.6% + 10¢ per swipe, 3.5% + 15¢ per manual entry
- Account freezes: Square can freeze your funds without warning
- Limited free features: advanced inventory, loyalty, team management — all paid
- US-centric: limited international support
7 alternatives compared
1. NexPOS — best overall
Free plan to start. Paid plans from $7.99. Works globally. The free plan covers selling up to 50 products with card payments; Essential adds inventory, customers, receipts and reports. NexPOS takes nothing on cash or on your own card machine; cards through NexPOS cost Stripe's rate plus 0.5%. What Square has that NexPOS does not: its own hardware.
2. Loyverse
Solid free POS with good inventory management. But employee management and integrations are paid add-ons. No multi-currency. Limited reporting.
3. eHopper
Free plan limited to 1 register and 50 products. Paid plans start at $39.99/month. Not truly free.
4. Hike POS
14-day trial, then $59/month. Not free at all.
5. Imonggo
Free for 1 user, limited to basic features. Outdated interface. No mobile app.
6. Floreant POS
Open source, free to use. But requires installation, configuration, and technical knowledge. No cloud. No mobile.
7. SalesPOP
Cloud-based, free tier available. But limited to 100 transactions/month on free plan. Not viable for real businesses.
Side-by-side summary
| AlternativeWinner | Free plan? | Card fees | Mobile? |
|---|---|---|---|
| NexPOS | Yes (1 user, 50 products) | Stripe rate + 0.5%; none on cash | Yes |
| Loyverse | Mostly | Via payment partner | Yes |
| eHopper | Limited | Via payment partner | Yes |
| Floreant | Yes (OSS) | Your own processor | No |
| Hike / others | No | Varies | Varies |
Our recommendation
If you want to start free, pay a small flat price when you grow, and know exactly what each card payment costs, NexPOS is worth trying first. It works in your own currency, on any device, with paid plans from $7.99/month.
