Best POS Systems for Retail Shops in the UK
Retail lives and dies on stock. A good retail POS tracks inventory, handles barcodes, and ideally keeps your shop and online store in sync - without charging you a fortune per sale.
What retail shops actually pay
Start from typical numbers for your trade - then make them yours.
Free · takes about ten seconds · every big UK provider
Our top picks for retail shops
Square
4.5The easiest all-rounder for most small businesses.
Best for
- Monthly fee
- £0 (paid POS tiers available)
- Transaction fee
- 1.75% in-person (no monthly/setup fee on standard)
- Contract
- No contract (pay-as-you-go)
- Payouts
- Next working day (instant transfer for a fee)
- Genuinely good free POS app
- Avoid if: You're chasing the absolute lowest rate at high volume.
Shopify POS
4.0The obvious pick if you already sell on Shopify.
Best for
- Monthly fee
- From your Shopify plan (POS Pro extra)
- Transaction fee
- Shopify Payments in-person rates (plan dependent)
- Contract
- Monthly Shopify subscription
- Payouts
- Per Shopify Payments schedule
- Seamless with a Shopify online store
- Avoid if: You're not a Shopify merchant.
Lightspeed
4.1A powerful retail/hospitality POS - overkill if you just need a reader.
Best for
- Monthly fee
- From ~£59/mo (plan dependent)
- Transaction fee
- Payments via Lightspeed or integrated provider (quoted)
- Contract
- Subscription, often annual
- Payouts
- Depends on payments provider
- Powerful inventory and reporting
- Avoid if: You only need to take card payments.
PayPal Zettle
4.2Tidy and cheap if you already live in the PayPal world.
Best for
- Monthly fee
- £0
- Transaction fee
- 1.75% card & contactless
- Contract
- No contract (pay-as-you-go)
- Payouts
- 1–2 working days (into PayPal/bank)
- No monthly fee for the basic POS app
- Avoid if: You want a deep POS ecosystem or don't use PayPal.
What matters for retail shops
Inventory management
Track stock, variants and low-stock alerts across your range.
Online + in-person sync
One source of truth if you also sell online.
Barcode & receipt hardware
Scanners, label printers and a proper till station.
Sensible per-sale cost
Higher-value baskets mean the percentage rate matters more.
Fees to watch
Recommended setup
Square is the easy all-rounder for independent retail. If you sell online via Shopify, Shopify POS keeps everything in sync. Lightspeed suits bigger inventories and multiple locations.
Compare these providers
Showing 4 of 4 providers
Prices last checked:| Provider | Best for | Monthly | Transaction | Reader from | Contract | Payouts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Square4.5 | Cafés | £0 (paid POS tiers available) | 1.75% in-person (no monthly/setup fee on standard) | £19 + VAT | No contract (pay-as-you-go) | Next working day (instant transfer for a fee) | Visit |
| PayPal users | £0 | 1.75% card & contactless | £29 + VAT (first reader often discounted) | No contract (pay-as-you-go) | 1–2 working days (into PayPal/bank) | Visit | |
Lightspeed4.1 | Multi-location retail | From ~£59/mo (plan dependent) | Payments via Lightspeed or integrated provider (quoted) | Hardware bundles (quoted) | Subscription, often annual | Depends on payments provider | Visit |
Shopify POS4.0 | Shopify merchants | From your Shopify plan (POS Pro extra) | Shopify Payments in-person rates (plan dependent) | Reader from ~£49 | Monthly Shopify subscription | Per Shopify Payments schedule | Visit |
- Monthly
- £0 (paid POS tiers available)
- Transaction
- 1.75% in-person (no monthly/setup fee on standard)
- Reader from
- £19 + VAT
- Contract
- No contract (pay-as-you-go)
- Payouts
- Next working day (instant transfer for a fee)
- Watch out for
- You're chasing the absolute lowest rate at high volume.
- Monthly
- £0
- Transaction
- 1.75% card & contactless
- Reader from
- £29 + VAT (first reader often discounted)
- Contract
- No contract (pay-as-you-go)
- Payouts
- 1–2 working days (into PayPal/bank)
- Watch out for
- You want a deep POS ecosystem or don't use PayPal.
- Monthly
- From ~£59/mo (plan dependent)
- Transaction
- Payments via Lightspeed or integrated provider (quoted)
- Reader from
- Hardware bundles (quoted)
- Contract
- Subscription, often annual
- Payouts
- Depends on payments provider
- Watch out for
- You only need to take card payments.
- Monthly
- From your Shopify plan (POS Pro extra)
- Transaction
- Shopify Payments in-person rates (plan dependent)
- Reader from
- Reader from ~£49
- Contract
- Monthly Shopify subscription
- Payouts
- Per Shopify Payments schedule
- Watch out for
- You're not a Shopify merchant.
Find the right POS for your retail shop
Answer a few quick questions and we'll match you to providers that fit how you actually trade.
FAQs
What's the best POS for a small retail shop?
Square is the most popular all-rounder - free POS app, good inventory and no monthly fee to start. If you already use Shopify online, Shopify POS is the natural fit; for large inventories, Lightspeed.
Do I need inventory management built in?
If you carry more than a handful of lines, yes. Square, Lightspeed, Shopify POS and Epos Now all include inventory; basic readers like SumUp don't go as deep.
How we compare
We compare providers using publicly available pricing, contract information, hardware costs, payout details, software features and suitability for different UK business types. Some links may earn us commission, but providers cannot pay to change our editorial verdicts. Read our full methodology.
Reviewed by Nathan Keeble - Founder, The POS
Independent UK payments research. We research the pricing, read the small print and write it up in plain English.