Restaurant POS System UK: A 2026 Buyer's Guide for Independents

A restaurant POS is the till, the kitchen ticket printer, and the order brain that ties everything together. UK independents in 2026 have more options than ever, but the pricing is increasingly opaque. This guide walks through the real costs and trade-offs of every credible POS option, and where an integrated ordering app changes the maths.

What a restaurant POS actually has to do

A modern POS for a UK independent needs to do six things well: take orders at the counter, route those orders to the kitchen, handle payment (card and cash), track stock and reporting, integrate with your ordering app, and run reliably during a Friday-night rush. Anything that fails on the last point is a non-starter regardless of price.

The UK POS landscape in 2026

For dated, one-to-one comparisons of individual providers against Aexir, including Epos Now and Square Online, see the alternatives hub.

The hidden costs nobody talks about

• Payment processing. Compare the card rate as well as the monthly fee. Square publishes 1.75% in person and 1.4% + 25p online for UK cards; Epos Now publishes 1.2% flat on Visa and Mastercard in person on Micro and Countertop; Lightspeed and Toast do not publish a rate on their UK pricing pages (all checked 29 October 2026). Aexir card payments are 2.5% + 30p per transaction, published on the pricing page.
• Hardware lock-in. Toast says some hardware is compatible but advises against using your own, because it cannot support equipment not bought through Toast; Lightspeed sells its hardware separately and says existing card terminals cannot be used. Square says Square for Restaurants works with iPad and standard kitchen and receipt printers, so you may be able to use what you have (vendor pages, checked 29 October 2026). Aexir’s POS on the Go runs in any browser, so it works on a tablet or laptop you already own.
• Paid add-ons. Online ordering is priced differently everywhere: Square includes a free tier of Square Online Ordering, Lightspeed’s Order Anywhere is an add-on on Basic and Core and included on Pro, SumUp charges 2.7% + 12p per Goodeats delivery or collection order, and Toast and Epos Now do not publish a price. Loyalty is often extra too: Square Loyalty from £25 a month per location, SumUp Advanced Loyalty £19 a month (checked 29 October 2026). Aexir includes ordering and analytics on every plan, with loyalty on the app plans (Starter, Plus and Pro).
• Per-device fees. Lightspeed charges £39 a month for each extra register on every plan (Basic includes one licence, Core two and Pro three), and Toast’s Starter price covers the first terminal, with further devices charged at a rate it does not publish. Square’s Free and Plus plans cover unlimited devices (checked 29 October 2026).
• Setup and migration fees. Epos Now says Micro and Countertop have no setup fees and SumUp lists a £0 onboarding fee for POS Pro; Toast says upfront hardware and implementation costs vary by package and does not publish them (checked 29 October 2026). Ask every provider for the full one-off cost in writing.
• Contract length. Square says no long-term contract is required and SumUp says POS Pro has no long-term contracts. Epos Now’s Countertop price includes a 12-month payments, care and support subscription. Lightspeed and Toast do not state a term on their UK pricing pages (all checked 29 October 2026). Read the small print.

When the big POS players are right

There are cases where a specialised POS beats the integrated approach.

• You run a full-service restaurant with complex floor plans, table management, course-pacing, and split bills. Toast and Lightspeed handle this well; integrated app-led POS less so.
• You operate 10+ locations and need centralised reporting and inventory across the group. Lightspeed Restaurant's reporting is genuinely strong.
• You take 80% of orders in-person and need stock management down to the ingredient level (a butcher's shop with a kitchen counter, for example). The big POS players are better at this than ordering-first builders.

When an integrated app-led POS wins

For UK independents that take a significant share of orders via app, web, and delivery, an integrated approach beats a bolt-on every time. Here is the maths.

1. Single source of truth for orders. App orders, website orders, QR table orders, walk-in orders, all flow through the same dashboard. No tab-switching, no reconciliation pain.
2. Loyalty credits across every channel automatically. A walk-in regular who pays with cash can still earn loyalty stamps via the till; the dedicated POS players treat in-store and online as separate worlds.
3. One subscription, not seven. The Aexir Pro plan at £50 a month ex VAT covers POS on the Go, the ordering app, the branded website, loyalty, analytics and push notifications. Price the equivalent stack from a POS provider plus a separate ordering app and loyalty tool before you compare.
4. Hardware you may already own. POS on the Go runs in any browser, on a generic tablet or laptop. Lightspeed sells its hardware separately and Toast advises against using your own, and neither publishes hardware prices on its UK pricing pages; Square lists its Register at £699 + VAT (checked 29 October 2026).

Decision tree for choosing

1. Do you take more than 30% of orders via app, web, QR, or delivery? If yes, an integrated app-led POS (Aexir) is the right answer. If no, consider Square (cheap) or Lightspeed (capable).
2. Do you run more than one location with shared stock? If yes, Lightspeed scales better; check whether you need its inventory-management depth. If you just need shared menus and analytics, Aexir handles multi-location at published prices, see aexir.com/pricing.
3. Do you want to choose your own card processor? Square and Lightspeed price their own card processing into every restaurant plan, and Toast’s plans include integrated payment processing (pricing pages, checked 29 October 2026). If keeping a processor you already use matters, ask each provider in writing before you sign.
4. Are you on a tight budget for year one? Square’s Free plan (£0 a month plus card fees), Epos Now Micro (£25 a month) or Aexir’s Web plan (£30 a month ex VAT) keep the monthly cost low (vendor pricing pages, checked 29 October 2026). Avoid buying dedicated till hardware unless your floor plan demands it.