For a retailer with three stores doing $100,000 a month in card sales, card fees are 85% to 95% of the monthly POS bill, so the card rate matters far more than the software price. At list prices checked 2026-10-13, Square Plus is cheapest at low volume, Clover edges ahead at higher volume, Shopify POS costs the most, and Lightspeed is either the cheapest by far or level with Shopify, depending on which card rate you actually get.
Pick on features first, then compare the rate in writing. Lightspeed has the strongest documented stock transfers and serial numbers. Shopify POS fits when the web store matters as much as the shops. Square is the simplest to start. Clover bundles hardware and processing under a contract.
Who this is for: owners of 2 to 10 retail stores comparing these four, or checking if they’re overpaying now. Who should look elsewhere: restaurants, and anyone who wants to keep their own card processor. For that, see Square alternatives for multi-location retail, which covers KORONA, Odoo, and Heartland.
How we priced it
We read each vendor’s US pricing page on 2026-10-13. These are vendor list prices, not quotes. We didn’t open accounts or run sales.
The scenario: three stores, one register each, a $60 average card sale, at three monthly card volumes across all stores: $25,000, $100,000, and $300,000. Each vendor’s own in-person card rate. No hardware, online sales, keyed-in cards, or negotiated rates.
| Software for 3 stores | In-person card rate | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square Plus | $49 a location a month = $147 | 2.5% + 15¢ | Square pricing |
| Shopify Basic + POS Pro | $29 + $89 x 3 = $296 a month, billed yearly | 2.6% + 10¢ | Shopify POS pricing, Shopify rates |
| Lightspeed X-Series Basic | $89 x 3 = $267 a month, billed yearly | 1.5% listed (see below) | Lightspeed pricing |
| Clover Standard | $84.95 x 3 = $254.85 a month, plus $1,899 per bundle | 2.3% + 10¢ | Clover retail pricing |
Three notes on those numbers:
- Shopify shows prices by country. From our office, the plan page shows Basic at $25 a month. US reviewers who checked the US page in October 2026 report $39 monthly or $29 billed yearly, so we used $29. Check the page from your own country.
- Lightspeed’s card rate is unclear. Its pricing page lists a “Card-present rate” of 1.5% on every plan, with no per-sale fee, and its own blog says it “charges a small flat rate of 1.5% per card-present (CP) transaction” (Lightspeed blog). Many independent reviews still list 2.6% + 10¢. We show both.
- Clover doesn’t document multi-store billing. Its retail page prices one bundle and doesn’t say how a second store is billed. We assumed one Standard bundle per store.
Monthly cost at three sales volumes
Software plus in-person card fees, per month, for all three stores. Checked 2026-10-13.
| Card sales a month | Square Plus | Shopify Basic + POS Pro | Lightspeed at 1.5% | Lightspeed at 2.6% + 10¢ | Clover Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000 | $835 | $988 | $642 | $959 | $872 + hardware |
| $100,000 | $2,897 | $3,063 | $1,767 | $3,034 | $2,722 + hardware |
| $300,000 | $8,397 | $8,596 | $4,767 | $8,567 | $7,655 + hardware |
Clover’s hardware is $1,899 per Standard bundle up front, or $180 a month for 36 months (Clover pricing). Spread over three years, three bundles add about $158 a month.
At $100,000 a month, card fees are $2,750 of Square’s $2,897. Changing the rate by 0.1 points moves the bill by $100 a month, which is more than Square Plus software for two stores.
Our free POS 3-year cost calculator runs the same math with your own store count, registers, and sales. It also covers KORONA, Heartland, Odoo, and a custom build.
Features that matter with more than one store
Prices only matter once the plan does what you need. This table reuses the vendor checks from our Square alternatives post, all checked 2026-10-13.
| Square | Shopify POS Pro | Lightspeed X-Series | Clover | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock transfers | Paid plans. Square’s pricing page and help article disagree on Plus or Premium (help) | Yes, but the POS app can fulfil and receive, not create (help) | Yes, source to destination outlet (help) | Not documented |
| Serial numbers | Not documented | Not documented, apps only | Recorded on the sale (help) | Not documented |
| Offline cards | Upload within 72 hours on Square registers (help) | Opt-in, with limits (help) | Smart Terminal only, in beta (help) | Up to 7 days, with limits (help) |
| Locations | Up to 300 per account (help) | One POS Pro fee per location | Each location costs the base price again | Multi-location dashboard (help) |
| Hardware | Your own iOS or Android device works | Your own iOS or Android device | Browser or iPad | Clover devices |
| Contract | None required | Yearly billing for POS Pro | Yearly billing for the listed price | Free-hardware offers need 3 years |
Which one to pick
- Square Plus if your stock is interchangeable SKUs, you move stock between stores now and then, and you want no contract. At $25,000 a month it’s the cheapest at list rates, unless Lightspeed’s 1.5% holds. Ask Square in writing which plan includes transfer orders.
- Shopify POS if your website sells as much as your stores. One stock pool across channels is worth its higher cost here. Look at the Grow plan once volume grows: at $100,000 a month its 2.5% + 10¢ rate saves about $50 a month more than its higher plan price costs.
- Lightspeed X-Series if you need serial numbers, purchase orders, and proper transfers. If the 1.5% rate holds in your processing agreement, it’s also the cheapest by a wide margin. If it doesn’t, it costs about the same as Shopify.
- Clover if your volume is high and you want one company for the counter, the card machine, and the deposits, and you’re fine with Clover hardware and a contract. At $100,000 and $300,000 a month its 2.3% + 10¢ rate makes it cheaper than Square Plus over three years, even after $5,697 of hardware. Ask how a second and third store are billed before you sign.
If none of them handle per-unit stock, delivery, or a transfer flow you need, read Custom POS or Square before you consider building.
FAQ
Which is cheaper for multiple locations, Square or Shopify POS?
At list rates, Square Plus. For three stores at $100,000 a month in card sales, Square Plus comes to $2,897 a month and Shopify Basic with POS Pro to $3,063. Most of the gap is Shopify’s $89 per location for POS Pro. Checked 2026-10-13.
Is Lightspeed really 1.5% per transaction?
Lightspeed’s US pricing page and its own blog both say 1.5% for card-present payments through Lightspeed Payments, checked 2026-10-13. Several independent reviews still list 2.6% + 10¢. Ask Lightspeed to put your rate in the processing agreement before you count on it.
Does Clover charge per location?
Clover’s retail pricing page doesn’t say. It prices bundles of hardware and software. Ask how each extra store is billed, and check the contract length on any free-hardware offer.
Can I use my own card processor with these?
Square and Clover use their own processing. Shopify lets you log another terminal as a custom payment method, and Shopify readers need Shopify Payments (Shopify help). Lightspeed mentions third-party processors, but offline cards need Lightspeed Payments.
Which POS is best for a retailer with three stores?
It depends on your stock. Interchangeable items and low volume: Square Plus. Strong online sales: Shopify POS. Serial numbers and purchasing: Lightspeed. One vendor for everything with hardware included: Clover.
If your stores need something none of these do, our retail and POS page shows what we build. We’ll tell you if a plan above already covers it.