POS 3-year cost calculator
Enter your stores, registers, card sales, and staff. You get the three-year cost of seven SaaS POS plans, and the most a custom build can cost and still match the plan you'd buy.
Three-year cost, cheapest first
| Option | Software / month | Card fees / month | 3-year software | 3-year card fees | 3-year total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightspeed X-Series Basic Pricing page lists a 1.5% Lightspeed Payments card-present rate. Several independent reviews still list 2.6% + 10¢, so get the rate in writing. $89 a month per location billed yearly, $59 per extra register. | $267 | $1,500 | $9,612 | $54,000 | $63,612 |
| Odoo Standard $9.10 a user a month, billed monthly. More than one company forces the Custom plan. Setup by a partner is extra. | $109 | $2,783 | $3,931 | $100,200 | $104,131 |
| Square Plus $49 a month per location. 2.5% + 15¢ tap, dip, or swipe. | $147 | $2,750 | $5,292 | $99,000 | $104,292 |
| Heartland Retail $89 a month per selling station. Card readers must come from a supported processor. | $267 | $2,783 | $9,612 | $100,200 | $109,812 |
| Shopify Basic + POS Pro POS Pro is $89 a month per location, billed yearly. Basic is $29 a month billed yearly in the US. Shopify shows prices by country, so check yours. 2.6% + 10¢ in person. | $296 | $2,767 | $10,656 | $99,600 | $110,256 |
| KORONA POS Plus $99 a month per terminal. Bring your own card processor. | $297 | $2,783 | $10,692 | $100,200 | $110,892 |
| Square Premium $149 a month per location. 2.4% + 15¢ tap, dip, or swipe. | $447 | $2,650 | $16,092 | $95,400 | $111,492 |
| Custom build Your quote plus your running cost, on your own processor. | Enter cost | $2,783 | Enter both | $100,200 | Enter both |
To match Square Plus over three years, a custom build plus three years of running it must cost less than $4,092.
US list prices for software and in-person card rates, checked 2026-10-13. Hardware, card readers, setup, taxes, online sales, keyed-in cards, and negotiated rates are left out. A custom build also carries PCI work and support that a SaaS vendor covers for you, so put those in your running cost.
The default scenario, worked out
3 stores, 1 register each, $100,000 a month in card sales across all stores, an average sale of $60, and 12 staff. Plans that let you bring a processor use Stripe Terminal at 2.7% + 5¢.
| Option | Software / month | Card fees / month | 3-year total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lightspeed X-Series Basic | $267 | $1,500 | $63,612 |
| Odoo Standard | $109 | $2,783 | $104,131 |
| Square Plus | $147 | $2,750 | $104,292 |
| Heartland Retail | $267 | $2,783 | $109,812 |
| Shopify Basic + POS Pro | $296 | $2,767 | $110,256 |
| KORONA POS Plus | $297 | $2,783 | $110,892 |
| Square Premium | $447 | $2,650 | $111,492 |
A custom build on the same processor pays $100,200 in card fees over three years. To match Square Plus, the build plus three years of running it must cost less than $4,092. That gap is small because card fees are most of the bill on both paths. A custom POS rarely wins on cost alone. It wins when you can negotiate a lower card rate, or when you need features no plan has. Lightspeed's row uses the 1.5% card-present rate on its pricing page. Independent reviews still list 2.6% + 10¢, which would put it near Square, so ask for the rate in writing.
The same three stores at three sales volumes
Three-year total for the cheapest and the most expensive plan, and the most a custom build can cost to match Square Plus, on Stripe Terminal and on an example lower rate of 2.2% + 10¢ (a what-if, not a quote).
| Card sales a month | Cheapest plan | Most expensive plan | Custom must cost under (Stripe Terminal) | Custom must cost under (example 2.2% + 10¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000 | Lightspeed X-Series Basic: $23,112 | Square Premium: $39,942 | $4,992 | $8,742 |
| $100,000 | Lightspeed X-Series Basic: $63,612 | Square Premium: $111,492 | $4,092 | $19,092 |
| $300,000 | Lightspeed X-Series Basic: $171,612 | KORONA POS Plus: $311,292 | $1,692 | $46,692 |
How it works
Software is each vendor's list price times your stores, registers, or staff, the way that vendor bills. Card fees are monthly card sales times the rate, plus the per-sale fee times the number of sales. The number of sales is card sales divided by your average sale. Both are added up over 36 months.
The break-even budget is the chosen plan's three-year total minus what the custom build pays in card fees. That is the most you could spend on building and running your own POS and still match that plan. It starts on Square Plus, since that's what most buyers compare against.
What it leaves out
Hardware, setup, training, taxes, online sales, and negotiated card rates. Clover is not in the tool because its pricing page doesn't say how a second store is billed. The features differ too: a cheaper plan may not have stock transfers or serial numbers. Our retail and POS page covers what a custom build would include.
Questions clients ask
Short answers, no sales language. If yours isn't here, ask an engineer directly.
Ask us anythingIs a custom POS cheaper than Square over three years?
Only when the build plus three years of running it costs less than the gap the calculator shows. Card fees are the same size on both paths unless your own processor is cheaper. For a small shop, Square usually wins.
Why does the custom build have no default price?
Because a made-up number would decide the answer for you. Enter the quote you got. Until then, the tool shows the most a build can cost and still match the plan you pick.
What costs does the calculator leave out?
Hardware, card readers, setup and training, sales tax, online orders, keyed-in cards, and any rate you negotiate. Add your own running cost for the custom build, including PCI work and support.
Where do the prices come from?
From each vendor's own US pricing page, checked 2026-10-13. Each row in the tool links its source. Shopify shows prices by country, so check the page from your own location.
Got a custom POS quote?
Send it over with your numbers. An engineer replies and tells you honestly if a SaaS plan already does the job.