The best bar POS software of 2026

SpotOn's bar setup is built around the rush. Bartenders start a tab and pre-authorize the card with one tap on the menu screen, and staff on the floor can open tabs, take orders and close out from a handheld. If the internet drops, the POS switches to offline mode and keeps taking orders. The menu uses pictures, which helps new bartenders find drinks fast, and bill splitting and closeouts are built in.

There are two published plans. POS Essentials is $55 a station a month, month to month, with card-present payments at 2.45% + 15¢ (American Express 3.19% + 15¢) and keyed payments at 3.45% + 15¢. You buy the hardware: a Station 15 terminal is $750 and a handheld is $297, and implementation costs extra. The All-In plan has a $0 software fee and includes hardware, but it charges 2.79% + 20¢ on card-present payments, needs a two-year minimum term and has processing minimums (prices checked November 4, 2026).

Inventory is not built in. SpotOn connects to MarginEdge for that, so budget for a second subscription if you want to count bottles. SpotOn offers 24/7 support and was founded in 2017.

Choose it if you run a high-volume bar, want handhelds on the floor and would rather pay for hardware than sign a two-year term.

Skip it if you want bottle-level inventory inside the POS itself, since AccuPOS tracks cocktail ingredients and over-pours.

Square for Restaurants has a free plan, which makes it the lowest-risk way to put a new bar on a real POS. The free plan covers item and menu management, pickup and local delivery, and a branded online ordering page. Square's fees page lists in-person card payments on the free plan at 2.6% + 15¢ (checked November 4, 2026).

The bar features are the ones you need behind the counter. Square can pre-authorize a customer's card for a set amount when they open a tab, so you know the card works before the first round, and the card pays when the tab closes. You can also keep open checks and house accounts, and split or reopen checks. The pricing page does not say which plan each of these is in, so check during setup.

Plus adds integrated inventory tracking and close-of-day reports, and Premium adds coursing and seat management. Add-ons are priced per device: the kitchen display app is $30 a month on Plus and $20 on Premium, and a self-order kiosk is $99 a month. Bars that process more than $250,000 a year can ask for Square Pro pricing.

We could not read the monthly fee for Plus or Premium, or the length of the Plus trial, because the page loads those figures after it opens.

Choose it if you are opening a small bar, want to start free and may add a kitchen screen later.

Skip it if you need handhelds that work offline on a busy floor, since SpotOn builds its bar setup around that.

TouchBistro runs on Apple iPads, which it uses for both countertop stations and handheld terminals. If your staff already know iPads, they will pick it up fast. When the internet drops, the iPads keep talking to each other, so staff can keep taking orders and payments while reports and a few other features wait for the connection to return.

The bar page lists the features a bartender uses every shift. Bar Tabs let guests order rounds and settle at the end, and Fast Bar register mode takes and closes an order in two taps. Guests can tap to pay at the bar. Pop-up modifiers prompt staff to offer a top-shelf upgrade, and bills split and move between tables. For spillage, TouchBistro connects to bar inventory tools.

The Point of Sale plan starts at $69 a month, with hardware, payment processing and other fees on top. The Essentials Bundle starts at $119 a month and adds integrated payments and restaurant-grade hardware. Larger venues get a custom quote. Add-ons such as inventory, a kitchen display, reservations, loyalty and online ordering are quoted separately (prices checked November 4, 2026). TouchBistro was advertising three months free for a limited time, but the terms were not on the page. Support runs 24/7.

Choose it if you want an iPad POS with bar tabs and a fast bar mode, and you are happy to buy add-ons as you grow.

Skip it if you want every price on the page before you call, since SpotOn publishes its rates and hardware prices.

Lightspeed puts a lot into its entry plan. Starter includes a pre-auth bar mode, floor plans, a menu manager, order and pay at the table, online ordering, advanced inventory management, multiple revenue centers for hotels and raw API access. That last item matters if you want your own developer to pull sales into a spreadsheet or a group dashboard.

The plans are Starter at $69, Essential at $189 and Premium at $399, with Enterprise by quote. The pricing page does not say whether those are monthly figures or whether they apply per location or per device, and it notes that prices vary by business (checked November 4, 2026). Essential adds Lightspeed Tasks, and from Essential up the payments terms are listed as custom. A kitchen display is $30 a screen a month on every plan.

Lightspeed says its restaurant software keeps working when the connection fails, storing data on the device and uploading it when you are back online. You can book a free personalized demo, and the page does not mention a free trial.

The downside is the missing detail. No card rates appear on the pricing page, and the plan table gives the bar mode and inventory features without saying how far they go, so ask for a demo of a Friday-night tab.

Choose it if you run a bar inside a hotel, or a small group that wants to pull its own data through an API.

Skip it if you want card rates in writing before a demo, since SpotOn publishes its rates.

AccuPOS is the POS to look at if your bookkeeper lives in QuickBooks or Sage. It connects to QuickBooks Online, Pro, Premier and Enterprise in the US and Canada, and to Sage 50, Sage 100, BusinessWorks and Intacct, so sales land in your books without a weekly export.

For bars, AccuPOS tracks the ingredients in your cocktail list and shows which employees over-pour liquor or comp the most drinks. SpotOn and TouchBistro leave this job to a separate inventory tool.

The price is $84 a month, plus $45 for each extra station (checked November 4, 2026). AccuPOS runs on Android countertop and mobile devices, so staff can take orders at the table. The site offers a free demo rather than a time-limited trial.

The bar page does not mention tabs or card pre-authorization, and AccuPOS does not publish its card rates. Ask about both before you compare it with SpotOn or Square for Restaurants.

Choose it if your accountant wants clean sales data in QuickBooks or Sage and you want pour tracking in the POS.

Skip it if pre-authorized tabs are the feature you use most, since Square for Restaurants and SpotOn both list them.

Bar Cop is not a POS. It is bar and kitchen inventory and back-office software that works next to any POS without an integration, which makes it useful if your register is fine but your liquor costs are not.

One plan includes everything: inventory and ordering, weekly cost reports, four types of audit you can run as often as you like, scheduling and cash control, menu costing, events, and weekly, monthly and yearly books. Your whole team gets access with no per-seat fee, and Bar Cop runs on a phone or any other device.

The price is $149 a month per bar, or $124 a month when you pay $1,488 for the year. There is a 30-day free trial with no card, no contract, no setup fee and no minimum term, and you cancel from the billing screen (checked November 4, 2026). If the trial ends without a purchase, you can still view and export your data. Each extra bar is billed at the same price, and the trial covers your first bar only.

Because it does not connect to your POS, someone still has to count and enter stock, and you get no sales data flowing in automatically.

Choose it if you already have a POS you like and want to find where the bottles are going.

Skip it if you want inventory inside the POS, since AccuPOS tracks pours and Square's Plus plan adds inventory tracking.