Alternatives to Clover
POS system and hardware for restaurants and retail
Clover ranks #2 of 9 in Restaurant POS & management, with an Alt Score of 96. It is licensed under Proprietary / commercial (Clover Network, LLC, a Fiserv company), sold by subscription and available on iOS, Android and Web. 12 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Clover is a POS platform with proprietary hardware and an app marketplace serving restaurants and retail, owned by Fiserv, with restaurant-specific dining plans.
Clover is an all-in-one point-of-sale and business management platform aimed at small and mid-sized merchants, with dedicated configurations for full-service, quick-service, and multi-location restaurants as well as bars, cafes, food trucks, and ghost kitchens. It targets restaurateurs who want combined hardware, software, and integrated payment processing from a single vendor.
Merchants get Clover's own countertop and handheld hardware (Station Solo, Station Duo, Flex, and Mini) running restaurant software plans marketed as Starter, Standard, and Advanced (software plan 'Restaurant Growth'). Capabilities span order and table management, tableside ordering and firing, omni-channel menu management, no-fee online ordering with pickup and delivery, a purpose-built Kitchen Display System, inventory/stock tracking, employee management, real-time sales tracking and reporting, gift cards and loyalty (Rewards), and integrated card processing with offline payment support.
Clover devices run on Android and pair with a browser-based Web Dashboard, while the Clover Go app extends card acceptance to iOS and Android phones. Payments are processed through Clover/Fiserv at a percentage-plus-flat-fee rate, and merchants extend the system with first- and third-party apps from the Clover App Market. Clover is a member of the Fiserv group of companies, and restaurant plans and pricing are quoted via 'Contact sales' rather than published monthly figures.
Where Clover stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave Clover
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Toast is an all-in-one restaurant point-of-sale and management platform with Android-based hardware, online ordering, payroll, and payments for food-service businesses.
Lightspeed Restaurant is a cloud-based restaurant POS covering tableside ordering, menu management, and reporting, part of Lightspeed's commerce platform.
SpotOn is a restaurant point-of-sale and management platform bundling handheld ordering, online ordering, loyalty, and marketing with integrated payments.
Lavu is an iPad-based restaurant POS covering tableside ordering, kitchen display, inventory, and online ordering, aimed at independent restaurants and bars.
Revel Systems is an iPad-based POS platform for restaurants and retail with tableside ordering, kitchen display, inventory, and enterprise multi-location management.
Square for Restaurants is Square's restaurant-specific point-of-sale package adding coursing, floor plans, and kitchen display on top of Square's payments and hardware.
TouchBistro is an iPad-based restaurant POS with tableside ordering, menu management, and add-on reservations, loyalty, and online ordering modules.
GloriaFood is a free online ordering and table-reservation system for restaurants, monetized through optional paid add-ons like a branded app and card payments.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Restaurant POS & management checklist (16 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| Restaurant POS & management checklist | Clover | Toast | Lightspeed Restaurant | SpotOn | Lavu | Revel Systems |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Tableside / handheld ordering | ||||||
| Menu management | ||||||
| Online ordering & delivery | ||||||
| Kitchen display system | ||||||
| Inventory management | ||||||
| Staff scheduling & payroll | ||||||
| Loyalty & gift cards | ||||||
| Reporting & analytics | ||||||
| Offline mode | ||||||
| Payment processing included | ||||||
| Own hardware | ||||||
| Multi-location |
Every fact and feature listed for Clover is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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License Proprietary / commercial (Clover Network, LLC, a Fiserv company) verified 2026-07-12
registered trademarks owned by Clover Network, LLC
https://www.clover.com/pricing -
Pricing model Subscription verified 2026-07-12
Clover merchants can expect to pay a monthly software fee plus processing rates per transaction. We offer Starter, Standard, and Advanced software/hardware plans.
https://www.clover.com/pricing -
Platforms iOS, Android, Web verified 2026-07-12
Clover Go app runs on iOS and Android; Clover countertop/handheld devices run Android; a browser-based Clover Web Dashboard / Virtual Terminal is also available.
Works with iOS and Android
https://www.clover.com/go -
Status acquired verified 2026-07-12
Clover is a member of the Fiserv group of companies.
https://www.clover.com/privacy-policy -
Tableside / handheld ordering Yes verified 2026-07-12
Included on Standard/Advanced restaurant plans; Flex is a handheld POS with 8-hour battery.
Tableside ordering and firing
https://www.clover.com/pricing/restaurant -
Menu management Yes verified 2026-07-12
Omni‑channel menu management
https://www.clover.com/pricing/restaurant -
Online ordering & delivery Yes verified 2026-07-12
Pick-up and delivery order types
https://www.clover.com/pricing/restaurant -
Kitchen display system Yes verified 2026-07-12
The Clover KDS is purpose-built for food service and kitchen environments
https://www.clover.com/kitchen-display-system -
Inventory management Yes verified 2026-07-12
Stock tracking and marking “sold out” by item
https://www.clover.com/pricing/restaurant -
Staff scheduling & payroll Partial verified 2026-07-12
Shift management and employee logins/permissions are included; payroll is only an optional add-on / integration, not native.
Payroll integrations Optional add-on
https://www.clover.com/pricing/restaurant -
Loyalty & gift cards Yes verified 2026-07-12
Gift cards native; loyalty offered via Clover Rewards / customer engagement solution.
Drive customer loyalty with Clover Gift Cards
https://www.clover.com/pos-systems/gift-cards -
Reporting & analytics Yes verified 2026-07-12
Detailed sales reports
https://www.clover.com/pricing/restaurant -
Offline mode Yes verified 2026-07-12
Take payments with or without WiFi Process offline sales when you reconnect
https://www.clover.com/pos-systems/accept-payments -
Payment processing included Yes verified 2026-07-12
Integrated Clover/Fiserv payment processing (transaction fee + flat fee per charge).
Payment processing and then some
https://www.clover.com/pos-systems/accept-payments -
Own hardware Yes verified 2026-07-12
Clover-branded devices: Station Solo, Station Duo, Flex, Mini.
works seamlessly with every other Clover device, letting you build a system that scales as your business gr
https://www.clover.com/station-solo -
Multi-location Yes verified 2026-07-12
Ready to run every location on Clover
https://www.clover.com/pos-solutions/multi-location-restaurants
FAQ
Yes. Toast, Square for Restaurants and GloriaFood have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Lightspeed Restaurant, SpotOn and Lavu — every license claim links its source.