Our expert comparison reviews QSR POS systems such as Toast, Square, MICROS, and SpotOn. Read the top rankings.
Quick-service restaurants (QSRs) need POS systems that allow for fast operations and consistent outcomes across various locations. The best QSR systems combine affordable software with flexible hardware, allowing QSRs to meet customers where they are: in-house, online, curbside, or at the drive-thru. POS tools focusing on customer loyalty and an improved customer experience can help restaurants expand and grow sales.
Beyond processing orders and sales, a QSR POS should also offer robust reporting across inventory management, employee scheduling, and excellent offline functionality. A QSR POS helps you move lines quickly and efficiently. A QSR POS is available at every price point, and I’ve ranked the best.
The six best POS systems for QSRs in 2025 are:
| Our score (out of 5) | Minimum monthly software fees | Contract length | Payment processing fees | |
 | 4.51 | $0 | 2 years | From 2.49% + 15 cents |
| Visit Toast | ||||
 | 4.27 | $0 | Month-to-month | From 1.99% + 25 cents |
| Visit SpotOn | ||||
 | 4.08 | $0 | Month-to-month | 2.6% + 10 cents |
| Visit Square for Restaurants | ||||
 | 4.06 | Custom-quoted | 3 years | Varies by processor |
| Visit Revel Systems | ||||
 | 4.02 | $189 | 1 year | Varies by processor, Lightspeed Payments: 2.6% + 10 cents |
| Visit Lightspeed Restaurant | ||||
 | 3.90 | Custom-quoted | Month-to-month | Varies by processor |
| Visit Oracle MICROS Simphony | ||||
I have over 10 years of experience in the restaurant industry, mostly working in quick-service or fast-food concepts. My experience allows me to identify core POS functions that help QSRs grow while understanding the niche features these restaurant types require.
I also spend a lot of time analyzing current POS software tools for a variety of restaurant types, which lets me access the latest tech offerings. I used this mix of experience, analysis, and real-world use of these systems to write this guide.
Ray Delucci
Pricing: 3.4/5
Delivery features offered in $99/month tier, dropping SpotOn’s score for pricing.
General features: 5/5
Great general features that integrate into a complete delivery program
Delivery niche features: 5/5
Some of the best third-party driver integrations in the industry
Ease of use: 5/5
Very easy to use; intuitive features that are easy for staff to learn
Expert score: 3.75/5
Excellent food delivery services for restaurants
Who should use it:
Toast is great for any QSR type but shines specifically for those managing multiple locations or requiring diversity in payment and order-taking tools (handhelds, self-serve kiosks, etc.)
Why I picked it:
Toast delivers three key functions that I think make it the best QSR POS software on the market: industry-grade hardware, robust multi-location management, and intuitive modifiers to almost all POS functions.
With all of these features in mind, Toast also provides a very affordable base plan, a wealth of support resources, and an ecosystem that allows for the growth of your QSR business.
This POS offers an overwhelming suite of tools to QSR owners, which can suit a standalone business or a business with over 30 locations across a region. Toast does lack payment processing flexibility and hides some key features behind extra fees, but it delivers the most comprehensive QSR POS offering in 2025.
Monthly software fees:
Hardware costs:
Processing fees:
|
Countertop Terminal Kit |
Handheld Terminal Kit |
Guest Self-service Kit |
KDS |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Pay-as-you-go: $0 upfront; 3.09% plus 15 cents processing fee Pay upfront: $1,024 plus $69 per month |
Pay-as-you-go: $0 upfront; 3.09% plus 15 cents processing fee Pay upfront: $799.20 plus $69 per month |
Pay-as-you-go: $0 upfront; 3.09% plus 15 cents processing Pay upfront: $1,339.20 plus $99 per month |
Custom quoted; Contact Toast for pricing |
Pricing: 3.4/5
Delivery features offered in $99/month tier, dropping SpotOn’s score for pricing.
General features: 5/5
Great general features that integrate into a complete delivery program
Delivery niche features: 5/5
Some of the best third-party driver integrations in the industry
Ease of use: 5/5
Very easy to use; intuitive features that are easy for staff to learn
Expert score: 3.75/5
Excellent food delivery services for restaurants
Who should use it:
Growing QSRs, those needing an industry-leading but easy-to-use POS system, and those with multiple locations are suited to SpotOn’s robust suite of features.
Why I picked it:
SpotOn’s tools are seamlessly fine-tuned for QSRs with many locations: marketing AI tools, a robust mobile reporting app, and the ability to grow customer loyalty across multiple sites. It also offers in-depth employee management features, making scheduling staff, executing payroll, and viewing hours worked across your locations easy.
The entirety of SpotOn’s software is customizable, which allows your SpotOn experience to be unique to your business. The most successful QSRs can build out their own personalized POS systems, and SpotOn gives you this opportunity.
This system’s robust QSR features and comprehensive support make it especially ideal when it needs to be set up multiple times in new locations, a quality that earned it a 4.26 out of 5 in our SpotOn review.
Monthly subscription plans:
Hardware:
Processing fees:
|
Stationary Terminal |
Handheld Terminal |
Self-service Kiosk |
KDS |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Countertop touch-screen terminal with built-in card reader |
Handheld order and payment device |
Countertop-mounted self-service kiosk |
Touch-screen kitchen display system screen |
Pricing: 3.4/5
Delivery features offered in $99/month tier, dropping SpotOn’s score for pricing.
General features: 5/5
Great general features that integrate into a complete delivery program
Delivery niche features: 5/5
Some of the best third-party driver integrations in the industry
Ease of use: 5/5
Very easy to use; intuitive features that are easy for staff to learn
Expert score: 3.75/5
Excellent food delivery services for restaurants
Who should use it:
Square for Restaurants is great for QSR businesses that offer online ordering, want a cost-effective POS, and do not have to manage a drive-thru.
Why I picked it:
Square for Restaurants continues to be a great, low-cost option for QSR business owners — and one of the best restaurant POS systems overall. It offers an excellent online ordering platform and encourages customer growth through an online ordering app tailored to your business. Square’s online ordering app also features conversational modifiers and repeat order buttons. The system is so efficient that customers can re-order online with just three taps.
Square’s ability to sync menus and inventory in real time helps ensure all your stations are ready to go during a busy service. It is also very user-friendly, claiming staff can be trained on the system in less than 15 minutes. While it lacks drive-thru management tools and locks some features behind fees, Square is a great economical option for QSR businesses.
Monthly software costs:
Hardware costs:
Processing fees:
|
Stand |
Terminal |
Stand Restaurant Station |
Stand Mount |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
$149 ($14 per month for 12 months)* |
$299 ($27 per month for 12 months) |
$1,089* |
$149 ($14 per month for 12 months)* |
|
Payment-enabled iPad stand |
Handheld order and payment terminal with integrated receipt printer |
Complete POS including Square stand, cash drawer, and receipt printer |
Counter or wall mount for POS or self-service kiosks |
*Price without an iPad; with an iPad, add $349.
Pricing: 3.4/5
Delivery features offered in $99/month tier, dropping SpotOn’s score for pricing.
General features: 5/5
Great general features that integrate into a complete delivery program
Delivery niche features: 5/5
Some of the best third-party driver integrations in the industry
Ease of use: 5/5
Very easy to use; intuitive features that are easy for staff to learn
Expert score: 3.75/5
Excellent food delivery services for restaurants
Who should use it:
Revel Systems is great for QSR concepts wanting iPad-based POS software for multiple locations. Additionally, users who want flexibility in payment processing will find value in Revel.
Why I picked it:
Revel Systems is native to iPads and designed to run on these devices. This makes the system very easy to learn, with many being used to the Apple ecosystem.
Revel’s success in the QSR space is due to its ability to deliver a wide range of great QSR options in a package that is easy to implement into your business. With features such as drive-thru management and complex order modifiers, it’s a robust offering on one of the most popular devices for a POS system.
The system’s biggest drawback is its historically expensive POS subscription. All tiers are now custom-quoted, and this lack of pricing transparency holds Revel back on my list.
If pricing is not a major concern and you want intuitive POS software for new staff members, then Revel Systems is a great option for your QSR concept. While Square is also iPad-intuitive, Revel delivers drive-thru management, which makes it quintessential for this technology type.
Monthly software costs: Custom-quoted
Hardware costs: Custom-quoted
Processing fees: Custom-quoted; choose from Revel Advantage, First Data, Heartland, TSYS, Worldpay, Chase Paymentech, Elavon
|
Apple iPad |
Revel C-stand |
Revel L-stand |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
|
10.2” to 12.9” display for POS, KDS, and self-service kiosk screens |
Low-profile iPad stand for POS terminals or self-service kiosks |
iPad terminal stand with customer-facing display |
Pricing: 3.4/5
Delivery features offered in $99/month tier, dropping SpotOn’s score for pricing.
General features: 5/5
Great general features that integrate into a complete delivery program
Delivery niche features: 5/5
Some of the best third-party driver integrations in the industry
Ease of use: 5/5
Very easy to use; intuitive features that are easy for staff to learn
Expert score: 3.75/5
Excellent food delivery services for restaurants
Who should use it:
QSR concepts that rely on a lot of different third-party delivery orders will find massive success with Lightspeed Restaurant. Additionally, it’s suitable for concepts that want complete control over editing online ordering menus.
Why I picked it:
Lightspeed Restaurant is a great option for QSRs due to its intensive and intuitive third-party delivery management (we gave it a near-perfect expert score in our Lightspeed POS review). Lightspeed consolidates all orders from different sites into your KDS screens, giving your kitchen a broad view of all the orders it needs to manage and maintain. On top of this, you can edit and sync your delivery menus from one app, allowing changes to be easily reflected in all of your connected platforms.
Lightspeed scored well due to its great third-party order management and efficient POS design. However, I docked points for its higher pricing and consolidation of pricing tiers — an increase from $69 per month to $189 per month, making the baseline POS more expensive. However, some key features, such as inventory management, are now included in the base POS offering and do not require an extra fee.
Monthly subscription plans*:
One-time installation fee: None
Payment processing: Lightspeed Payments starts at 2.6% + 10 cents for in-person payments.
* Prices are lower for users who pay fees annually and enroll in Lightspeed Payments.
|
Terminal Kit |
Verifone P400 |
Mobile Case |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
|
iPad stand, cash drawer, receipt printer, and kitchen printer |
Mobile, PIN-enabled tap, swipe, and dip card reader |
Rugged handheld case for iPad |
Pricing: 3.4/5
Delivery features offered in $99/month tier, dropping SpotOn’s score for pricing.
General features: 5/5
Great general features that integrate into a complete delivery program
Delivery niche features: 5/5
Some of the best third-party driver integrations in the industry
Ease of use: 5/5
Very easy to use; intuitive features that are easy for staff to learn
Expert score: 3.75/5
Excellent food delivery services for restaurants
Who should use it:
QSR concepts needing drive-thru management or wanting to expand their capabilities should consider using the Oracle MICROS Simphony system.
Why I picked it:
Oracle MICROS Simphony is a POS system I have extensive experience with, using the software in a restaurant I helped manage. The cloud-based offering from Oracle combines industry-grade, rugged hardware with intuitive software design, making it an ideal choice for QSR concepts.
Oracle’s drive-thru management tools are the most comprehensive in this guide, allowing support for multi-lane and designated pickup options, as well as the ability to take orders curbside, similar to concepts like Culver’s or Chick-fil-A.
The system lost a few points due to extra fees for baseline POS features and mixed user reviews. Additionally, its hardware is custom-quoted, making it hard to compare to other systems without doing a deep dive with an Oracle representative.
Monthly software fees: Oracle’s subscription fees are now all custom-quoted
One-time installation fees: Custom-quoted
Processing fees: Varies by processor
|
Workstation 6 Series |
Tablet 700 Series |
Self-Service Kiosk |
KDS |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Countertop, touch-screen POS terminal |
Touch-screen handheld order and payment device |
Touch-screen kiosk |
Bump-bar enabled KDS screen |
Choosing the best QSR POS for your restaurant is straightforward. However, you’ll need to take some time to ensure you find the best fit. Follow my steps to find the best QSR POS.
First — and most importantly — you need to understand the business you have and the functions you require for your QSR POS. Are you a one-unit small business with limited capital to deploy? Or are you a 20-unit QSR group with the necessary cash flow to invest in a POS with centralized multilocation management?
Understanding not only what you can afford but also the basic needs you require of POS software is integral to your choice.
Before committing to POS software, understand if it makes sense for the people you employ. Does it need to be multilingual? Is a lot of training and time needed to understand the system functionally? Understanding the POS capabilities and how your staff will work with it is crucial before investing the money and time you will dedicate when purchasing this software.
Having a list of must-have features is very important during this process. You should not commit to software that will not fulfill your needs, negatively impacting your customers. Understanding what is absolutely crucial to you as an operator is vital in the selection process.
This also applies to the contract you will sign. Are you willing to sign up for more than one year? Do you need your software to be billed month-to-month? Know this before making a final decision.
Let QSR POS providers sell to you! Accept free demos, take calls with sales teams, and do not settle on just one provider. Make it clear you are looking to invest in a POS system for your business, and do not be afraid to share that you are shopping around.
Letting POS providers share the system’s unique features and comparing them with other providers will allow you to see which system suits your needs and also reveal any gaps in service.
The last part is committing to and signing up for the software. This also means doing the work on your end as an operator to ensure you know the system better than anyone else. Take time to learn all of the POS’s functionalities in your unique setting. Your end goal should be to train your staff and get the most out of the service you are paying for.
Evaluating the QSR POS systems in this guide was a robust process, as you will see in my scoring criteria below. Looking at a range of factors, from affordability to multi-location management, led to some in-depth analysis of every system’s current offering. Below are the five different categories I used to determine the best POS systems for quick-service restaurants.
The key factors for my pricing score were the affordability of the base plan, whether free trials were offered, and what kind of payment processing was offered. Furthermore, I took into account the maximum number of users allowed per system, the hardware options offered, and whether order volume discounts were offered.
Some general POS features I believed each system should have included inventory management, workforce management tools, and online ordering. Beyond this, CRM, loyalty tools, gift cards, and reporting capabilities were also considered.
Quick-service restaurants require some niche features, requiring me to do a deep dive into what was offered specifically for this restaurant type. Integrated peripherals, handheld ordering, and multi-location management in a centralized location were all important to this category. Robust modifiers, combo building, drive-thru management, and sticky label printing were also weighed in this section.
How easy a POS system is comes down to the support and other accessibility features it provides. Customer service hours and online training resources were considered for this section. Additionally, if and how robust of an online mode each system had and whether or not mobile reporting was offered played into this scoring.
Lastly, my expert score considered the overall package each quick-service POS software provided. General features, value for the base subscription, and industry popularity were all weighed here. Capterra customer reviews, and real-world sentiment on how easy each system was to operate were also considered.
Below are the most frequently asked questions about quick-service restaurant POS systems.
The best POS for a quick-service restaurant is one that can handle your sales volume at a price you can afford. The best POS for your QSR will vary based on whether you need to track inventory, manage a drive-thru, or other functions. In my most recent QSR POS ranking, I found that Toast is the best POS for independent quick-service restaurants.
Fine dining restaurants utilize POS systems that can manage dining rooms efficiently, track staff performance accurately, and take account of each customer that dines at their restaurant.
Fine dining systems rely on the ability to make each experience unique and special, so having customer profiles that are detailed and robust is key for most fine dining POS systems. Beyond this, the ability to modify orders and accurately relay information through KDS screens in the kitchen is key for this restaurant type.
There is no one-size-fits-all POS system for restaurants. However, some of the top systems in the country are Toast, Square for Restaurants, and Oracle MICROS Symphony. Every POS system offered has a unique restaurant setting in which its features are best utilized. This is the reason why a diverse range of POS systems is used throughout the food industry.
The profit margin for a quick-service restaurant lies anywhere between 5% to 9%, depending on the business and its unique financial impact factors. This rate is significantly higher than a full-service restaurant, which sits between 3% and 5%.
The reason a QSR has a higher profit margin is due to lower labor costs, quicker table turnover, and a wider variety of channels in which business is received (takeout, drive-thru, online ordering).
It is hard to say what type of restaurant will consistently make the most money, but concepts such as ghost kitchens and fast-food restaurants often have higher profit margins. In some cases, bars or wine bars can have high profit margins if managed right. Finally, fine-dining restaurants can be very profitable if the demand for their product helps inflate the price to a high profitability level.
Toast leads my guide with a resounding 4.51 out of 5 due to its cost-effective plans, robust hardware, and key QSR features. Some of these features include drive-thru management, combo building, and the ability to support QSRs of any size. Self-ordering kiosks, handheld terminals, customer-facing displays, and intuitive KDS screens ensure you can produce consistent, quality food throughout one or many QSR locations.
Ray Delucci is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America with a Bachelor’s in Food Business Management. He has experience managing restaurants in New York City, Houston, and Chicago. He is also the host of the Line Cook Thoughts Podcast, where he interviews and shares the stories of foodservice workers. Ray currently works in food manufacturing and food product development.
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