Square for Retail is the best GOFrugal retail alternative for most small shops, because its Free plan costs $0 per location per month and covers the POS app, item library, stock tracking and an online store. Lightspeed Retail at $89 a month is the pick for inventory-heavy stores. Entry costs run from $0 a month at Square and Clover Starter to $39 at Shopify Basic and Epos Now, $59 per terminal at KORONA Core and $89 at Lightspeed Basic, a spread of $89 a month before card fees. Card fees are the larger bill for most shops: in-person rates run from 2.3% plus 10 cents on Clover Retail Growth to 2.6% plus 15 cents on Square Free, and KORONA POS is the only pick that lets you keep your own card processor.
GOFrugal sells billing, stock and accounting tools for retail, restaurant and distribution businesses, and it prices its higher tiers on request. The eight systems below cover the same ground, from a $0 countertop for a single shop to enterprise tools for chains.
On this page
Gofrugal retail alternatives: comparison table
Swipe the table sideways on a phone to see every column.
| # | Name | Best for | Starting price | Free plan / trial | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GOFrugal | Indian retail chains and multi-store retailers that want ERP depth | quote only | Free trial (30 days) | Visit |
| 2 | Lightspeed Retail | Inventory-heavy specialty retailers and multi-location stores | $89 per month | Free trial | Visit |
| 3 | Square for Retail | Small single-location shops that want to start at $0 | $0 per location/month | Yes | Visit |
| 4 | Shopify POS | Retailers whose online store matters as much as the shop floor | $39 per month | Free trial (3 days) | Visit |
| 5 | Clover | US shops that want hardware, software and processing in one bundle | $0 per month | Yes | Visit |
| 6 | Epos Now | Retail and hospitality shops that want hardware bundled with software | $39 per month | Free trial (30 days) | Visit |
| 7 | KORONA POS | Retailers that want to keep their own card processor | $59 per terminal/month | No | Visit |
| 8 | Revel Systems | Multi-location chains and franchises that need enterprise control | quote only | No | Visit |
The 8 best gofrugal retail alternatives, in detail
GOFrugal
Best for: Indian retail chains and multi-store retailers that want ERP depth
GOFrugal Technologies was founded in 2004 in Chennai and sells point of sale, inventory, accounting and distribution tools for retail, restaurant and distribution businesses. Its Retail ERP covers billing, stock, purchase, accounting and customer loyalty, with separate modules for restaurants and distributors. Plans are named Basic, Starter, Standard and Professional, with the higher tiers priced on request as a yearly subscription or a one-time license.
- Directory listings show a free version and a 30-day free trial.
- Choose GOFrugal if you run stores in India and want one vendor for billing, stock and accounts, with the depth to add restaurant or distribution modul
- Look elsewhere if you want a published price list or a quick self-serve signup, because the quote process adds days to the decision.
Pros
- Deep retail, restaurant and distribution modules in one system
- One-time license option alongside a yearly subscription
- Serves single stores through large chains
Cons
- No published price list for its higher tiers, so every quote needs a sales call
- Setup and customization costs can run high for small shops
Lightspeed Retail
Best for: Inventory-heavy specialty retailers and multi-location stores
Lightspeed Retail, also called X-Series, is the inventory-first pick in this list. Basic costs $89 a month billed annually, or $109 month-to-month, Core costs $149, or $179 month-to-month, and Plus costs $289, or $339 month-to-month. Each plan includes 1 register, and extra registers cost $59 a month each.
- Card-present payments through Lightspeed Payments run 2.6% plus 10 cents on every plan.
- Core adds loyalty, advanced reports, accounting and marketing integrations, and a mobile scanner app.
- Plus adds forecasting, custom reporting, API access, workflows, custom user roles and single sign-on.
- Choose Lightspeed if you sell apparel, footwear or specialty goods with size and color variants, serial numbers or vendor catalogs.
Pros
- Matrix SKUs, serial tracking and purchase orders built for complex stock
- NuORDER wholesale catalog access on every plan
- 24/7 chat support on every plan
Cons
- The $89 rate needs annual billing, and month-to-month is $109
- 24/7 phone support waits until the $289 Plus plan
Square for Retail
Best for: Small single-location shops that want to start at $0
Square changed how it packages retail on 6 October 2025, and new US sellers now pick from three unified plans. Free costs $0 per location per month, Plus costs $49 and Premium costs $149. The Free plan includes the POS app, an item library with auto-created SKUs, discounts, sales reports, stock tracking, low-stock alerts and an online store.
- In-person card rates are 2.6% plus 15 cents on Free, 2.5% on Plus and 2.4% on Premium, while online payments cost 3.3% plus 30 cents on Free and 2.9%
- Plus adds inventory management, vendors and purchase orders, cost of goods reporting and barcode label printing.
- Premium adds cross-location returns, transfer orders, advanced reporting and 24/7 phone support.
- The old Square for Retail Plus plan at $89 a month is no longer sold to new US sellers.
Pros
- Free plan includes the POS app, item library, online store and basic stock tracking
- No long-term contract, and Plus and Premium carry a 30-day free trial
- Card rates are published on the pricing page and fall as the plan rises
Cons
- Purchase orders, barcode labels and cost reports need the $49 Plus plan
- Square processing is mandatory, so you cannot bring your own processor
Shopify POS
Best for: Retailers whose online store matters as much as the shop floor
Shopify POS rings in-person sales against the same products, customers and inventory as the online store. Basic costs $39 a month billed monthly, or $29 billed yearly, Grow costs $105 a month and Advanced costs $399 a month. In-person card rates through Shopify Payments are 2.6% plus 10 cents on Basic, 2.5% plus 10 cents on Grow and 2.4% plus 10 cents on Advanced.
- POS Pro costs $89 per location per month, billed yearly, and adds staff roles, inventory counting and receiving, exchanges at any location and pickup
- Plus starts at $2,300 a month on a 3-year term and includes POS Pro for the first 20 locations.
- Hardware is sold separately, with the Tap and Chip Card Reader at $49 and the POS Terminal at $349.
- Choose Shopify POS if your website already brings in a large share of sales and you want one stock count for both channels.
Pros
- In-person selling included with every subscription plan
- Products, customers and inventory sync between store and website
- POS Pro adds staff roles, exchanges at any location and retail reports
Cons
- POS Pro costs $89 per location per month on top of the plan
- A 3-day trial is short next to the 30-day trials elsewhere in this list
Clover
Best for: US shops that want hardware, software and processing in one bundle
Clover, owned by Fiserv, sells the device, the software plan and the processing agreement as one package. Its software plans are Starter at $0 a month, Essentials at $29.95 and Retail Growth at $84.95. In-person card rates are 2.6% plus 10 cents on Starter, 2.5% on Essentials and 2.3% on Retail Growth, with typed-in cards at 3.5% plus 10 cents on every plan.
- Essentials adds an item catalog, stock tracking, itemized orders, detailed reports and shift management.
- Retail Growth adds returns, item cost reporting, loyalty, gift cards, online store integration and scale integration.
- The retail hardware bundles are Basic at $16 a month for 36 months or $349 outright with the Compact terminal, Standard at $180 a month or $1,899 plus
- Choose Clover if you want one vendor and one contract for the whole counter.
Pros
- Starter software plan costs $0 and covers payments, basic reports and invoicing
- Retail Growth at $84.95 adds inventory, loyalty, gift cards and online store integration
- Devices range from the $199 Go reader to the $1,899 Station Duo
Cons
- Bundled retail plans run on 36-month terms and Clover says subscriptions are non-cancelable
- A bank or reseller quote can differ from the prices on clover.com
Epos Now
Best for: Retail and hospitality shops that want hardware bundled with software
Epos Now is a UK-born provider that sells retail and hospitality tills as a hardware and software bundle. The software-only Standard plan costs $39 a month for the first register, with extra registers at $24 a month each, and Premium costs $69 a month, with extra registers at $45 each. Enterprise is priced on request.
- The Complete System bundle costs $349 upfront plus $79 a month and ships the terminal, printer and cash drawer.
- Processing through Epos Now Payments runs 2.6% plus 10 cents in person.
- All plans include support for unlimited users and unlimited products, plus free software and security updates.
- Premium adds 24/7 telephone support, account management and cloud reporting.
Pros
- Software-only plan runs on iPads, Android tablets or PCs you already own
- Premium at $69 adds 24/7 phone support and account management
- App store adds accounting sync, loyalty and online ordering
Cons
- The Complete System bundle costs $349 upfront plus $79 per month
- Contracts of 12 to 36 months are normal, and early exit can mean owing the remaining fees
KORONA POS
Best for: Retailers that want to keep their own card processor
KORONA POS charges a flat monthly rate per terminal, with no setup fees and no forced contracts. Core costs $59 per terminal per month and covers checkout, a product database, sales reports, manual discounts, gift cards and open API access. Retail costs $79 and adds inventory counts, real-time stock tracking, barcode automations, shelf and price labels, supplier ordering, customer management, custom promotions and KPI reports.
- Plus costs $99 and adds ABC analysis, top and slow sellers reports, multi-location inventory tools, order-level optimization, assortment cleanup, per-
- Optional modules cost from $10 to $50 a month, including Food and Invoicing at $10 per terminal, Franchise at $30 per franchise and Ticketing at $50 p
- Every plan includes unlimited users, onboarding, training and in-house support, and annual plans are discounted.
- Choose KORONA POS if you already have a processor relationship with a good rate.
Pros
- Processing agnostic, so you keep your own processor and its rate
- Month-to-month terms with no forced contract and no setup fees
- All plans include onboarding, training and in-house support
Cons
- Stock counts and real-time stock tracking need the $79 Retail plan
- Per-terminal pricing adds up fast across many tills
Revel Systems
Best for: Multi-location chains and franchises that need enterprise control
Revel Systems is a cloud-based point of sale platform founded in 2010 that runs on iPads and serves restaurants, quick-service chains and specialty retailers. Shift4 bought Revel in June 2024 for about $245 million, and Revel pricing pages now redirect to Shift4, which publishes no Revel price. The last advertised figure was $99 per terminal per month, billed annually, and that rate needed a 3-year Revel Advantage agreement, a minimum of two terminals and processing through Revel in-house payments.
- Flat processing was quoted at 2.49% plus 15 cents per transaction, and onboarding started at $674.
- The system covers inventory, employee and customer management, reporting and analytics, mobile order taking and kitchen management, with an open API f
- Choose Revel if you run many locations and need franchise controls and per-store pricing.
- Skip it if you want a published price or a short contract.
Pros
- iPad-based system with deep multi-location and franchise controls
- Open API supports custom builds and integrations
- Offline mode keeps the till running when the connection drops
Cons
- No published price, so every deal needs a custom quote
- The advertised $99 rate historically needed a 3-year contract, 2 terminals and annual billing
How we chose
We picked systems that cover the same ground as GOFrugal: retail point of sale, stock control, customer records and reporting, from a $0 entry point to enterprise tools for chains. Prices and plan limits come from official vendor pricing pages and vendor docs, read on 12 November 2026, and every price is either a published plan price or written as quote only where the vendor publishes no price. We did not test any tool hands-on. We did not use customer counts, awards or review scores to rank items.
Which alternative fits your store size and budget
| Store size | Pick | Monthly software cost | In-person card rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single counter starting out | Square for Retail | $0 per location | 2.6% plus 15 cents |
| Single store with online sales | Shopify POS | $39 per month, Basic | 2.6% plus 10 cents |
| Inventory-heavy specialty shop | Lightspeed Retail | $89 per month, billed annually | 2.6% plus 10 cents |
| Shop that owns its processor | KORONA POS | $59 per terminal | Your processor rate |
| Multi-location chain | Revel Systems | quote only | quote only |
Frequently asked questions
What is the best GOFrugal alternative for a small shop?
Square for Retail is the best pick for most small shops. Its Free plan costs $0 per location per month and includes the POS app, item library, stock tracking and an online store, with no long-term contract. Move to Plus at $49 per location per month when you need purchase orders, barcode labels and cost of goods reports.
How much does Lightspeed Retail cost per month?
Lightspeed Retail Basic costs $89 a month billed annually, or $109 month-to-month. Core costs $149, or $179 month-to-month, and Plus costs $289, or $339 month-to-month. Each plan includes 1 register and extra registers cost $59 a month each, and card payments run 2.6% plus 10 cents.
Which GOFrugal alternative has no monthly software fee?
Square for Retail and Clover both start at $0 a month. Square Free costs $0 per location per month and includes the full POS app and an online store. Clover Starter costs $0 a month for payments, basic reports and invoicing, though you still need a Clover device, starting at $199 for the Go reader.
Can I keep my own card processor with any of these alternatives?
KORONA POS is the only pick here that is processing agnostic, so you keep your own processor and its rate. Square processing is mandatory on every plan, and Clover, Shopify POS, Lightspeed and Epos Now all price their own processing into the deal.
What happened to Revel Systems?
Shift4 bought Revel Systems in June 2024 for about $245 million. Revel pricing pages now redirect to Shift4, which publishes no Revel price, so every Revel deal needs a custom quote. The last advertised figure was $99 per terminal per month, billed annually, with a 3-year Revel Advantage agreement and two terminals as a minimum.
Sources
- https://www.gofrugal.com/
- https://www.lightspeedhq.com/
- https://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/retail/pricing/
- https://squareup.com/
- https://squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/retail/pricing
- https://www.shopify.com/
- https://www.shopify.com/pos/pricing
- https://www.clover.com/
- https://www.clover.com/pricing
- https://www.eposnow.com/
- https://koronapos.com/
- https://koronapos.com/pricing/
- https://www.revelsystems.com/
Prices and features were read on each company’s own website in November 2026. They change often, so confirm the current offer on the official site before you sign up or buy.