NexoPOS vs Loyverse
Loyverse's register really is free. The bill starts when you need the parts a shop actually runs on: Advanced Inventory is $25/mo per store, Unlimited sales history is $9/mo per store, and Employee management is $5/mo per employee. NexoPOS is a GPL-licensed point of sale with stock control, customers, suppliers and accounting that you host yourself for a flat $7/mo.
NexoPOS vs Loyverse: The Verdict
Loyverse is a genuinely good free product and this page is not going to pretend otherwise. The register, the back office, the kitchen display and the customer display cost nothing, it ships native iOS and Android apps, and it integrates with card readers from SumUp, Zettle, Shift4, Tyro and Yoco. If you run a small counter and never need purchase orders, that free tier may be all you ever want. Where it turns into a subscription is the boring operational half: creating purchase orders and seeing stock valuation is the $25/mo Advanced Inventory add-on, per store. Reporting over any date range and exporting to a spreadsheet is Unlimited sales history at $9/mo, also per store. Giving each cashier their own login with access rights and timecards is $5/mo per employee. Those meters multiply by stores and by staff. NexoPOS puts all of it in one $7/mo pod with no per-terminal, per-store or per-employee fee, and the sales data sits in a MySQL database you own. The honest costs of switching: NexoPOS is a browser app with no native register apps, so the counter needs a working connection, it does not process card payments for you, and it is a much smaller project at roughly 1,200 GitHub stars.
Last updated: 2026-08-07Quick Comparison
| Feature | Loyverse | NexoPOS |
|---|---|---|
| Register and back office | Free | Included in the $7/mo pod |
| Purchase orders and stock valuation | $25/mo per store (Advanced Inventory add-on) | Included |
| Reporting over any date range and export | $9/mo per store (Unlimited sales history add-on) | Included |
| Staff logins, access rights and timecards | $5/mo per employee (Employee management add-on) | Included, unlimited cashiers |
| One store with 5 staff and full inventory | $59/mo ($708/yr), or $590/yr paid annually | $7/mo ($84/yr) |
| How the price scales | Per store and per employee | Per pod. Flat |
| Where your sales data lives | Loyverse cloud | MariaDB on a pod you own |
| Native mobile register apps | Yes, iOS and Android | No. Browser-based, so the counter needs a connection |
| Card payment processing | Integrated with SumUp, Zettle, Shift4, Tyro and Yoco | Not built in. You keep your own processor |
| Kitchen and customer displays | Free apps | Not included |
| Customers, suppliers and accounting | Customer directory and loyalty | Customers, suppliers, expenses and accounting module |
| License | Proprietary, free tier plus paid add-ons | GPL-3.0, about 1,200 GitHub stars |
Where Loyverse Gets Expensive
Trade-offs to weigh before committing.
The Inventory Half Is the Paid Half
Creating purchase orders and reading an inventory valuation report is the Advanced Inventory add-on at $25/mo per store. For a shop, that is not an optional extra, it is most of the reason you bought a point of sale.
Your Own Sales History Is an Add-On
Reporting across any time period, and exporting that data to a spreadsheet, comes with the Unlimited sales history add-on at $9/mo per store. Your transactions, your accountant, someone else's subscription.
Two Meters That Multiply
Add-ons are billed per store and per employee. A single shop with five staff who each need their own login and access rights is $25 plus $9 plus five times $5, which is $59/mo before a single card is swiped. Prices are also quoted exclusive of tax.
The Subscription Keeps Running If You Stop
Loyverse's own billing FAQ is explicit: while a subscription is active your card keeps being charged even if you are not using the app, and it does not refund charges on an active subscription. You have to unsubscribe in the back office to stop it.
Why Self-Host with NexoPOS?
What you get when you pick this stack.
No Per-Store, Per-Terminal or Per-Employee Fee
One $7/mo Build pod (2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 25 GB storage) runs the register, stock control, customers, suppliers and accounting. Adding a second till or a fifth cashier changes nothing about the bill.
Inventory and Reporting Are Just Features
Procurements, stock adjustments, unit-level tracking, low-stock alerts, sales and profit reports all ship in the box. Nothing about your own numbers sits behind a separate subscription.
The Sales Data Is in a Database You Own
NexoPOS stores everything in a MariaDB database on your pod, bundled and migrated on first boot. You can query it, export it, hand it to an accountant, or move the whole pod somewhere else.
Ready at the Counter in About a Minute
The InstaPods image ships NexoPOS with its database, background queue worker, per-minute scheduler and HTTPS already running, and creates your admin account on first boot. There are no cron jobs or certificates to set up.
Real Cost Comparison
One shop with five staff who each need a login, plus purchase orders and full sales reporting.
- Loyverse POS, back office, KDS and CDS: free
- Advanced Inventory: $25/mo per store
- Unlimited sales history: $9/mo per store
- Employee management: $5/mo per employee, so $25/mo for five
- InstaPods Build plan: $7/mo (2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 25 GB storage)
- NexoPOS: free and open source (GPL-3.0)
- MariaDB, queue worker and scheduler bundled
- Unlimited registers, cashiers and products
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Loyverse actually free?
The register is. Loyverse POS, the back office and dashboard, the kitchen display and the customer display all cost nothing. Three add-ons are paid: Unlimited sales history at $9/mo per store, Employee management at $5/mo per employee, and Advanced Inventory at $25/mo per store, each with a 14-day trial and each also available annually at $90, $50 and $250. Prices read from loyverse.com on 7 August 2026 and quoted exclusive of tax.
When is NexoPOS cheaper than Loyverse?
As soon as you need purchase orders, stock valuation, full sales history, or per-employee logins. A single shop with five staff and inventory management is $59/mo on Loyverse add-ons against $7/mo for a NexoPOS pod, which is $708 a year against $84. If you run one till, never raise a purchase order, and are happy with the reporting the free plan gives you, Loyverse is cheaper, because it is free.
Does NexoPOS process card payments?
No, and this is the clearest gap. Loyverse integrates directly with SumUp, Zettle, Shift4, Tyro and Yoco, so the card reader and the register talk to each other. With NexoPOS you record the payment method in the till and keep whatever card processor you already use as a separate device. For a shop that already has a terminal from its bank, that is normal. For someone who wants one integrated flow, Loyverse wins on this point.
Can I use NexoPOS on a tablet at the counter?
Yes, through the browser. The register screen is touch and keyboard friendly and works on a tablet or a laptop. What it is not is a native iOS or Android app, so the counter needs a working internet connection to ring up a sale. If your site loses connectivity regularly, that is a real consideration and Loyverse's native apps handle it better.
Which plan does NexoPOS need?
The $7/mo Build plan (2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 25 GB storage). NexoPOS runs a PHP-FPM web app, a bundled MariaDB database, a background queue worker and a per-minute scheduler together, and Build handles a busy shop with thousands of products. Multi-location operations can move up to the $15/mo Grow plan without reinstalling anything.
Who keeps the shop running if something breaks?
You do, with InstaPods handling the server layer. The pod comes with HTTPS, nightly backups and SSH access, and updates to NexoPOS itself are a click. There is no vendor support desk for the application the way there is with a paid Loyverse add-on, which includes 24/7 chat support. That is a genuine trade and worth weighing if the till is your only way to take money.
Run your own point of sale for $7/mo
Instant launch with MariaDB, the queue worker, HTTPS and backups already configured. No per-store, per-terminal or per-employee fees.
Deploy NexoPOS