
Clover POS
$179.00
- Sleek all-in-one POS
- Free online ordering
- Affordable monthly price point
- Simple flat processing rates
- Integrates with many apps and add-ons
- Must use proprietary hardware
- Added features increase the price
- Customer support complaints
Clover POS Review [2025]
Table of Contents
As the POS industry evolves, competition is fierce, and choosing the right system is key to boosting your business’s efficiency.
In this review, we’ll dive into Clover’s features, user feedback, and merchant experiences to help you decide if Clover POS is the right choice for your business.
Key Takeaways
- Clover POS is a versatile point-of-sale solution best suited for small business owners and restaurants (this review will focus on the latter).
- Clover POS is well-renowned for its intuitive interface, reliable hardware, and efficient software.
- The system comes with excellent customization and integration features; it can be used with numerous third-party applications, including one’s chosen external payment processor.
- Although popular among new businesses, Clover POS isn’t the cheapest option on the market. The good news is that the pricing is very flexible and scalable.
How We Review POS Systems
Curious how we review POS systems? Here’s what our review process includes:
- Market Analysis: We thoroughly examine and compare leading POS products to guide you in making informed purchases.
- Feature Identification: Our POS reviews emphasize essential product features, pricing, advantages, disadvantages, and more.
- Product Evaluation: Our ranking system blends online reviews, popularity, user feedback, pricing, and additional criteria.
- Review Analysis: In-depth reviews and user feedback provide current product information and comparisons.
- Expert Opinions: Industry experts combine their insights with user reviews to assist you in making well-informed purchasing decisions.
Overview of Clover POS System
Clover is a popular all-in-one POS for many new restaurants and small business owners. With a sleek and professional look, this POS solution comes with everything you need, including point-of-sale software, hardware, and payment processing.
Clover is a California-based POS provider founded in 2012. Not long after entering the market, Clover was purchased by First Data Corporation (Now Fiserv), one of the largest payment processing companies.
The Clover POS system is suitable for retail shops and service-based businesses; however, for this review, I’ll focus on Clover’s restaurant POS services.
Is the Clover POS System any good for your restaurant?
Continue reading to find out!
Promo Video
Clover POS Key Product Features
Below are some of the key features I like with Clover’s restaurant point-of-sale platform that sets it apart from other restaurant POS systems:
- Easy-to-Navigate Platform: Clover POS is one of the easiest-to-use POS systems I’ve ever tried. It allows you to quickly access reporting data and sales remotely with the Clover Dashboard. The menu builder is also incredibly straightforward.
- Reliable Hardware: Clover POS offers a robust hardware system that comes packed with additional accessories (printer, cash drawer, etc.).
- Transparent Pricing: Although it isn’t the cheapest option on the market, Clover offers transparent and scalable pricing that also includes a free plan for small businesses that only use a mobile card reader.
- Extensive Marketing Features: With Clover POS, you can easily manage promotions, happy hours, seasonal menus, and a wide range of customizable features that help you improve what you offer customers.
- Seamless Payment Processing: Clover offers robust payment processing options, including contactless, chip, and other traditional credit card payments; cash and check are also compatible. Clover also offers offline processing for credit card payments.
- Designed for Your Customers in Mind: Using Clover, you can build and split tabs to provide customers with easy payment options — you can also add discounts to orders. Another great feature here is pre-authorized tabs that ensure that customers have access to funds for bill payment.
- Streamlined Staff & Inventory Management: Manage your employees with individual logins and performance trackers, build a physical model of your restaurant within the point-of-sale software to help you manage reservations and orders, and leverage robust inventory management to keep track of your restaurant’s supplies.
- Extensive Selection of Available Integrations: Clover offers a wide range of apps, allowing you to genuinely scale this service by taking advantage of third-party integrations, including your chosen tax or accounting software, marketing tools, and more!
Clover POS Pricing
How much does the Clover POS system cost?
This depends mostly on the type of your business. For a quick-service restaurant, prices start from $105 a month. Full-service restaurant services start at $165 a month, whereas a standard option for retail stores costs $135 a month.
It’s critical to find a POS system that you can afford. While many POS platforms offer affordable prices at face value, things can get much more expensive when diving into the service’s real cost.
Clover POS Pricing Overview
So, what price points are offered with Clover POS? Let’s take a more in-depth look at Clover POS pricing below:
Before buying, be sure to check out the latest Clover POS Promo Codes.
Service | Full-Service Restaurants | Quick-Service Restaurants | Retail Stores |
---|---|---|---|
Pricing Plans | Starter: $179/month Standard: $239/month Advanced: $354/month |
Starter: $135/month Standard: $155/month Advanced: $245/month |
Starter: $16/month Standard: $180/month Advanced: $240/month |
Transaction Fees | Card tapped, swiped, inserted: 2.3% + $0.10 Card information typed in: 3.5% + $0.10 |
Card tapped, swiped, inserted: 2.3% + $0.10 Card information typed in: 3.5% + $0.10 |
Card tapped, swiped, inserted: 2.3% + $0.10 Card information typed in: 3.5% + $0.10 |
*All prices are subject to change; please see the vendor’s website for current pricing.
**All promotion prices above require a 36-month commitment.
Clover POS Pricing Plans
Overall, Clover POS offers several primary pricing options for different types of businesses, which you can further customize and expand to better suit your needs:
Full-Service Dining Plans
Full-service dining plans start at $179 per month, providing business owners with a dependable restaurant POS system. The basic plan includes functionality for taking orders and processing payments from a centralized wait station.
More advanced options allow orders to be taken throughout the restaurant, offering omnichannel menu management, bill splitting, and contactless dining through QR codes. Additionally, these plans provide an online menu page for customers.
Quick-Service Dining Plans
Quick-service dining plans begin at $135 per month, equipping business owners with a robust POS system for order-taking and payment processing. The basic plan includes a mini POS with a built-in receipt printer, while premium plans feature a handheld POS with an intelligent terminal.
Higher-tier plans also provide access to customer databases, promotions, loyalty programs, and private feedback options.
Retail POS Plans
Retail plans start at $16 per month, with the entry-level plan offering a simple terminal. Higher-tier plans include a touchscreen terminal, countertop displays, and a handheld device.
These plans enable businesses to track sales, generate reports, set employee permissions, and integrate with third-party apps from the Clover App Market.
Professional Services
Professional services plans begin at $14.95 per month. The Starter plan does not include a hardware POS device, allowing transactions through a computer, tablet, or phone instead. Premium plans come with both handheld and countertop POS systems.
The Starter plan supports payments via major credit and debit cards, cash, and checks. Higher-tier plans expand payment options to include PayPal, Venmo, gift cards, and mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Clover POS Hardware Cost
Regarding hardware costs, you can choose to pay them as an entire lump sum for those with the budget. But if you can’t afford to pay for all your hardware upfront, you can also spread the cost across three payments; this is a crucial benefit for new business owners trying to avoid upfront cash flow issues.
Here’s a breakdown of available Clover POS Hardware and its cost:
- Clover Go ($199) – chip, swipe, and contactless card reader;
- Clover Flex ($749) – mobile POS with a printer;
- Clover Mini ($849) – compact countertop POS system;
- Clover Station Solo ($1,649) – full countertop POS system;
- Clover Station Duo ($1,799) – full countertop POS with a second screen for customers.
Final Word About Clover POS Pricing
As you can see, Clover’s offering is relatively affordable when compared to the rest of the POS market. If you want to purchase additional add-ons or apps in the Clover app market, you’ll need to factor in those costs to determine the product’s price. They offer the first month of software for free and free shipping on hardware, which is great.
Clover boasts of having a transparent pricing model. Still, some customers seem to think otherwise.
There are some allegations that hidden fees and charges pop up out of nowhere – this may be linked to First Data Corporation merchant accounts – but it’s always a good idea to read the fine print before signing any agreements.
With some POS platforms, these types of hidden fees may be charged by independent distributors. To clarify, discussing all costs with Clover is essential to ensure that you won’t find any nasty surprises.
An In-Depth Look Into Clover POS Features
Now that we have the basics out of the way, let’s dive deeper into Clover POS’s core features:
Data Reporting
Clover’s analytic tools provide insights into the trends and data driving your business and let you track key metrics like revenue and sales, all in real time! Filter reports to show best-selling products, time of day, or monthly sales trends and drill down into per-item details.
Reporting can be accessed anywhere and anytime from mobile devices or directly from the Clover dashboard. Monitor your income stream with quick access to sales reports.
Deployment Type
Clover is a primarily cloud-based system. While the company’s software is installed on your hardware system, all reporting data and information is stored in a cloud. You can also remotely access your menus, reporting data, restaurant information, and more.
Don’t worry about hardware malfunctions — your data is safe in the cloud.
As mentioned previously, you can take card payments via the Clover POS system if you’re not connected to the internet. You won’t find this critical feature with many other cloud-based platforms.
If you’re worried your internet connection isn’t consistent enough to guarantee seamless payments, Clover might be one of your best options.
Industries Served
Clover offers a traditional POS platform for various industries, including restaurants, retail stores, and service businesses. However, the POS software we’ve explored in more depth today is explicitly built for the restaurant industry.
It’s excellent for small to mid-sized restaurants. While it offers plenty of in-house features, it certainly doesn’t have the strength you find in some of the more prominent names in the industry for larger restaurant environments.
There is a bright side for those planning to grow their business, too. Because of the number of add-ons, downloadable apps, and integrations available from the Clover app market, you can scale this platform quite well if you need more functionality.
While the Clover system is best suited to small and mid-sized businesses, the additional apps can help you scale it to more significant operations. However, the other apps you can download from your station will come with an added expense.
Ease of Use
When you sift through the various features available with the software, one of the core benefits is how easy it is to use the application. If you want to invest considerable money in a new POS solution, it’s essential to ensure that you find it easy for staff to handle.
The entire Clover system is easy to navigate. For restaurant owners, you can quickly build menus and access reporting data from offsite locations. The software’s straightforward nature means that new member training won’t eat away at your time.
Clover Hardware
One of the biggest hurdles for many small business owners is the hardware requirements associated with a point-of-sale platform. Clover makes it easier by offering its clients a full ‘Station.’ Pricing to gain access to their complete hardware packages is, on the average scale, not too pricey, but not cheap either.
Regardless, Clover’s hardware is built-for-purpose. With a touchscreen interface, credit card processor, and printer, this POS system can help you improve efficiency in the workplace.
If you’re on a tight budget and just need to get something to get started, you can opt for Clover Mini, which is a smaller version of the POS. You can also add Clover Flex to perform table-side or curb-side ordering with quick payment processing.
Unlike other POS providers, which may provide you with tablets or ask you to purchase iPads, the Clover Station hardware fits firmly in a mounted station; this helps give a sense of permanence to your POS setup.
Clover states that you can return hardware within 60 days of the original purchase for a full refund of the purchase price, excluding shipping and handling. Returned equipment must be in good condition; this is a great thing to offer merchants, even if it’s not the perfect solution for your business.
Integrations
Integrations and add-ons can take your restaurant’s POS platform to the next level. One of the key features I like about Clover’s POS is that it’s Android-based, and there are tons of apps and add-ons you have access to download. The list of applications on offer is one of the most extensive in the industry.
If you head to the Clover Station app store, it can be hard to avoid browsing through the endless list of apps and add-ons. Various apps can help you manage loyalty programs, create custom discounts, integrate accounting software, create restaurant websites, receive feedback, and much more.
Keep in mind that while the Clover app store offers free versions of many apps, most of the apps will cost you a subscription price or pay-per-use to get full functionality. Once you start adding many apps to get all the functionality you require, you increase your POS solution’s overall cost.
Payment Processing
Accepting payments with Clover is a feature that varies greatly depending on the POS provider you’re partnering with for merchant services. In some cases, a POS provider will require you to use their credit card processing platform. In other cases, you’ll have the freedom to choose your merchant provider to integrate with your point of sale.
Fortunately, Clover Station can be integrated with a wide range of credit card processing companies. Clover’s parent company (Fiserv) will most likely want you to sign up for its credit card processing services. While this can be a convenient way to quickly set up your POS system, it also means you’re restricted from looking at competing processing companies.
The good news is that their rates are advertised online and are pretty straightforward. However, I would recommend being cautious when purchasing Clover from an independent agent or a bank because, as resellers, they can add additional processing fees, which can eat away at your profits. It’s probably best to go directly to Clover to get a rate quote and avoid the middleman.
Customer Service
As with any software or hardware platform, problems can always arise — that’s why it’s essential to have access to a fantastic customer support team.
Clover’s customer service currently has an excellent online resource hub — you can also call or email their customer support center 24/7 or access support through the Clover dashboard.
While Clover’s customer service record hasn’t been ideal over the years, it appears to be getting much better. You can still find negative reviews for Clover online; however, industry websites like NerdWallet, GetApp, and Trustpilot have hundreds of reviews, with an overall rating of 3.5 out of 5.
It’s hard to please everyone, especially for a large global company, but we’ve updated the review to reflect the overall rating increase.
If you’ve had experience with Clover, we’d love to have your constructive review with the pros and cons below.
Our Verdict
The Clover POS system is a great option because it comes with everything a small business needs. It offers a complete all-in-one POS system with fairly affordable pricing, sleek hardware, tons of features, and easy-to-use software. Additionally, its app store provides some of the most extensive feature options currently available on the market.
Clover offers their own payment services that are very competitive in fees with the Square POS System, a major competitor to Clover. You will need a merchant account to utilize the software and hardware. While you can purchase from independent resellers and banks, buying directly from Clover is best to avoid the middleman and any additional fees.
Wrapping up, I highly recommend Clover POS for any medium-sized restaurant and small or service-based business.
For larger restaurants, however, you’ll probably want something more robust like Toast. If you’re looking for a Clover competitor or alternative, see our top small business picks here.
And if you still pick Clover, I’m more than certain that you won’t be disappointed.
Top Alternatives to Clover
POS System | About POS | How It Compares to Clover |
---|---|---|
Square Restaurant POS | Square Restaurant POS is a user-friendly system for restaurants, offering menu management, order tracking, and integrated payments. It also supports online ordering and delivery. | Square is easy to use and integrates well with other Square products, but Clover offers more advanced customization and broader hardware options. |
Toast POS | Toast POS is a restaurant-focused system with tools for managing orders, payments, inventory, and loyalty programs, known for its reliability and detailed reporting. | Toast is ideal for larger restaurants with specialized needs, while Clover offers broader versatility across different business types. |
TouchBistro POS | TouchBistro POS is an iPad-based system for restaurants, featuring tableside ordering, bill splitting, and inventory tracking, with a focus on simplicity. | TouchBistro is great for small to medium-sized restaurants, but Clover provides more extensive hardware options and integrations. |
Lightspeed Retail POS | Lightspeed Retail POS is a cloud-based system for retail businesses, offering inventory management, sales tracking, and eCommerce integration. | Lightspeed excels in retail-specific features, while Clover offers greater versatility for both retail and restaurant businesses. |
Darrell –
We had the Clover system in our produce market, unfortunately we had to close. We now can’t use the Clover System but they want let us out of the lease for the equipment so we have to keep paying for it until 2025 at the rate of$40+ a month for something that we can’t use. So make sure you know what you’re getting in to before you get it.