What’s the Best POS System for Food Truck Vendors in 2025?

Our research and first-hand testing found that Square is the best POS system for food trucks because of its free plan that lets mobile vendors sell without paying monthly fees, its sleek, easy-to-use hardware including iPad-friendly set-up, and capable hospitality toolkit. Its reliable 24/7 help center can provide a lifeline to vendors needing to resolve queries on the road too.

If you process a lot of orders and require slightly more advanced capabilities, we’d recommend using Toast. The POS system has some excellent customer engagement and inventory management tools, which are great for scaling your business.

We’ve tested and studied the best restaurant POS systems, keeping the food truck industry’s unique needs in mind, and identified the best on the market. We’ve listed all the pros, cons, and prices you need to help you make a decision — and we can even get your business a custom-fitted quote to get you the best deal once you do.

In this guide: 

• What Are the Best POS Systems for Food Trucks?
• How to Choose a POS System
• How We Evaluated Food Truck POS Systems
• Verdict: Which Food Truck POS Should You Choose?

What Are the Best POS Systems for Food Trucks?

Food truck service is usually a fast-paced affair – small teams of employees must take orders and collect payments quickly and efficiently to avoid causing long queues. If you own a food truck, you’ll need a speedy and reliable POS system that can help you keep a close eye on your stock levels while also providing a variety of different ways to take payments.

What’s more, you’re probably looking for a portable but robust solution. Your card reader will change hands multiple times, usually at speed. It needs to offer some durability and lightness to keep things moving seamlessly.

This sort of system will leave you with more time to focus on the most important thing: keeping the customer happy. We’ve crunched the data to figure out which POS systems have the best features and pricing to support a food truck’s needs. Here’s our definitive list.

1. Square — Best food truck POS overall
2. Toast — Best for food truck chains
3. SpotOn POS — Most budget-friendly plans
4. Clover — Best hardware
5. SumUp — Best

1. Square

• Best food truck POS overall
• Pricing from: Free (but transaction fees apply)

If you want a reliable way to manage orders and take payments while keeping costs low, using Square POS is a no-brainer. There’s a reason you see Square everywhere: The system is user-friendly, feature-rich, and lets you get started for absolutely free.

Not only is it our pick of the best restaurant POS providers and best POS providers overall, but it’s also our favorite solution for food trucks. This is because the platform looks great, is very easy to use, and delivers some standout hospitality-focused features.

Square POS overview

When we tested Square out, we were impressed with how easy it was to manage simple tasks like adding orders and editing table layouts. When it came to slightly more complex tasks like splitting payments, however, it wasn’t as easy to figure out as Clover was.

In terms of the user experience, Square’s interface has a lot of negative space and isn’t cluttered with features, unlike Epos Now. As a result, it has a shallow learning curve, which is helpful, given that the provider doesn’t have a dedicated training mode.

This will be frustrating if you encounter a problem and need a quick fix. However, Square’s support resources are top, so you should be able to find a resolution to your problem relatively quickly.

Users that don’t want to break the bank can get selling with Square’s free card reader. As free plans go, it’s pretty robust. You’ll get access to 24/7 support to help you resolve issues on the go, which is a pretty major selling point for quick-service restaurants. You’ll even get access to features you probably won’t need for a food truck, including table management and integrations for pickup or delivery.

Check out our full Square POS review for more information on this provider.

Square’s simple interface made it easy for me to log customer orders quickly. Source: Tech.co testing

Square POS hardware

Square has a range of top-of-the-line hardware, made up of: Square Handheld ($399), Square Terminal ($299), Square Register ($799), Square Stand ($149), Square Kiosk ($149), Square Reader ($59), Square Reader for Magstripe (first is free; additional readers are $10).

Overall, Square’s hardware is really impressive — sleek, durable, and easy on the eye. Depending on the size of your food truck (or how many trucks are under your operation), you’ll probably be fine to get started with a standard Square Reader. If you’re looking for a more comprehensive solution (and your budget will stretch to it), consider Square Register.

For businesses with fewer customers that can do without a POS terminal, Square’s tablet and smartphone app is user-friendly and responsive. It’s clearly popular with its users too, landing it a 4.8/5 on the App Store at the time of writing.

Square’s POS Terminal lets you take payments and print receipts on the go. Source: Tech.co testing

Why we think Square POS is a great choice for food trucks

Food truck vendors will find lots to enjoy with Square. For a start, you’ll get easy menu management thanks to custom layouts and item grouping, which will help you to highlight top sellers. Other top features include a built-in self-serve QR code order functionality, which is a real must-have for food trucks in 2025.

Add to that flexible payment processing that covers all major methods and great kitchen management tools, including prep time tracking and customer ticket timers. There’s an offline mode, too, so you won’t lose any money when your network goes down. This is all great stuff that will help you to run your business at speed, one of the key cornerstones of a successful food truck.

During testing, we did find that some processes, like ringing up large orders, were slightly clunky. While this shouldn’t be an issue for the majority of food trucks, if your venture manages complex operations and serves high quantities of customers, you may be frustrated with these limitations.

Square POS pricing

Square’s transaction fees are a little higher than Zettle’s, on average. Here’s what you’ll pay on the free plan:

• 2.6% + 15 cents of each card-based sale
• 3.5% + 15 cents for each keyed-in transaction
• 3.3% + 30 cents for online sales

Square also offers a premium plan for food businesses for $69 per month. For the extra price, you’ll benefit from additional features including advanced discounts, cash management, and the ability to open checks. You also get extra kitchen display features, including real-time order updates and ticket routing.

Square’s app does lack advanced capabilities like granular stock tracking, however. So if your food truck product inventory is complex it may be worth opting for its Restaurant package ($69 per month), or POS alternatives like Clover or Epos Now, instead.

The provider’s new second-generation Square Stand for iPads is capable of working offline too, and can function without power by using the iPad’s battery. This will be an asset to food trucks that aren’t consistently connected to power. It’ll cost you $149, or you can opt to pay $14 per month with financing.

Learn more about how the provider could cost you in our Square POS pricing review.

Who should use Square POS?

• New food truck owners who are new to POS software, due to the provider’s fuss-free interface.
• Food trucks that want to avoid monthly overheads, because of Square POS’s generous free plan.
• Food trucks with relatively simple operations, as Square’s free plan lacks some advanced features.

Who shouldn’t use Square POS?

• Food trucks that serve a high volume of customers, as some complex tasks can be a little unintuitive.
• Food trucks that want to track ingredient usage, as the POS currently lacks the feature.
• Food trucks with razor-thin profit margins, as Square POS doesn’t offer cost management tools on its free plan.

2. Toast

• Best for food truck chains
• Pricing from: free (but transaction fees apply)

Toast is our pick of solutions for food truck chains that operate at two or more locations. It has some great inventory and menu management features that will let you roll out changes from a central location, keeping all of your staff’s systems up to date in the process.

What’s more, Toast has all the features you’ll need to scale up your business, especially if you’re thinking about opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant. There’s a native capacity for managing reservations, for instance, known as Toast Tables, and well-integrated payroll tools. If you’re planning to scale your operation, and potentially set up shop at at permanent location, these features will come in really handy.

Toast POS overview

Toast has some of the best hospitality features in the business. One particular standout is the ability to take orders and instantly relay them to the kitchen. What’s more, your servers will get a notification on their tablet once the food is ready, cutting down on time spent ferrying between the kitchen and the table.

Considering Toast’s stacked suite of features, one of our favorite things about the POS was how easy it was to use. After testing Toast out, our user testing team was really impressed with how intuitive its software was, which helped it to the second-highest usability score out of all the platforms we tested (Square took the gold).

One drawback to mention is that Toast is not compatible with iOS, so if your setup is built around an iPad, Toast might not be the solution for you.

Unlike Square, Toast has a really useful training mode to help first-time users get to grips with the platform from the off. What’s more, all customers will get access to 24/7/365 support by phone or web on every plan — including the free plan.

Toast POS hardware

Toast has a great selection of hardware, comprising: Toast Go 2, Toast Kiosk, Toast Flex, Toast Kitchen Display System, Toast Flex for Guest, and Toast Tap. You’ll get your hands on up to two terminals with the Starter Kit, while the other plans will allow you to put together your own hardware configuration.

During our latest round of testing, we ranked Toast on a par with Square (but behind Clover) in second place. It’s specifically built for the hustle and bustle of the restaurant, so it’s durable but light, resistant to spills, and works offline. This will all come in super handy for your food truck, where service is speedy and terminals often change hands during peak times.

A selection of Toast’s hardware. Source: Tech.co

Why we think Toast POS is a great choice for food trucks

Toast is a winning solution for food truck chains that operate at multiple locations. For starters, it’s got some neat customer engagement tools, including a loyalty program builder that allows you to customize your own points-based systems, offer bespoke rewards, and monitor customer behavior. This is a great way of incentivizing repeat customers and helping to get noticed via word-of-mouth.

Customers that opt for the Point of Sale plan ($69 per month), will also be able to choose their own hardware setup. This is great news for food truck vendors that are looking for something a little more substantial than a mobile POS or basic card reader.

Another great feature that you’ll be able to access is Mobile Order & Pay, which allows customers to scan a QR code to bring up a digital menu on their phone. Since the pandemic, QR codes have become a staple of modern dining, and they’re particularly prevalent at outdoor venues.

You can also enable SMS or email alerts for your end customers, so they’ll get live updates on when they can expect their food. It’s a neat way of building trust and familiarity with your customer, and encouraging them to come back again and again.

Practically speaking, it allows you to serve more customers with fewer employees, eliminate wait times, speed up the checkout process, and generally keep your operation singing.

Toast POS pricing

Toast has three plans that customers can choose from — the Starter Kit (free but transaction fees apply), Point of Sale ($69), and the Build Your Own option (custom pricing). Your transaction fees will look like this:

• 3.09-3.69% + 15 cents with pay-as-you-go plan
• 2.49% + 15 cents for card-present transactions, if you pay for hardware upfront
• 3.50% + 15 cents for card-not-present transactions, if you pay for hardware upfront

If you’re eager to learn more about Toast, you can check out our full review.

Who should use Toast POS?

• Food trucks managing high order volumes, because Toast has efficient order processing and payment handling capabilities.
• Food trucks with a permanent location, due to Toast’s great features for managing reservations.
• Food trucks that want to grow their customer base, as Toast offers great loyalty tools.

Who shouldn’t use Toast POS?

• Food truck vendors who depend on iPads or iOS, as Toast is not compatible with iOS.
• Small food trucks with limited footfall and minimal inventories, as Toast is engineered for bigger businesses.

3. SpotOn

• Most budget-friendly plans
• Pricing from: Free (but transaction fees apply)

SpotOn lays claim to the most budget-friendly plans on this list. Its starter plan will allow you to get going for free (albeit with fees for each transaction), with its first paid plan fetching $25 per month.

Most food trucks will be happy with the Quick Start plan, which has no monthly cost, but incurs transaction fees for 2.89% + 25 cents — much more expensive than Square’s 2.6% + 15 cents fee for card-present transactions. This is because SpotOn offers hardware at no extra cost. Rather, users pay for their devices through the monthly transaction fees that you’ll incur. Still, it’s a big selling point for businesses that want to keep running costs as low as possible.

SpotOn POS overview

SpotOn is a pretty high-performing POS platform that does the basics well — at a rock-bottom price. During testing, our researchers were particularly impressed by the backend, which they found to be robust yet easy to use. For instance, it was easy to access everything that we needed to get the system up and running, which will appeal to first-time users.

Once you’re up and running, you’ll find some great tools for keeping an eye on your business and staff performance. Among them, features like labor vs revenue breakdowns, automatic tip sharing, and cost vs profit analysis.

We were also impressed by the fact that SpotOn automatically switches to offline mode during an outage, and that offline card payments are instantly processed once you re-establish connection. This is not unanimous across the industry, with Toast guilty of not offering the same functionality.

There’s a lot of information you can keep track of for staff. Source: Tech.co testing

SpotOn POS hardware

SpotOn scored the lowest for hardware out of all the providers on this list. This is due to the limited range of options at customers’ disposal, with the options comprising SpotOn Station “15, SpotOn Handheld, and SpotOn Station 10”. To compound the issue, the provider doesn’t offer any accessories that you can bolt on to your POS device, like a receipt printer.

Why we think SpotOn POS is a great choice for food trucks

SpotOn has some great features that food truck owners will love, coupled with rock-bottom pricing and ease of use. For example, sign up for a paid plan and you’ll unlock SpotOn Teamwork, an app that makes it easy to swap shifts, manage payroll, and stay in touch with your team.

Teamwork has a nifty a two-way messaging system so your team members can directly communicate, which will come in particularly handy for food trucks with big teams. This way, you can keep on top of your staff comms from one central location, meaning that you’ll never be blindsided in the event of an emergency. The ability to monitor staff schedules across multiple sites, too, will come in handy in this regard.

The Teamwork interface. Source: SpotOn

SpotOn POS pricing

SpotOn has a Quick Start plan ($0 per month but transaction fees apply), a Restaurant plan ($50 per month), and two small business-focused plans, priced at $25 per month and $90 per month, respectively. There’s also the option to build a custom plan, which has bespoke pricing.

Who should use SpotOn POS?

• Food truck owners that don’t want to break the bank.
• Food truck businesses that operate at more than one location.
• Businesses that have lots of staff.

Who shouldn’t use SpotOn POS?

• Businesses with extensive hardware needs.
• First-time users, as the provider’s help and support options aren’t the best.

4. Clover

• Best hardware
• Pricing from: $16 per month

Clover offers lots of excellent hospitality features, has a low learning curve, and has the best hardware on the market. Our team of researchers found the POS platform to be extremely easy to use, which helped it to the top score for hardware and joint-top score for software out of all the providers that we tested.

The provider’s Quick Service package is specifically designed for businesses like food trucks too, with several useful ordering tools like omnichannel menu management, QR-code ordering, and item and order-level discounts all included.

Clover POS overview

Clover is a pretty feature-rich platform, with an extensive range of staff management tools so you can create rotas, manage payroll, and even roll out incentive programs. At the same time, it delivers on the basics, with inventory and order management, custom item variants, offline mode, and a selection of third-party integrations.

Considering Clover’s stacked suite of features, one of our favorite things about the POS was how easy it was to use. After testing Clover out, our user testing team was really impressed with how intuitive its software was. They commented on the platform’s warmth and supportiveness and particularly enjoyed how easy it was to log orders quickly and analyze performance data.

However, they did mention that Clover’s setup wasn’t as quick as rivals like Square, as the process took them a “bit of time.” This may deter time-poor business owners who just need to get up and selling as quickly as possible.

If you’re keen to know more about how these two providers compare head-to-head, check out our Square vs Clover comparison guide.

The Clover Customers page offers options to customize data. Source: Tech.co testing

Clover hardware

Simply put: Clover’s hardware is the best on the market. There are 9 systems to choose from in total, meaning you’re very likely to find the perfect solution to suit your business.

Those solutions are: Clover Flex ($749), Clover Flex Pocket ($699), Clover Compact ($349), Clover Kiosk ($3,499 + $34.95/month), Clover Kitchen Display System (from $799 + $25/month), Clover Station Duo ($1,899), Clover Mini ($849), Clover Station Solo ($1,799), and Clover Go ($199).

Clover was found to offer the best hardware options in our research, and its touchscreen terminal and iPad stand are ideal for food trucks. Source: Tech.co testing

Why we think Clover is a great choice for food trucks

With its excellent range of hardware, Clover is well-suited to the food truck game. It’s sleek, durable, and splash-proof, ensuring that you can take orders and process payments without having to worry about spills and bumps.

During our latest round of testing, our team was really impressed with how seamless the Clover frontend was. This enabled the team to take payments smoothly, with no friction in the customer journey.

What’s more, the provider has some of the best customer loyalty features in the business. Its in-house customer relationship management (CRM) system lets businesses customize offers, easily add customer information, and communicate with buyers directly.

You don’t have to pay extra for these useful capabilities either – like you would need to for alternatives like Square and SumUp – making Clover a competitive choice for businesses looking to secure a loyal base without spending a ton.

Clover POS pricing

While Clover’s software-only Personal Services and Retail packages start from just $16 per month, if you’re looking to do anything more than accept payments and manage simple processes, prices escalate quickly.

For example, Clover’s Quick Service Starter plan, which gives you access to a Mini handheld POS, costs $135 per month for 36 months, while its Full Service Starter plan, which includes a Station Solo POS terminal, costs $179 per month for 36 months. Pricier plans with more advanced features and hardware options are also available.

Clover also offers a smartphone and tablet app, Clover Go, for $199 up-front for its payments-only package, or $199 plus $29.95 per month for additional ordering and operational features.

Clover Go is the second-best POS app for iPads we’ve tested (after Square), due to its seamless payment integrations and excellent user experience. It does lack basic reporting features, though, making it less suitable for food trucks focused on growing their business.

Who should use Clover POS?

• Food trucks managing high order volumes, due to Clover’s efficient order processing and payment handling capabilities.
• Vendors using POS software for the first time too, as Clover is the most user-friendly system we tested.
• Food trucks that want to grow their customer base, as Clover offers industry-leading CRM tools.

Who shouldn’t use Clover POS?

• Food trucks that require tip-sharing tools, as Clover doesn’t offer this capability.
• Food trucks that are just starting out, as Clover’s start-up fees are on the pricier side. If you’re after rock-bottom prices, we’d recommend using Square or Zettle By PayPal instead.

5. SumUp

• Best for performance insights
• Pricing from: Free (but transaction fees apply)

SumUp is another POS system that lets you get started without any monthly costs. It offers a wide range of useful capabilities, like multi-location sales tracking, employee management, and item discounts.

Similarly to Clover, the system has a particularly user-friendly backend, enabling servers to log through orders without delays. It’s a great option for smaller food trucks that want to start tapping into data insights with a view to scaling up.

SumUp POS overview

While SumUp lets you start selling for free, it charges 2.6% + 10c per sale, which is the same as Square but slightly more than Zettle By PayPal. For what you get, we think this is still a very good deal, especially if you aren’t earning enough to cover monthly overheads.

In terms of functionality, our team were impressed by how intuitive the backend was during testing. They noted that the black and white user interface was straightforward to navigate, particularly when it came to getting started and adding products.

However, for all of SumUp’s strengths, it wasn’t able to appear any higher on this list because it lacks a reliable offline mode – making it ill-suited to food trucks without a stable internet connection.

It’s easy to carry out advanced functions on SumUp’s ordering screen, like splitting payments and adding modifiers. Source: Tech.co testing

SumUp POS hardware

SumUp’s range of hardware is pretty good, and you’re unlikely to be disappointed if you opt for this provider. Its suite of POS products consists of card readers, iPad stands, and a tablet kitchen display system. If you’re keen to bolster your setup, you can also get your hands on a cash drawer, printer, and barcode scanner.

SumUp EPOS card reader. Source: Tech.co

Why we think SumUp POS is a great choice for food trucks

SumUp has a real ace in the hole in the form of its smartphone and tablet app, SumUp: Payments and POS. This makes it a safe bet for food trucks getting started that just need a basic setup. The app lets you take payments, transfer the money to your bank account, and even track your sales data with useful reports. Best of all, you can download and install it for free, giving it a leg up over the competition for food trucks that want to use data insights as the basis to scale their business.

Another handy feature that proved particularly popular among our researchers was the “park order” function. This allows users to quickly adjust items mid-transaction, meaning that you can make minor alterations without needing to abandon the order and start again.

As smaller businesses, food trucks tend to operate limited menus. Therefore, customization is not uncommon. Park order is a really useful way of keeping the checkout process seamless, which will almost certainly come to your rescue during peak periods.

SumUp POS pricing

SumUp will let you get started with their software for nothing. You can simply scan a QR code provided on their website with an iOS or Android device, sign up, and then start selling once you’re verified. If you want a software and hardware bundle, prices start from $99 per month.

There’s also a $199 per month plan and a $289 per month plan. The big difference between these two and the initial plan is that you get more built-in marketing features that’ll help you run campaigns and promotions. They’d be good options for established businesses looking to grow rather than smaller outfits just starting out.

SumUp’s transaction fees are similar to Square’s. The POS charges you:

• 2.6% + 10 cents of each card-based sale
• 3.5% + 15 cents for each keyed-in transaction and online sales
• 2.9% + 15 cents for invoice payments

Check out our complete SumUp POS review for more information.

Who should use SumUp POS?

• SumUp’s advanced reporting features make the POS an especially great choice for food trucks seriously increasing their sales volume.
• Food trucks looking to avoid overheads, as SumUp’s free plan only charges transaction fees.

Who shouldn’t use SumUp POS?

• If your food truck wants ultra-low transaction fees you want, we’d recommend using Zettle By PayPal instead of SumUp.
• Food trucks after an ultra-modern interface, as SumUp isn’t as modern as alternatives like Square and Clover.

How to Choose a POS System

While the food truck industry is booming, mobile catering brings unique challenges, from high order volumes to storage limitations. Because of this, business owners need to opt for a POS system that saves time and maximizes efficiency, without bogging down vendors with unnecessary features.

Every business’s POS system needs will vary, so don’t take the one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, start with your business size, your budget, and any unique or essential features you need. For further research, read through our guide to POS system costs to make sure that you know what price ranges to expect.

There are some important things to look out for when whittling down the options, though. Aside from the basics like stock tracking and marketing, here are a few factors you should bear in mind when you’re searching for a food truck POS:

• Remote menu updates — You’ll need to change orders or deals at any time. To make sure you’re able to do this on the road, it’s sensible to choose a system that offers remote update options. This will also be a huge asset to food truck fleets, as it lets managers update the menus on all of their trucks at the same time.
• Robust payment processing — You’ll need to accept cash, cards, tips, refunds, and more. Finding a POS system with solid mobile payment options is important too, to make the buying experience as convenient as possible for your customers.
• Little upfront investment — Everyone wants to save money, and food trucks are no exception. However, if paying a slightly larger upfront fee will help you reduce costs in the future, it’s best not to rule it out completely.
• Flexibility — A business that’s always on the move needs software that’s easy to use. On top of this, you should make sure the POS offers a portable hardware option that’s easy to transport when you’re on the road.

All the top POS systems we’ve reviewed for food trucks offer these core abilities. Read on to learn more about what dictates our product rankings.

How Did We Rank the Best POS Systems For Food Trucks?

We take our impartial research and analysis seriously, so you can have complete confidence that we’re giving you the clearest, most useful recommendations.

After conducting an initial exploration to identify the most relevant, popular, and established Point of Sale (POS) platforms on the market, we put them through their paces with hands-on testing to see their real strengths and weaknesses. Specifically, we grade them against six main criteria: hardware, software, help & support, customer satisfaction, pricing, and usability. 

We also consider factors that matter more to food truck owners, including the portability of hardware, quick service features, offline mode, and the presence and quality of smartphone and tablet apps. After we’ve made sure all bases have been covered, we give each POS system a score out of five in every research category, as well as an overall score, before using these scores to determine their final ranking order.

After hundreds of hours, our process is complete – and we hope our results will help you find the best solution for your business.

Learn more about our research.