Why do people look for a Loyverse alternative?
Not because Loyverse is bad. Its free plan is one of the most generous around, with loyalty, a kitchen display and a customer display included. People move on when they hit one of its limits:
- Sales history stops at 31 daysFree sales analytics cover the last 31 days. Viewing or exporting anything older takes the unlimited sales history add-on, billed per store.
- Fewer processing choicesIn the US, Loyverse integrates its own Loyverse Payments plus SumUp and Zettle readers. With anything else you'd key amounts into a separate terminal.
- No cards offlineLoyverse keeps recording sales without internet, but integrated card terminals and Loyverse Payments need a connection.
- Help is self-serve on freeFree users get the help center and community. Live chat comes with paid add-ons, and staff logins and timecards are an add-on too.
Sources: loyverse.com/pricing, loyverse.com/payments and the Loyverse Help Center.
What are the best free alternatives to Loyverse?
Every one of these has a free plan you can actually run a business on. Each fixes a different Loyverse limit, so read the "switch for" line first.
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Our pickMost small businesses
Square Free
Switch for: full sales history, cards offline, an online store and phone help to start.
Square Free has no monthly fee and no contract. Square's Support Center says detailed reporting in the Dashboard shows your full sales history. It takes cards offline on Square Reader (2nd generation), Stand, Terminal, Handheld and Register, and adds a free online site, invoices and booking. Support is chat and email on every plan, with phone support on weekdays for your first 90 days. What you give up from Loyverse's free plan: loyalty is on Square's paid plans, a kitchen display is a paid add-on, and Square processes all your cards itself.
We compare the two line by line in Square vs Loyverse. Costs are on our pricing page.
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PayPal users
PayPal Point of Sale
Switch for: in-person and online sales in one PayPal account.
PayPal says its POS app has no monthly or setup fees. You can take tap payments on your phone or add a PayPal reader or terminal, and it handles inventory. Already using a Zettle reader with Loyverse? This is the US app that used to be Zettle. Like Loyverse, PayPal's own app doesn't take cards offline.
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Laptop checkout
Helcim
Switch for: the same POS on a laptop, tablet and phone, with processing built in.
Helcim's POS software is free with a Helcim account, with no monthly fees or contracts. It runs on laptops, iPads, iPhones and Android phones, and inventory covers SKUs, stock levels, variants and alerts. Its card reader needs a connection for every sale.
Source: helcim.com/point-of-sale
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Countertop register
SumUp POS Lite
Switch for: a ready-made register instead of a phone or tablet.
SumUp's free POS plan comes preinstalled on POS Lite, a countertop register you buy from SumUp, with no monthly cost for the plan. It covers your catalog, orders, sales reports and basic employee and customer info. If you already use a SumUp reader with Loyverse, it connects here too. SumUp doesn't list an offline mode for POS Lite.
Source: sumup.com/en-us/pos/pos-lite
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Windows and Android
eHopper
Switch for: a POS on a Windows PC as well as an Android tablet.
eHopper's software is free when you use eHopper's own card processing. It works with printers, scanners and cash drawers and has inventory with unlimited products. Offline it still takes cash, but cards need the internet.
Source: ehopper.com/free-pos
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Very simple setups
POSUSA Free POS
Switch for: a small menu with QR ordering and nothing to install.
Full disclosure: this one's from POSUSA, the team behind this site. It's a basic browser-based POS, free for up to 50 products, with a free online menu, QR code ordering and Stripe for card payments. It's a step down from Loyverse in features, so it only makes sense if your setup is very simple.
Source: app.posusa.com
More options, and the ones that didn't make the cut, are in our best free POS systems roundup.
Which alternative fixes your Loyverse problem?
Start from the thing that's bugging you. If it isn't on this list, Loyverse is probably still a fine fit.
| If you need | Look at | Or, staying on Loyverse |
|---|---|---|
| Sales history past 31 days | Square Free, which keeps full history in its Dashboard. Check any free plan's report range before you move | Add unlimited sales history for each store |
| Cards with no internet | Square Free, on supported Square hardware. PayPal, Helcim and eHopper all need a connection for cards | Take cash and wait for the connection |
| A different processor | PayPal, Helcim, SumUp or eHopper, which each bring their own, or Square | Loyverse Payments, SumUp or Zettle |
| A Windows PC or laptop | eHopper on Windows, Helcim on any laptop | Back Office runs in a browser, the POS on a phone or tablet |
| A countertop register | SumUp POS Lite | A tablet on a stand with a printer and drawer |
| Someone to talk to | Square Free, with phone support for your first 90 days. Ask what support the free plan includes | Live chat comes with any paid add-on |
When should you stay with Loyverse?
When its free extras are doing real work for you. Switching takes an afternoon of exports and imports at best, so it's worth it only if the new system fixes something you feel every week.
Stay if
- Your regulars use the loyalty program
- The kitchen display or customer display runs your counter
- Your SumUp, Zettle or Loyverse Payments setup works fine
- One add-on would fix your one problem
Look around if
- You keep needing reports older than a month
- Spotty internet means lost card sales
- You'd pay for more than one add-on per store
- You want a person on the phone
How do you move your data off Loyverse?
Export it from the Back Office as CSV files, then import what the new POS accepts. Loyverse's help center lists the steps.
Export your items
In the Back Office, open the item list and click Export. You get a CSV file with every item. Images don't come along, so keep your photos handy.
Export your customers
Open Customers and click Export for a CSV of your customer list.
Save the reports you want to keep
Receipts and every report export to CSV. On the free plan you only see the last 31 days, so if you want older history, add unlimited sales history first. It has a 14-day free trial.
Import and test
Load the files into the new POS, ring up a few test sales and check your taxes before you switch over for real.
Source: Loyverse Help Center, exporting data. Our guide to switching POS systems covers the cutover, hardware and contracts.
Questions people ask
Is Loyverse really free?
The POS is. Loyverse's free plan includes the POS app, sales analytics for the last 31 days, essential inventory, a loyalty program, kitchen and customer display apps and more than one store, with no credit card to sign up. Unlimited sales history, employee management and advanced inventory are paid add-ons, billed per store. Card payments carry processing fees with any provider.
What's the biggest limit of Loyverse's free plan?
For most people, the 31-day window on sales analytics. Older sales are still recorded, but you need the unlimited sales history add-on to view or export them. The free plan also has one user, the owner. Staff logins come with the employee management add-on.
Can I keep my hardware if I leave Loyverse?
Mostly. Your phone, tablet, receipt printer, cash drawer and barcode scanner can usually move to another POS. Card readers are tied to their processor, so a Loyverse Payments, SumUp or Zettle reader only comes along if you stay with that processor. Check the new provider's compatibility list before you buy anything.
Is there a free POS that takes cards offline?
A few, usually on the vendor's own hardware. Of the free plans we checked, PayPal's app, Helcim and eHopper need a connection for card payments, and SumUp doesn't list an offline mode for POS Lite. Our offline POS guide explains how offline card payments work.
If you go with Square
Is Square a good alternative to Loyverse?
For most small businesses, yes. Square Free keeps your full sales history in the Dashboard, takes cards offline on supported Square hardware and includes an online site, invoices and booking. Loyverse's free plan wins on loyalty and a kitchen display. Our Square vs Loyverse comparison goes line by line.
Can I move my Loyverse items into Square?
Yes. Export items and customers from Loyverse's Back Office as CSV files. Square Dashboard imports items with its item library template and customers into the customer directory. Sales history doesn't carry over, so save your reports first.