5 Best Café POS Systems in Australia — 2026

This guide looks at the 5 best café POS systems in Australia for 2026, based on real café needs, not marketing hype. The focus is on speed, reliability, support, hardware flexibility, merchant fees, and suitability for cafés.

A café POS today does much more than take payments. It controls how orders flow from counter to barista. It affects how fast queues move. It shows where money is being made or lost. It even influences whether staff enjoy working their shift or feel stressed.

The five systems covered are:

1. POSApt POS

2. Square

3. Lightspeed

4. Abacus

5. OrderMate

These systems represent different levels of café operations, from small takeaway coffee shops to busy table-service cafés and multi-site venues.

Why café POS systems are different

A café is not the same as retail, and it’s not the same as a full restaurant either. Cafés sit in the middle, which means the POS needs to handle high volume, fast transactions, and constant customisation.

Most cafés deal with:

• Morning rushes where speed matters more than anything

• Modifiers like milk types, sizes, syrups, and temperatures

• Mixed orders (coffee + food + takeaway)

• Staff who change often and need quick training

• Thin margins where merchant fees add up fast

A café POS must be fast, simple, and reliable, without forcing you to pay for features you never use.

What to look for in a café POS (2026 checklist)

Before choosing any POS, café owners should think about these areas:

Speed and usability

Your POS should:

• Let staff take an order in seconds

• Have large buttons and clear screens

• Handle modifiers without digging through menus

If staff hesitate at the screen, queues grow, and customers get annoyed.

Menu and modifiers

A good café POS:

• Handles sizes, milk options, extras and notes easily

• Let you update prices or specials quickly

• Supports combos like coffee + pastry

Payments and merchant fees

Most cafés take 80–95% card payments.Small differences in merchant fees can cost thousands per year.

You should know:

• Who processes payments

• Whether fees are fixed or negotiable

• Whether you can pass the fees to customers

Hardware flexibility

Cafés work best with:

• iPads or Android tablets at the counter

• Receipt printers behind the counter

• Kitchen printers or screens for the cook

• Optional handheld devices

Being locked into expensive proprietary hardware increases long-term costs.

Reporting and visibility

Even small cafés need:

• Daily sales summaries

• Item performance

• Simple staff reports

You don’t need complex data — but you do need clear numbers.

Support

When a POS goes down at 8:30 am, you don’t care about email tickets.You want real help, fast.

Support quality matters more than people realise.

5 Best Café POS Systems in Australia 2026

1) POSApt — Best all-round café POS for 2026

POSApt has become a strong option for Australian cafés because it balances features, cost, and support very well.

Designed with cafés in mind

POSApt is built specifically for hospitality. That means the workflows make sense for cafés, not retail stores pretending to be cafés.

You get:

• Fast order screens

• Simple modifier handling

• Easy switching between dine-in and takeaway

• Kitchen and barista routing

Everything is designed to keep service moving.

Hardware flexibility

POSApt works on:

• iPad

• Android tablets

This is important. Many cafés already own tablets, which saves a lot on setup costs. You are not forced into buying expensive terminals unless you want them.

Payments and fees

POSApt for Cafe offers a clear merchant fee of around 1.6% on its standard setup.There are no confusing tiers for basic café use.

Many cafés pass this fee on to customers through card surcharges, which protects margins. The fee level is reasonable and competitive.

Support that actually matters

One of POSApt’s biggest strengths is 24/7 human support.Not chatbots. Not “we’ll get back to you”.

This matters because café problems don’t happen during office hours.

Extra features cafés use

• Loyalty programs

• Gift cards

• Simple inventory alerts

• Kitchen display support

• Multiple terminals

Most cafés will never need more than what POSApt already includes.

Downsides to consider

• If you want to negotiate your own merchant deal, you may need to move to a paid setup

• Advanced enterprise reporting is not its focus

Best for

Small to medium cafés that want strong features without complexity, flexible hardware, and reliable support.

2) Square — Simple, flexible, and widely trusted

Square is one of the most common POS systems seen in Australian cafés, especially smaller and takeaway-focused venues.

Why cafés choose Square

Square is popular because it:

• Is easy to start

• Has minimal setup

• Works on almost any device

Staff often already know how to use it, which reduces training time.

Device support

Square works on:

• iPad

• Android tablets

• Smartphones

• Square’s own terminals

This flexibility makes it ideal for pop-ups, markets, and growing cafés.

Payments

Square requires you to use Square’s own merchant processing.The typical in-person fee is around 1.6%.

This is simple and transparent, but not negotiable. As cafés grow, some owners feel locked into the rate.

Café features

• Modifiers and item variants

• Fast checkout

• QR ordering options

• Online ordering integrations

Square is very good at the basics.

Where Square falls short

• You cannot bring your own merchant provider

• Advanced reporting and staff tools require paid plans

• Support quality can vary depending on the plan

Best for

Small cafés, takeaway coffee shops, mobile setups, and owners who value simplicity over customisation.

3) Lightspeed — Powerful for busy and hybrid cafés

Lightspeed sits at a higher level than Square or POSApt. It is designed for cafés that need strong reporting, stock control, or retail integration.

Why cafés move to Lightspeed

Lightspeed is often chosen by cafés that:

• Sell retail items (beans, merchandise)

• Have multiple locations

• Want detailed performance data

Strengths

• Advanced inventory management

• Strong reporting dashboards

• Integrations with accounting and e-commerce

• Multi-location control

This makes Lightspeed suitable for more complex operations.

Hardware

Lightspeed runs on:

• iPads

• Desktop terminals

Hardware costs are higher than tablet-only systems, but stability is strong.

Payments

Lightspeed works with payment partners, so merchant fees depend on the provider you choose. This gives flexibility, but also requires more setup.

Downsides

• Monthly subscription cost

• More features than many cafés need

• Steeper learning curve

Best for

Cafés that are growing, selling retail products, or managing multiple sites.

4) Abacus — Heavy-duty hospitality POS

Abacus is a traditional hospitality POS used by many large cafés, bars, and restaurants across Australia.

What Abacus does well

Abacus excels in:

• Table management

• Split bills

• Course control

• Kitchen routing

• Offline operation

It is built for busy venues where complexity is unavoidable.

Reliability

Abacus is known for being stable, even when the internet goes down. This matters for cafés in busy areas where downtime is costly.

Payments

Abacus integrates with third-party EFTPOS providers. Merchant fees depend on your agreement with the payment provider.

Costs

• Monthly software subscription

• Hardware bundles often sold through resellers

• Higher upfront investment

Downsides

• Overkill for small cafés

• Setup can be complex

• Higher cost compared to cloud-first systems

Best for

Large cafés, venues with heavy dine-in service, and high transaction volumes.

5) OrderMate — Long-standing hospitality favourite

OrderMate has been part of Australian hospitality for many years and remains a strong choice for cafés that need control and depth.

Why cafés choose OrderMate

• Strong order flow from counter to kitchen

• Reliable reporting

• Extensive integrations

• Good multi-site support

Café features

• Table and takeaway workflows

• Kitchen printing and display options

• Detailed sales and staff reports

Payments

OrderMate integrates with multiple merchant providers, allowing flexibility in fee negotiation.

Costs

• Monthly subscription

• Hardware and setup costs

• Ongoing support agreements

Downsides

• Not cheap

• More complex than entry-level POS

• Not ideal for tiny takeaway cafés

Best for

Established cafés with consistent volume and operational complexity.

Merchant fees and café profitability

Merchant fees are often misunderstood.

Most cafés:

• Pass card fees to customers

• Or absorb part of the cost

Either way, high merchant fees affect pricing decisions. If your fees are too high, you may need to raise prices, which can push customers away.

Example:

• Small café: $25,000 card sales per month

• Medium café: $80,000 card sales per month

At 1.6%:

• $400 per month

• $1,280 per month

At higher rates, the difference becomes noticeable very quickly.

Hardware decisions that save money

Many cafés overspend on hardware.

Tips:

• Use existing iPads or Android tablets if possible

• Buy printers once, not rentals

• Avoid locked-in terminals unless needed

• Choose systems that scale without replacing everything

Tablet-based POS systems are usually cheaper and easier to expand.

Common mistakes café owners make

• Choosing based on brand name only

• Ignoring merchant fees

• Paying for features they don’t use

• Underestimating the value of good support

• Not testing during peak hours

Final thoughts — choosing the right café POS in 2026

There is no single “best” POS for every café. The best system depends on:

• Your size

• Your volume

• Your service style

• Your growth plans

Quick recommendations

• POSApt — best overall value for most cafés

• Square — easiest to start and use

• Lightspeed — best for growth and retail mix

• Abacus — best for large, complex venues

• OrderMate — strong all-round hospitality system

A good POS should fade into the background, letting you focus on coffee, customers, and staff — not screens and problems.