Where the free plans stop and the trade-offs begin
Five options sit on our POS systems ranking, and the first thing a buyer notices is that every one of them includes a free plan. That flattens the headline comparison, so the useful differences sit one layer down: what the entry price is, what the free tier lets you run, and how a vendor behaves once you outgrow what it gave away.
Entry price is the quickest way to sort them. SpotOn, Toast POS and Upserve each list an entry price of $0, $0 and $0 in US dollars, so their free route really does cost nothing to start. JATSAPP lists an entry price of $1 in US dollars and adds a trial of 30 on top of its free plan, while Payrexx pairs its free plan with a trial of 30.
For scale, entry prices across the wider set of POS systems run €0 to €218.36. Put that span next to your own figures before you read a single product page, because a vendor page rarely tells you what an extra register, an extra terminal or a second location costs.
Plan, price and the billing period you are actually signing
All five are sold on a free plan, recorded as a free plan rather than a trial for SpotOn, Toast POS and Upserve, and as a free plan plus a free trial for JATSAPP. That describes the pricing model rather than the tier names, so it tells you a free route exists without telling you which paid tier sits above it.
This gap is where budgets get surprised. Ask each vendor for the paid tier list with the billing period attached, because an entry price of $1 says nothing about what the tier above costs per month, and a free plan says nothing about what happens at renewal. Put every answer in the same units before you compare them, since a monthly figure and an annual figure are not the same promise.
Limits and quotas, read line by line
The free tiers differ more in their limits than in their prices, and each vendor words the same idea differently. SpotOn states its usage limit as $0 per station All-In plan, which frames the free tier around stations rather than around products.
Toast POS states its usage limit as Up to 2 terminals, a cap on hardware rather than on catalogue. Upserve describes a location limit instead: GO free plan for single location. JATSAPP caps both catalogue and seats: 1 product on entry plan, with 100 users included.
Treat those lines as a hiring test. Run several tills and a station or terminal cap settles the question before any feature list does. Sell a broad catalogue and a product cap on the entry plan settles it, so price the next plan up and check whether the paid tier lifts the cap or simply charges more for the same limit.
Who each vendor is built for
Audience claims split the field in two. SpotOn and Upserve each name small business and enterprise and small business and enterprise, claiming to serve a small business and an enterprise customer. JATSAPP and Payrexx name small business and small business, which places them with small businesses only.
A vendor that names enterprise support usually has a sales conversation and a rollout plan ready, while a small business claim often means self serve pricing and self serve setup. Decide which of those you want before you compare quotes, because the enterprise route usually shows up in onboarding cost, contract length and how quickly a person answers the phone. A single site that plans to open another can read either claim and then ask the harder question: does the second location need its own paid tier?
Payments, platform and the help you get when a till dies
Scope matters as much as price, because a POS and a payments platform are not the same purchase. SpotOn and Upserve cover pos and payments and pos and payments, so registers and payment processing sit in one product and one contract. Toast POS and JATSAPP are listed as pos and pos, so card handling sits elsewhere unless a bundle is offered.
Platform reach is thinner. JATSAPP runs on web, a single environment to weigh if you work across several devices or want an install outside a browser. The other vendors do not list platforms in the same field, so ask what a register, a kitchen display and a handheld will each run on.
Support is the clearest reliability signal you can check before you buy anything. SpotOn offers phone and help centre, Upserve offers chat and help centre and JATSAPP offers email and phone. A phone line, live chat and an answer by email are different promises at different hours, and a person who answers during service is worth more than a ticket number. Ask Toast POS and Payrexx which channels come with their free plans, since the comparison above does not settle it.
The company behind the till
How long a vendor has been trading is a rough proxy for staying power, and it is quick to check. Upserve was founded in 2009, Payrexx in 2014 and SpotOn in 2017.
The contracting entity matters if you are signing anything or holding a merchant agreement. SpotOn trades as SpotOn Transact LLC and Upserve as Upserve, Inc., while the JATSAPP entity is Jamaica Application Technology Solutions. SpotOn lists its headquarters as US and Payrexx as CH, which hints at support hours and payment networks. For Toast POS, ask for the contracting entity before you hand over bank details. No founding year is listed for JATSAPP, so judge that one on its trial and on how fast its support replies.
A scorecard that settles it
Build a sheet with one column per fact that decides the purchase: entry price, free tier limit, support channels, and the entity you would sign with. Fill each row from the vendor's own pages, then read the SpotOn, Toast POS and Upserve write ups together, since the awkward answers tend to appear in the same places.
Then pressure test the shortlist. Ask every vendor what happens at your next step up: the price, the billing period, the new limit, and whether the free plan can be kept for a second site. Use the trials rather than a demo, loading real transactions during the 30 and 30 windows, and time a support question during service. That is evidence you cannot get from a pricing page.
Close on total cost rather than sticker price: hardware, processing rates, the paid tier, support and the staff time to switch. The JATSAPP and Payrexx reviews are a good place to check whether the vendors on your sheet behave the way their pages promise.