If you’re looking for a new restaurant point-of-sale system for your restaurant, you’ve probably heard SpotOn mentioned alongside Square POS, TouchBistro, NCR Aloha, Toast, and others. As one of the leading software and payments companies in the field, SpotOn is a favorite among restaurant operators, managers, and staff alike, thanks to its tremendous value, ease-of-use, and personalized support. While both systems offer comprehensive cloud-based point-of-sale solutions, SpotOn consistently scores higher than Square POS in real user reviews across numerous categories for restaurants*.
In addition to its top-rated restaurant point-of-sale, SpotOn offers commission-free online ordering with full POS integration, 2-way texting, pacing controls, advanced reporting, and the free GoTo Place app – built specifically for restaurants and their guests, featuring the restaurant's branding and menu. Additionally, SpotOn is the first POS company to offer an AI-powered P&L analysis tool, Profit Assist, helping restaurants save 4.3% on overall costs, on average.
It's all part of SpotOn's commitment to empowering independent restaurants with the tools they need to improve profitability and guest relationships, with fair, affordable, and transparent POS pricing.
Let’s take a look at the differences between SpotOn vs Square POS systems so you can make an educated decision about which solution makes the most sense for your restaurant.
About SpotOn Restaurant POS
SpotOn is a software and payments company that’s quickly garnered a reputation for providing the technology and support that helps local businesses—and the people who run them—to succeed on their own terms. Known for its flexible, cloud-based technology and personalized support, SpotOn offers an end-to-end platform to accept payments, boost revenue, streamline operations, and create exceptional guest experiences. SpotOn’s integrated product set for restaurants includes point-of-sale, online ordering, labor management, QR order & pay, waitlist & reservations, marketing & loyalty, automated cost analysis and comprehensive reporting.
G2 recently named SpotOn as the #1 Restaurant POS System in Fall 2025, outranking other competing point-of-sale companies. G2 reviewers specifically mention how they enjoy SpotOn's support that connects to real people, a seamless user experience for FOH and BOH systems, and more.
SpotOn provides intuitive technology that "works the way you work,” and backs it up with a 24/7 support team that make sure it always does—with fairness, flexibility, and a personal touch. Many of SpotOn's employees have worked in hospitality for years and deliver the level of expert service and support that sets SpotOn apart from other POS companies.
About Square POS system
Square POS is a payment technology company that became well known by independent sellers using their mobile card reader. In addition to mobile payment solutions, they offer point-of-sale systems for small to medium-sized businesses, including restaurants and cafes. The system includes features like integrated payment processing, inventory and sales reporting, and customer management, among others. As one of the most well-known point-of-sale providers, Square serves a vibrant community of sellers of various types and sizes.
Square POS vs SpotOn | G2 comparison
Choosing the right POS system is essential for your restaurant’s operations, but it’s not always easy to compare cloud-based POS solutions with similar offerings. To compare Square POS vs SpotOn, we rely on ratings from G2, a trusted third-party service that uses real user reviews to help businesses find the right software solutions. G2 conducts quarterly reports designed to rank software and help companies make informed buying decisions.
Results are current as of November 10, 2025, based on real user reviews and rankings from G2
As you can see in the comparison chart above, SpotOn outranks Square POS in key categories, including Quality of Support, Satisfaction, and overall G2 Score. User reviews on G2 also call out the high level of service and support SpotOn provides:
Love the team that come with Spot on! I have worked with Aloha, Toast, and Square over the past 12 years of owning restaurants in San Francisco and Oakland. But, the biggest asset is the team that come with the [SpotOn] account...They are so knowledgeable and flexible.
- Verified User
Methodology: G2 Score
G2 uses a proprietary algorithm to rank products based on reviews gathered from the user community as well as data aggregated from online sources and social networks. The result of this algorithm is the G2 Score, which is a standardized score used to compare products within the same G2 category.
Square POS vs SpotOn | Capterra comparison
What do other third-party review sites say? Capterra is a trusted online service that helps organizations find the right software solutions for their operations. In addition to providing an overall rating, Capterra provides specific scores across various categories including ease of use, customer service, features, and value for money.
The downside of comparing Capterra reviews for Square POS, in particular, is that their reviews and scores include numerous business types other than restaurants – retailers, professional services, ecommerce businesses, salons, and other small business types that Square serves well. For this reason, we find that G2 is a better comparison when shopping for best fit in a restaurant.
As you can see in the comparison grid below, both SpotOn and Square POS are highly rated by real users, scoring 4 out of 5 or higher in most major categories.
Results current as of 11/10/2025 based on Capterra ratings from verified user reviews. Ratings are collected on a 1-to-5 basis.
Ease of use
SpotOn received a Capterra score of 4.0 for its ease of use, slightly lower than Square POS’s score of 4.6. Users love that SpotOn is quick and easy for staff to learn and helps managers immediately make back-office changes and real-time menu adjustments on all stations, including across multiple locations.
Customer service
In the customer service category, Square POS edges out SpotOn with a Capterra score of 4.4 to 4.2. SpotOn users appreciate the personalized implementation and training, quick response times, availability of local sales reps, proactive post-install support, and clear communication throughout the process.'
I recently had an issue that our Client Success Partner helped me out with and exceeded my expectations! She helped me resolve a transition issue from my old POS and allowed us to close the book on it completely. Very much appreciated!
-Bill C.
Features
When it comes to features, SpotOn scored 4.2, compared to Square POS's 4.7. Users love SpotOn Restaurant POS's ability to adapt to their front- and back-of-house operations and its easy-to-understand and customizable reporting. Restaurant operators also value the integrated software solutions that work together seamlessly, like QR order & pay, online ordering, waitlist/reservations, digital loyalty, labor management, and handheld devices.
Value for money
With an average Capterra score of 4.2, SpotOn is nearly comparable to Square POS's score of 4.5 when it comes to value for money. Users love SpotOn’s transparent pricing, no junk charges, and overall features for a fair price. One user even reported that SpotOn costs 90% less than their previous POS company.
Square POS system: overall strengths
According to user reviews, Square POS is a powerful tool for businesses looking for an all-in-one solution that combines user-friendly design, rich analytics, and mobile capabilities. In particular, users like it because they can take it anywhere and because it's so easy to use. Users also love that Square makes the checkout experience easy for guests.
Square POS system: overall weaknesses
Square POS users have complained about high credit card processing fees, which can have a negative impact on restaurants' profit margins. Additionally, some Square POS users have reported the system crashing as well as difficulty getting a hold of Square POS’s customer service. Perhaps the biggest complaint from restaurant operators is about having no on-site implementation or on-site support.
For restaurants, in particular, which often have complex operations including menus with modifiers, table layouts, and multiple employee roles and permissions, Square may cause extra work and headaches in the form of having to program your POS yourself and troubleshoot issues on your own.
As of time of publication, Square only offers limited phone support for the first 90 days of their free plan, and support Monday-Friday from 6am-6pm in their "Plus" plan. In order to access 24/7 phone support like SpotOn offers, you would have to upgrade to Square Premium for $149/location.
Lastly, payment processing rates with Square can be costly, particularly for restaurants operating at high volumes or with high average tickets. As of time of publication, Square's advertised processing fee rate for tap, dip, or swipe on their Square Plus plan was 2.5% +15c per transaction. For a $100 transaction, that comes to $2.65 in transaction fees, which would be 15.5% higher than the same transaction with SpotOn's standard processing rates.
*Square plan and pricing details accurate as of date of publication. Source: https://squareup.com/us/en/pricing
SpotOn delivers over Square POS
In today’s challenging hospitality environment, you're faced with rising costs, changing guest expectations, and a seemingly never-ending labor shortage. SpotOn’s team of restaurant technology experts can help you meet these and future challenges with flexible solutions and personalized service and support.
As Kevin Bryla, SpotOn’s CMO and Head of Customer Experience, noted with the release of Capterra’s competitive comparison, “It’s an incredibly challenging time to run a restaurant, so we’re focused on simplifying business for operators—delivering strong, stable tech that is easy to use and makes staff training simple; building integrations or partnerships that streamline operations; answering the phone when our clients need us.”
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*This content is provided for informational purposes only. All claims based on real user reviews from third-party review sites, G2 and Capterra.
