Shopify POS Guide: Free vs POS Pro, Hardware and Setup
Shopify POS is the app for selling in person from the same Shopify admin as your website, and its basic features come with every Shopify plan at no extra cost. POS Pro adds retail features per location: Shopify lists it at $89 a month per location in the US, billed yearly. To start you need a smartphone or tablet, a Shopify card reader and a location for the shop or stall.
What Shopify POS includes and what POS Pro adds
The comparison follows Shopify’s POS pricing page, read on October 31, 2026, and the POS Help Center pages, read on October 23, 2026.
| Included with your plan (“Casual” in-person selling) | POS Pro (+$89 USD per location per month) | |
|---|---|---|
| Staff using POS | Limited | Unlimited |
| Roles and permissions | Not listed | Yes |
| Customer profiles | Simple | Rich, with loyalty insights |
| Returns and exchanges | Original purchase location only | Any location |
| Inventory management | Not listed | Yes |
| Retail reports | Not listed | Professional retail reports |
| Omnichannel selling | Not listed | Listed as Pro only |
| In-person pickup orders, receiving transfers, cash controls | Not listed | Pro only, per the Spring ’26 Edition |
In the US, with the pricing page set to monthly billing, the plans start at $27 a month for Basic, $72 for Grow and $399 for Advanced (Advanced on a one- or three-year term), and POS Pro adds $89 a month per location, billed yearly. A single shop on Grow with POS Pro therefore starts at $161 a month before hardware. On Shopify Plus the first 20 POS Pro locations are included. Prices differ by country, so read the page for yours. If your store is in the EU, you might need to meet regional point of sale requirements, and the Help Center has a page for them.
Hardware by setup
Shopify’s pricing page names the minimum: a smartphone or tablet and a Shopify card reader, with stands, scanners and printers optional. Orders and inventory then sync with your admin across retail locations, the online store and other active channels. The rest depends on where you sell.
- Market stall or pop-up: a card reader, plus a barcode scanner if you carry many SKUs. A device stand and a receipt printer are optional.
- Shop counter: card reader, barcode scanner, cash drawer, receipt printer and a stand. Shopify also sells the Shopify POS Hub, and hardware kits.
- Several locations: the same list per location, and POS Pro if your staff need roles and permissions or returns at any location.
Shopify’s hardware page lists card readers, device stands, barcode scanners, cash drawers, receipt printers, barcode printers, accessories, POS Hub, POS Go and hardware kits, and Shopify sells hardware only in select regions, so check what your country’s store offers before you buy. The Spring ’26 Edition added the Verifone Victa Mobile, which scans barcodes, takes payments and works as a counter terminal when docked; at the time of reading it was on pre-order in the US and Canada.
Set up POS step by step
- Create a POS account and choose the subscription. Install the POS app on iOS or Android.
- Set up the location where you sell under Settings > Locations.
- Connect hardware, if you use any.
- Set up payment methods. In the EU, check the regional requirements first.
- Add staff and, on POS Pro, give each a role with only the permissions they need; the staff training checklist in the Help Center helps here.
- Customize the app in the POS editor and set up your network for the device.
- Run a test sale, a refund and a return before the first real customer.
The Help Center lists setup sections for payment methods, staff training, mobile device management and securing your POS setup. Cross-channel flows are in Shopify omnichannel, collecting online orders in the shop in local pickup, and the local-sales angle in Shopify for local businesses.
What changed in POS in 2026
Shopify’s Spring ’26 Edition, read on October 31, 2026, brought a faster POS app and these changes:
- Refunds, exchanges and new sales go through one cart, so a size swap is a single transaction.
- The admin can generate QR codes for discounts that customers show and staff scan at checkout, and code-based or automatic discounts can be set to apply only in person.
- Low-balance gift cards can be cashed out in POS, to meet local redemption laws.
- Staff with the right permission can enable offline checkout per device.
- A new permission controls which staff can see customer names, emails and addresses.
Pickup orders created at the counter, receiving transfers and cash drawer controls arrived as POS Pro features.
Offline payments and security
Offline card payments are optional, and Shopify’s offline payments page in the POS Help Center sets the rules. You need POS app version 9.14.0 or later, a compatible reader such as Verifone Victa, POS Go, POS Terminal, Tap & Chip, Chipper 2X BT or Wisepad 3, and staff with the Accept offline credit and debit payments permission. Turn it on under Sales channels > Point of Sale > Customize the in-store experience > POS app > Checkout > Allow offline payments, and set a device daily limit and a transaction limit. Manual card entry (MOTO), swipe cards and Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android do not work offline, Canadian stores cannot take Interac offline and offline payments are not available for retail locations in France. Shopify asks you to reconnect as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours, because the payment is captured only then, which can end in declines.
For security, Shopify’s chargeback guidance for in-person sales points to chip and contactless payments, and to switching manual card entry off per device. Give staff only the permissions they need (roles and permissions are a POS Pro feature), and keep devices under mobile device management if you run several. Shop Pay at POS works through a QR code the customer scans; the purchase completes on shop.com. The wider list of topics for a new shop is in the running a store hub.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shopify POS free? The basic features are included in every Shopify plan at no extra cost. POS Pro costs extra per location, and hardware is bought separately.
Does POS work offline? Offline card payments are optional and limited: they need the settings, permission and compatible reader above, with a daily device limit and a transaction limit that you set.
Can I use POS without a website? POS needs a Shopify store and a location, and the Help Center notes that you can sell in retail stores, pop-ups and other locations. An online storefront is not part of the requirements it lists.