Comparing Shopify POS with a WooCommerce POS plugin is not really a comparison of two registers. It is a question about which platform your business is going to live on, because Shopify POS is not available to a WooCommerce store. Using it means moving.
So the honest framing is: is the in-store experience good enough to justify replatforming your entire online shop? For some businesses the answer is yes. Here is how to tell whether yours is one of them.
Shopify POS requires Shopify
Shopify POS Lite is included with any Shopify plan; POS Pro, the version with the retail features you would actually want, is an add-on at $89 per month per location on top of the base Shopify subscription. You cannot buy POS Pro without a Shopify store, and Shopify does not offer a first-party connector that keeps a WooCommerce catalogue in sync with it. Its migration tooling imports your store once. The strategy is replacement, not coexistence.
OpenPOS sits at the other end. It is a plugin. Your WooCommerce store keeps running exactly as it does today, and the register is another window onto the same products, stock and orders.
Cost, honestly
| Shopify POS | OpenPOS | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Shopify subscription required | Your existing WooCommerce site |
| POS software | Lite included; Pro $89/mo per location | One-time purchase, per site |
| Extra locations | Another $89/mo each | Unlimited, no charge |
| Card processing | Shopify Payments for integrated readers | Your own acquirer |
| Migration | Rebuild theme, URLs, integrations | None |
The line people forget is the last one. Replatforming costs a theme rebuild, a URL redirect map, re-integrating whatever your business depends on, and a period during which your SEO is unsettled. That is a real expense, paid once, and it belongs in the comparison.
Payments and lock-in
In-person card payments on Shopify’s own readers require Shopify Payments. There is an escape hatch — you can use an external terminal, particularly in countries where Shopify hardware is not sold — but then the payment is not integrated: the register records it as an external tender and someone keys the amount.
OpenPOS integrates Stripe Terminal, Square Terminal, Authorize.net, BlockChyp, Clearent, Vipps and LayBuy, and takes no share of any transaction. Your processing relationship stays yours.
Offline behaviour
Both keep selling when the internet drops, but they do different amounts.
Shopify POS can queue orders and, if you enable it in admin and grant staff the permission, capture card payments offline on tap and chip readers. Swipe cards, manual key-entry and Tap to Pay on phones are excluded, as are Interac in Canada and eftpos in Australia. The card is not verified until you are back online, so the decline risk is yours.
OpenPOS caches the catalogue on the device, keeps taking cash orders, prints receipts to a local printer, and syncs the queue when the connection returns. It cannot capture a card offline, because the processor is on the internet. We wrote up exactly what works and what does not rather than leave it vague.
Where Shopify POS is genuinely better
- One managed system. Online and in-store share a catalogue with no plugin, no bridge, and nobody to blame when something breaks.
- Hardware and Tap to Pay. A certified reader ecosystem, plus contactless acceptance on an iPhone or Android with no reader at all.
- Nothing to operate. No WordPress hosting, no plugin conflicts, no update Tuesdays, no self-managed PCI scope.
Where OpenPOS is better
- You do not have to move. Keep your WooCommerce site, your theme, your URLs and your plugins.
- No recurring fee, no per-location charge. One payment for the site, unlimited registers, cashiers and outlets.
- Your processor and your rate. No mandated payments provider.
- Restaurant mode included. Floor plans, table merge and transfer, kitchen display screens, no-touch ordering.
- Your database. Sales and customers stay in MySQL on your host.
Which should you choose?
Choose Shopify POS if you were already planning to leave WooCommerce, if you want one vendor accountable for everything, or if the retail features in POS Pro map exactly onto how you trade and you would rather buy than assemble.
Choose OpenPOS if your WooCommerce store is working and the only thing missing is a till; if you object to paying per location forever; if you run a café or restaurant and need tables and a kitchen screen; if owning your data matters.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep WooCommerce online and use Shopify POS in store?
Only through a third-party sync app, which reintroduces two databases and the oversell window between them. There is no first-party connector.
Is Shopify POS cheaper than OpenPOS?
For one location in the first months, possibly. Over three years, across two locations, with a Shopify subscription underneath it, almost certainly not. Do the arithmetic on your own numbers rather than on a pricing page.
Does OpenPOS support Tap to Pay on a phone?
Not natively. Card-present acceptance goes through a supported terminal. This is a genuine advantage Shopify has.
How many tills does an OpenPOS licence cover?
All of them, on that site. Registers, cashiers and outlets are unlimited.
Shopify pricing and offline behaviour above were read from Shopify’s own help and pricing pages in July 2026, US listings in USD. Plans, names and regional support change — check shopify.com before deciding.
Try the OpenPOS demo (admin / admin123) before you consider moving a whole storefront. OpenPOS is a one-time purchase, no subscription — or try the free OpenPOS Lite on WordPress.org first.