FooSales and OpenPOS agree on the thing that matters most: your data belongs on your own WordPress site. FooSales says so plainly — “all of your data remains on your own website, tablet or computer” — and it is true. Neither product parks your sales history in a vendor’s cloud.
They disagree about how you pay for the software, and about what happens on the day you stop.
The clause that decides it
From FooSales’ own documentation: after the free trial, “you will need to purchase a FooSales Plan in order to continue using the apps.”
This is not an updates-and-support subscription. It is a subscription to keep the register running. Stop paying and the till stops, even though the data on your own server is untouched. FooSales lists Core at $19 per month (up to three users or devices) and Plus at $38 per month, billed annually, per site.
OpenPOS is a one-time purchase for the site, with lifetime updates. There is a separate, optional support service you can renew when you want a human to answer your questions — but the register does not stop if you let it lapse. Nothing about your shop depends on a payment going through next January.
Cost over three years
| FooSales | OpenPOS | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Annual subscription, per site | One-time purchase, per site |
| Core / Plus | $19/mo · $38/mo (billed annually) | Single price, all features |
| Users and devices | Core caps at 3; more are a paid add-on | Unlimited cashiers and registers |
| If you stop paying | The apps stop working | The register keeps running |
| 36-month software cost | ≈ $684 (Core) / ≈ $1,368 (Plus) | Paid once |
Note the users-and-devices line. Core’s cap of three is the sort of limit you meet on a Saturday, not on a spreadsheet — the manager’s tablet, two tills and a phone for stocktaking is already four.
Where FooSales is genuinely better
- True native apps. A real iPad app and a real Android tablet app, not a browser pretending. They feel better under a finger than any web app does, and they handle the tablet’s quirks properly.
- Offline mode with an export safety net. It falls offline automatically, resyncs on reconnect, and offers an XML export/import as a backstop.
- Focus. It does retail on a tablet, cleanly, without a settings screen that takes an afternoon.
Where OpenPOS is better
- Pay once. No renewal that can switch off your till.
- No user or device caps. Unlimited cashiers, registers and outlets on the licensed site.
- Restaurant and café mode. Floor plans, table merge and transfer, kitchen display screens. FooSales names restaurants as a use case but ships no table management.
- Multi-outlet and warehouse stock with transfers, adjustments and a live overview.
- Wider payment integrations: Stripe Terminal, Square Terminal, Authorize.net, BlockChyp, Clearent, Vipps, LayBuy.
- Hardware breadth: scanners, scales, decimal stock, cash drawers, barcode label printing, cloud printing via Star CloudPRNT and PrintNode.
Which should you choose?
Choose FooSales if a polished native tablet app is the single most important thing to you; if three users is genuinely enough; if you would rather rent software than own it, and the monthly figure is small enough that you never think about it.
Choose OpenPOS if you dislike the idea that a lapsed card ends trading; if you have more than three staff or devices; if you run a café or restaurant; if you need multiple outlets, warehouses or a digital scale.
Frequently asked questions
Do both keep my data on my own site?
Yes. This is the strongest thing FooSales and OpenPOS have in common, and it is the main reason to prefer either over a hosted platform.
Does OpenPOS have a native iPad app?
It is a Progressive Web App: you add it to the home screen and it launches full-screen, with the catalogue cached for offline use. There is no App Store download and no per-device fee, but FooSales’ native apps are a fair advantage. We wrote about what a PWA can and cannot reach on each platform.
Does FooSales do table service?
No table maps or kitchen display screens are documented. If you need them, this comparison is short.
What happens to OpenPOS if I never renew support?
The register runs and updates as before. You queue behind customers with active support if you need help.
FooSales pricing and the licence-lapse behaviour above were read from foosales.com and help.foosales.com in July 2026, USD listings. Verify before deciding.
Ring up a sale on the live demo (admin / admin123). OpenPOS is bought once and keeps working — or start with the free OpenPOS Lite on WordPress.org.