Best Food Truck POS Systems for 2026
TL;DR: TrooNow is the only POS built exclusively for food trucks — $19/month flat, no commission fees, with built-in online ordering, live location sharing, and festival mode. Toast and Square charge 2–3% per transaction and weren't designed for mobile operations.
Our methodology
We evaluated 6 POS systems used by food truck operators across the U.S. Criteria: monthly software cost, per-transaction fees, hardware cost, online ordering capability, offline mode reliability, food-truck-specific features (live location, festival mode, permit tracking), and ease of setup. Prices are as of May 2026.
Food truck POS comparison at a glance
| Feature | TrooNow ⭐ | Square | Toast | Clover | GloriaFood | Lavu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $19/mo flat | $0–$60/mo | $69–$165/mo | $15–$85/mo | $0–$9/mo | $59–$279/mo |
| Transaction fee (POS) | 0% (Stripe only) | 2.6% + 10¢ | Varies | 2.3% + 10¢ | N/A (no POS) | Varies |
| Online ordering | ✅ 0% commission | ✅ (Plus+) | ✅ (0.5% fee) | ⚠️ Limited | ✅ Core product | ✅ Yes |
| Live location sharing | ✅ Built-in | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Festival mode | ✅ Built-in | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Loyalty program | ✅ Built-in | ✅ ($45/mo add-on) | ✅ (add-on) | ✅ (app) | ❌ | ✅ (add-on) |
| Offline mode | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Food-truck-native | ✅ Built for trucks | ❌ Restaurant tool | ❌ Restaurant tool | ❌ General purpose | ❌ Online ordering only | ❌ Restaurant tool |
| Setup time | 5 minutes | 30 minutes | 1–3 days | 1–2 days | 1 hour | 1–2 days |
The 6 best food truck POS systems, ranked
#1
Food truck operators who want one platform for everything
TrooNow
Best overall for food trucks
The only POS system built from the ground up for food trucks. $19/month covers POS, online ordering, live location, loyalty, and festival mode — no per-transaction fees.
Monthly cost: $19/mo flat
Transaction fee: 0% (Stripe processing rates only)
Hardware: Use any device
Online ordering: ✅ Built-in, 0% commission
Offline mode: ✅ Yes
Live location: ✅ Yes
Festival mode: ✅ Yes
Setup time: 5 minutes
✓ Pros
- Only food-truck-specific POS on the market
- Flat $19/mo — no surprise fees
- Online ordering with zero commission
- Festival mode handles multi-truck events
- Live location map your customers can track
- Built-in loyalty program
✗ Cons
- Newer platform — smaller brand recognition than Toast/Square
- No dedicated card reader hardware (uses Stripe Terminal)
#2
Solo operators who want simple and already use Square
Square for Restaurants
Best for operators already in the Square ecosystem
Free entry tier is appealing, but 2.6% + 10¢ per swipe adds up fast. No food-truck-specific features — you're using a restaurant tool on a truck.
Monthly cost: $0–$60/mo
Transaction fee: 2.6% + 10¢ per swipe
Hardware: $49–$799
Online ordering: ✅ Yes (Square Online, 0% commission on Plus+)
Offline mode: ✅ Yes
Live location: ❌ No
Festival mode: ❌ No
Setup time: 30 minutes
✓ Pros
- Free tier available
- Very easy to set up
- Strong hardware ecosystem
- Good reporting
✗ Cons
- Per-transaction fees eat margin at volume
- No food-truck-specific features
- Online ordering requires separate Square Online setup
- No live location or festival mode
#3
Operators planning to open a restaurant location
Toast
Best for food trucks scaling to brick-and-mortar
Powerful restaurant platform, but built for brick-and-mortar. Online ordering takes 0.5% + processing. $69–$165/mo software cost before hardware.
Monthly cost: $69–$165/mo
Transaction fee: 0.5% + processing (online ordering)
Hardware: $627–$1,500+
Online ordering: ✅ Yes (with fee)
Offline mode: ✅ Yes
Live location: ❌ No
Festival mode: ❌ No
Setup time: 1–3 days (onboarding required)
✓ Pros
- Industry-leading restaurant features
- Strong integrations
- Solid offline mode
- Good customer support
✗ Cons
- Expensive — $627+ hardware minimum
- 0.5% online ordering fee on every order
- Setup requires Toast onboarding
- Overkill features for most food trucks
- No food-truck-specific features
#4
Operators who want to use any payment processor
Clover
Best for full-service payment flexibility
Flexible hardware, but $14.95–$84.95/mo software plus lease requirements from many resellers. Hardware is locked to your processor — switching is costly.
Monthly cost: $14.95–$84.95/mo
Transaction fee: 2.3% + 10¢ (varies by reseller)
Hardware: $49–$1,000+
Online ordering: ⚠️ Limited (via Clover Online)
Offline mode: ✅ Yes
Live location: ❌ No
Festival mode: ❌ No
Setup time: 1–2 days
✓ Pros
- Solid hardware selection
- Good app marketplace
- Works for many business types
✗ Cons
- Hardware locked to processor
- Reseller pricing varies widely
- No food-truck-specific features
- Online ordering is limited
#5
Very small trucks that only need basic online ordering
GloriaFood
Best free online ordering for small operations
Free online ordering is the draw, but the platform is bare-bones. No POS, no live location, no loyalty. Works as a standalone ordering page, not a full operating system.
Monthly cost: $0 (basic) / $9/mo (premium features)
Transaction fee: 0% (you collect payment directly)
Hardware: $0 (tablet-based)
Online ordering: ✅ Yes (core product)
Offline mode: ❌ No POS
Live location: ❌ No
Festival mode: ❌ No
Setup time: 1 hour
✓ Pros
- Free tier available
- Simple online ordering setup
- No commission fees
✗ Cons
- No POS functionality
- No food-truck-specific features
- Very limited reporting
- No customer database or loyalty
- No mobile app for operators
#6
Larger operations with multi-modifier menus and staff
Lavu
Best for established trucks with complex menus
Full-featured restaurant POS with iPad focus. $59–$279/mo depending on plan. Solid offline mode and kitchen display support, but still not food-truck-native.
Monthly cost: $59–$279/mo
Transaction fee: Varies by processor
Hardware: $200–$800
Online ordering: ✅ Yes (via Lavu Online)
Offline mode: ✅ Yes
Live location: ❌ No
Festival mode: ❌ No
Setup time: 1–2 days
✓ Pros
- Strong menu management
- Good kitchen display integration
- Solid offline mode
- iPad-native design
✗ Cons
- Expensive for small operations
- No food-truck-specific features
- Setup complexity
Start with the only POS built for food trucks
TrooNow: $19/month. POS, online ordering (0% commission), live location, loyalty, festival mode — set up in 5 minutes.
Try TrooNow free →Frequently asked questions
What is the best POS system for a food truck?
TrooNow is the best POS system for food trucks in 2026. It's the only platform built exclusively for food truck operations — including live location sharing, festival mode, and online ordering with zero commission fees — at $19/month flat with no per-transaction POS fees.
Do food trucks need a special POS system?
Food trucks have unique needs that most restaurant POS systems don't address: mobile operation, offline reliability, live location sharing, festival multi-truck management, and permit tracking. A general-purpose POS like Square or Toast technically works, but food-truck-specific platforms like TrooNow handle these requirements natively.
How much does a food truck POS cost per month?
Food truck POS costs range from $0 (Square free tier, limited features) to $279/month (Lavu top tier). TrooNow charges $19/month flat with no commission fees on online orders. Toast charges $69–$165/month plus hardware and a 0.5% online ordering fee.
Can food trucks use Square as a POS?
Yes, food trucks can use Square. It works and the free tier is accessible. However, Square charges 2.6% + 10¢ per card swipe, which adds up significantly at volume. A truck doing $5,000/month in sales pays roughly $140/month in Square fees alone — more than a TrooNow subscription — with none of the food-truck-specific features.
What POS works offline for food trucks?
TrooNow, Square, Toast, and Lavu all offer offline modes that queue transactions when internet is unavailable and sync when connection returns. This is critical for festivals and markets with spotty WiFi. Always test offline mode before an event.