The self-hosted Square POS alternative
Vendra: Self-hosted POS and inventory that will not sell below zero recorded stock, even when two tills sell the last unit at the same moment. Own it once, run it on your own server, and stop paying Square POS every month.
Stop renting Square POS.
Vendra2 months of Square POS costs what Vendra costs once.
Buy onceHow we counted: Per location. Figures verified on Square's own press page announcing the Free/Plus/Premium plans (the pricing page renders prices via JS). Honest note: Square's free tier charges per card transaction - and Vendra records card tenders, it does not process cards. If you need software that takes the payment itself, Square is your tool; if you have a card terminal and want the till, stock ledger and data to be yours, that is Vendra.
Square's Plus plan costs $49 per month per business location, so pricing scales up as a business opens more locations.
“Square Plus ($49/month per location) offers everything in Square Free, along with advanced POS features across all seven point-of-sale modes”, their own page, read 2026-08-11
Square's top Premium tier includes 24/7 phone support and advanced reporting.
“as well as 24/7 phone support and advanced reporting, at the lowest processing rate of 2.4% + 15¢ for in person payments.”, their own page
If you need built-in online card payment processing or plan to run multiple store locations under one HQ, stay with Square — Vendra only records cash/card tender (it doesn't process cards online) and runs one shop per installation, with no multi-store head office.
What Vendra deliberately doesn't do is on its product page.
Why owning beats renting Square POS.
No monthly, per-seat or per-location fees. The license is perpetual.
It never lives in Square POS's cloud.
Records and users are limited by your hosting, not by a pricing tier.
Self-hosted software can't be sunset or repriced out from under you.
The fair trade-offs: you host it, back it up and apply updates yourself. See the product page for its limits, and the full Vendra vs renting comparison.
Questions about moving off Square POS.
Does it process card payments online?
Can I run multiple stores?
Does barcode scanning need special drivers?
MySQL or SQLite?
Related on this site
Sources
- Square POS: price checked 2026-09-03, source“$49/month per location”
Competitor prices change, so always confirm on the linked page. We only print figures we could verify on the date shown. This vendor is tracked in the Price Observatory: every figure verbatim, dated, re-checked quarterly.