Best SkyTab POS alternatives: Mobile ordering, real-time reporting & customer management.
Looking for top SkyTab POS alternatives that actually fit the way your restaurant operates?
Today, more cloud-based and mobile-friendly POS systems are emerging with increasingly promising features. In fact, the global restaurant POS terminal market size for hardware and software is expected to reach $38 billion by 2030.
As a result, restaurants are now ditching their outdated POS systems, favoring flexible, easy-to-use, and cost-effective POS platforms that do more than just ring up sales.
Let’s break down the best SkyTab alternatives for 2025 based on user reviews, real-world performance, and third-party ratings to help you choose the best restaurant POS software for your business needs.
SkyTab is a cloud-based POS system built specifically for hospitality businesses. It includes a sleek POS station, handheld devices, and mobile apps like SkyTab Air and InCharge.
Key features include:
Their POS is powered by Shift4, offering built-in payment processing, secure payment options, and support. This is good for various restaurant types, including full-service restaurants, quick-service spots, bars & nightclubs, coffee shops, and pizza shops, to name a few.
Despite these features, some users report challenges with third-party integrations, customization, and long-term pricing visibility, especially when locked into Shift4 processing.
Before you commit, here’s a quick look at what SkyTab gets right and where it might fall short for growing restaurants.
Pros:
Cons:
If you’ve outgrown your current system or feel boxed in by SkyTab’s features, there are a host of other POS solutions that can provide you with the speed, scalability, and control you need to drive more sales.
Modern restaurants need platforms that offer mobile access, deep guest insights, and hands-on support. This shift isn’t even about what your current system lacks. It’s about discovering what new innovative tools can offer greater long-term value for the success of your business.
The best POS system for your business streamlines the checkout process, reduces operational costs, and helps increase overall efficiency, all while fitting your budget.
Here’s a quick side-by-side comparison of how the top POS alternatives compare.
Read here if you’re looking for Lightspeed POS alternatives.
With so many POS options available, we’ve hand-picked five great options that can help you run restaurant operations with less stress.
These POS systems were chosen for their ease of use, integration into restaurant day-to-day operations, and ability to grow with your business.
Toast is an all-in-one system for restaurants with mid-to-large-scale operations or multiple locations. You get order management, menu customization, and guest loyalty features all in one place. It gives you control over your restaurant operations, from the front of house to the back office.
Toast is a good pick if you want to enhance guest experience and use a POS that can do it all.
The Peppr POS system is a fast and simple platform that’s designed for independent restaurants. It’s a great upgrade if you want to speed up service and keep things running smoothly. Servers can take orders on the go using handheld POS systems, reducing wait times and improving staff productivity.
Peppr has built-in payment processing, secure payment options, and supports contactless payments with multiple methods. You can also modify your menu at any time, review analytics, and access detailed reports.
Peppr is perfect if you want a system that offers all-in-one functionality, with service, and can integrate with other systems like DoorDash, 7Shifts, and BevCheck.
TouchBistro is a smart and affordable choice if you run a sit-down restaurant. It has offline functionality, which is ideal for restaurants that are a bit off-grid. TouchBistro also comes with a user-friendly interface and allows for menu and floor plan customization.
TouchBistro is a reliable choice for smaller or independent restaurants that want control without complexity.
The Lightspeed Restaurant POS is good for large restaurants. It comes with a dashboard with insights to help you look at your sales with real-time analytics. It also comes with CRM tools and API access for customization.
Lightspeed is a good alternative for restaurant owners who want control over data, guest engagement, and expansion strategy.
Square is a great fit for new restaurants that just want something that works. They offer fast setup, payment processing, and secure payment options. Square is a good option for anyone who wants to simplify transactions and save time without spending a lot of money.
Peppr gives you everything you need to manage your restaurant with fast setup, built-in payments, and reporting designed for the industry.
Peppr’s handheld POS device lets your team take orders, send them to the kitchen, and collect payments, right at the table. No more running back and forth or mixing up tickets. It helps reduce wait times, ensures orders are accurate, and allows your staff to focus on your guests.
Changing your menu shouldn’t require a tech degree. Easily customize items, add modifiers, and update availability in real time. Set up Taco Tuesdays or let the system know you have a sold-out dish all from one screen.
Everything your staff needs is built into Peppr’s POS. No extra devices needed. Guests can pay, tip, and get a receipt in seconds. It’s fast, easy, and supports multiple payment methods, including contactless payments.
Peppr helps you move faster, serve smarter, and cut down on chaos with tools that fit the way your team works.
With Peppr, you get to enjoy:
Peppr is your go-to SkyTab alternative for restaurants that want to boost efficiency without complicating operations.
Look for a POS that’s easy to use, has integrated payments, supports fast ordering, provides real-time reporting, and can scale as your restaurant grows.
Yes. You can import your menu, guest data, and settings. Peppr has an onboarding team that does all the heavy lifting and migrates any necessary information. They also have an experienced support team to guide you through the transition.
All of these SkyTab alternatives support integrated payments, but not all of them offer tipping functionality as a core feature. SkyTab alternatives that have tipping features include Peppr, Toast, TouchBistro, and Lightspeed. Square includes tipping, but configuration and visibility vary by plan.
Lightspeed offers built-in or optional tools for guest loyalty, CRM, and engagement. Peppr’s loyalty and CRM features are being added later in 2025.
Switching from SkyTab to Peppr is easy. Peppr’s support team will provide training on how to use them, and most restaurant staff can learn to take orders in just one shift.
Yes. Most providers offer hardware bundles and require you to use them. Peppr requires Peppr hardware, Toast requires Toast hardware, and so on. However, some POS systems let you use your own devices.