Clover POS Review 2023

Clover is making waves with its smart processing hardware and app marketplace that allows business owners to build their perfect point-of-sale solution.
Clover
Clover
3.8 out of 5 stars
3.8
  • Icon Blank
    Starting at $0.00 per month
  • pro
    POS app market
  • pro
    Smart hardware
  • pro
    Hardware usable with third-party processors
  • con
    Expensive processing fees
  • con
    Free plan only includes mobile payments
Plan name
Monthly price
Get started
Full Service Dining$150.00-$299.00
Quick Service Dining$90.00-$175.00
Retail$60.00-$175.00
Professional Services$14.95-$120.00
Personal Services$50.00-$130.00

Data as of 2/7/23. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

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Clover is most well known for its point-of-sale (POS) hardware. In fact, you don’t even have to use Clover as your processor to access one of its terminals. That’s the secret to Clover’s business plan and why it should be on your radar.

Clover does provide its own processing services (which we will discuss later), but its hardware has been designed to integrate with many processing services. So it’s possible to access Clover’s smart POS terminals with a lot of flexibility on the processor you choose. This flexibility allows you to find a processor with the lowest fees.

Building your perfect POS solution may sound a little convoluted at first, but we’re here to help you find out how to make the most of what Clover has to offer.

Clover pricing

There are three main pricing categories to consider with Clover:

  • Clover payment processing costs
  • Clover hardware costs
  • Third-party payment processing costs

We will briefly cover each of these pricing categories and how they impact your decision-making process.

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Clover payment processing costs

PlansFull Service DiningQuick Service DiningRetailProfessional ServicesPersonal ServicesHome & field services
Monthly fee range$150.00-$299.00$90.00-$175.00$60.00-$175.00$14.95-$120.00$50.00-$130.00$14.95-$50.00
Card-present processing fee2.3% + 10¢2.3% + 10¢2.3% + 10¢2.3% + 10¢2.3% + 10¢2.3% + 10¢
Keyed processing fee3.5% + 10¢3.5% + 10¢3.5% + 10¢3.5% + 10¢3.5% + 10¢3.5% + 10¢
Restaurant tools
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon No  DarkNo
Icon No  DarkNo
Icon No  DarkNo
Icon No  DarkNo
Online sales and ordering
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon No  DarkNo
Icon No  DarkNo
Icon No  DarkNo
Inventory management
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Loyalty program
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Learn more

Data as of 2/17/23. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Each of these processing plans comes with tailored extra features and the ability to use specific hardware packages.

You can pay a monthly fee that includes the hardware renting cost or you can cut down on monthly costs by paying for hardware outright. Monthly fees in plans where you pay for the hardware upfront range from $14.95-$94.85. The costs of paying for hardware in full are detailed in the table below.

Hardware costs

Hardware
Price
Able to use app market
Mobile capable
Get hardware
Go$49.00
Icon No  DarkNo
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Flex$499.00
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Mini$749.00
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon No  DarkNo
Station Solo$1,349.00
Icon Yes  DarkYes
Icon No  DarkNo

Data as of 2/17/23. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

All four of Clover’s terminals fill unique POS needs. The Go processor is a perfect option for simple on-the-go processing. It doesn’t have many of the features that Clover’s other processors offer, but it’s reasonably priced and portable.

Flex is probably our favorite of Clover’s hardware devices. It’s a perfect middle-ground between mobile and stationary processing. You can keep it on your counter, walk it to patrons’ tables, bring it on your food truck, and use it in your pop-up shop. It’s not only portable, it’s also able to access Clover’s app marketplace, allowing you to add additional features at will.

Finally, you have the Mini and the Station Solo. The Mini is a stationary smart terminal that’s small but powerful. The Station Solo is a more standard large processing screen with a cash drawer. These pieces of equipment are similar in software functionality.

Third-party payment processing costs

Processor
Lowest monthly fee
Starting processing fee
See Plans
Payment Depot$59.00Interchange only
National Processing$9.95Interchange + 0.14% + $0.07
Dharma Merchant Services$25.00Interchange + 0.15% + $0.08

Data as of 2/17/23. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

These three processors all offer cheap processing rates in addition to Clover terminals. If you want to start using Clover hardware, but none of Clover’s processing plans appeal to you, then a third-party processor is the plan for you. You don’t even have to go on Clover’s website. Just pick the processor that looks best to you and work with it to get a Clover terminal.

Clover is best for building a perfect POS

Clover is an incredibly flexible hardware and software package. You have four top-of-the-line pieces of hardware to choose from. Once you’ve found the right hardware, you can head over to Clover’s app market and start building your perfect feature set.

Want to automate your accounting? There’s an app for that on the Clover market. There are, in fact, over 200 apps on the Clover market, so your POS setup can be as detailed or simple as you want it.

Compare Clover vs. competitors

Brand
Starting monthly fee
Processing fee
See Plans
$14.952.3% + 10¢
$0.002.6% + $0.10
$9.002.4%
$69.002.6% + $0.10
$99.002.49% + $0.15

Data as of 2/17/23. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Brand drawbacks

Expensive plans and processing fees

Clover offers a lot of different plan types, but their plans can be pretty expensive relative to other processors on the market. Square, for example, offers many of its software services for free and picks up its profits in the processing fee.

Clover has neither a particularly cheap processing fee nor particularly well-priced plans, so your cost of processing with them can add up quickly. Additionally, many Clover customers complain about poor customer service and an overall poor customer experience when processing direct with Clover.

That’s why we generally recommend obtaining Clover hardware through a third-party vendor.

Best POS Systems for Small Businesses
Stax
Best processing fees
Toast
Best for restaurants
Lightspeed
Best for inventory
Shopify
Best for retail shops
Learn more about our top brands.

Brand key features

Smart hardware

Each of Clover’s terminals (except its mobile processor) is capable of running your business, with copious POS features and functionalities:

  • Inventory management
  • Order management
  • Online ordering
  • Menu management (only in restaurant plans)
  • Sales tracking
  • Employee management

Each of these features can help automate monotonous tasks and keep you focused on your bottom line.

App market

If the standard Clover POS features aren’t quite hitting that sweet spot for you, the app market is a great place to find what you’re looking for. With over 200 different apps, there are so many ways to tune your POS system to the perfect frequency.

App types include payroll, time clock, digital loyalty, recruiting, and more. The sky's the limit and new apps are being added daily.

The takeaway

Clover is leading the industry with its hardware and software. Its only weakness is also a sleeper strength. It’s kind of expensive, but if you use a third-party processing provider, you can mitigate costs and get great hardware for a great price.

If Clover is feeling like too much work to get right, check out our review of Square, its top competitor.

Related reading

Clover FAQ

No, Clover is not owned by Bank of America. That said, Bank of America does sell Clover products. First Data, a fairly large processing company, owns Clover. Fiserv, a merchant services company, owns First Data. So Clover is a subsidiary of two parent companies.

Not particularly. Clover can be a decent value as long as you are utilizing the services you are paying for. If you plan to use Clover’s inventory management features and its other extras, then its own processing services may be worthwhile.

If, however, you want to save money on processing fees, and you have a higher transaction volume, a third-party processor may be the way to go.

Methodology

We examined Clover in-depth, comparing it to other top brands in the field and looking for ways in which its services offered unique benefits or fell short of expectations. We also examined user reviews looking for common benefits and issues. Finally, we dove into the hardware and software features of Clover looking for its best business use cases.

Disclaimer

At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.

Andrew Mosteller
Written by
Former Business.org staff writer Andrew Mosteller covered small business expansion, management and advertising.
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