Free POS Software for Cafés: What a Free Plan Should Include
Short answer: A useful free café POS should let one counter take dine-in and takeaway orders, send KOTs, print GST-ready bills and accept cash and UPI, with no time limit and no hardware purchase. Upgrade when you need more counters, delivery orders, card and wallet payments, or QR table ordering.
Who a free plan is for
Single-counter cafés, tea and coffee bars, small bakeries with a few tables, and new outlets that want to replace a notebook or a basic billing machine without a monthly cost while they find their feet.
What a free plan should include
- A real menu with categories and prices you can edit any time.
- Dine-in and takeaway orders.
- KOTs to the kitchen with item notes.
- GST-ready bills with round-off.
- Cash and UPI, which together cover most small-café payments in India.
- A day-end summary.
- No expiry. A free trial is not a free plan.
What is usually held back for paid plans
- More counters or terminals.
- Delivery orders with address and fee handling.
- Card and wallet payments.
- QR table ordering.
- Multi-outlet menus and reports.
Hidden costs to check
Ask whether the free plan needs proprietary hardware, charges per bill or transaction, limits menu items, or locks your data export. A free plan that needs a ₹20,000 terminal is not free.
When to upgrade
Upgrade when a second counter or a captain with a tablet would cut your queue, when delivery becomes a regular channel, when card payments are common, or when floor staff cannot keep up and QR ordering would help.
DeskoPOS Starter and Growth
Starter is free (1 counter, dine-in and takeaway, cash and UPI). Growth is ₹499 per outlet per month (International: $7 per month) with 3 counters, all order types, all payment modes and QR table ordering. Chain is custom-priced. Starter runs in the browser on any tablet, so there is no hardware to buy. Try the live demo, and see how to choose restaurant POS software for a full checklist.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free POS for cafés in India?
Yes. DeskoPOS Starter is free and covers one counter, dine-in and takeaway, and cash and UPI payments.
What is the difference between a free trial and a free plan?
A free trial ends after a set period. A free plan has no expiry but has limits, such as one counter or fewer payment modes.
When should a café upgrade from a free POS plan?
When it needs more counters, delivery orders, card or wallet payments, or QR table ordering.