Softwr

E-Commerce · head to head

Heartland Retail vs KORONA POS

Heartland Retail logo

Heartland Retail

E-Commerce

Cloud point of sale and inventory management sold alongside Heartland card processing

From
$150/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
KORONA POS logo

KORONA POS

E-Commerce

Cloud-based retail POS system

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only KORONA POS has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Heartland Retail the software is sold as part of a card processing relationship, so the monthly licence understates the real cost and the processing rate is the number that determines what you pay over a year.; KORONA POS inventory counts and stock management require the $79 Retail plan, so the $59 Core plan is checkout without stock control
  • They diverge on capability: Heartland Retail covers Multi-store inventory, KORONA POS covers Point of sale.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Heartland Retail and KORONA POS actually diverge.

Attributes where Heartland Retail and KORONA POS differ
AttributeHeartland RetailKORONA POS
Starting price$150/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
Founded19972004

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Heartland Retail

  • Multi-store inventory
  • Cloud point of sale
  • Purchasing and receiving
  • Customer records
  • Sales and stock reporting
  • Integrated card processing
  • E-commerce integrations

Only in KORONA POS

  • Point of sale
  • Inventory management
  • Employee management
  • Customer database
  • Sales analytics
  • Loyalty programs
  • Multi-location support
  • Mobile POS

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Heartland Retail

  • A specialty retailer opening a third or fourth site that needs one stock position across all of themnot KORONA POS
  • Replacing a legacy on-premise till system that requires a server in the back office of every storenot KORONA POS
  • A retailer whose buying team needs purchase orders and receiving rather than just a cash registernot KORONA POS
  • An existing Heartland processing customer consolidating software and payments under one suppliernot KORONA POS

KORONA POS

  • Point of sale and inventory management for retail storesnot Heartland Retail
  • Multi location retail with stock control and reportingnot Heartland Retail

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Heartland Retail

  • The software is sold as part of a card processing relationship, so the monthly licence understates the real cost and the processing rate is the number that determines what you pay over a year.
  • Leaving means changing till software and merchant account together, and since the payment terminals, the reporting history and the staff training are all tied to the same supplier, the switching cost is far higher than a software migration alone.
  • It is not an online store platform, so a merchant selling on the web still buys and maintains a separate e-commerce platform, and the stock and order integration between the two is an ongoing operational dependency rather than a one-off setup.
  • Historical sales and customer purchase history rarely migrate cleanly out of a point of sale system, so a retailer who switches typically starts with an empty history and keeps the old system read-only, paying for it, for years.
  • Heartland sits within Global Payments, a group that has repeatedly restructured its portfolio through acquisitions and divestitures, so which entity owns and invests in this specific product is not stable over a long contract term.

KORONA POS

  • Inventory counts and stock management require the $79 Retail plan, so the $59 Core plan is checkout without stock control
  • Five separate modules are charged on top of the plan, at $10 per terminal for food service, $10 per terminal for invoicing, $50 per gate for ticketing, $30 per franchise and $45 per token for custom API integrations
  • Integration pricing is per token rather than per account, so several integrations multiply the cost
  • Advanced stock management and movement reporting require the $99 Plus plan

Pricing, plan by plan

Heartland Retail

$150/month
  • Core$150/month
    • POS system
    • Inventory management
    • Customer management
  • Professional$350/month
    • All Core features
    • Omnichannel
    • Advanced analytics

KORONA POS

Free
  • Core$59/month
    • Basic checkout
    • Product database
    • Sales reports
  • Retail$79/month
    • Inventory management
    • Real-time stock tracking
    • Customer management
  • Plus$99/month
    • ABC analysis
    • Multi-location tools
    • Assortment optimization

Which should you pick?

Choose Heartland Retail if

  • You need multi-store inventory.
  • You also want cloud point of sale.
Heartland Retail review

Choose KORONA POS if

  • You need point of sale.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want inventory management.
KORONA POS review

Questions people ask

Is Heartland Retail or KORONA POS better?
Neither clearly leads. Heartland Retail starts at $150/month and KORONA POS at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Heartland Retail or KORONA POS?
KORONA POS has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $150/month for Heartland Retail and Free for KORONA POS.
Does Heartland Retail or KORONA POS run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use KORONA POS for free?
Yes. KORONA POS has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Heartland Retail starts at $150/month.
What is Heartland Retail best used for?
Heartland Retail is most often used for a specialty retailer opening a third or fourth site that needs one stock position across all of them, replacing a legacy on-premise till system that requires a server in the back office of every store, a retailer whose buying team needs purchase orders and receiving rather than just a cash register, an existing heartland processing customer consolidating software and payments under one supplier. Of those, a specialty retailer opening a third or fourth site that needs one stock position across all of them and replacing a legacy on-premise till system that requires a server in the back office of every store are not what KORONA POS is typically brought in for.
What can Heartland Retail do that KORONA POS cannot?
Heartland Retail covers Multi-store inventory, Cloud point of sale, Purchasing and receiving, Customer records. KORONA POS covers Point of sale, Inventory management, Employee management, Customer database.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Heartland Retail: Can I use it as my online store?

No. It manages the shop floor and stock. Selling online means a separate e-commerce platform and an integration to keep the catalogue and stock aligned.

KORONA POS: What does KORONA POS cost?

KORONA POS plans start at $59/month per terminal for Core, $79/month for Retail, and $99/month for Plus. All plans include 24/7 in-house support, unlimited users and sales, and open API access.

Source
Heartland Retail: Do I have to use Heartland for card processing?

The product is sold as part of a payments relationship, and that is where the supplier's margin sits. Ask explicitly what the software costs standalone before assuming you have a choice.

KORONA POS: Does KORONA POS offer a free trial?

Yes, an unlimited free trial is available with no credit card required for signup.

Source
Heartland Retail: What should I negotiate hardest on?

The card processing rate and the contract term, not the software subscription. Ask for interchange-plus pricing in writing rather than a blended rate.

KORONA POS: What add-on modules are available?

Optional modules include KORONA Food ($10/register/month), KORONA Invoicing ($10/register/month), KORONA Ticketing ($50/entry gate/month), KORONA Franchise ($30/franchisee/month), and KORONA Integration ($45/token/month).

Source
Heartland Retail: What happens to my sales history if I leave?

Assume products and current stock export cleanly and that years of transaction history do not. Budget for keeping the old system available read-only during any transition.

KORONA POS: Is there a contract commitment for KORONA POS?

No, KORONA POS offers month-to-month subscriptions with no contracts. Annual plans receive discounts.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Heartland Retail

More on KORONA POS

Keep looking

Other head to heads