Aloha POSvs
Lavu
Lavu: Cloud-based iPad POS system for restaurants with payment processing and lower upfront costs than Aloha
Aloha POS
Industry-leading restaurant POS solution
As of 30 August 2026, Aloha POS starts at $150/month. Aloha POS by NCR is one of the most widely used restaurant POS systems in the world, powering over 100,000 restaurants. Softwr lists it under Restaurants. Aloha POS is made by NCR Corporation, launched in 1884, available on Windows, Android.
Overview
What Aloha POS does
Aloha POS by NCR is one of the most widely used restaurant POS systems in the world, powering over 100,000 restaurants. It offers comprehensive table service, quick service, and fast casual solutions with robust back-office management, labor scheduling, and enterprise reporting capabilities.
What people use it for
- Point of Sale
- Order Management
- Inventory Control
- Staff Scheduling
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Aloha POS.
- High upfront hardware costs ($1,000+ per terminal) make it expensive to deploy across multiple locations
- User interface is dated with functionality from 2005-era design, requiring training for staff familiar with modern applications
- Network connectivity issues cause terminals to lose access to central database when Wi-Fi drops, leading to transaction failures
- Requires proprietary terminals unlike competitors that run on standard iPads or Android tablets
- Complex customization requires expensive professional services and cannot be configured by restaurant staff
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Aloha POS
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- Aloha POSvsClover
Clover: Flexible POS system built on Android with customizable hardware, lower entry cost, and broader feature ecosystem
- Aloha POSvsLightspeed Restaurant
Lightspeed Restaurant: Cloud-based restaurant management with inventory, staff scheduling, and payment processing integrated
- Aloha POSvsHeartland Restaurant
Heartland Restaurant: Enterprise restaurant software with inventory management and payment processing designed for multi-location operators
Pricing
What Aloha POS costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Essentials
$150 /mo
- POS
- Basic reporting
Professional
$250 /mo
- Advanced features
- Labor management
Enterprise
Free
- Custom pricing
- Full suite
Capabilities
Features
Table management
Order management
Labor scheduling
Inventory control
Enterprise reporting
Loyalty programs
NCR Back Office
Integration with NCR Back Office
Third-party delivery
Integration with Third-party delivery
Accounting software
Integration with Accounting software
Web support
Available on web
Windows support
Available on windows
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
What are the hardware options for Aloha POS?
Aloha offers two main products: Aloha Essentials POS which runs on Windows servers at your location, and Aloha Cloud POS which operates on Android-based mobile terminals connected to cloud systems. Hardware costs approximately $1,000 per terminal or available through subscription.
SourceWhat features does Aloha include for restaurant operations?
Aloha includes kitchen automation, table management, staff rosters, payment processing, inventory tracking, reporting, customer loyalty programs, and employee time tracking.
SourceIs Aloha POS available as a subscription?
Yes. NCR Aloha offers an all-in-one monthly subscription model that includes software, hardware, payment processing, and 24/7 customer support. Upfront implementation costs vary based on specific needs.
SourceWhat are the network requirements for Aloha POS?
Aloha Essentials requires a stable network connection between terminals and the Windows server. Network disruptions cause terminals to lose access to the central database, resulting in transaction failures and payment errors.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Aloha POS
- Company
- NCR Corporation
- Based in
- Atlanta, Georgia
Keep looking
Where to go from Aloha POS
- Aloha POS alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Aloha POS pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Aloha POS badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Restaurants softwareThe full category
- Best Restaurants softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Restaurants software for
Compare Aloha POS with
- Lightspeed Restaurant
- Lavu
- TouchBistro
- Heartland Restaurant
- Clover
- Oracle MICROS Simphony
- PAR Brink POS
- Revel Systems
- Square for Restaurants
- Talech
- HotSchedules
- Rezku POS
- WISK
- Yelp Reservations
- Deliveroo
- Popmenu
- 7shifts
- Heartland Restaurant
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Aloha POS, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Aloha POS
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Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
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