Epos Now vs Shopware

What Epos Now is

Epos Now sells a proprietary cloud POS ecosystem rather than a single till application. It combines POS software, countertop or handheld hardware, Epos Now Payments, inventory and staff controls, onboarding, support and an app marketplace for retail and hospitality. Current UK marketing shows complete hardware from £199, but the disclosed offer requires a 12-month payments, care and support subscription starting at £54 per month; VAT and card-processing charges are separate. Contract structure, hardware title, software licenses, support, payment volume commitments, optional apps and extra terminals determine the real cost, so the headline device price is not a complete system price.

What Shopware is

Shopware is an open-source commerce platform, popular in Europe, offering both self-hosted and cloud options.

What Epos Now is built to do

POS operations

Processes sales and manages products, inventory, tenders, staff and location activity.

Retail and hospitality

Adds industry workflows such as variants, tables, ordering and kitchen displays through selected products.

Payments and hardware

Pairs terminals and peripherals with Epos Now or supported third-party payment arrangements.

Cloud and integrations

Provides remote reporting, an app marketplace and contract-governed APIs for connected workflows.

Choose Epos Now if

• Physical retail or hospitality businesses wanting a packaged till and payment setup
• Operators needing inventory, staff and multi-location visibility from a cloud dashboard
• Buyers able to test peripherals, offline behavior, integrations and payment settlement before signing

Skip Epos Now if

• The decision is based only on the promotional hardware price
• The business cannot accept fixed terms, minimum processing conditions or hardware-return obligations
• Required apps, payment providers, tax rules, connectivity or local support are not confirmed in writing

Choose Shopware if

• European merchants with complex requirements who need control.

Epos Now: pros & cons

• Integrated hardware, software and payments can reduce manual reconciliation at the till.
• Retail functions cover products, variants, stock, staff and multi-location operations.
• Hospitality options include table, order, kitchen-display and payment workflows.
• Cloud access, APIs and an app marketplace provide integration paths for supported accounting, ecommerce and delivery systems.
• Promotional hardware pricing can depend on a fixed-term software, support and payments commitment.
• Some UK packages require Epos Now Payments usage or a minimum transaction level; failure can trigger a plan change or different charges.
• Hardware ownership varies between upfront purchase and rental, and early termination can leave remaining fees or return obligations.
• Standard support hours, premium support, additional devices, apps, card rates, VAT and non-integrated payment choices can all add cost.

Shopware: pros & cons

• Open source with full code access
• Strong B2B commerce features
• European hosting and compliance focus
• Implementation usually needs a partner
• Smaller ecosystem outside Europe
• Self-hosting is real work