2022 Restaurant POS Survey: Key Trends, Costs & Top Systems

Last Updated on August 6, 2026 by Craig Allen Keefner

Quick Answer

The 2022 POS Survey Report by RestaurantOwner.com highlights significant shifts in the restaurant point-of-sale market. Toast POS and Square POS have become the most popular brands, replacing Aloha and Micros as industry leaders since 2017. While POS system upfront costs have fallen over 30% to an average of $9,289, monthly fees have increased by 274% to $379 on average. Furthermore, satisfaction with vendor support dropped from 84% in 2017 to 69% in 2022, prompting about 30% of surveyed restaurateurs to consider switching providers within the next year.

POS Market including Toast POS Terminal & Square POS

Toast POS and Square POS were the most popular POS brands — Press release — This week, RestaurantOwner.com released its 2022 POS Survey Report. The survey asked over 800 independent restaurant owners to rate and comment on their POS systems’ installation and operational costs, system and contract characteristics, and their satisfaction with POS features and support.

Click for full size – POS Suppliers

A lot has changed since the RestaurantOwner.com POS Survey was last conducted in 2017. Here are some key takeaways from this year’s survey:

The ten most popular brands account for over three quarters of the market. Toast POS and Square POS were the most popular POS brands, a significant shift from 2017 when Aloha and Micros were the industry leaders.
POS system upfront costs have fallen more than 30% since 2017, as today’s restaurateurs are spending an average of only $9,289 to get up and running with their systems. On the other hand, monthly fees have increased by 274% to $379 on average over that same period.
The growth in monthly subscriptions is due in part to flexibility in contract length in exchange for limitations on credit card processing. Almost half of those surveyed said they are locked into using their system’s credit card processor.
61% of respondents report that they use one or more handheld devices in their operations compared with only 27% five years ago.
Many survey takers say that they do not use many of their POS’s features because they are hard to implement or operators lack the time and support to get the necessary training.
Respondents are disappointed by the support they receive from their providers. In the 2017 survey, 84% of respondents were satisfied with vendor support but in the most recent survey, that proportion dropped to 69%. One restaurateur told us: “The phone support is terrible. You wait on hold for an hour to speak with someone who is learning the system. Super frustrating all around.”
Challenges like these are driving about 30% of those surveyed to consider switching their POS provider within the next year.
Additional data from Toast — We recently came out with our Q3 Trends Report and Industry Survey. They provide some valuable data.
More recent POS Market Leader “opinion” data — https://www.usnews.com/360-reviews/business/point-of-sale/best-retail-pos-systems

The RestaurantOwner.com 2022 POS Survey provides valuable insights for those restaurateurs looking for a new POS system or wanting to make a change. POS providers will find that the survey gives them a wealth of data and straight-from-the-user comments that can help them improve their systems and services as well as attract new customers.

click for full size – POS report

Explore the full survey results at https://RestaurantOwner.com/POS2022.

About RestaurantOwner.com:

RestaurantOwner.com is a community of independent restaurant owners. With more than 69,000 members since 1998, RestaurantOwner.com serves a worldwide member base that operates in more than 160 countries. RestaurantOwner.com members represent a wide range of restaurant concepts of all sizes, with over 35% of members operating multiple locations.

RestaurantOwner.com, 20235 N. Cave Creek Rd., Suite 104, Phoenix, AZ 85024.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1 What are the most significant trends identified in the latest POS market report for restaurants?

The 2022 RestaurantOwner.com POS Survey Report highlights a significant shift in popularity from Aloha and Micros to Toast POS and Square POS. It also notes a substantial decrease in upfront POS system costs, while monthly subscription fees have seen a considerable increase.

2 Which POS systems are currently leading the market according to the survey?

According to the 2022 RestaurantOwner.com POS Survey Report, Toast POS and Square POS were identified as the most popular brands among independent restaurant owners. This marks a notable change from 2017, when Aloha and Micros were the industry leaders.

3 What are the current cost trends for POS systems, including upfront and monthly fees?

Since 2017, upfront POS system costs have decreased by over 30% to an average of $9,289. Conversely, monthly fees have surged by 274% to an average of $379, partly due to increased flexibility in contract length in exchange for credit card processing limitations.

4 What challenges do restaurant owners face regarding POS system features and vendor support?

Many restaurateurs report underutilizing their POS features due to implementation difficulties or a lack of time and support for training. Satisfaction with vendor support has also declined, with only 69% of respondents satisfied in the recent survey, down from 84% in 2017.