Open Source Point of Sale review
A free open-source POS with broad retail basics for teams comfortable managing hosting.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Open Source Point of Sale is a web-based retail POS application for small teams that want free, self-hosted software rather than a hosted subscription. Built with PHP and backed by MySQL or MariaDB, it can be accessed from desktop or mobile browsers. Its retail scope covers stock and item management, sales transactions, customer and supplier records, employee accounts, permissions, purchasing, reporting, and printed receipts, invoices, quotations, and labels. The software is distributed under an MIT-based license with additional footer-retention requirements.
Its strongest fit is breadth within core store operations. The register supports transaction logging, returns, quotes, and suspended sales, while inventory tools cover kits, custom attributes, counting, and stock across multiple locations. Barcode generation, printing, and scanning support add practical checkout and stock workflows. Gift cards, customer rewards, and customer records extend the system beyond basic sales capture. Reporting includes sales, orders, expenses, and inventory, giving small retail teams a single place for several recurring tasks.
The main trade-off is operational responsibility. The application is designed for self-hosted deployment on a web server, so the organization choosing it must manage compatible infrastructure rather than adopting a fully hosted POS service. Hardware support is third-party, and the documented integration list names MailChimp, making ecosystem fit narrower than the core feature set. Teams that value control, open-source access, and multi-location inventory should consider it; teams seeking managed hosting, broad integrations, or centrally supplied hardware should look elsewhere.
Open Source Point of Sale pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Free, open-source access with web and self-hosted deployment
- Combines inventory, barcodes, multi-location stock, and reporting
- Includes permissions, loyalty features, returns, quotes, and suspended sales
- Where it doesn't
- Self-hosting requires compatible infrastructure and web-server management
- Hardware support depends on third-party equipment
- The documented integration list is narrow, with MailChimp named
Open Source Point of Sale fact sheet, pricing and score →
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