Helcim vs RetailPOS
Helcim
helcim.comRetailPOS
retailpos.orgSide by side
| Figure | Helcim | RetailPOS |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $0.40/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 6 | 1 |
| Spec score · Point-of-Sale Software | 9.0 (#5) | 8.3 (#35) |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Inventory | Inventory tools support product catalogs, CSV imports, stock counts and low-inventory alerts. | Inventory syncs with the e-commerce platform and includes product variants, low-stock alerts, manual adjustments, and an audit trail. |
| Product | Helcim provides payment processing tools for businesses to accept payments in person, online, by invoice, or through a virtual terminal. | RetailPOS is an open-source point-of-sale system for physical retail that syncs inventory, orders, and customers with e-commerce platforms. |
| Reporting | Real-time reporting provides sales and transaction data from a centralized dashboard. | Reports include daily, weekly, and monthly sales summaries, payment breakdowns, cashier rankings, and CSV export. |
| Support | Helcim offers phone support Monday through Friday 7 a.m.–5 p.m. MT and Saturdays 9 a.m.–5 p.m. MT, and says contact-form questions receive a reply within one business day. | Bug reports, feature requests, and questions go through GitHub; N17 offers integration, deployment, and custom development support. |
Plans
Helcim
- Helcim payment processingFree
- Helcim platformFree
- Recurring payments$0.40 a month
- 4G wireless data$7 a month
- Helcim Card Reader$199, paid once
- Helcim Smart Terminal$349, paid once
In their own words
Helcim
Helcim provides businesses with payment processing tools for in-person and online sales, invoices, and virtual-terminal transactions. Its tools include point of sale, online checkout, payment links, recurring payments, invoicing, a customer vault, and an inventory catalog. In-person payments support major payment types such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. Eligible merchants can also accept ACH through invoicing, recurring payments, payment requests, and the Virtual Terminal. Helcim lists integrations with QuickBooks Online, Xero, and WooCommerce, as well as its API and HelcimPay.js for custom integrations and website payments. The Card Vault tokenizes stored payment details for future or recurring payments, while Helcim says it protects cardholder data with AES-256 encryption and TLS 1.2 or higher in transit. It identifies itself as a PCI Level 1 Service Provider. The POS app is available for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android, with listed device requirements. The processing plan costs nothing, with no account monthly fees; transaction rates vary by volume and payment method.
RetailPOS
RetailPOS is an open-source point-of-sale system for physical stores that connects store activity with e-commerce platforms. It syncs inventory, orders, and customer information with services including Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, Sylius, Wix, PrestaShop, Squarespace, and Commercefull. The system can keep working offline using SQLite, then queue orders for automatic synchronization when connectivity returns. Checkout supports barcode scanning, receipt printing, cash drawers, and card payments through listed options including Stripe Terminal, Stripe NFC tap-to-pay, Square, and Worldpay. Hardware connections include USB, Bluetooth, camera, and network. Inventory tools cover variants, low-stock alerts, manual adjustments, and an audit trail; reports provide sales summaries, payment breakdowns, cashier rankings, and CSV export. Role-based access distinguishes Admin, Manager, and Cashier. Registers in server-and-client mode share orders, inventory, and settings over a local network. RetailPOS is free: free, with no monthly fees. Security updates cover version 2.0.x; earlier versions are unsupported.