Restaurant POS Pricing in India: What You Should Actually Pay

Ask five restaurant POS vendors in India what their software costs and you'll often get five differently structured answers — a flat number, a "starting from" figure with unclear extras, a price "ex tax", or "let's get on a call". That inconsistency is exactly how owners end up paying much more than they expected three months after signing up.

This guide explains how restaurant POS pricing works in India, what is usually included or sold separately, the costs that sit outside the subscription, and a simple way to work out the real total cost of any system before you commit. Where we quote prices, they come from each company's own public pricing page, with the date we checked.

The Restaurant POS Pricing Landscape in India

The market is wide: free billing apps with minimal features, flat-priced plans aimed at independent restaurants, module-based plans, and enterprise platforms that only quote after a sales call. That range exists because a single-counter tea stall and a 50-outlet chain have genuinely different needs.

The practical problem isn't that prices vary — it's that the same-looking number can mean very different things depending on the pricing model, the billing period, and whether GST is included.

The Main Pricing Models

1. Flat, published pricing

One number on the website for the core product. You know your cost before you sign up. Check exactly what "core" covers and whether the price includes GST.

2. Modular / add-on pricing

A base plan for billing, with inventory, staff management, marketing, integrations or advanced reports sold as separate modules or higher tiers. The advertised price is rarely what you pay once you switch on the features you use daily.

3. Per-terminal or per-outlet pricing

You pay for each billing device or each branch. Fine for one counter; it adds up as you grow.

4. Quoted / enterprise pricing

No public price — cost is decided in a sales conversation based on outlets, integrations and support. Common for platforms aimed at large chains, but hard for a small restaurant to budget or compare.

Model	Best for	Risk
Flat, published	Independent restaurants, small chains	May not cover very specialised enterprise needs
Modular / add-on	Restaurants that only need basic billing	Real cost often well above the starting price
Per-terminal / per-outlet	Single-counter setups	Cost climbs with every counter or branch
Quoted / enterprise	Large chains with complex integrations	Hard to budget or compare without a sales call

What Published Prices Actually Look Like

Rather than quote "typical ranges" that nobody can check, here are two real, public examples.

Vendor (source)	Published price	Notes
Billzova	₹399/month or ₹3,999/year	Including GST. Billing, KOT, inventory, GST reports, offline desktop billing and the web dashboard in the same plan. 30-day free trial, no payment needed to start.
Petpooja (checked 18 Oct 2026)	Base plan ₹12,000; Operations Manager ₹20,000 or ₹30,000; Marketing Manager ₹20,000, ₹30,000 or ₹40,000	Shown as "Price (ex tax)", exclusive of applicable taxes. The page doesn't state the billing period for these prices — confirm with them directly.

Two lessons from that comparison apply to any vendor. First, check whether a price includes GST. GST on IT/software services is 18%, as the GST Council's FAQ on IT and ITeS states, so an "ex tax" price of ₹10,000 is really ₹11,800. Second, check the period. A yearly price and a monthly price can look similar on a page; always convert both to the same period before comparing.

If budget is your main concern, our restaurant POS under ₹500 a month page shows what a full restaurant POS at that price includes.

What's Usually Included vs Sold Separately

• Almost always included: basic billing, GST calculation, bill printing.
• Sometimes an add-on or higher tier: inventory and recipe costing, customer records, advanced reports, staff roles, multi-branch, kitchen display, online ordering, marketing tools.
• Often a separate conversation: third-party integrations, custom reports, on-site installation and training visits, dedicated account managers.

The middle group is where most surprises happen — features owners assume are "just part of a POS" but which many vendors price separately.

Hidden Costs to Watch For

• Tax not included. An "ex tax" price is 18% higher in practice.
• Per-outlet or per-terminal charges that turn a reasonable single-outlet price into an expensive multi-outlet bill.
• Setup, installation or training fees charged on top of the subscription.
• AMC (annual maintenance) on older licence-based software.
• Hardware bundles where a "discounted" machine quietly inflates the software price, or locks you to one vendor's printer.
• Support tiers, where basic support is slow and faster help costs more.
• Data export limits, where pulling your own sales data out needs a higher plan.
• Your own hardware. Desktop POS software needs a reliable PC on a supported version of Windows — Microsoft ended Windows 10 support on 14 October 2025 (Microsoft's support notice) — plus a thermal printer and paper rolls. Budget for these whichever software you pick.

How to Calculate the Real Total Cost

1. List every feature you'll actually use in daily operation: billing, GST, KOT, tables, inventory, staff logins, reports, and multi-branch if relevant.
2. Ask the vendor for each one: included, or extra? Get it in writing.
3. Convert everything to one period (say, per year) and add GST where the price is "ex tax".
4. Add one-time costs — setup, installation, hardware — spread over the time you expect to use the system.
5. Multiply by outlets or terminals if the pricing works that way.

An illustrative comparison

Illustrative figures only — not any real vendor's prices. Say Vendor A advertises ₹300/month "ex tax" for billing, with inventory at ₹200/month and reports at ₹150/month extra, plus a one-time ₹3,000 setup fee. For a year: (₹300 + ₹200 + ₹150) × 12 = ₹7,800, plus 18% GST = ₹9,204, plus ₹3,000 setup = ₹12,204 in year one. A flat plan at ₹3,999/year including GST with everything you need would cost far less — even though Vendor A's headline "₹300" looked similar to the flat plan's monthly price. Run the same sum with real quotes for your shortlist.

Common Pricing Mistakes

• Comparing headline prices without checking what each includes.
• Mixing monthly and yearly prices or "incl. GST" and "ex tax" prices in the same comparison.
• Signing an annual contract before confirming the real cost with all features in use.
• "We'll figure out extra features later" instead of asking upfront.
• Not asking about per-outlet costs before opening a second branch.
• Choosing on price alone, without weighing offline billing, GST reports and support.

Best Practices Before You Sign Up

• Get a written list of exactly what's included at your price.
• Ask how a second outlet or extra billing counter changes the price, even if you only have one today.
• Use a free trial on your own menu and real order volume before paying.
• Check whether renewals happen automatically and how to cancel.
• Revisit your comparison once a year — the market and your needs both change.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does restaurant POS software cost in India?

It depends on the pricing model, the features you need and whether tax is included. Billzova is ₹399/month or ₹3,999/year including GST. Some vendors publish prices in the thousands or tens of thousands, ex tax — for example, Petpooja's public pricing page listed plans from ₹12,000 (ex tax) when we checked on 18 October 2026.

What's the difference between flat and modular pricing?

Flat pricing covers the core features at one published price. Modular pricing starts lower but sells features like inventory or multi-branch separately, so the real cost is often higher than it looks.

Does "ex tax" make a big difference?

Yes. GST on software services is 18%, so an ex-tax price is 18% higher once tax is added. Always compare like with like.

Is the cheapest POS the most affordable?

Not necessarily. A low starting price with paid add-ons can cost more than a higher flat price that includes everything you use.

Does POS pricing include GST billing?

Basic GST calculation usually is. Check that CGST/SGST are split correctly, HSN/SAC codes are supported, and GST reports (like GSTR-1 data) are included rather than a higher tier. In Billzova, GST billing and GSTR-1 reports are part of the standard plan.

Will my cost go up if I open a second branch?

Depends on the vendor — some charge per outlet. Ask explicitly before you expand. For Billzova, talk to us about multi-branch setups.

Are there setup or onboarding fees?

Some vendors charge for installation or training. Ask directly before assuming the subscription is the only cost.

How do I know a free trial is really free?

Check whether you need to enter a card or pay anything upfront, and whether the trial has full features. Billzova's 30-day trial needs no payment to start.

Is Billzova's pricing flat or modular?

Flat: ₹399/month or ₹3,999/year including GST, for billing, KOT, inventory, GST reports, reports and the web dashboard. See the plans page for full details.

Conclusion

Restaurant POS pricing in India isn't dishonest by default, but it is inconsistent: different models, different periods, prices with and without GST. The only reliable way to compare is to map your real feature needs against what's included, convert everything to the same period including tax, and get it in writing.

Billzova keeps it simple — one published price including GST for billing, KOT printing, inventory and reports. See the plans, check our POS under ₹500 page, or talk to our team for a straight comparison with what you pay today.