The Clover vs Shopify comparison in 2024 focuses on finding the right business growth partner. Both platforms offer unique features, but which one truly meets your needs? Choosing between Shopify vs Clover requires understanding their unique features and differences.
We’ll tackle user concerns head-on and provide clear solutions to common difficulties faced by small business owners. Through reading this blog, you will discover the meaningfulness of this comparison to make you invest the time smartly. Discover which system offers the efficiency, support, and functionality your business deserves.
Contents
1. Shopify vs Clover: overview & key differences
Answering the question “Shopify vs Clover, which POS come out on top?” requires a detailed understanding of each platform’s offerings and their distinct differences. Let’s discover the short overview of each platform!
1.1. Shopify POS overview
Shopify is a popular choice, both as ecomemrce platform and POS solution for many businesses. It enables you to sell online and offline with maximum efficiency.
Since Shopify provide online store service, it has a huge perk of allowing its POS system to seamlessly integrate with the online store system. Therefore, you will have a one-stop-shop to manage all your tasks. Shopify POS integrates with its online platform for unified retail and online management, starting at $5/month.
1.2. Clover POS overview
What is Clover POS? In short, it’s a full-fledge POS system which is adaptable and easy to use. It works great for retail, and provisional services and espeicially restaurant – Clover offer a lot of features and customized services for restaurant.
Clover has the capability to get a customized option of the hardware. Its flexibility makes it suitable for many types of businesses, also noted for its easy setup. Clover POS features customizable hardware and intuitive operation, starting at $14.95/month.
1.3 Key differences
We will go into details the difference between Shopify POS and Clover POS. But first, let’s have a look at comparison table to have a glimpse of these differences:
Shopify | Clover | |
|---|---|---|
Pricing | Plans start at $5 per month | Plans start at $14.95 per month |
Trial period | Offers a 3-day free trial | Does not offer a free trial |
eCommerce Integration | Provides a comprehensive platform for online selling | Enables online selling, but less specialized than Shopify |
Usability & System Integration | High scores for system usability | Scores higher in ease of use, learning curve, and support |
Point of Sale (POS) Features | Unlimited registers per location with POS Pro | Focused on retail, restaurants, and personal services |
Marketing Features | Offers extensive marketing tools and integrations | No specific mention, suggesting less focus on marketing |
2. Shopify vs Clover: a deep dive comparison between two POS
2.1. Pricing:
Comparing Shopify and Clover in terms of their pricing is an integral part of the business of selling. Here’s how both POS systemstack up in terms of monthly fees, transaction fees, and any additional fees. This comparison will be useful in deciding which platform will give you the best value for your money.
2.1.1. Monthly fees:
When it comes to selling on Shopify vs Clover, examining monthly fees is essential.
👉 Shopify monthly fees
Shopify POS caters to both in-person sellers with its “Sell in person” package, combining Starter ($5/month) for basic social selling features and Retail ($89/month) for unlimited in-store logins and advanced features. If you choose “Pay yearly”, you only need to pay $79/month instead for Retail plan.
To those aiming to “sell everywhere” with its comprehensive packages that span Basic ($39/month) for entrepreneurs looking to establish a full online store, Shopify ($105/month) for small teams needing additional accounts, and Advanced ($399/month) for scaling businesses requiring extensive staff accounts.
If you choose to pay annually, the pricing is $29/month for Basic plan, $79/month for Shopify plan, and $299/month for Advance plan.
All plans offer secure payments, unified inventory, fast payouts, and 24/7 support for comprehensive sales management
👉 Clover monthly fees
Similar to Shopify POS, Clover also provides Starter, Standard, and Advance plans for all business sizes, but the pricing model is quite different. Clover POS provides tailored pricing plans across multiple sectors, with monthly fees adjusted per business type as the table below:
Plan | Starter | Standard | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|
Full service dining | $165/mofor 36 months or $1,699+ $89.95/month | $220/mofor 36 monthsor $2,298+ $109.90/month | $220/mofor 36 monthsor $2,298+ $109.90/month |
Quick service restaurant | $105/mofor 36 months or $799+ $59.95/month | $145/mofor 36 months or $1,799+ $59.95/month | $200/mofor 36 months or $2,398+ $79.90/month |
Retail Shops | $60/mofor 36 months or $799+ $14.95/month | $135/mofor 36 months or $1,799+ $49.95/month | $190/mofor 36 months or $2,398+ $69.90/month |
Professional Services | $0+ $14.95/month | $50/mofor 36 months or $599+ $14.95/mo | $125/mofor 36 months or $1,699+ $49.95/mo |
Personal Services | $50/mofor 36 months or $599+ $14.95/month | $95/mofor 36 months or $799+ $49.95/month | $135/mofor 36 months or $1,799+ $49.95/month |
Home & Field Services | $0+ $14.95/month | $49+ $14.95/month | $50/mofor 36 months or $599+ $14.95/month |
2.1.2. Transaction & Additional fees:
👉 Shopify transaction & additional fees
Shopify POS offers varied transaction fees across its plans.
- Starter plan charges include 2.5% + 30¢ for online and 2.5% + 0¢ in-person, with third-party fees at 2.5%. Retail improves rates to 2.9% + 30¢ online, 2.6% + 10¢ in-person, and 2% for third-party payments, including one POS Pro location.
- For those Selling Everywhere, fees adjust with plan levels: Basic at 2.9% + 30¢ online and 2.6% + 10¢ in-person, Shopify at 2.7% + 30¢ online and 2.5% + 10¢ in-person, and Advanced at 2.5% + 30¢ online and 2.4% + 10¢ in-person, all with additional third-party payment provider rates declining across plans.
- Each tier above Starter also incurs an extra $89 USD/month for each POS Pro location. This structure allows businesses to choose a suitable plan based on their scale and sales channels.
👉 Clover transaction & additional fees
Clover in general is one of the most competitive POS system in terms of transaction fee. If you choose Quick-service restaurant management or Full-service restaurant management Clover charges 2.3% + 10¢ for card transactions.
Moreover, a Rapid Deposit service is available for a 1.5% fee, enabling quick access to funds from credit card sales.
  Clover has more competitive transaction & additional fee Clover has little to no additional fees and the transaction fee is consistent. Shopify on the other hand varies between different plans and can cost you additional POS extra fee for each POS Pro location |
2.2. eCommerce integration:
In the Shopify vs Clover battle, focusing on eCommerce integration, it’s clear each platform serves distinct market segments effectively.
2.2.1. Shopify eCommerce integration:
- Integrated Ecosystem: Shopify seamlessly integrates Shopify POS with its platform, essentially extending Shopify’s eCommerce capabilities. This integration consolidates inventory, sales, and customer data on a single platform for online and physical store channel management.
- Online Store Synchronization: Shopify ensures real-time POS updates for consistent retail and online store data.
- Unified Customer Experience: Shopify supports shared customer profiles for personalized marketing across sales channels.
- eCommerce Features: Shopify’s POS includes eCommerce features, extensive apps, and marketing tools.
2.2.2. Clover eCommerce integration:
In short, Clover does not have built-in ecommerce features and priotize heavily on physical store. To somewhat “compensate” for this lack of features, Clover does allow you to use third party integration & apps from Market to enable eCommerce fuctionalities.
Here are some highlights to note:
- Third-party Integrations: Clover offers a way to integrate with 3rd-party platforms instead of a pre-built solution. Clover excels in partnering with platforms like WooCommerce for enhanced online ordering.
- Separate Ecosystems: The integration of inventory and sales data indeed depends on the third-party eCommerce platform used and its compatibility with Clover.
- App Market for eCommerce Extensions: Clover’s App Market enriches online experiences with various eCommerce tools.
 Shopify POS allows more advanced eCommerce integration There is no surprise that Shopify allows users to get the best of both physical stores and online store: Shopify is an excellent ecommerce platform itself. Clover focus heavily on physical store and can somewhat extend to eCommerce through third-party apps |
2.3. Ease of use:
Shopify and Clover both are easy to use, but there is difference in approach
2.3.1. Shopify ease of use
Shopify POS is renowned for its user-friendly interface, making it absolutely simple to operate. Developers designed it to be intuitive, enabling employees to quickly learn and effortlessly conduct sales transactions.
The register interface requires you to access through an app, which show a typical block format consists of check out area & customizable grid menu to include discounts, recommended product, add-on & many more.
Back-end interface also follow a standard block layout, which is easy to navigate. You can find there admin tasks such as adding products, setting staff permissions…
Overall, you can easily find the function you need and will not get into any trouble figuring out how interfaces & back-end of Shopify POS work on your own.
2.3.2. Clover ease of use
Clover POS stands out for its user-friendly and simplified transaction process. You can pretty much figure out how things work naturally, since Clover POS is generally easy to use.
Clover POS interfaces is intuitive and very easy to understand. Clover offers a relatively common design: a homepage meny with tabs for the register, orders, tables, refunds… You can select products either from many “block” options or from barcode scanner.
The dashboard for back-end is designed with the same idea – a left-hand menu that give you access to fuctions such as reporting, inventory management, customer details…
All in all, Clover can be consider a well-designed and straightforward POS platform. It’s simple to use, yet allow you to get access to advanced features with ease.
It’s a tie! Both POS systems are easy to use Both Shopify POS and Clover POS interface and back-end is intuitive and can be figured out on your own without much issues. Important fuctions are designed to be found and run easily. |
2.4. Point of Sale (POS) Features:
Shopify vs Clover offer unique POS features for various business needs.
2.4.1. Shopify Point of Sale (POS) Features:
- Staff and Login Management: Unlimited staff accounts and POS logins in Shopify enhance scalability and flexibility.
- Sales and Inventory Management: Shopify’s built-in inventory system syncs products online and in-person for accuracy.
- Payment Solutions: Shopify supports secure, encrypted payments with instant payouts and split payment options.
- Hardware Connectivity: Shopify concentrates on app-based functions, yet it supplies connected hardware for a full retail store system.
- Customer Experience: The platform supports refunds, returns, and offers constant customer support.
2.4.2. Clover Point of Sale (POS) Features:
- Hardware Options: Clover aims for comprehensive front and back office solutions.
- Peripheral Support: Clover designs its hardware ecosystem for diverse retail environments.
- Business Operations: Clover’s system reduces workload with tools for ordering and employee management.
- Payment and Sales: Clover’s setup ensures a consistent retail experience with comprehensive POS hardware.
- Added Services: Clover and third-party hardware solutions cater to various retail needs.
2.5. App Integration
It’s a tie! Both POS have excellent POS features Both Shopify POS and Clover POS offers excellent features that can meet most retailers needs. While Clover focus more on hardware, Shopify excels in flexibility and omnichannel retailing |
2.5.1. Shopify app integration
When we look at marketing tools in the Shopify vs Clover debate, Shopify takes a significant lead. Shopify’s app ecosystem with around 8000+ apps helps you utilize POS better, and also provide you additional ways to grow your customer base and sales – since Shopify also has the advantage of being the most popular ecommerce platform.
2.5.2. Clover app integration
Cloverver offers basic app functions like coupons, however pale in comparison to Shopify’s advanced advertising tools. This is understandable since Clover focus primarily on POS and not ecommerce.
The apps from their market reflect their focus. Most of the app expand & support POS features rather than provide completely new channels & tools for marketing. The number of apps in the market is not comparable to Shopify for that reason.
| Shopify POS has better app integration Since Shopify is an ecommerce platform with many apps & tools built in both for POS and ecommerce purpose, there’s no doubt that Shopify is the absolute winner. |
3. Shopify vs Clover: who holds the winning hand?
3.1. Choose Shopify if you:
- Value Seamless E-commerce Integration: Prefer an all-in-one solution for seamless online and offline inventory management besides a POS system
- Require Flexibility and Scalability: Select a scalable POS system that grows without changing software, from one to multiple locations.
- Focus on Online Sales: Focus on eCommerce while also selling at events or in physical stores.
- Seek an Extensive App Ecosystem: Find a system with multiple apps and integrations for marketing and fulfillment enhancements for your POS system
- Demand 24/7 Support: Ensure 24/7 customer support for smooth POS operations.
3.2. Choose Clover if you:
- Prefer Ready-to-Use Hardware Solutions: Seek a POS with a range of easy-setup hardware, from stationary to portable units.
- Run a Food Service or Retail Business: Opt for a POS offering order management and loyalty programs for restaurants or retail.
- Need Custom Hardware Integration: Look for POS systems that integrate specific hardware like scales and barcode scanners.
- Want a Customizable Platform: Choose a platform with extensive third-party apps for scheduling and accounting needs.
- Value a Diverse Payment Ecosystem: Consider a POS with varied payment options for better cash flow management.
4. Conclusion
In the end, the choice between Shopify vs Clover depends on business model, sales channel, and other operational necessities.
Shopify outshines both elements of eCommerce integration and scalability, conforming itself to businesses that perform most of their sales online.
Clover’s comprehensive hardware kits and third-party app compatibility make it ideal for service-based and traditional retail firms.
In conclusion, the faceoff between Clover vs Shopify highlights that both platforms serve their unique needs. For maximizing online sales and business growth, Shopify stands out with its superior eCommerce features and vast app ecosystem.
Choose Clover for a quick-setup POS system ideal for brick-and-mortar businesses. However, you need to make sure the choice you make is in line with your business model and growth strategy.
For key insights to make the best choice for your business, explore our resources at ecomstart.io. We’re here to support you to start and grow your new e-commerce business.
5. FAQ
