What Sicada Actually Looks Like
The point of sale itself — the part that runs in your browser, no install.
Sicada's checkout screen — this is the actual product, not a mockup.
Shopify POS is the in-person side of an online store, and if selling online matters to you, that's the point. Sicada is a standalone browser POS with a free plan. This is an honest look at where each one fits.
Free forever · No credit card · No trial
Shopify is an ecommerce platform. Shopify POS is its in-person channel — the same catalogue, inventory and back office that run your online store, used at a counter. POS Lite comes with any paid Shopify plan; POS Pro, which adds unlimited staff, richer customer profiles, retail reporting and cross-channel fulfilment, is a per-location add-on. If your website is central to how you sell, that integration is the whole reason to use it.
Sicada is a point of sale, not a store. There is no ecommerce website, no unified online-and-in-store inventory, and no multi-location management. Stock tracking is on the Pro plan, and an account covers a single shop. If you'd use Shopify's online store or its omnichannel selling, Shopify is very likely the better choice and this page won't try to talk you out of it.
Where Sicada is worth a look: the point of sale runs in a web browser with nothing to install and no Shopify hardware, there is a genuinely free plan to start on, and dine-in tabs are part of the core POS, with QR-code ordering and delivery tracking on the Pro plan. It also takes no cut of your card sales — your own terminal handles the card.
The point of sale itself — the part that runs in your browser, no install.
Sicada's checkout screen — this is the actual product, not a mockup.
Each product genuinely wins some of these rows. Which ones matter is up to your business.
| Feature | Sicada | Shopify POS |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A standalone point of sale | The in-person channel of a Shopify online store |
| The point of sale runs on | Any web browser — nothing to install | The Shopify POS app on a phone or tablet (the Shopify admin runs in a browser) |
| Online store / ecommerce website | None — a shareable delivery menu link on Pro, no storefront | A full online store is the core Shopify product |
| Selling online and in person as one system | No | Yes — one catalogue, one inventory, one back office across web and counter |
| Buy online, pick up or return in store | No | Yes, on POS Pro |
| Free plan | Free forever, no card — 1 user, 5 tables | POS Lite needs a paid Shopify plan; no free POS-only option |
| Plan structure | One plan — Free, Pro or Business — bundles its features | A Shopify subscription, plus the POS Pro add-on per location for the fuller POS |
| Card payments | Your own terminal processes the card; Sicada records the sale. Sicada does not process card payments | Shopify Payments with Tap to Pay is built in; other processors work with a per-transaction fee |
| The POS provider's cut of your card sales | None — you use your own processor | Its processing fee on each Shopify Payments sale, or a transaction fee if you use another processor |
| Inventory / stock tracking | On the Pro plan | Included on every plan, with stock across multiple locations and reorder suggestions |
| Customer profiles and order history | On the Pro plan | Basic profiles on POS Lite; full history and lifetime value on POS Pro |
| Dine-in tables, QR ordering, delivery | Tabs on every plan; QR ordering and delivery on Pro | Not a restaurant POS — no tables, kitchen display or table-side ordering |
| Multiple locations | One shop per account | Multi-location inventory, staff and reporting |
| App ecosystem | None — the features are what's in the plan | The Shopify App Store adds POS and back-office extensions |
| App languages | 13, including a right-to-left layout for Arabic | The Shopify admin is translated widely; the POS app in fewer languages |
Shopify's plans, features and processing fees were checked against Shopify's official pages in September 2026 and can change — see Shopify POS pricing for current details. Sicada is POS software, not a payment processor: your own terminal takes the card and Sicada records the sale, so your processor's usual rates still apply. Sicada's own plans are the Free, Pro and Business plans.
If any of these is why you use Shopify, it's a good reason to stay.
Shopify is an ecommerce platform first. If you sell online, or want to, your website, checkout and in-person sales are one system with one inventory. Sicada has no storefront — just a shareable menu link for delivery orders on the Pro plan.
Sell on your site, at the counter and through social channels, all drawing on the same catalogue and stock. Buy-online-pickup-in-store, ship-from-store and cross-channel returns are built in on POS Pro. Sicada keeps counter and delivery in one POS but doesn't connect to a web store.
Shopify manages inventory, staff and reporting across many stores from one account. A Sicada account covers a single shop.
The Shopify App Store has thousands of extensions for the POS and back office, built up over years. Sicada's features are what's in your plan, with nothing to add on.
Every point here is something you can check against the product before you commit.
Sicada's point of sale is a web page. It works the same on a laptop, a Chromebook, an iPad or an Android tablet, with nothing to download from an app store and no Shopify hardware. Shopify's register is an app you install.
Sicada's Free plan runs the counter, a product catalogue and full sales history at no cost, with no card required. Shopify POS Lite needs a paid Shopify plan, and the fuller POS Pro is a per-location add-on on top.
Dine-in tabs are in the core POS on every plan. Pro adds per-table QR ordering, and delivery with zones, fees, a driver and a status board. Shopify POS is built for retail — it has no tables, kitchen tickets or table-side ordering.
Sicada charges a flat monthly fee on its paid plans and takes nothing per sale — your own terminal and processor handle the card. Shopify includes its own processing; using a different processor adds a per-transaction fee.
The Free plan needs no card, so any of these is easy to test before you move.
Sicada has no Shopify import tool. You'd re-enter your products by hand, or scan barcodes as you add them, and past sales and customer history don't transfer. If your store also sells online through Shopify, that side would stay where it is — Sicada replaces the in-person till, not a web store.
That makes a switch realistic mainly for an in-person shop with a small catalogue, or one opening fresh. If Shopify runs your website and your counter as one system, moving only the counter means running two systems — usually worth avoiding.
Only for the in-person side, and only if you don't need an online store. Sicada is a standalone point of sale — it rings up sales, tracks products and keeps a full sales history. It has no ecommerce website, no unified online-and-in-store inventory, and no multi-location management. If Shopify runs your online store, Sicada doesn't replace that.
It can be, depending on what you need. Sicada has a free plan ($0 forever, no card, no trial) and two flat monthly paid plans. Shopify POS Lite is included only with a paid Shopify plan, and the fuller POS Pro is a separate per-location add-on. Compare your real needs against Shopify's current prices at shopify.com/pos/pricing and Sicada's Free, Pro and Business plans.
No. Sicada is a point of sale for in-person and delivery orders. On the Pro plan it can generate a shareable menu link that customers use to place delivery orders, and QR codes for dine-in table ordering, but there is no branded online storefront, no online card checkout and no shipping. Shopify is built around exactly that.
Yes, on the Pro plan — stock tracking, low-stock alerts and recipes that deduct ingredients as you sell. The Free plan has an unlimited product catalogue and full sales history but no live stock counts. Shopify includes inventory tracking on every plan, with stock across multiple locations.
Yes. Dine-in tabs are in the core POS on every plan. The Pro plan adds per-table QR ordering, and delivery orders with a structured address, delivery zones and fees, a driver roster and a status board. Shopify POS has none of this — it is a retail point of sale.
A business that sells in person and doesn't run its operations around a website: a café, a small food shop, a market stall, a counter-service spot. Especially one that wants a free starting point, already has a card terminal, or needs dine-in tabs, QR ordering or delivery. If your online store is the centre of your business, Shopify POS is the better fit.