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Retail AI software compared: POS, marketing, reviews, and shipping by price
Here is how we do this: published price first. If a tool puts a real number on its own pricing page, that number leads the row. If it only quotes after a demo, we say so and we don't make up a figure. Every price below was checked on the vendor's page on 2026-08-14. Nobody pays us to sit higher on this list. Quick note the first time it comes up: POS means point of sale, the system that rings up a sale and tracks what you sold.
The short version:
- Cheapest way in: Square for Retail is $0/mo -- you only pay a card fee per sale (2.6% + 15 cents in person on the free plan). Klaviyo and Mailchimp both have free marketing tiers too.
- Sell online and in store: Shopify POS ties your website and your shop floor to one stock count, from $39/mo (Basic) or $89/mo (Retail plan).
- Bigger stock and reporting: Lightspeed Retail (from $89/mo billed annually) and Heartland Retail (around $89 per register/mo) go deeper on inventory and reports.
- Email and text marketing: Mailchimp is the simple start (Essentials from $13/mo); Klaviyo goes deeper on automated, sales-driven flows (free up to 250 contacts).
- Reviews and shipping: Podium runs reviews and customer texting (quote-based, no published price); ShipStation prints labels across every sales channel (Starter around $14.99/mo).
Common questions
What is the cheapest way to run a small shop on AI tools?
Start free where you can. Square for Retail has a $0/mo plan and only takes a card fee per sale, so it is the lowest-cost way onto a real point-of-sale system. Klaviyo and Mailchimp both have free marketing tiers (Klaviyo up to 250 contacts, Mailchimp up to 500). You can run a working shop on free tiers and only start paying when your sales or your list grows. Confirm current pricing with each vendor; plans change.
Should I pick Square or Shopify POS for my store?
If you mostly sell in the shop and want to start free, Square for Retail is the easy call: a $0/mo plan, simple hardware, and a flat card rate. If you sell online as much as in the store and want one system to track both, Shopify POS is built for that, from $39/mo on the Basic plan, or $89/mo for the Retail plan with the fuller in-store features. Both are solid; the question is whether your online side is a side note or half the business. The full walk-through is in Square vs Shopify POS.
Is Klaviyo or Mailchimp better for a shop's email and texts?
Mailchimp is the simpler start: a free plan, then Essentials from $13/mo and Standard from $20/mo, and most owners already know it. Klaviyo goes deeper on shop-style automation, like a text or email that fires when someone buys or leaves items in a cart, and it is free up to 250 contacts. Simple newsletters point to Mailchimp; automated, sales-driven flows point to Klaviyo. Both charge more as your contact list grows. See Klaviyo vs Mailchimp.
Why is there no price for Podium?
Because Podium does not publish one. It quotes you after a demo, so we list it here without a dollar figure rather than guess. Every other tool on this page shows a real vendor-published starting price.
Sources: vendor pricing pages for Square (squareup.com), Shopify POS (shopify.com/pos), Lightspeed Retail (lightspeedhq.com), Klaviyo (klaviyo.com/pricing), Mailchimp (mailchimp.com/pricing), and ShipStation (shipstation.com/pricing), all vendor-published and checked 2026-08-14. Heartland Retail does not post a clear self-serve price; the figure near $89/register/mo is the one widely listed, and Heartland quotes directly. Podium publishes no price and is quote-based. Last reviewed: 2026-08-14.
How do the eight tools compare?
Grouped by the job they do: point of sale and stock first, then marketing, then reviews and shipping. Prices are each vendor's own published starting rate, checked 2026-08-14.
| Tool | Job | Who it suits | Pricing | What the AI does | Key limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square for Retail | POS + inventory | A shop that wants to start free and keep it simple | Free tier ($0/mo); Plus $49/mo per location; Premium $149/mo | Sales and inventory summaries, item and email text drafting inside Square | You still pay a card fee per sale (2.6% + 15 cents in person on Free) |
| Shopify POS | POS + online/in-store stock | Shops that sell online and in person off one stock count | Basic $39/mo (POS Lite); Retail plan $89/mo per location | Product copy and email drafting; forecast and reorder help in the Shopify tools | The fuller in-store features need the $89/mo Retail plan |
| Lightspeed Retail | POS + inventory + demand insight | Shops with deep stock that need real reporting | Basic $89/mo billed annually ($109 monthly); Core $149; Plus $289 | Demand and reorder suggestions, seasonality trends in the reports | The lowest tier is annual billing; month to month costs more |
| Heartland Retail | POS + inventory + reporting | Multi-location shops that live in their reports | Commonly listed around $89 per register/mo; Heartland quotes directly | Inventory and sales reporting across locations | No clear self-serve price; you get a quote from Heartland |
| Klaviyo | Email + text marketing | Shops that want automated, sales-driven messages | Free up to 250 contacts / 500 emails; paid scales by contact count | Predicts who is likely to buy; drafts subject lines and product picks | The price climbs as your contact list grows |
| Mailchimp | Email marketing + basic text | Owners who want the simplest start on a newsletter | Free up to 500 contacts; Essentials from $13/mo; Standard from $20/mo | Drafts and rewrites email copy; suggests send times and subject lines | Deeper shop-style automation is thinner than Klaviyo's |
| Podium | Reviews + customer texting | Shops that want more Google reviews and to answer texts fast | Quote-based (no published price) | Auto-asks for reviews and drafts replies to customer texts | You have to book a demo to learn the price |
| ShipStation | Multi-channel shipping | Shops mailing orders from more than one sales channel | Starter around $14.99/mo (50 shipments); Standard $29.99/mo | Picks cheaper rates and suggests the best box and service per order | Priced by shipment volume, so a busy month costs more |
Prices are vendor-published, checked 2026-08-14. Features shift between tiers, so confirm current pricing with each vendor; plans change.
What's the one-paragraph read on each tool?
Square for Retail is the easiest place to start. The plan is free, so your only cost is the card fee per sale (2.6% + 15 cents in person on the free plan). Plus is $49/mo per location and drops the in-person rate a touch (2.5% + 15 cents) while adding better stock and staff tools; Premium is $149/mo. If you want a real till running this week without a bill, this is it.
Shopify POS is for the shop that sells online and in person and is tired of counting stock twice. POS Lite comes with any paid Shopify plan (Basic is $39/mo); the $89/mo Retail plan adds the fuller in-store features. One stock count for your website and your counter is the whole point.
Lightspeed Retail goes deeper on stock and reporting. Basic is $89/mo when you pay for the year ($109 month to month), with Core ($149) and Plus ($289) adding more. If you carry hundreds of SKUs -- that's a SKU as in stock keeping unit, a code for each product you sell -- and you actually read your reports, this earns its price.
Heartland Retail is aimed at shops with more than one location that live in inventory and sales reports. It is commonly listed around $89 per register per month, but Heartland doesn't post a clear self-serve price, so you get a quote. Treat the $89 as a ballpark, not a promise.
Klaviyo is the marketing tool built for selling. It is free up to 250 contacts and 500 emails a month, then scales by how many contacts you have. Its strength is automated messages -- a text (that's SMS, a plain phone text message) or email that fires on its own when someone buys or leaves items in their cart.
Mailchimp is the simple start most owners already know. Free up to 500 contacts, then Essentials from $13/mo and Standard from $20/mo. For a monthly newsletter and the odd sale announcement it is plenty; its deeper shop automation is thinner than Klaviyo's.
Podium handles reviews and customer texting. It nudges happy customers to leave a Google review and drafts replies to the texts your shop gets, so you look responsive without living on your phone. It is quote-based -- no published price -- so you book a demo to find out the cost.
ShipStation is for getting orders out the door. It pulls orders from every place you sell, prints labels, and picks cheaper rates and the right box per order. Starter is around $14.99/mo for a low shipment count; it scales up with volume from there.
Which tool fits your shop?
Pick by the part of the shop that is actually costing you time or money right now. There is no single winner here -- these do different jobs.
Just need a till, starting cheap
Square for Retail at $0/mo gets you ringing up sales today; you only pay the card fee. If you sell online too, weigh it against Shopify POS in Square vs Shopify POS.
Online and in store as one
Shopify POS (from $39/mo) keeps one stock count across your website and counter. Deep stock and heavy reporting instead? Lightspeed (from $89/mo) or Heartland go further.
Bring customers back
Email and text marketing is the job. Mailchimp (from $13/mo) for a simple newsletter, or Klaviyo (free to start) for automated flows. The trade-offs are in Klaviyo vs Mailchimp.
Reviews and shipping
Want more reviews and faster replies? Podium (quote-based). Drowning in orders to mail? ShipStation (from about $14.99/mo) prints the labels and finds cheaper rates.
How wide is the price spread?
Wider than it looks, because these do different jobs. Your point-of-sale system can cost nothing up front (Square's free plan) or run $89/mo and up once you want deep stock and reporting (Lightspeed, Heartland). Marketing starts free (Klaviyo, Mailchimp) and climbs with your contact list. Shipping starts around $14.99/mo and grows with how much you mail. And Podium sits off the scale because it publishes no price at all. So don't compare a free till to a $289 reporting plan -- decide the job first, then the price band.
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