What is the best restaurant loyalty program software in 2026?
Five loyalty tools ranked for restaurants, cafes and bars, on how they recognize your guest at checkout and what they really cost per location.
A restaurant does not buy loyalty software like an online store. The real question is who recognizes your guest when they pay: the POS, their phone number or a card on their phone. For $0, Odoo Point of Sale includes loyalty if you set it up yourself. On Square, Square Loyalty works by phone number in Square Plus. For a full-service POS, Lightspeed Restaurant. For a digital punch card next to any POS, Stamp Me. And for a food truck, Loyverse is free.
Some links may be affiliate links. The ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
The best loyalty program for your restaurant
POS and loyalty for $0 as one app
You already use SquareIn Square Plus, 30-day free trial
Full-service diningStarter $69/mo, loyalty via partners
Punch card on any POSFree trial, no credit card
Food truck or kioskFree POS with points
Big chain, custom appQuote only, see Not ranked
5 restaurant loyalty tools compared
The "How the guest is recognized" column does the first sort. It tells you whether loyalty runs on its own at checkout, whether staff must do something, and whether cash customers count.
| Best for | How the guest is recognized | Free plan | Team size | Visit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Odoo Point of Sale | Free POS | Customer picked on the POS | 4.2/5 | $0 as a single app | ✓ | Cafe, small restaurant | Visit → |
| 2 | Square Loyalty | In the POS | Phone number, text receipts | 4.0/5 | Square Plus, monthly fee per location | — | Restaurant on Square | Visit → |
| 3 | Lightspeed Restaurant | Full POS | Partner loyalty apps | 3.9/5 | Starter $69/mo + partner | — | Full service, several terminals | Visit → |
| 4 | Stamp Me | Punch card | Digital stamp card | 3.7/5 | Lite $49/mo; Pro $79 | — | Cafe, 1 location | Visit → |
| 5 | Loyverse | Free POS | Points on customer profile | 3.3/5 | Free | ✓ | Food truck, kiosk | Visit → |
Prices excluding tax as listed by vendors in 2026, in US dollars, per location unless stated.
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How we compared and ranked
We started from a real restaurant, not a retail store: a cafe, bar, quick-service spot or full-service restaurant with 1 to 5 locations and rush hours where every second at the counter matters. For each tool, we read the official pricing plan by plan and noted how the guest is recognized (card, phone number, wallet pass, scan), what is metered (locations, users, programs) and what is billed on top (partner apps, kitchen screens, extra programs).
Then we read what restaurant owners say in public reviews and forums. The same complaints come back: lines slowing down, cash guests left out, customer data stuck in the POS, and monthly fees hard to justify on $3 items. Each tool keeps one score across our Labs. A tool whose price we could not read on the vendor's own site is not ranked.
- Speed at the counterHow many steps for staff at peak, and whether points post automatically.Heaviest
- Real cost per locationSubscription, required POS plan, partner apps, for one month and one year.Heavy
- POS connectionLoyalty inside the POS, plugged in, or standalone, and what happens if you switch.Heavy
- Guest experienceApp or no app, wallet pass, cash customers.Medium
- Trial and contractTrial length, credit card required, monthly cancellation.Medium
- Owner feedbackRecurring complaints: bugs, support, price jumps.Light
Some links may be affiliate links. The ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
Odoo Point of Sale
Odoo is a business suite, and its Point of Sale app has a restaurant mode with custom floor plans, kitchen printing and a preparation display. Loyalty lives inside the POS: points, discounts and other rewards for returning customers, set up from the same back office. Your cashier picks the customer, the points land on the ticket.
The pricing is what makes it stand out. On Odoo Online, one app is free with unlimited users. Take Point of Sale as your single app and you get the POS and its loyalty program for $0. The moment you add a second app (invoicing, inventory, accounting), you move to Standard, listed at $31.10 per user per month for the first 12 months, then $38.90.
The catch: Odoo is a toolbox, not a turnkey loyalty app. You set up the rules yourself, and support on the free plan is thin. Restaurants that want a partner to configure everything end up paying an Odoo integrator, which changes the math.
- POS and loyalty for $0 as a single app
- Points and discounts in the same back office
- Restaurant mode with floor plans
- ✓Unlimited users on the free app
- ✓Grows into inventory and accounting
- ✓No card fees tied to the software
- ✗You configure the rules yourself
- ✗A second app moves you to a paid plan per user
- ✗Limited hands-on support
Our top pick if you are comfortable setting things up yourself and want loyalty without a monthly fee. If you want a program that runs with zero configuration on day one, Square is easier.
Square Loyalty
Square Loyalty sits inside the Square POS. At checkout, the guest types a phone number, earns points, and gets a text with the balance. No app to download, and it works for cash customers too, because the phone number is the key, not the card.
On Square's pricing page, the loyalty rewards program is listed in Square Plus, a paid plan billed per location each month; check the current amount on Square's pricing page before you sign. Plus also includes 500 texts a month per account, then 3 cents per text. The Free plan does not include it. You can try it free for 30 days, and Square says there are no locked-in contracts.
Square owners are blunt about the trade-offs. One cafe owner called the monthly fee a big price hike compared with paper punch cards, especially on $3 items. Others mention customer profiles merging when two people share a phone, and slow lookups during a rush. Some older threads report redemption glitches in Square for Restaurants: check redemption on your own setup during the trial.
- Loyalty in the POS, no app for guests
- Automatic text with points balance
- 30-day free trial
- ✓Counts cash customers by phone number
- ✓Loyalty reports next to your sales
- ✓No long-term contract
- ✗Requires Square Plus, not the Free plan
- ✗Phone entry slows the line at peak
- ✗Data and balances tied to Square
The easy choice if your restaurant already runs on Square: switch it on, keep your current rewards, and you are live the same day. Set a minimum spend per point so a single coffee does not fill the card too fast.
Lightspeed Restaurant
Lightspeed Restaurant is a deep restaurant POS: floor plans, coursing, kitchen display, multi-terminal setups and detailed reports. It scores at the top of our grid for features. For loyalty, though, the US restaurant product connects to loyalty programs through third-party integrations rather than describing a built-in module.
The listed restaurant tiers are Starter at $69, Essential at $189 and Premium at $399, with Enterprise on quote and a kitchen display system at $30 per screen per month. Lightspeed adds that prices may vary depending on your business and industry, so get a written quote.
That makes the real loyalty cost the POS plus the partner app. Ask which loyalty partners Lightspeed supports in your region, and what the partner charges on top, before you sign.
- Top features for full-service dining
- Kitchen display and multi-terminal
- Loyalty through partner integrations
- ✓One system for floor, kitchen and reports
- ✓Scales to several locations
- ✓Integrations with loyalty partners
- ✗No built-in loyalty described for US restaurants
- ✗Loyalty partner billed on top
- ✗Prices may vary by business
Pick it for the POS, not for loyalty. If you only want to reward regulars, Square or Stamp Me costs far less.
Stamp Me
Stamp Me does one thing: the classic punch card, on the guest's phone. Staff give a stamp in a couple of seconds, and reviewers keep coming back to that point: quick for the team to use at the till, and no more paper cards that get smudged or lost.
In US dollars, Lite is $49 a month (shown as a limited-time offer), Pro $79 and Elite $199. Every plan covers a single location, with unlimited users and two published programs; each extra program is a one-time $15. The 30-day trial needs no credit card and only starts when you publish your first stamp card. Tip: build your card and rewards first, then publish, so you do not burn trial days on setup.
The complaints are practical. Some users find the cards hard to manage, a double stamp given by mistake cannot be undone, the app can lag, and there is no offline mode. Test it on your counter Wi-Fi during the trial.
- Fast stamping at the counter
- Free trial with no credit card
- Unlimited staff users
- ✓Works next to any POS
- ✓No lock-in contract
- ✓Scratch-card game to liven up the card
- ✗One location per plan
- ✗No offline mode
- ✗Entry price shown as limited-time
Our pick for a single cafe that wants to keep the punch-card logic without touching its POS. With two locations, you pay two plans: compare with Square at that point.
Loyverse
Loyverse is a free tablet POS with a points program attached to the customer profile. Staff find the guest by name, phone or a barcode card, and a percentage of each purchase goes back as points.
The loyalty program is part of the free tools. Paid add-ons are per store: unlimited sales history at $7 a month ($70 a year), employee management at $25 ($250 a year), and advanced inventory at $25 ($250 a year), each with a 14-day trial and prices excluding tax.
The limits are clear in our grid: loyalty is points only, with no punch cards and no wallet pass, and support is light. Fine to start, thin once you have a team and several locations.
- POS and loyalty for $0
- Points on the customer profile
- Pay only for the add-ons you need
- ✓Runs on a tablet you already own
- ✓Add-ons can be canceled anytime
- ✓No contract
- ✗Points only, no punch cards or wallet
- ✗Light support
- ✗Basic reporting on the free plan
A solid first step for a food truck or kiosk. Once you add staff and a second spot, move to Square or Odoo for better reports and support.
What does restaurant loyalty software really cost?
The entry price barely matters. What sets the bill is the POS plan you need, your number of locations and the extras. Here is the math from the official pricing pages.
A neighborhood coffee shop, 1 location
Most commonOdoo Point of Sale as your only app costs $0, loyalty included. Loyverse is $0 too, with points only. Square Loyalty needs the paid Square Plus plan, billed per location. Stamp Me lists Lite at $49 (limited-time) and Pro at $79. Lightspeed Starter is $69 before any loyalty partner.
Tip: over a year, the gap between $0 and $79 a month is $948. That is the price of a lot of free coffees: make sure the paid tool brings something you need.
- Cheapest
- Odoo or Loyverse, $0
- Easiest
- Square Plus (paid plan)
A restaurant group with 2 locations
GrowingPer-location prices double. The Square Plus fee applies to each location you run, so you pay it twice. Stamp Me covers one location per plan, so two Pro plans cost $158. Loyverse stays free, though you may want employee management at $25 per store. Odoo stays at $0 as long as you keep a single app.
Tip: ask each vendor whether points earned at one location can be spent at the other. It is the first question guests ask.
- Square Plus
- 2 × the per-location fee
- Stamp Me Pro
- $158/mo
The extras that change the math
Watch outStamp Me charges a one-time $15 per extra program beyond the two included. Lightspeed bills its kitchen display at $30 per screen per month, and loyalty goes through a partner billed separately. Odoo jumps to Standard, $31.10 per user per month in year one, as soon as you add a second app.
Tip: list every add-on you will need in month six, not on day one, before you compare.
- Extra Stamp Me program
- $15 once
- Lightspeed KDS
- $30/screen/mo
Points, punch cards or phone number: what survives the lunch rush
Restaurant loyalty is decided at checkout, with a line behind the guest. Three ways to recognize a guest, three effects on service.
The cashier picks the guest in the POS
One stepThat is how Odoo and Loyverse work: staff search the guest by name, phone or barcode and the points land on the ticket. It works with every payment method but adds a few seconds per sale.
Tip: print a barcode card for regulars. A scan is faster than typing a name at peak.
- Tools
- Odoo, Loyverse
- Cash guests
- Counted
The guest types a phone number
One stepSquare Loyalty asks for the phone number at checkout and texts the balance. Owners mention slow lookups in a rush and profiles merging when a couple shares a phone.
Tip: set a minimum spend to earn a point. Square users do it to stop single cheap items from filling cards.
- Tool
- Square
- Cash guests
- Counted
The guest shows a card on their phone
One scanStamp Me puts the punch card on the guest's phone and staff stamp it in seconds. It does not depend on your POS at all. The trade-off: no offline mode, so a weak signal slows every stamp.
Tip: check the Wi-Fi at your counter during the trial, not in the back office.
- Tool
- Stamp Me
- POS
- Standalone
Launch a loyalty program that actually brings guests back
The rules of the game matter more than the software. Here are the settings owners wish they had chosen on day one.
Pick a reward guests can see
Step 1"Your 10th coffee is free" lands better than "1 point per dollar". One restaurant owner moved from paper cards it had used since 2004 to Square Loyalty with the same rewards: guests had nothing to relearn, and the line moved faster.
Tip: keep your current paper reward when you go digital, and only change it after three months of data.
- Target
- Reward within 10 visits
- Avoid
- Points with no clear value
Train staff in five minutes, before service
Step 2A program dies when servers forget to offer it. Write one sentence: "Want your rewards card on your phone?" and stick it on the register for the first two weeks.
Tip: track sign-ups per day in month one. Very few sign-ups in a busy cafe means staff are not asking.
- Training time
- 5 minutes
- Metric
- Sign-ups per day
Win back guests who stopped coming
Step 3The real value of software over paper is knowing who stopped coming. Square texts balances, Odoo rewards returning customers with discounts, Stamp Me can push offers to card holders. A guest you never remind eventually forgets your card.
Tip: start with one automated message, to guests absent for 30 days. Add birthdays later.
- First scenario
- Absent 30 days
- Channel
- Text or push
Own your customer list
Step 4Your list of regulars is worth more than the software. Collect marketing consent separately and clearly, and check you can export guests and their balances. Texting guests in the US means following the TCPA consent rules.
Tip: run a test export in month one. If you cannot get the balances out, you already know what leaving will cost.
- Check
- Export of guests and balances
- Texts
- Written consent
What makes a loyalty program fail, and what to check
Bad surprises nearly always come from the same places. Here they are, with what the official pricing pages say.
Loyalty locked in your POS
With Square, Odoo or Loyverse, guests and balances live in the POS. Switching POS can mean starting over, with guests losing their points.
The plan you did not expect
Square's Free plan has no loyalty: you need Square Plus. Odoo is free for one app only; a second app moves you to a per-user plan.
One location per plan
Stamp Me plans each cover a single location. Two cafes mean two subscriptions.
Partner apps billed on top
Lightspeed Restaurant connects to loyalty through partners. Ask for the partner's price, not just the POS price.
Limited-time pricing
Stamp Me shows Lite and Elite as limited-time offers. Get the renewal price in writing before committing for a year.
Text message consent
Marketing texts need clear consent. Add a separate opt-in at sign-up and an opt-out in every message.
- How the guest is recognized: POS, phone or card
- Which POS plan includes loyalty
- Price per location
- Points usable across all locations
- Export of guests and balances
- Separate opt-in for marketing texts
Other tools: quote only, or prices we could not read
These names come up in every search. They are not ranked because they sell on quote, or because we could not read the loyalty price on the vendor's own site.
Toast: loyalty for Toast POS restaurants
Price not readToast sells loyalty as part of its restaurant platform. We could not read its loyalty pricing on Toast's site, so we do not rank it here. If you already run Toast, ask your rep for the loyalty add-on price per location.
- Status
- Not ranked
- Ask for
- Price per location
Thanx: custom loyalty for chains
Quote onlyThanx builds branded loyalty and ordering for restaurant brands, on quote. It only works with companies based in the USA and Canada.
- Price
- Quote
- Market
- USA and Canada
Paytronix: loyalty for multi-unit brands
Quote onlyPaytronix serves large restaurant groups with loyalty, gift cards and ordering. Pricing is on quote, so it sits outside this ranking.
- Price
- Quote
- For
- Large groups
SpotOn: restaurant POS with a loyalty option
Price not listedSpotOn lists its POS plans (All-In at $0 per station with a two-year agreement, Essentials at $55 per station) but not the price of its loyalty option. Ask for it before comparing.
- POS
- From $0/station
- Loyalty price
- Not on the page
Punchh and Eat App
Not rankedPunchh targets enterprise chains on quote. Eat App ties points to its reservation tool, with a pricing page we could not read. None had a loyalty price we could check on the vendor's site.
- Status
- Not ranked
- Reason
- No readable loyalty price
Pick your next step based on what you need
Loyalty sits next to your POS, your online ordering and your email. Here are related comparisons for restaurants.
Square, Toast, Lightspeed, Loyverse
You want loyalty inside the POSPOS with a loyalty programWho really has it built in
You sell takeout or deliveryRestaurant online orderingWithout marketplace commissions
You also run a storeBest loyalty program softwareThe general comparison
You want email win-backsEmail marketing for restaurantsNewsletters and automations
You are leaving SquareSwitch from SquareAlternatives and migration
Restaurant loyalty program FAQ
What is the best loyalty program software for a restaurant?
It depends on your POS. On Square, Square Loyalty is the simplest, included in Square Plus. For $0, Odoo Point of Sale includes loyalty if you set it up yourself. For a punch card next to any POS, Stamp Me starts at $49 a month.
Is there a free restaurant loyalty program?
Yes. Odoo Point of Sale is free as a single app with loyalty included, and Loyverse adds points to its free POS. The trade-off is setup work with Odoo and points-only loyalty with Loyverse.
How much does restaurant loyalty software cost?
From $0 to about $80 a month per location for a cafe. Odoo and Loyverse are free, Square Loyalty comes with the paid Square Plus plan (monthly fee per location, check Square's pricing page), Stamp Me Pro is $79. Chain-level platforms like Thanx or Paytronix are quote only.
Do my guests need to download an app?
Not always. Square recognizes guests by phone number, Odoo and Loyverse by the customer profile in the POS. Stamp Me uses a digital card on the guest's phone.
Are paper punch cards still worth it?
For one small cafe, maybe. A paper card costs almost nothing, but it gets lost and tells you nothing about who stopped coming. Software gives you that list. One Square owner moved from paper cards used since 2004 and kept the same rewards.
Will I lose my loyalty members if I switch POS?
Often, if loyalty lives inside the POS. Guests and balances stay with the POS vendor. Before signing, ask for an export of guests with balances, and test it in the first month.
Can I text my loyalty members in the US?
Yes, with their consent. Marketing texts fall under the TCPA, which calls for clear prior consent. Add a separate opt-in at sign-up and an easy opt-out in every message.
How do I stop guests from gaming a punch card?
Set a minimum spend to earn a point or stamp. Square owners use a small minimum so a single cheap item does not count.