A point-of-sale system is where most of a shop’s money actually changes hands, so paying a monthly per-terminal fee for it stings. The open-source options below let you run the till, track stock, and pull sales reports without that recurring bill — you host them yourself and keep your data. Here are six that are real, maintained, and worth a look in 2026, with their stacks and licenses so you know what you’re committing to before you install anything.
A quick note before the list: “open source” and “free forever for any use” aren’t the same thing. Licenses range from MIT (do almost anything) to GPL/LGPL (share your changes if you distribute) to a custom variant. Each entry says which one applies. Check the license against your plans, especially if you intend to resell or build a closed product on top.
What to look for in an open-source POS
The flashy demo matters less than the boring stuff. Before you pick one, weigh:
- Stack and hosting. PHP and MySQL run on cheap shared hosting. Java desktop apps run offline on a counter PC. Python ERPs want a real server. Match the tool to what you can actually maintain.
- Retail vs restaurant. Table maps, floor plans, and kitchen tickets are restaurant features. Barcode scanning, stock counts, and supplier records are retail features. Few tools do both well.
- License. Covered per entry below.
- Activity. A repo with commits this month will get security fixes. One that went quiet years ago won’t.
1. Open Source Point of Sale (OSPOS)
The most popular browser-based retail POS on GitHub, and it earns the spot. OSPOS is written in PHP on the CodeIgniter framework with a MySQL or MariaDB back end, so it’ll happily run on the kind of cheap hosting most small shops already have. You get a sales screen, barcode scanning, item and customer management, gift cards, tax configuration, and employee accounts with role-based permissions, plus the everyday reports a small business needs.
It’s actively maintained — commits land regularly — and the community is large enough that you can usually find an answer when something breaks.
- Stack: PHP (CodeIgniter), MySQL/MariaDB, web-based
- License: MIT — about as permissive as it gets
- Repo: github.com/opensourcepos/opensourcepos
Best for retail shops that want a self-hosted web till and don’t need restaurant table service.
2. NexoPOS
NexoPOS is the modern Laravel pick. Built with Laravel, Tailwind CSS, and Vue.js, it looks current in a way a lot of older POS projects don’t, and development is genuinely busy. The core covers registers, inventory with stock adjustments, customers, and reporting; the author also sells optional add-on modules, but the base system is free under the GPL.
That GPL-3.0 license is the catch worth knowing: if you distribute a modified version, you have to share your changes under the same terms. For most shops running it in-house that never comes up.
- Stack: PHP (Laravel), Vue.js, Tailwind, web-based
- License: GPL-3.0
- Repo: github.com/Blair2004/NexoPOS
Best for developers who already know Laravel and want a clean, actively developed codebase to extend.
3. Odoo POS
Odoo isn’t only a POS — it’s a full ERP, and the point-of-sale is one module sitting next to inventory, accounting, CRM, and e-commerce. The upside is obvious: a sale at the register updates stock and the books automatically. The POS keeps working when the internet drops and syncs back up, and it handles both retail and restaurant setups.
The Community edition is open source under LGPLv3; the slicker features and hosting live in the paid Enterprise tier. The whole platform is Python, and it’s a heavier install than a single-purpose PHP till — plan for a proper server.
- Stack: Python, PostgreSQL, web-based (Community edition)
- License: LGPLv3 (Community)
- Repo: github.com/odoo/odoo
Best for a growing business that wants the register wired into inventory and accounting from day one.
4. InfoShop
A newer, lighter option for people who like the React side of things. InfoShop is built on Laravel with Inertia.js and React, aimed at small shops that want sales, inventory, and multi-store handling without the weight of a full ERP. It’s smaller than the projects above, but it’s active and the code is approachable if you want to read or tweak it.
- Stack: PHP (Laravel) + Inertia/React, web-based
- License: MIT
- Repo: github.com/NifrasUsanar/InfoShop
Best for a single shop or small chain that wants a modern, hackable codebase and an MIT license with no strings.
5. uniCenta oPOS
uniCenta is the long-running Java desktop choice, originally a fork of Openbravo POS. It runs as an installed application rather than in a browser, which some counters prefer — no tab to lose, works offline by default — and it supports multi-store setups against a central database. It’s been a staple in retail and hospitality for years.
It’s a more traditional codebase than the Laravel and React entries here, so weigh whether your team is comfortable in Java before you commit.
- Stack: Java (desktop), supports MySQL and other databases
- License: GPLv3
- Site: unicenta.com
Best for retail or hospitality counters that want an installed desktop till with multi-store support.
6. Floreant POS
Floreant is the restaurant specialist. It’s a Java desktop app with the features food service actually needs — table management, floor plans, and kitchen printing — and it runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It started life built for Denny’s locations and has been around for well over a decade.
One thing to read carefully: Floreant is released under the MRPL 1.2, a modified version of the Mozilla Public License rather than a standard MIT/GPL. The source is free and you can modify and distribute it, but check the exact terms if you plan anything commercial. The same team also offers a paid, supported product called ORO POS.
- Stack: Java (desktop), cross-platform
- License: MRPL 1.2 (a modified MPL 1.1)
- Site: floreant.org
Best for restaurants, cafes, and bars that need table service and kitchen tickets, not a retail barcode workflow.
Which one should you pick?
If you run a retail shop on shared hosting and want the safest license, start with OSPOS. If you’re a Laravel developer who wants to build on top of the POS, NexoPOS or InfoShop are the natural homes — NexoPOS if you want something bigger and battle-tested, InfoShop if you want something lean and MIT-licensed. Pick Odoo when the register is just one piece of a business you’re running on one platform. For an offline desktop till, uniCenta covers retail and Floreant covers restaurants.
Whatever you choose, install it on a test machine first, run a few fake sales, and read the license before it touches real money. Self-hosting means the uptime and the backups are on you — that’s the trade for not paying per terminal every month.
Want stock control to go with your till? Our open-source inventory management roundup covers tools that pair well with these systems, and if you’re deciding what to build on, Laravel vs Django breaks down the two frameworks several of these projects are built with. More comparisons live in our best-of roundups.
Last updated: June 18, 2026