Clover vs SpotOn, both of them showing their numbers.
Clover's restaurant rate is 2.3% + 10¢ with software from $89.95 a month. SpotOn is 2.45% + 15¢ at $55 per station, or 2.79% + 20¢ at $0 per station with a two-year term. Both publish, which is unusual.
What this page settles.
Three questions, in the order most people ask them.
The short answer
Clover has the lowest published rate. SpotOn has the cheaper software and is the more honest about what its $0 plan costs.
Clover’s restaurant plans, bought direct on clover.com, all carry 2.3% + 10¢ card present and 3.5% + 10¢ keyed, with software at $89.95, $109.90 or $129.85 a month and hardware at $1,799, $2,548 or $4,447 outright — or $179, $239 or $354 a month over 36 months.
SpotOn publishes two: POS Essentials at $55 per station, 2.45% + $0.15 card present (Amex 3.19% + $0.15), hardware at $750 for a Station 15 and $297 for a handheld, month-to-month. And All-In at $0 per station with hardware included, 2.79% + $0.20, with processing minimums and a two-year minimum term.
On a one-station restaurant doing $60,000 a month: Clover’s basic restaurant plan is roughly $1,380 in processing plus $89.95 software; SpotOn Essentials is roughly $1,470 plus $55. Close enough that hardware cost and contract terms decide it — which is the right place for the decision to land.
One caveat that dominates everything. Clover’s published prices apply to a direct purchase. Most Clovers are sold by ISOs at their own rates and terms, and the figures above are not a benchmark you can hold a reseller to.
Published pricing, side by side
| Clover | SpotOn | |
|---|---|---|
| In person | 2.6% + 10¢ retail Starter plan bought on clover.com; 2.3% + 10¢ on Retail Growth and on all three restaurant plans |
2.79% + $0.20 All-In plan; 2.45% + $0.15 on POS Essentials, except Amex at 3.19% + $0.15 |
| Keyed | 3.5% + 10¢ | 3.79% + $0.20 All-In; 3.45% + $0.15 on POS Essentials |
| Online | Not published on the plan pages | Not published separately |
| Pricing model | Flat rate, when bought direct | Flat rate, inside a plan |
| Monthly | Retail: $0 on Starter hardware, $84.95/mo Standard, $104.90/mo Advanced. Restaurant: $89.95/mo, $109.90/mo, $129.85/mo. | $0 per station (All-In); $55 per station (POS Essentials) |
| Contract | Not published on the pricing pages | All-In: processing minimums apply and a two-year minimum term. POS Essentials: month-to-month. |
| Monthly minimum | Not published | Stated to apply on the All-In plan; the amount is not published |
| Funding | Not published on the pricing pages | Not published |
| Chargeback fee | Not published | Not published |
| Hardware | Retail: $349, $1,899 or $2,648 outright, or $16, $180 or $240 a month over 36 months. Restaurant: $1,799, $2,548 or $4,447 outright, or $179, $239 or $354 a month over 36 months. | Included on All-In. On POS Essentials: Station 15 $750 each, handheld $297 each, plus implementation. |
| Account type | Depends entirely on who sold it to you | Own merchant account through SpotOn |
Clover: www.clover.com, www.clover.com — read 2026-10-08. SpotOn: www.spoton.com — read 2026-10-08.
Published prices change. These were read on the dates above and are list prices for a business buying direct — a quote you are given may differ, and should be compared as a quote rather than against a price list.
Clover, also published:
- Clover is a platform resold by hundreds of ISOs and banks. The rates above are Clover’s own direct online prices; a Clover bought from a reseller is priced by that reseller and can look nothing like this.
- The pricing pages say the prices shown are only available online
SpotOn, also published:
- Core Bundle add-on $50/mo plus 20bps of gross processing volume
- The $0 hardware plan is the one with the two-year term. That trade is the whole point of the plan.
Where they actually differ
Hardware cost and what it is really doing. Clover’s 36-month monthly figures are financing: $354 a month for 36 months is $12,744 against $4,447 outright. SpotOn’s Essentials hardware is $750 and $297 outright plus implementation, and its All-In hardware is “free” in exchange for a two-year term and a 0.34% higher rate. Both are versions of the same trade; SpotOn’s is the one stated plainly on the page. Buy or lease.
The term. SpotOn publishes a two-year minimum on All-In and month-to-month on Essentials. Clover publishes no term on its pricing pages, and a resold Clover’s term is whatever the reseller’s agreement says. Auto-renewal clauses.
Who you buy from. SpotOn sells direct. Clover sells direct and through a very large reseller channel, which means establishing which conversation you are in is step one. Who is who in payments.
The Amex carve-out. SpotOn Essentials charges 3.19% + $0.15 for Amex against 2.45% + $0.15 for everything else. If Amex is a real share of your covers, that 0.74% gap matters. Clover does not publish a separate Amex rate.
Add-ons. SpotOn publishes a Core Bundle at $50 a month plus 20 basis points of gross processing volume — $170 a month at $60,000 of volume. Price it rather than accepting it as a small extra.
What neither publishes. Funding timing, chargeback fees, monthly minimums (SpotOn says they apply on All-In without naming the figure). Three things to get in writing from either.
Who each one suits
Clover suits a restaurant that wants to buy at a published price with no negotiation, or one with a reseller quote it has checked against clover.com. Its restaurant plans cover table mapping, open tabs with card pre-authorization, bill splitting, QR order and pay and tipping.
SpotOn suits a restaurant that wants the lower software fee and the ability to buy its hardware cheaply, and particularly an operator who values a month-to-month arrangement. For an operator who genuinely cannot fund hardware, All-In is an honest version of the free-equipment deal.
Neither is the cheapest way to process. Both bundle processing with the system and both are flat rates. A restaurant at $80,000 a month would save meaningfully on interchange-plus, and the reason it cannot is the system lock rather than the rate. Choosing a restaurant POS.
What the comparison does not show
Clover’s published rate is the direct-purchase rate. If an ISO is quoting you a Clover, compare their quote, not this page.
Do the hardware arithmetic as a total, not a monthly. Clover’s 36-month figures and SpotOn’s free-hardware plan are both financing arrangements. Totals, not monthlies.
Neither rate shows you interchange. Both are flat, so both charge the same for a plain debit card and a premium rewards card, and your card mix decides whether that is generous. What rewards cards cost.
Implementation is a real cost in both cases and neither publishes it. Menu build, install, training, and a week of running two systems.
How to settle it with your own numbers
Half of this comparison cannot be done from a web page, because Clover publishes no rate. So the comparison has to happen on your own numbers instead, and the figure that makes it possible is your effective rate: total fees for a month divided by total card volume for that month.
Get the Clover quote in writing, with the markup as a number, the per-item, and every monthly fee named individually. Apply all of it to your own volume, your own average ticket and your own card mix, add the monthly fees, and divide by volume. That single number is the only thing comparable to SpotOn’s published figures — or to anybody else’s. A quote that cannot be reduced to it is not a quote.
Comparing two quotes is the full method for an unpublished rate, and the calculator does the arithmetic once you have the figures.
What we charge
Interchange + 0.50% + 10¢ in person, interchange + 0.75% + 25¢ keyed, with no contract, no monthly fee and no monthly minimum.
If you are holding a quote from Clover, send it to us with one page of a statement. We will reduce the quote to an effective rate at your own volume and put it next to SpotOn’s published figures and ours, so you are comparing three numbers of the same kind instead of a price list against a sales conversation.
While we are on the subject
Is Clover cheaper than SpotOn?
On published card-present rate, yes — 2.3% + 10¢ against 2.45% + 15¢ or 2.79% + 20¢. On software, SpotOn is cheaper at $55 per station against Clover’s $89.95 and up.
Is SpotOn's free hardware plan a good deal?
It is an honest financing arrangement: no upfront or monthly cost, in exchange for a 0.34% higher rate, processing minimums and a two-year minimum term. If you can fund hardware, the paid plan costs less.
Does Clover require a contract?
Its pricing pages publish no term. A resold Clover’s term is whatever the reseller’s agreement says, which is why it has to be read before signing.
Which handles Amex better?
Clover does not publish a separate Amex rate. SpotOn Essentials charges 3.19% + $0.15 for Amex against 2.45% + $0.15 otherwise, so a high-Amex restaurant should weigh that.