Shopify POS vs PayPal Zettle POS 2024: The Complete Guide

Shopify vs PayPal Zettle POS: Which point of sale solution should you be using?

Both Zettle and Shopify POS have a lot of overlapping capabilities. Each of these cloud-based solutions empower business owners to manage and take payments in a range of environments (both online, and in-person). Plus, they can both integrate with your ecommerce store.

Promising exceptional ease of use, a range of payment options, and powerful back-end analytics, Shopify and Zettle can both give business owners the tools they need to grow.

So which option is best?

Today, we’re looking at the features, pricing, hardware, and other factors, to help you make the best choice for your business.

Shopify POS vs Zettle Comparison Table

	Shopify POS	Zettle
Features	Overall, Shopify has an advanced range of features, including everything from inventory and order management, to payment processing, customizable checkouts, customer profiles, and employee management tools. There are even integrated marketing tools available, as well as access to Shopify’s ecommerce platform.	Zettle combines all of the features companies need from a comprehensive POS system into a simple backend environment. You can manage orders and inventory, as well as customer and employee data in one place. Plus, there are excellent tools for specific industries, such as the restaurant sector.
Best for	Omnichannel sellers who want to combine robust online selling features with tools for managing transactions in-person. The deep integration with the Shopify ecommerce platform makes this POS great for those who already have an existing online presence.	Smaller businesses and retailers in search of straightforward and affordable payment processing tools. Zettle is secure, reliable, and requires very little initial training or onboarding. It also offers a free plan.
Pricing	There are a few ways to access Shopify POS. You can use the Shopify Starter plan for $5 per month for 1 POS Lite location, though transaction fees are high. There’s also the $89 per month Retail plan for 1 POS Pro location, or you can add POS Pro logins to existing Shopify accounts for the same price. Shopify Lite is included on most Shopify plans, while Shopify POS Pro is included in the Shopify Plus plan.	Zettle doesn’t charge anything for access to its POS software, making it one of the more affordable solutions available for beginners.
Transaction fees	Transaction fees start from 2.4% depending on your plan, but can range all the way up to 5% plus 30 cents for users of the Shopify Starter plan.	Zettle transaction fees start at only 1.75% for card transactions, as well as 2.5% for payment links and invoices. This makes it one of the cheapest options on the market for retailers.
Hardware pricing	Pricing for Shopify hardware starts at only $59 for the WisePad 3 card reader. There also retail bundles and accessories available. Plus, there’s the Shopify POS Go mobile solution for only $399.	Zettle offers a range of affordable hardware options, starting with simple card readers and terminals. A single terminal without a barcode scanner costs around $149.
Payment processing	Support for all payment methods including contactless payments, mobile transactions, invoices, gift cards, and custom payment types such as split tenders.	Support for all major payment options, including contactless transactions, mobile wallets, gift cards and invoicing. You can also take payments over the phone.
Customer support	A comprehensive help center with FAQs, guides, and blogs. You can also reach out to Shopify directly via email or live chat, or hire a Shopify Expert to assist with building your store.	Phone, chat, or email support during regular business hours. There are also various self-service resources available such as FAQs, guides and blog posts.

Zettle POS vs Shopify POS: An Introduction

Zettle and Shopify POS are both all-in-one point of sale solutions, giving companies all the resources they need to manage payments, track inventory, and optimize sales.

What is Shopify POS?

Shopify POS is the dedicated point of sale solution designed for Shopify ecommerce store owners. You need a subscription with Shopify to use the app, which, like Zettle, supports various payment options, and comes with a host of convenient features.

The biggest selling point of Shopify POS is its deep integration with the Shopify ecommerce ecosystem. Whenever you use the Shopify point of sale system, your inventory, orders, customer information and other data will sync instantly across all channels.

What is Zettle?

Zettle, previously known as “iZettle”, is the straightforward point of sale solution hosted by PayPal, one of the world’s biggest names in payment processing. The cloud-based platform doesn’t actually require any dedicated hardware (although hardware is available if you want it).

With Zettle, you can simply download an app onto your smartphone or tablet and start taking payments in minutes.

Zettle supports all kinds of payment options, from credit and debit cards, to Apple Pay and Google Pay. Plus, it comes with an intuitive backend dashboard.

Zettle POS vs Shopify POS: Software Features

Most of today’s leading point of sale solutions combine state-of-the-art software with intuitive hardware, so business leaders can manage all of their information, payments, and processes in the cloud. Let’s start our comparison by looking at the software features of both Zettle and Shopify.

Zettle POS Software Features

Zettle’s software is designed to help business owners manage all of their payments and data in one convenient place. The point of sale app includes everything a small business owner might need, from payment processing to convenient back-end analytics and management tools.

With Zettle, you can create and organize product listings using your mobile app or tablet, get alerts as soon as you start to run low on stock, and sync both your in-store and online inventory immediately.

Zettle also promises to give customers a convenient and streamlined checkout experience, regardless of where they’re shopping. Thanks to PayPal’s technology, Zettle can offer speedy transactions anywhere, with integrated security every step of the way.

Key features include:

• Payment processing: Easily accept payments with a POS device or your phone. Zettle supports credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and PayPal.
• Product management: Create and organize your products and inventory, monitor low stock reports, and bulk upload and update thousands of products in seconds.
• Checkout: Fast and easy checkout experiences online and offline, with options for cash, card, PayPal, or gift card payments. You can also send custom invoices.
• Analytics: Monitor sales reports and filter transactions by payment type. Track your top-selling products, spot seasonal trends, and compare staff member performance metrics.
• Integrations: Zettle integrates with a range of ecommerce, accounting, and even other POS tools, from QuickBooks to BigCommerce, and Lightspeed.
• Advanced features: For specific types of company, Zettle offers industry-focused features, such as menu management for food and drink POS systems.
• Omnichannel selling: Build an online store and upload your library directly to the POS system, or sell on social media using ecommerce integrations.
• Staff management: Provide each user in your team with their own dedicated account, and track their productivity with daily reports.

Shopify POS Software Features

Similar to Zettle, Shopify POS is a powerful all-in-one solution, designed to bring all the tools you need to manage and grow your store into one convenient environment. You can view analytics and reports from your desktop or mobile device, and process a range of payments.

Shopify POS integrates directly with the Shopify ecommerce platform, making it easy to manage products, inventory, and orders anywhere.

Plus, it can connect with a range of other platforms and tools, including social media platforms and marketplaces like Amazon or Ebay.

Unlike Zettle, Shopify also offers a range of tools to help boost your sales. There are customer profiles for tracking buyer preferences, as well as integrated marketing tools, like connections to the Google Merchant center.

Key features include:

• Omnichannel sales: Sell in-store, online through Shopify, or via social media channels and marketplaces. You can also offer customers various local delivery and pickup options.
• Employee management: Track employee performance, assign specific sales to different team members, and give each team member their own unique PIN.
• Inventory management: Monitor all of your inventory and orders across multiple channels. Forecast demand, create order requests, and find your most popular products.
• Checkout: Create a powerful checkout experience for every customer with camera barcode scanners, receipt customization, discounts, order notes, and more.
• Payment processing: Easily accept any kind of payment with Shopify Payments, and monitor your financial performance with cash flow reports.
• Marketing: Leverage product reviews, email marketing tools, social media integrations and links to the Google Merchant Center in one place.
• Analytics: Create comprehensive reports monitoring everything from inventory, to discounts, product performance, and employee performance in the Shopify POS dashboard.
• Customer engagement: Give customers multiple ways to pay (via split and partial payments), create loyalty programs, or assign unique gift cards to buyers.
• Customer profiles: Learn about your customers with rich profiles covering everything from product and marketing preferences, to order history and contact details.

Shopify POS vs Zettle POS: Hardware Solutions

On the surface, Shopify and Zettle have a lot in common from a software perspective. They both support order, product, and inventory management, as well as employee and customer management features. Plus, they both offer a range of reports, analytics, and payment processing options.

One thing that may set the two solutions apart, however, is their approach to hardware. Zettle, by PayPal, offers a variety of different hardware options, starting with card readers and terminals, such as the Zettle Reader 2 and Zettle terminal.

There are also dedicated till systems available, and ready-made store kits for different types of businesses. For instance, you can purchase an entire retail kit, a mini store kit, a solution designed for food and drink businesses, and more.

There are even various accessories to choose from, such as iPad stands, barcode scanners, and receipt printers.

Shopify has slightly fewer options to choose from for hardware. Like Zettle, there are simple card readers available, starting at $59 for the WisePad 3 card reader.

You can also access retail bundles, and accessories like receipt printers and stands. However, there are no specific restaurant kits.

Shopify does, however, have a fantastic mobile POS system, known as Shopify POS Go, starting at $399 which combines all the software and payment processing tools you need into one convenient handheld device. There’s also the option to build a custom package for your hardware, by reaching out to the Shopify POS sales team.

Zettle POS vs Shopify POS: Analytics and Performance

From a performance perspective, both Shopify and Zettle are extremely reliable tools. They both work in “offline” mode, which ensures you can continue to take payments even if your internet connection fails. Plus, they both offer exceptional security built in.

When it comes to analytics, Zettle makes it easy to track staff performance with daily sales reports. It also provides insights into low stock alerts, your most popular items, and sales trends. There’s even a tool for tracking partial and full refunds.

Zettle can also directly transfer financial reports from your business to your accounting apps, thanks to convenient integrations. This could be ideal for business leaders who want to save time monitoring taxes, VAT, and other financial information.

Shopify also has a range of powerful analytical and reporting tools to offer. In fact, even if you use the Shopify Lite plan, you’ll still have access to a host of reports on retail, product, and employee performance. You can create discount and sale campaigns reports.

Plus, you can also create comprehensive reports on taxes, sales, and returns, which is ideal for accounting purposes.

On the POS Pro plan, you also gain access to valuable daily reports, covering all of the performance metrics that matter to your company.

Shopify vs Zettle: Pricing Plans

Although pricing isn’t the only thing worth considering when choosing the ideal point of sale system, it is an important factor for many businesses.

Shopify and Zettle take quite a different approach to pricing. With both solutions, the amount you pay will vary depending on the hardware solutions you need. However, Zettle’s hardware is a little cheaper overall than Shopify’s solutions.

Zettle doesn’t charge anything for companies to access basic POS software features. You simply pay a transaction fee whenever you take a payment.

Transaction fees start at 1.75% for card transactions, or 2.5% for payment links and invoices.

If you take more than $10,000 in card payments each month, you can also contact the Zettle team to request a dedicated payment plan, which offers lower transaction fees.

Shopify is a little more complex. Although the “Shopify POS Lite” service is included for free with each Shopify plan, you will need to subscribe to the ecommerce service to access the features.

Though it is possible to get started with the “Starter” plan for $5 per month, this includes high transaction fees and only one Shopify Lite plan.

If you want to access all of the Shopify features, and Shopify POS Lite, plans include:

• Basic Shopify: $39 per month for all the tools required to process online and in-person sales. This plan supports 1,000 inventory locations, 2 staff accounts, and unlimited products. Transaction fees start at 1.7% when you’re using Shopify Payments.
• Shopify: $105 per month for all the features included in Basic Shopify, as well as standard reports, up to 5 staff accounts, and transaction fees starting at 1.6%.
• Advanced Shopify: $399 per month for all the Standard Shopify features, more advanced custom reports, and up to 15 staff accounts. Transaction fees are also lower, starting at 1.5% for online payments.

To access the more advanced version of Shopify POS, you have a few options. Shopify POS Pro comes included with Shopify’s enterprise plan “Shopify Plus”, which also supports advanced integrations, headless commerce, and more unique features. Prices start at $2,000 per month.

Alternatively, you can add Shopify POS Pro to any existing plan for $89 per month per location. Or, you can use the Shopify Retail plan for $89 per month, which includes one Shopify POS Pro location, 2 admin accounts and unlimited logins.

Keep in mind, you’ll also pay extra transaction fees with Shopify whenever you use a payment processing method other than Shopify Payments.

Read more:

• Shopify vs TouchBistro
• Clover vs Square vs Shopify

Shopify POS vs Zettle POS: Which is Best?

Both Zettle POS and Shopify POS are straightforward and convenient tools, perfect for smaller companies looking to grow their online and in-person sales. They both integrate with a wide variety of tools and services, ensuring you can automate various parts of your business.

Additionally, both software solutions are easy to use on any device, with dedicated apps for your smartphone or tablets.

Overall, Shopify POS is likely to be the best solution for you if you already have a Shopify ecommerce store, or plan on creating one.

You can access the POS Lite features without paying anything extra for the service. However, if you don’t have a Shopify site, Zettle might be the ideal solution for you. It doesn’t cost anything to get started, and you can integrate the solution with any ecommerce platform you like.