Heartland Genius review

Heartland Genius is the value pick among the full-featured systems. The Global Payments POS covers ordering on premise, off premise and online, a self-ordering kiosk and kitchen display system, staff tools for tipouts, scheduling and attendance, and guest loyalty and marketing. It is pitched at a wide range of formats, from coffee shops and pizzerias with half and half ordering to fine dining coursing and stadium concourses with digital menu boards. Pricing is published in three tiers: Essentials from $0 a month, Advanced from $42 a month and Complete from $129 a month, each with an in-person card rate of 2.6% + $0.10. Those prices cover one station on a standard setup, and online or keyed transactions carry different rates. The page does not spell out which features sit in which tier, so ask for that list before you compare it against Toast or Square.

Who it is for

Counter service, QSR and full-service restaurants that want a low software fee and a single payments provider.

Price

Essentials from $0 a month; Advanced from $42 a month; Complete from $129 a month, plus processing.

Advanced Level up your operations with payments, hardware and advanced features designed for midsize and growing businesses. Starting at $42 per month*
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 6, 2026.

Key features

• On-premise, off-premise and online ordering management
• Self-ordering kiosk and kitchen display system
• Employee management, tipouts, scheduling and attendance
• Guest management, loyalty programs and marketing
• Countertop and handheld hardware with third-party app integrations

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: A $0 software plan and a $42 paid plan, the lowest paid entry on this list
• Strength: Published in-person card rate of 2.6% + $0.10
• Strength: Covers formats from cafes to stadium concourses
• Weakness: Pricing shown is for a single station only
• Weakness: Rates for online and keyed payments are not on the pricing page
• Weakness: Feature split between plans needs a quote to confirm

Key facts

• Plans: Essentials $0, Advanced $42, Complete $129 a month
• In-person card rate: 2.6% + $0.10
• Owner: Global Payments
• Hardware: Countertop and handheld

Where it ranks

Heartland Genius is No. 6 in our Best POS Systems for Restaurants verdict.