Two systems, one kitchen — only one keeps up
An honest, feature-by-feature breakdown of CubePOS vs Epos Now for UK restaurants, cafés and takeaways choosing their next EPOS system.
Same job — running a busy service — priced and built two very different ways
CubePOS
Epos Now
Built for restaurants. Not retrofitted for them.
Epos Now started as — and largely still is — a generalist platform. The same core software runs car washes, clothing shops, and gyms, then gets adapted for food service. That works fine for basic transactions, but it shows in the gaps: ingredient-level stock tracking, visual table management, and kitchen workflow tools often feel bolted on rather than built in.
CubePOS was designed from the ground up for hospitality. There's no retail logic to work around — every feature, from table layouts to prep-time tracking on the KDS, exists because a restaurant, café, or takeaway actually needs it.
Flat rate vs. paid add-ons
Epos Now's advertised entry price looks competitive — until you add the tools a modern kitchen actually runs on. A Kitchen Display System can add roughly £19/month. Online ordering can add another £25/month. Add a premium support plan on top, and the "affordable" system quietly becomes one of the pricier options on the market.
CubePOS takes the opposite approach: one flat monthly rate that includes the core EPOS, the mobile server app for tableside ordering, and the KDS. What you see is what you pay — no surprise line items when the invoice lands.
- No 12-month lock-in contracts
- Full offline mode — orders never stop
- Direct Dojo payments, your own rates
No lock-in. No steering. Your terms.
Three more places where CubePOS is built for the reality of running a live service, not a retail helpdesk schedule.
Contracts & payments
Epos Now typically ties merchants into 12-month contracts that auto-renew and steers customers toward its own payment processing. CubePOS runs on standard iPad hardware with no long-term contract, and integrates directly with Dojo — so you can negotiate your own card rates.
Offline resilience
Broadband outages don't wait for a quiet Tuesday — they happen mid-service, on a Friday night. Many cloud systems fall back to a stripped-down "lite" mode. CubePOS is built for full offline operation: orders keep firing, transactions keep processing, and everything syncs the moment connectivity returns.
Support that shows up
When your till goes down mid-service, you need a fix, not a queue. Epos Now offers 24/7 support, but often only at a premium tier. CubePOS includes 24/7 remote support as standard, with response times built around a live service.
Ready to run a tighter service?
See CubePOS on your own menu, in a live demo.
No long-term contract · No card required