Business Planning

Rezku POS vs. Square POS for Restaurants (2026 Comparison)

The Rezku Team

Feb 16, 2026

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# Rezku POS vs. Square POS for Restaurants (2026 Comparison)

In this article we’ll compare two of the top cloud point of sales for independent restaurants in 2026, Rezku v. Square.

Feature / Area	Rezku POS	Square POS
Primary Focus	Independent restaurants only	Multiple industries (retail, services, food)
Best For	Full-service, QSR, bars, pizzerias	Simple cafés, food trucks, small counters
Menu Complexity	Advanced modifiers, nested options, size-based pricing	Basic to moderate, complexity may require upgrades
Tableside Ordering	Native and core feature	Available on higher-tier plans
Kitchen Routing	Built for multi-station kitchens	More limited without add-ons
Pricing Model	Transparent, flat-rate pricing	Modular, tiered, add-on driven
Cost Predictability	High	Variable as features scale
Onboarding	White-glove, remote setup and training	Primarily DIY
Customer Support	Live, restaurant-specialized support	Plan-dependent support
Hardware	iPad-based, restaurant-grade	iPad-based, multi-industry
Scalability	Designed to scale with restaurant complexity	Scales best for simple, standardized setups
Company Focus	Restaurant-first	General small business
Reliability in Peak Service	Optimized for high-volume service	Reliable, but not restaurant-specialized

Choosing a POS Isn’t About Features—It’s About Fit

Most restaurant owners don’t start their POS search thinking about software architecture or company focus. They’re thinking about speed, reliability, and whether the system will hold up on a slammed Friday night.

Square POS and Rezku POS both process payments, manage menus, and run on modern hardware. On the surface, they can look interchangeable—especially for very small or early-stage concepts. The differences become clearer as operations grow more complex, menus get deeper, and service expectations rise.

This comparison is written for independent restaurant operators trying to make a long-term decision, not just get through opening week.

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Square POS: Broad, Flexible, and Familiar

Square is one of the most recognizable POS brands in the market. Its strength is accessibility. A new café, food truck, or counter-service concept can sign up quickly, plug in hardware, and start taking payments with minimal friction.

Square’s core advantages:

• Easy onboarding and fast setup

• Works across many industries (retail, services, food)

• Familiar interface for staff who’ve used it elsewhere

• Strong ecosystem of add-ons

For simple operations, Square can be a reasonable starting point. The challenge is that Square is designed to be many things to many businesses. As restaurants grow more operationally complex, that general-purpose foundation starts to show its limits.

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Rezku POS: Built for Restaurants From Day One

Rezku was designed specifically for independent restaurants—full-service, quick-service, bars, pizzerias, and multi-station kitchens. The system assumes complexity rather than treating it as an upgrade.

Rezku focuses on:

• Real-world kitchen and service workflows

• Tableside ordering and payments

• Deep modifier logic and menu control

• FOH/BOH synchronization

• Hands-on onboarding and live support

This difference in design philosophy matters more over time than it does on day one.

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Where the Differences Really Show Up: Complexity

Small Concepts (Cafés, Counter Service, Food Trucks)

At the low end of complexity, Square and Rezku can feel similar. Both can:

• Take payments quickly

• Handle basic menus

• Manage simple staff roles

For operators who expect to stay small and highly standardized, Square’s simplicity and brand familiarity can be appealing.

Rezku still competes strongly here on pricing and support, but its biggest advantages may not fully surface until complexity increases.

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Full-Service Restaurants & Bars

This is where the systems begin to diverge.

Full-service restaurants need:

• Fast tableside workflows

• Clear modifier handling

• Reliable kitchen routing

• Real-time sync between servers, bar, and kitchen

Rezku is built around these realities. Tableside ordering isn’t an add-on—it’s core. Menu changes propagate instantly. Tickets route intelligently based on prep station and modifiers.

Square can support full-service restaurants, but many restaurant-specific tools are gated behind higher-tier plans or add-ons, and workflows often feel adapted rather than native.

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Pizzerias & Complex Menus

Pizzerias are a stress test for POS systems.

Half-and-half toppings, size-based pricing, cooking instructions, split tickets, and high-volume peak hours expose weaknesses quickly.

Rezku’s menu logic is designed to handle:

• Nested modifiers

• Pricing rules by size or option

• Clear kitchen tickets with minimal ambiguity

Square can manage simpler pizza menus, but operators often report friction as complexity grows—especially when modifiers stack or kitchen clarity matters most.

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Pricing Philosophy: Predictability vs. Modularity

Rezku emphasizes transparent, flat-rate pricing for core restaurant functionality. Features that restaurants depend on daily are included rather than fragmented into tiers.

Square’s pricing model is modular. This gives flexibility, but it also means:

• Costs can increase as features are unlocked

• Predicting long-term spend becomes harder

• Growing restaurants may hit paywalls mid-stride

Neither approach is inherently “wrong,” but independent operators often value cost predictability, especially as labor and food costs rise.

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Support & Onboarding: DIY vs. White-Glove

This is one of the clearest philosophical differences.

Rezku provides:

• US-based agents

• Menu building and system configuration

• Staff training and technical support

• Restaurant-knowledgeable support

Square’s onboarding is largely self-service. Support exists, but depth and response time often depend on plan level and issue type.

For experienced operators who enjoy configuring systems themselves, Square’s approach may be fine. For restaurants where downtime equals lost revenue, Rezku’s hands-on support can be a deciding factor.

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Reliability During Service

When service is smooth, POS systems fade into the background. When something breaks mid-rush, everything stops.

Rezku is designed for high-volume service environments, with an emphasis on uptime, offline resilience, and clear recovery paths when something goes wrong.

Square is reliable for many use cases, but because it serves so many industries, restaurant-specific edge cases don’t always get priority treatment.

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Company Focus & Culture Matters More Than It Sounds

This is subtle, but important.

Square’s mission is to serve all small businesses. Restaurants are one segment among many.

Rezku’s mission is singular: independent restaurants.

That focus shows up in product decisions, support conversations, and how quickly restaurant-specific needs get addressed. For operators who feel overlooked by large platforms, that alignment matters.

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Which POS Is Right for You?

Square may be a fit if you:

• Run a very simple operation

• Prioritize fast DIY setup

• Expect limited menu or service complexity

Rezku is often a better fit if you:

• Run or plan to run a full-service restaurant, bar, or pizzeria

• Need reliability during peak service

• Value hands-on onboarding and real support

• Want pricing clarity as you scale

Both systems can process payments. Only one is built around the realities of running a restaurant night after night.