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JET POS vs Clover (October 2026): own your POS, or pay monthly for the lowest flat rate?

By Anika DeshmukhSoftware and comparisons editor·Updated October 21, 2026·How we score

The short answer

JET costs less to own: $0 a month for software, a pay-once station from $1,299, no contract, and you can switch card processors whenever you like. Clover has the lowest published flat card rate we found, 2.3% + 10¢, but charges $84.95 to $89.95 a month for its Growth plans and locks every device to one processor.

For one counter over three years, JET with a processor at 2.6% + 10¢ was $2,229 cheaper than a Clover Station Duo bought outright at $10,000 a month in card sales. Above about $30,641 a month, Clover's rate catches up (above about $21,629 if JET's processor charges 15¢ a sale), unless you get JET an interchange-plus quote.

Disclosure: WHICHpos is published by the company that makes JET, so we score JET on the same public grid and publish the same honest cons as every other system. More on our About page.

To keep this fair, we use the same scoring grid as every review (JET 8.7, Clover 7.4), take Clover's prices from its own pages, and include a section on where Clover is the better choice.

Quick verdict

If you…	Pick	Why
Want $0 monthly software and to own your hardware outright	JET	Pay once per station; no subscription, no per-device fee
Want the right to change processors later	JET	Clover devices can't move to another processor
Sell well over $30,641 a month and won't shop for a rate	Clover	2.3% + 10¢ beats a 2.6% + 10¢ processor above that (above about $21,629 if it charges 15¢)
Need kitchen displays, a self-order kiosk or pocket-size handhelds	Clover	JET has no KDS and no kiosk
Run a grocery, deli or bulk store that sells by weight	JET	JET sells its own scale ($349.95, NTEP and Measurement Canada approved); Clover's pricing pages list no scale
Want to buy through your bank	Clover	Sold by more than 3,000 banks and partners

JET vs Clover, side by side

The biggest differences are who owns the hardware, who picks the processor, and what you pay every month.

	JET POS	Clover (bought from clover.com)
Software	$0/month, every feature	$0 Starter · $29.95 Essentials · $84.95 Retail/Services Growth · $89.95 Restaurant Growth
Extra device	$0 software (buy the station)	+$19.95/month each
Countertop hardware	Topaz 2.0 $1,299 · Onyx MAX $1,800 (drawer + printer included)	Compact $349 · Mini $849 · Station Solo $1,799 · Station Duo $1,899
Card rate (in person)	Your processor's rate	2.6% + 10¢ Starter · 2.5% + 10¢ Essentials · 2.3% + 10¢ Growth
Keyed cards	Your processor's rate	3.5% + 10¢
Choose your processor?	Yes, any, any time	No; devices "cannot be used with other payment processors"
Contract	None	No term published when bought (either side can end the account on 30 days' notice); 36-month non-cancelable subscriptions; the $450 promo credit needs a 3-year contract
Warranty	1 year + 30-day money-back	1-year limited warranty bought; Equipment Protection on subscriptions
Runs on	JET stations, Android tablets and phones	Clover devices
WHICHpos score	8.7	7.4

Verified October 20, 2026 on clover.com and jetpos.ai. Clover prices are clover.com's; banks and resellers set their own.

Clover: buy or subscribe?

Buying is cheaper. A Station Duo on Retail Growth costs $4,957.20 over three years bought outright, against $6,480.00 on Clover's 36-month subscription, before card fees.

Bought: $1,899 + $84.95 × 36 = $4,957.20. Subscription: $180 × 36 = $6,480.00. Difference: $1,522.80.

The subscription has two more catches, both in Clover's FAQ:

It's non-cancelable and not refundable. You can pay it off early, but you can't walk away.
You don't own the hardware at the end. You buy it or return it. If you do neither, the subscription keeps running at the same monthly charge.

What you get for the extra cost is Clover's Equipment Protection Program, which covers accidental damage, theft and loss. Bought hardware comes with a one-year warranty.

With JET there's no subscription to compare. The Topaz 2.0 is $1,299 once (it's on pre-order right now, shipping in 30 to 45 days), and the software stays at $0.

3-year cost at $10K, $30K and $60K a month

JET is cheaper than a Clover Station at lower volumes because there's no software bill. Clover's 2.3% rate wins at higher volumes if JET's processor charges a 2.6% flat rate. An interchange-plus quote changes that again.

3-year cost of one counter: JET vs Clover

Hardware + 36 months of software, fees and card processing, $40 average sale, all cards in person, US list prices on October 20, 2026. JET includes a $349 allowance for the card terminal your processor supplies. The interchange-plus bars are an estimate from our Visa and Mastercard fee model (typical card mix), not a quote; with mostly premium cards, interchange-plus can cost more than a flat rate. Clover via Wells Fargo uses the Compact, a payments terminal without inventory.

One counter, 3 years	Hardware	$10K/month	$30K/month	$60K/month
JET Topaz 2.0, processor at 2.6% + 10¢	$1,648	$11,908	$32,428	$63,208
JET Topaz 2.0, interchange-plus quote (estimate)	$1,648	$9,662	$25,480	$49,208
Clover Station Duo + Retail Growth, bought	$1,899	$14,137	$32,497	$60,037
Clover Station Duo, 36-month subscription	$0	$15,660	$34,020	$61,560
Clover Compact via Wells Fargo (payments only)	$349	$11,777	$33,197	$63,167

Totals = hardware + 36 × (software + account fees + card processing). $40 average sale (250, 750 and 1,500 card sales a month), all in person. JET's hardware is the $1,299 Topaz 2.0 plus a $349 allowance for the card terminal your processor supplies, in the range of countertop terminals sold by Square ($299), Shopify ($349) and Lightspeed ($449). The subscription row has no upfront hardware: the $180 a month covers both. Wells Fargo's rate drops to 2.50% + 15¢ from $40,000 a month. The Compact is a payments terminal; Clover says it "does not support" inventory or item management.

JET at $30K: $1,648 + 36 × ($30,000 × 2.6% + 750 × $0.10) = $32,428. Clover bought at $30K: $1,899 + 36 × ($84.95 + $30,000 × 2.3% + 750 × $0.10) = $32,497.

These setups aren't identical. Clover's Station Duo has a built-in card reader and an 8" customer screen. The Topaz 2.0 has one screen, and its card terminal comes from your processor, priced here as an allowance, not a quote; JET's dual-screen Onyx MAX costs $1,800, $501 more than the Topaz 2.0. JET's rows also have no processor account or PCI fees, which some processors add: at Wells Fargo's $19.95 a month ($718 over three years), the crossover with Clover bought falls to about $23,991 a month. JET's results assume a processor charging 2.6% + 10¢; at Square's 15¢ a sale it would cost $33,778 at $30K and rank third of the four flat-rate setups, and Clover bought would be cheaper above about $21,629 a month.

Here's where each one wins:

Below about $30,641 a month, JET on a 2.6% + 10¢ processor costs less than a Clover Station Duo bought outright. At $10K, the gap is $2,229 over three years.
Above it, Clover's 0.3-point lower rate pays for its software fee. At $60K a month, Clover bought is $3,171 cheaper than JET on a flat 2.6% processor.
Against Clover's subscription, JET on a flat processor stays cheaper up to about $44,741 a month.
Against a Clover Compact through Wells Fargo, JET is cheaper from about $12,907 up to $40,000 a month. Above that, Wells Fargo's rate drops to 2.50% + 15¢, and Wells Fargo comes out $41 cheaper at $60K. The Compact also has no inventory tools.

The interchange-plus row is the least certain. JET lets you shop your processing, so the rate isn't fixed at 2.6%. In our Visa and Mastercard fee model, a typical card mix on interchange + 0.30% + 10¢ cost $442.30 a month at $20,000 ($469.30 if half the credit volume is premium cards), against $570.00 at 2.6% + 10¢ and $510.00 on Clover's 2.3% + 10¢. At $60K, that kind of quote would put JET about $7,914 to $10,830 under Clover bought. If nearly every card is a premium rewards card, the same model came to $620.65 at $20,000, more than either flat rate.

Interchange-plus estimate: $2.90 Visa fixed fee + 2.197% of sales (the same card mix and $40 ticket as the $20K model, scaled with volume). It depends on your real card mix. Ask processors for "interchange + X% + Y¢" in writing.

Why Clover quotes differ from one business to the next

Clover is a brand of Fiserv, and it reaches merchants through clover.com and through banks and partners. Clover says it's sold by "Citi, PNC and Wells Fargo, or from more than 3,000 other financial institution partners", plus Restaurant Depot and Sam's Club. Its own pricing page warns that "Prices shown are only available on Clover.com."

Three published price sheets from companies that sell Clover:

Seller	In person	Keyed / online	Fees and terms
clover.com (Growth plans)	2.3% + 10¢	3.5% + 10¢ keyed	$84.95–$89.95/month software; ETF not published
Wells Fargo (under $40K/month)	2.60% + 15¢	3.50% + 15¢	$9.95/month account fee + $10/month PCI fee; no early termination fee
PNC	2.60% + 10¢	3.45% + 15¢ keyed · 2.90% + 30¢ online	Excludes equipment, chargeback and app fees; the rates aren't labeled as Clover-only

So two shops with the same Station Duo can pay different rates and monthly fees depending on who sold it. Get the rate, every monthly fee and the exit terms in writing before you sign.

JET works the other way around. The software price is the same for everyone ($0), and the processing is a separate choice you can change.

Features compared

Clover has the wider hardware family. JET puts every software feature on every station, with no plan tiers.

Feature	JET POS	Clover
Plan tiers	None; all 100+ features on every station	Starter, Essentials, Growth; the free Starter on Compact leaves out item management, discounts, returns, detailed reports, online store, gift cards and loyalty
Hardware range	Topaz 2.0, Onyx MAX (dual screen), Onyx MAX Duo; Android tablets and phones	Go, Compact, Flex, Flex Pocket, Mini, Station Solo, Station Duo, Kiosk
Customer-facing screen	Onyx MAX: 15.6" with live cart, tip and loyalty prompts	Station Duo: 8" customer screen
Kitchen	Printed tickets with table and seat numbers; no KDS	KDS screens $799 / $899 + $25/month each
Restaurant tools	Floor plan, tableside ordering on phones and tablets, QR ordering, split by seat or item, own online ordering and delivery	Restaurant Growth plan, handhelds (Flex), KDS, kiosk
Retail tools	Variants, suppliers, stock-in with case-to-unit conversion, audit trail, label and shelf-tag printing, wholesale pricing	Retail Growth plan; App Market add-ons
Sell by weight	Own integrated scale, NTEP and Measurement Canada approved ($349.95)	Clover's help center has a "Set up a weight scale" guide; no scale is priced on its pricing pages
Offline	Keeps selling and printing; syncs when back online (offline card payments depend on your processor's terminal)	Clover Mini and Flex take offline payments for up to 7 days by default; the Station Duo isn't covered in the docs we read
Languages	Interface, receipts and support in English, French and Spanish	Not covered in our sources
Add-on marketplace	None; features are built in	Clover App Market (Wells Fargo lists access at $19.95/month)

JET features from jetpos.ai, Clover's from clover.com and its partners' pages. "Not covered in our sources" means we didn't find it on the pages we checked, not that Clover lacks it.

Who should pick Clover, and who should pick JET

Pick Clover if…

You sell enough that 2.3% + 10¢ beats any quote you're likely to get, and you'd rather not shop for processing.
You want kitchen displays, a self-order kiosk, or pocket handhelds from one vendor.
You'd like to buy through your own bank, and you're fine staying with that processor for the life of the hardware.
You want accident and theft cover, and the 36-month subscription's higher total cost doesn't bother you.

Pick JET if…

You want a POS you own, with no monthly software bill and no contract.
You want to keep your current processor, or keep the option to switch.
You run several registers: Clover adds $19.95 a month per device, while a JET station adds no software fee.
You sell by weight, or your staff and customers need French or Spanish.
Your kitchen works from printed tickets.

JET isn't the pick if you need kitchen display screens or a kiosk, or if you sell only a little: a $199 Clover Go or a $349 Compact costs far less up front than a $1,299 station. If you need an iPad, neither one fits; see Square vs Clover. Our Clover review covers the rest.

Leaving Clover: what happens to the hardware

Leaving Clover usually means buying new hardware. Because Clover devices "cannot be used with other payment processors", a new processor can't take over your existing terminals.

Bought outright, the device is yours, but it only works with the processor that set it up.
On a 36-month subscription, it's non-cancelable. Pay off the balance or wait for the term to end, then buy or return the equipment, with 30 days' notice.
Through a bank or reseller, their contract applies. Wells Fargo says it charges no early termination fee. Clover direct doesn't publish one; a third-party comparison cites user reports of $500 and up.
On fee changes, Clover's terms let either side end the account with 30 days' notice, and let Clover change fees with 30 days' notice.

Moving to JET means buying a station once. Your processor supplies the card terminal, and nothing ties the two together. Our guide to switching POS systems covers the move, and processor lock-in explains what lock-in costs over time.

See JET pricing at jetpos.ai →Read the JET review Read the Clover review →

Frequently asked questions

Is JET cheaper than Clover?

At lower volumes, yes. For one counter over three years, JET (with a processor at 2.6% + 10¢) came to $11,908 at $10,000 a month, against $14,137 for a Clover Station Duo bought outright. Above about $30,641 a month, Clover's 2.3% + 10¢ Growth rate makes Clover cheaper, unless you get JET a lower interchange-plus processing quote. JET's results assume a processor charging 2.6% + 10¢; at Square's 15¢ a sale it would cost $33,778 at $30K and rank third of the four flat-rate setups, and Clover bought would be cheaper above about $21,629 a month.

Does JET charge a monthly fee?

No. JET's software is $0 a month for life, with every feature included. You pay once for the station (Topaz 2.0 $1,299 or Onyx MAX $1,800) and your processor's card fees.

How much does Clover cost per month?

Bought from clover.com, Clover software is $0 (Starter), $29.95 (Essentials), $84.95 (Retail and Services Growth) or $89.95 (Restaurant Growth), plus $19.95 a month for each extra device. Card fees are 2.6% + 10¢ on Starter, 2.5% + 10¢ on Essentials and 2.3% + 10¢ on Growth. Banks that resell Clover set their own prices.

Can I use my own payment processor with Clover?

No. Clover's FAQ says its devices "cannot be used with other payment processors", even when bought from someone else. Whoever sets up your Clover processes your cards for the life of the device.

If I rent Clover on a subscription, do I own it?

No. Clover's 36-month subscriptions are non-cancelable. At the end you buy the equipment or return it, and if you do neither the subscription continues at the same monthly charge.

Can I move my Clover to another processor if I find a better rate?

No. Switching processors means replacing the hardware. With JET you can change processors at any time and keep the same station.

Which has lower card fees, JET or Clover?

Clover has the lowest published flat rate we found: 2.3% + 10¢ on its Growth plans. JET has no rate of its own; you pay whatever your processor charges, which can be a flat rate or an interchange-plus quote. In our model, an interchange-plus quote came to about 2.2%–2.35% at $20,000 a month, depending on how many premium cards you take, and cost more than a flat rate when nearly every card was premium.

Does JET have a kitchen display like Clover?

No. JET prints kitchen tickets on an 80mm kitchen printer and has no kitchen display system. Clover sells kitchen displays at $799 or $899 plus $25 a month per screen.

What else do I need besides a JET station?

A merchant account and card terminal from the processor you choose (JET doesn't sell terminals), and optionally a barcode scanner, label printer or scale. The Topaz 2.0 and Onyx MAX kits include a cash drawer and receipt printer.

Can I run JET on an iPad?

No. JET runs on its own stations and on Android tablets and phones. Clover runs on Clover's own devices only, so neither one runs on an iPad.

Sources

Every price and rate on this page was checked on October 20–21, 2026 against the pages below. Something out of date? Tell us and we fix it with a visible note.