---
title: "Restaurant POS App vs POS Machine"
canonical: https://spooncub.com/blog/restaurant-pos-app-vs-pos-machine
date: 2026-08-25
author: TechInventify
---

# Restaurant POS App vs POS Machine

A POS machine is hardware you buy. A POS app runs on a phone. SpoonCub is the app: add it to the home screen from the browser. There is no machine in the box.

The machine bundles a screen, a printer, and a vendor who installs it. The app assumes you already have a phone.



# POS machine


- Useful when you want printed KOTs and a fixed cashier.
- Costs money before the first order.
- Sits at the counter, so table service walks back and forth.


# POS app


- SpoonCub is not a Play Store download. Open it in the browser and add it to the home screen.
- The restaurant is the login, not the device.
- No printer integration.


# Which one to run



Buy the machine if printing and a locked counter are the requirement. Use the app if the phone is already how your staff move.



Related: [Alternative to a POS machine](https://spooncub.com/blog/best-alternative-to-a-pos-machine/index.md).



[Start a free trial](https://spooncub.com/register/index.md) or [talk to us](https://spooncub.com/contact/index.md). The live plan is on the [pricing](https://spooncub.com/index.md#pricing) section.

Human-readable page: https://spooncub.com/blog/restaurant-pos-app-vs-pos-machine