Best Pharmacy POS Systems: Features & Costs Compared (2024)

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After analyzing the top providers, our research has found that PioneerPx is the most adept and feature-rich pharmacy point of sale (POS) system. It offers excellent patient safeguarding and business pharmacy growth tools – making it ideal for independent pharmacies – and it’s the only provider we’ve reviewed that offers a pharmacy management system alongside its point-of-sale service.

PrimeRx is another strong contender, with top-tier automation features to drive up efficiency, and a multi-pharmacy support system to help business owners manage processes across different locations. Or, if you’re just after a POS system to help you manage sales, Talech and Vend are cost-effective options that can integrate seamlessly with pharmacy management systems.

Pharmacies can’t rely on a one-size-fits-all POS solution to run their business. From age verification to expiry management, the system needs to contain pharmacy-specific or boast excellent software integrations. To narrow down your search, this guide outlines seven of our best picks and points out some top features to look out for when landing on the perfect solution.

Read on to learn more about our top POS systems for pharmacies, or use our personalized POS comparison form to receive free quotes from the best solutions on the market.

In this guide:

• What’s the Best Pharmacy POS System?
• What Should You Look for in a POS System?
• Rating Methodology: How Did We Review Pharmacy POS Systems?
• Verdict and Next Steps
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What’s the Best Pharmacy POS System?

A standard retail POS won’t cut the mustard for most pharmacies. Our research team has poured hours into comparing the best POS systems; prioritizing factors that matter the most to pharmacies the most like inventory management and usability.

If you’re looking for a new POS system for your practice, these are the providers that came out on top:

1. PioneerPx – Best overall pharmacy POS
2. PrimeRx – Best for chain pharmacies
3. Best POS by BestRx– Best for mail-order pharmacies
4. Talech – Most User-friendly Pharmacy POS
5. Vend – Best help and support
6. Lightspeed – Best loyalty tools for pharmacies
7. Square – Best free pharmacy POS

1. PioneerPx

• Best Overall Pharmacy POS
• Pricing from: Custom pricing

PioneerPx is an all-in-one pharmacy management and POS system that offers just about any feature a pharmacist would require – from patient safeguarding and workflow automation to more advanced capabilities like multiple wholesale ordering and customizable financial reporting.

Despite being a relative newcomer to the market, PioneerRx is currently the most used POS pharmacy in the US, with the system currently claiming 25% of the market share. But what type of drugstore will benefit from the POS the most?

PioneerPx’s integrated, capable toolkit makes it an asset for most types of pharmacies. However, as part of its mission to ‘save and revitalize independent pharmacies’ the POS offers a number of unique perks for budding independent pharmacies, from unique training features, scalable software, and hardware options, and even it’s very own educational podcast ‘Catalyst’ for pharmaceutical business owners.

The POS allows pharmacists to deliver exceptionally high standards to their patients too, making it a safe bet for businesses looking to grow their base. For example, PioneerPx’s software refills maintenance medications automatically so patients never miss out on their prescriptions. The system also lets pharmacists identify high-risk patients, so they’re able to make the necessary interventions.

However, while PioneerPx offers a number of stand-out stock handling features like multiple wholesaler ordering, usage-based ordering, and shelf labels, its multi-venue inventory tools aren’t quite as capable as rivals like Prime Rx or Lightspeed. Therefore, our research suggests PioneerPx will be a slightly poorer fit for chain pharmacies or businesses that keep stock across multiple locations.

PioneerPx pricing

Unfortunately, PioneerPx doesn’t list its pricing publically. Hardware and software costs are determined by each pharmacy’s distinct needs but if you’re looking for an estimate, you cancontact the sales team directly for quotes.

2. PrimeRx

• Best POS for chain pharmacies
• Custom pricing

PrimeRx is an adept POS system that’s ideal for pharmacies with multiple franchises due to its muli-pharmacy support tool, PrimeCENTRAL, and its advanced stock tracking features that let you manage inventories across different locations.

PrimePx POS should also be a top choice for businesses looking to drive up efficiency, as the point-of-sale offers a number of unique tools like automatic reordering and wholesale integrations, automated refill management, and patient record management.

However, unlike PioneerPx, the provider’s pharmacy management system and POS are only available as separate services, which makes it less ideal for new pharmacies or those looking for a combined system.

In addition to basic capabilities like federal legal compliance and stock tracking, PrimeRx’s pharmacy management also lets you view cost comparisons between wholesalers to help you price products competitively. The system lets pharmacists prioritize the health of their patients too, with a medication conflict management tool that identifies and flags potentially unsafe combinations of prescription medicine.

If your pharmacy accepts online or telephone orders, PrimeRx’s MobilePOS tool lets you accept payments upon delivery or through a text ahead of time.Unlike general POS systems like Square and Lightspeed, PrimeRx also offers remote signature capture – enabling you to keep up with HIPAA compliance while accepting curbside payments.

PrimeRx provides powerful capabilities for pharmacy chains and large independent retailers. But to unlock its full toolkit, pharmacists will need to purchase the provider’s PrimeRx pharmacy management system alongside its POS. Unfortunately, this will bump up the price of the overall service, making it out of reach of smaller pharmacists.

PrimeRx pricing

Like our pharmacy POS frontrunner, PioneerRx, PrimeRx isn’t transparent about its pricing structure.

According to POSQuote.com, its monthly prices start at $150. However, pharmacists can expect to pay an initial fee on top, and certain advanced features, like multi-location management, also come at a premium.

3. Best POS by BestRx

• Best POS for mail-order pharmacies
• Custom pricing

Best POS by BestRx is a pharmacy-focused point-of-sale system with robust payment and delivery features, making it a shoo-in for less traditional, mail-order pharmacies.

Like PrimeRx, BestRx’s service offers a text-to-pay option, allowing patients to pay online instead of in-store. The system will also let pharmacy owners streamline the delivery process with integrations with FedEx, UPS, and EasyPost, its very own mobile delivery app, and electronic delivery notifications.

However, to gain access to these features, and to manage other processes like prescription management and over-the-counter sales, you will need to integrate Best POS by Best Rx with its pharmacy management system, BestRx.

Alongside its impressive delivery toolkit, BestPOS accepts a wide range of payment options – including credit cards, credit cards, EBT, and gift cards – letting patients pay in whichever way suits them.

BestRx’s POS is also a great tool for attracting, and nurturing, loyal customers. Its user-friendly customer loyalty program lets pharmacy owners reward repeat buying, issue custom perks, set reward values, and establish expiration guidelines.

However, unlike other providers on this list like Square, BestRx doesn’t offer any online integrations, making it a poor fit for omnichannel sellers and pharmacies with a preexisting online presence.

Best POS by BestRx pricing

BestRx doesn’t list prices for its pharmacy management system or POS on its website. However, according to businesses currently using the services, prices for its POS system start at $90 a month, while its BestRx pharmacy management system starts at a steeper $210.

On top of these monthly fees, you will also need to pay an initial installation fee. Contact members of BestRx’s sales team for pricing estimates. Or, if you’re not looking for a point-of-sale to use alongside a pharmacy management system, use our free comparison form to receive quick quotes from leading POS providers.

4. Talech

• Most User-friendly Pharmacy POS
• Prices from $29 per month

Talech is an affordable point-of-sale system that offers the best usability of any other system we’ve tested — scoring 5/5 in our rubric. Sharing the top position with Square, the software contains almost everything we look for in a top-ranking POS, including flexible payment options, customizable reporting tools, and a reliable help and support center.

However, despite Talech’s strengths, its payment and ordering features fall slightly short of Vend’s (with a score of 4/5 vs 5/5), and since it wasn’t designed with pharmacies in mind, it lacks a number of industry-specific features like ID scanning, expiry management, and wholesale distribution options. If you require these capabilities, you’d be better off linking Talech to an existing pharmacy management system or unlocking these features with paid add-ons.

Talech pricing

Talech offers four different pricing packages: Mobile, Starter, Standard, and Premium. Check out our table to see how their features compare.

5. Vend

• Best help and support
• Pricing from $119 per month

Vend by Lightspeed is a retail-first POS that scored impressively in our independent research, securing full marks (5/5) for its till, inventory, growth, and help and support tools. What’s more, lots of Vend’s till features are particularly adept at meeting the needs of pharmacy businesses, including its age verification function, signature capture, and multi-channel sales tools.

Yet, while Vend’s feature set is impressive, it lacks vital legal compliance features like HIPAA forms and relationship to patient tools, making it incapable of being used without an accompanying pharmacy management system. Its steep entry price of $119 per month and absence of a free plan has also earnt it a run-of-the-mill value score of 3.9/5 too, making it slightly inaccessible to many community pharmacists looking for a budget solution.

Vend Pricing

Vend offers four pricing plans for pharmacists. Lean ($119 per month), Standard ($169 per month), Advanced ($249 per month), and Enterprise, which runs on a custom pricing model.

To learn more about this provider, read our Vend review. Or, you can compare its packages at a glance in our table below:

6. Lightspeed

• Best loyalty tools for pharmacies
• Pricing from $69 per month

Lightspeed Retail is a versatile POS that faired well in our research, with an overall score of 4.4/5. However, the main reason it made the list is because of its industry-leading loyalty system, ‘Lightspeed Loyalty’, which offers customers exclusive rewards — making it ideal for pharmacies looking to grow their base.

From built-in purchase orders to low-stock alerts, Lightspeed’s 5/5 stock inventory features are more adept than lots of pharmacy-focused systems like PioneerRx at handling complex stocks with non-prescription items. However, while Lightspeed does offer age verification functions, it lacks a number of pharmacy-friendly features including wholesale distribution channels, compliance management solutions, and medication tracking.

This means that like with other retail POS systems, pharmacies will need to use an API to manage prescriptions, preventing Lightspeed from being used as a stand-alone pharmacy solution.

Learn more about the provider in our Lightspeed POS review.

Also, unlike Square and Vend, the POS lacks live chat support options, contributing to its lackluster help and support score of 3.8/5 and making it less useful to smaller pharmacies in need of more robust support.

Lightspeed Pricing

Lightspeed offers four distinct POS packages, Lean, Standard, Advanced, and Enterprise. Learn more in the table below.

Try Lightspeed POS free for 14 days Try Now

7. Square – Best Overall Pharmacy POS

• Best POS for small pharmacies
• Pricing from: free (but transaction fees apply)

With affordably priced packages and a generous free plan, Square is a cost-effective POS with a decent array of pharmacy features. For instance, Square offers a range of flexible payment options like AfterPay which lets customers pay in a way that suits them, and an age verification add-on to help pharmacies meet legal demands.

Like Talech, Square received full marks (5/5) in our business management, growth, usability, inventory control, and customer service research category — suggesting the POS system is pretty strong across the board.

However, since Square prohibits the sale of certain pharmaceuticals and lacks a number of necessary compliance features like HIPAA forms, its unable to facilitate the sale of prescription drugs. This means it needs to be used alongside your business’s pharmacy management system, instead of in its place.

Fortunately, the system does seamlessly integrate with pharmacy management, electronic medical records (EHR), and medical billing systems, making it ideal for pharmacies looking for a simple way to manage OTC sales. What’s more, with a near-perfect value score of 4.8/5, and quality free plans available,Square’s price undercuts most other pharmacy POS systems too.

Square POS pricing

Square is the only provider on this list that offers a free plan — only charging a fee of 2.6% + 10 cents per sale. However, Square’s retail-specific system also offers a Plus and Premium package which unlocks a number of advanced features for pharmacies including specialist inventory tools and exchange functions.

For a full breakdown of Square’s pricing plans, read our Square pricing guide, and check out how they compare at a glance below:

What Should You Look for in a POS System?

Due to the responsibility that comes with handling prescriptions, storing medical information, and serving patients, pharmacies can’t choose just any POS system. Instead, pharmacists require a system that’s either stacked with a full range of industry features or fully compatible with a pharmacy management system that can take care of these functions for them.

Here are some stand-out features to look out for when searching for your ideal point-of-sale system:

• Compliance management — Legal compliance should be a top concern for pharmacies. Therefore, to adhere to federal and state laws, your business looks for a POS that offers tools like ID and signature capture, HIPAA compliance, pharmacist counseling, and child safety caps.
• Wholesale distribution — If your pharmacy purchases medication directly from manufacturers, you should make sure your POS can facilitate wholesale distribution – either as an in-app function or through an add-on.
• Advanced inventory management — In order for US pharmacies to comply with legal regulations, their stock management tools need to be capable of a number of duties including tracing drugs as they move through the supply chain, recording accurate stock records and storing them for a minimum of two years, and calculating the presence of hazardous waste.
• Expiry control —Since lots of medications have a shelf life, pharmacies should also opt for POS systems with inbuilt expiry management software. This system should keep a record of every perishable drug in stock, and notify the business owner when its expiry date is approaching.
• Analytics and reporting — To gain valuable insights into your business’s performance, solid reporting software is a must. Some top reports for pharmacies include daily cash, sales analysis, methods of payments, and tax breakdown reports.
• Customer loyalty — Retaining loyal customers is instrumental to a pharmacy’s success. Therefore, to drive up prescriptions and over-the-counter sales, it’s important for pharmacists to select a POS with a high-performing customer loyalty program.
• Software integrations —Unless your POS system was designed with pharmacies in mind, it’s likely you’ll need to integrate it with your store’s pharmacy management and medical billing system. Not all POS systems offer this compatibility so it’s important to check for these add-ons before securing a solution.

How Much Does a Pharmacy POS System Cost?

If you need a point-of-sale system for selling over-the-counter goods, and don’t require pharmacy management software, they can cost anywhere between $29 to over $100 per month, depending on your practice’s hardware and software needs. Free POS solutions, like Square and Zettle, are available too, but they do take a percentage of each sale.

However, if you looking industry-specific POS system to manage pharmaceutical sales, or a POS and pharmacy management combined system, you can expect anywhere from $1,000 to $30,000 upfront, alongside monthly expenses of $100 to $500.

For more clarity on how much a point-of-sale system costs, read our detailed guide to POS pricing.

How Did We Compare Pharmacy POS Systems?

When comparing the top pharmacy POS systems, we collected data from the leading POS systems and scored them on a number of factors including inventory management, price, and till features, to determine how capable they are overall.

On top of researching retail-focused POS systems that would work for a range of stores, we included point-of-sale systems that have specifically been designed specifically for pharmacies, and accounted for pharmacy-specific features like age verification and healthcare integrations, to assess their suitability.

After narrowing down the best options on the market, we compared them against a number of factors including the quantity and quality of their industry-specific features, their value offering, and whether or not they included a pharmacy management system.

This data helped us to compare them against more multi-use POS systems, like Talech and Vend, and conclude which systems are the most equipt for pharmacies overall.

We rank and review every product and service slightly differently at Tech. co, but it’s always based on impartial analysis. You can learn more about how we make our verdicts here.

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