shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Clover?

Small business credit card processor and POS: save time, increase sales, grow operations. - clover.com

Depends. Reasonable for retail or food businesses that need countertop hardware and have a vetted, trustworthy reseller. Avoid if you want flat published pricing, mobile-first payments, or a contract-free exit.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~16 public sources. Several 'Clover' breach results refer to Clover Health, an unrelated insurer — excluded. Some review snippets were truncated.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of useNo usable evidence in reviewed sources
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

$84.95/mo

Retail Growth (via reseller)

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierNo
Entry plans (Guess: reseller-dependent)~$15–$45/mo
Hardware (Guess)~$50–$1,800 one-time

Best for

  • Retail and counter-service shops needing hardware
  • Merchants with a trusted local reseller
  • Businesses wanting payments + lending in one
  • Multi-device setups: handheld plus countertop

Not for

  • Mobile-only or pop-up sellers — Square is simpler
  • Anyone refusing multi-year reseller contracts
  • E-commerce-first brands with no counter sales
  • Buyers who need transparent, published pricing

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Same hardware, different price: costs, fees, and contract terms depend on which reseller you sign with.

high

Contract lock-in is a common complaint; rivals advertise against Clover's lock-in.

medium

Service plans around $84.95/mo before processing fees and hardware costs.

medium

If you add online ordering, vet the third-party plugin's security history first.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Over one million merchants on the platform
  • Backed by Fiserv, a major payments company
  • Full hardware range, handheld to countertop Station
  • App market plus developer API ecosystem
  • Built-in merchant funding via Clover Capital

Cons

  • Rated just 2 out of 5 on Trustpilot
  • Reviewers flag a 'reseller trap': pricing and contracts vary by seller
  • Fees, complaints, and contracts dominate review coverage
  • Restaurant owners publicly shopping for cheaper alternatives
  • Third-party ordering plugin had a data-leak CVE

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/26/2026 - 12 sources - Core platform markets PCI compliance via Clover Security Plus; third-party online-ordering plugins have had CVEs including a data leak.

official x3review x5security x3news x1
  • CVE-2026-42746: Smart Online Order data leak, Data leak in the third-party Smart Online Order for Clover plugin, disclosed May 2026.
  • CSRF flaws in Smart Online Order plugin, Multiple CVEs in the third-party WordPress ordering plugin for Clover.
  • CVE-2024-43254, Clover-related CVE listed in NIST NVD (Nov 2024); source detail truncated in this review.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 2/5

    Rating

  • $84.95/mo

    Starting price

  • 12

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 2/5. Reseller pricing traps; ~$85/mo plans plus hardware
  • Ease of use. No usable evidence in reviewed sources
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Hardware range, app market, lending, developer APIs
  • Support quality: 2/5. 2/5 Trustpilot; fee and contract complaints
  • Security posture: 2/5. Third-party plugin data-leak CVE; core platform PCI-focused
  • 2/5 Trustpilot rating clover.com reviews
  • 1M+ Merchants Per Fiserv
  • $84.95/mo Entry paid plan Retail Growth, via reseller
  • None Free tier Hardware + monthly plan required

Pricing

Retail Growth (via reseller)

$84.95/mo

  • Full retail POS software plan
  • Processing fees separate

Entry plans (Guess: reseller-dependent)

~$15–$45/mo

  • Basic POS + payments
  • Terms vary by reseller

Hardware (Guess)

~$50–$1,800 one-time

  • Go handheld up to Station countertop
  • Sold separately or bundled

Security

Core platform markets PCI compliance via Clover Security Plus; third-party online-ordering plugins have had CVEs including a data leak.

  • CVE-2026-42746: Smart Online Order data leakData leak in the third-party Smart Online Order for Clover plugin, disclosed May 2026.⁹
  • CSRF flaws in Smart Online Order pluginMultiple CVEs in the third-party WordPress ordering plugin for Clover.10
  • CVE-2024-43254Clover-related CVE listed in NIST NVD (Nov 2024); source detail truncated in this review.11

What users say

Sentiment skews negative, with a 2/5 Trustpilot rating and recurring complaints about fees, contracts, and reseller pricing.

“Alternative pos to clover?”
Reddit, r/restaurantowners
Full analysis

Based on ~16 public sources. Several 'Clover' breach results refer to Clover Health, an unrelated insurer — excluded. Some review snippets were truncated.

Powerful hardware POS with 1M+ merchants, but 2/5 Trustpilot, reseller pricing traps, and plugin CVEs.

Methodology

Based on ~16 public sources. Several 'Clover' breach results refer to Clover Health, an unrelated insurer — excluded. Some review snippets were truncated.

Sources

  1. Clover POS Reviews on Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  2. Clover POS Review 2026 — Forbes Advisorforbes.com
    review
  3. Clover POS Review: Pricing, Fees, Reseller Trapcertus-ai.com
    review
  4. Clover POS Reviews: Fees, Complaints & Contractspaymentpop.com
    review
  5. Alternative POS to Clover? — Redditreddit.com
    review
  6. Clover Service Plans (Gravity Payments)gravitypayments.com
    official
  7. Clover POS Pricing 2026 — Tech.cotech.co
    news
  8. Clover by Fiservfiserv.com
    official
  9. CVE-2026-42746 — SentinelOnesentinelone.com
    security
  10. Smart Online Order CSRF — Wordfencewordfence.com
    security
  11. CVE-2024-43254 — NIST NVDnvd.nist.gov
    security
  12. Clover Security Plusclover.com
    official

Rate this review

Anonymous. You can change your vote.

Loading votes…

Comments

One queue. No nested comments. Give a display name first. Limit: 200 words per comment and 7 comments per day. You can edit or delete yours.

Save a name to write a comment.

0 / 200 words

No comments yet.