Chromis POS vs Otter
Chromis POS is free, open-source point of sale software that runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. Otter started as a tablet that gathers orders from delivery apps and is now sold as a restaurant point of sale system. Both are listed under Restaurant POS. They differ in price, audience and platforms.
Key differences
price
On price, Otter lists USD 79 per location per month. Chromis POS does not publish a starting price.
audience
The audiences they list differ. Listed for one product only, for example: Chromis POS: Small businesses on a tight budget; Otter: Quick service and fast casual restaurants taking online orders.
platforms
Listed platforms: Chromis POS: Windows, macOS; Otter: Web, iOS, Android.
integrations
Chromis POS names 1 integration and Otter names 34 integrations. No partner appears in every list.
Side by side
| Field | Chromis POS | Otter |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Chromis POS is free, open-source point of sale software that runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. | Otter started as a tablet that gathers orders from delivery apps and is now sold as a restaurant point of sale system. |
| Best for | Small businesses on a tight budget; Small venues wanting a cheap kitchen screen | Quick service and fast casual restaurants taking online orders; Restaurants on several delivery apps; Food stands, small cafes and food trucks; Multi-store and high-volume restaurants |
| Pricing model | Free | Subscription per location |
| Starting price | Not published | USD 79 per location per month |
| Free plan | Yes | Not published |
| Free trial | Not published | Not published |
| Contract | Not published | Monthly plans renew monthly; hardware leases need 24 months |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Web, iOS, Android |
| Countries | Not published | Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States |
| Languages | Not published | Not published |
| Number of integrations | 1 | 34 |
| Certifications | Not published | CCPA, GDPR |
| Security practices | Not published | Not published |
| Founded | 2015 | Not published |
| Headquarters | Not published | Los Angeles, United States |
| Owner | Not published | Not published |
| Last reviewed | 29 September 2026 | 29 September 2026 |
Integrations
No partner appears in every list.
Named only by Chromis POS
- Unicenta
Named only by Otter
- 7shifts
- ChowNow
- Clover
- Deputy
- DoorDash
- DoorDash Drive
- Epos Now
- ezCater
- Flipdish
- GoTab
- Grubhub
- Homebase
and 22 moreshow fewer
- Hungry Panda
- Lavu
- Lightspeed
- Loyverse
- MarketMan
- Micros
- Order with Google
- Brink
- POSitouch
- Postmates
- Restaurant365
- Revel
- Seamless
- Shift4
- Shipday
- Skip the Dishes
- Slice
- Square
- Squirrel Systems
- Stripe
- Toast
- Uber Eats
Which to choose
Chromis POS
Choose Chromis POS if your business matches one of the audiences it is listed for: Small businesses on a tight budget; Small venues wanting a cheap kitchen screen.
Less suited to: Businesses that want a hosted service with vendor support. Chromis is self-installed and supported through a user forum, with no fixed development team beyond its author.
Otter
Choose Otter if you are in one of these groups: Quick service and fast casual restaurants taking online orders; Restaurants on several delivery apps; Food stands, small cafes and food trucks.
What we could not confirm
Chromis POS
- Whether the software is actively maintained beyond the site's news notice
- Third-party integrations, payments and delivery links
- Countries, languages and mobile apps
- Company registration and location
- Paid support options
Otter
- Base prices of the Lite and Standard order-aggregation plans (the details page lists features but not the plan prices)
- Enterprise or multi-location pricing (the site offers a quote)
- Founding year, founders, funding and parent company: the site has no About page and states none of these
- Employee count
- Full list of countries and which integrations work in which country; the vendor's own customer claims differ (100,000+ restaurants on the homepage, 275k+ customers and 40+ countries on the why-otter page)
- Interface languages of the product (the marketing site has Spanish, French and Portuguese versions)
- Security certifications such as SOC 2 or PCI level
- Free trial or free plan
- Whether Otter is owned by or affiliated with another company: the legal terms mention affiliates but name none
Sources
Facts on this page come from the pages below. Prices and features change, so confirm with each vendor before you buy.
Chromis POS, reviewed 29 September 2026
- Homepage: history, no fixed teamhttps://chromis.co.uk/
- Features, platformshttps://chromis.co.uk/chromispos/
- Kitchen Screenhttps://chromis.co.uk/kitchen-display-screen/
- GPLv3 licence, authorhttps://chromis.co.uk/licence-details/
Otter, reviewed 29 September 2026
- Homepage: positioning, pricing bundles, comparison, claimshttps://www.tryotter.com
- POS bundle prices, processing fees, hardware termshttps://www.tryotter.com/pricing
- Order aggregation plan details, add-on prices, hardware priceshttps://www.tryotter.com/pricing-details-aggregate
- Integration partner listhttps://www.tryotter.com/integrations
- POS product pagehttps://www.tryotter.com/products/otterpos
- Order Managerhttps://www.tryotter.com/products/order-management
- Kitchen displayhttps://www.tryotter.com/products/kds
- Kioskhttps://www.tryotter.com/products/kiosk
- Online orderinghttps://www.tryotter.com/products/online-ordering
- Cateringhttps://www.tryotter.com/products/catering
- Menu managementhttps://www.tryotter.com/products/menu-management
- Loyaltyhttps://www.tryotter.com/products/loyalty
- Marketing automationhttps://www.tryotter.com/products/marketing
- Ratings and reviewshttps://www.tryotter.com/products/ratings-and-reviews
- Financialshttps://www.tryotter.com/products/financials
- Analyticshttps://www.tryotter.com/products/analytics
- Live alertshttps://www.tryotter.com/products/live-alerts
- Website builderhttps://www.tryotter.com/products/website-builder
- Virtual brandshttps://www.tryotter.com/products/virtual-brands
- Inventory Savings cash backhttps://www.tryotter.com/products/inventory-savings
- Otter Go apphttps://www.tryotter.com/products/app
- Company claims, customer nameshttps://www.tryotter.com/why-otter
- FAQ topicshttps://www.tryotter.com/faq
- Legal terms by regionhttps://www.tryotter.com/legal
- Legal entity, billing and cancellation termshttps://www.tryotter.com/legal/tech-services
- Legal entity and Los Angeles addresshttps://www.tryotter.com/legal/privacy-policy
- Page discovery; UK and Australian site versionshttps://www.tryotter.com/sitemap.xml
