> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.elnidopos.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Is there a free POS in Mexico?

> Yes, but read the fine print. What counts as a truly free POS in Mexico, where the hidden costs live, and what you actually get on El Nido's Free plan.

Yes, there are free POS systems in Mexico. But "free" can mean three very different things, and only one of them works for a serious small business.

## The 3 ways a POS claims to be free

1. **Free with commission per sale.** They give you the software at no monthly cost, but charge 1-3% on every transaction. If you sell $50,000 MXN/month, that is $500 to \$1,500 in commission every month. Not free.
2. **Free for a limited time (trial).** They give you 14 or 30 days at no cost, then you pay or it shuts off. Useful to test, not a free plan.
3. **Permanent Free plan with limits.** They let you run forever at no cost in a trimmed version (fewer products, one location, basic reports). This is the only model you can honestly call "free" to get started.

## What a serious free plan must include

To actually be useful without paying:

* Unlimited sales (not "20 tickets per month")
* Product catalog without artificially low caps
* Access to your basic data (how much you sold, what sold)
* Zero commission per sale
* No credit card required to activate

If they ask for a card to "activate your free trial", it is not free. It is a trial in disguise.

## El Nido's Free plan

| Includes                  | Detail                              |
| ------------------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| Unlimited sales           | As many tickets per day as you want |
| Catalog without cap       | Products, variants, modifiers       |
| 1 location, 1 user        | To get started                      |
| Basic digital points card | Stamps mechanic                     |
| Basic reports             | Daily sales, top products           |
| Cost                      | \$0/month forever, no card          |

When you grow and need multi-location, recipes with cost, KDS or AI assistant, you move up to the plan that fits.

## When the Free plan is enough

* Single-person or couple-run business.
* Under 50 products in catalog.
* One location only.
* No CFDI invoicing needed yet.
* Cash and card sales without complex tipping.

## When you should pay

* You are growing (more than one location, employees taking shifts).
* You need CFDI 4.0 automatic on every ticket.
* You want recipes with profit calculation per product.
* You run a restaurant or café and need KDS for the kitchen.
* You want Pío AI to ask your business questions instead of reconciling reports.

## When the Free plan does NOT cut it

* You manage complex inventory with shared ingredients.
* You sell from several physical points or employees rotate shifts.
* Your customers expect automatic invoicing.
* You want retention or cohort analytics.

For those cases, Free falls short and the paid plan is the right move.

<Card title="Start on the Free plan" icon="arrow-right" href="https://elnidopos.com">
  No credit card. No trial. Forever.
</Card>