Not every business needs a point of sale. A chiropractor, a dry cleaner with a separate register, a tire shop that invoices from shop software, a church bookstore: they need a terminal that takes cards reliably and prints a receipt. Clover Compact is that terminal, on Clover’s platform, without the POS fee. This page covers what it is and when to choose it over the Mini.
Specs, September 2026
| Item | Clover Compact |
|---|---|
| Screen | 3.6-inch touchscreen |
| Printer | Built-in thermal receipt printer |
| Payments | EMV chip, swipe, NFC contactless (Apple Pay, Google Pay), PIN debit |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi and Ethernet; optional LTE |
| Build | Splash-resistant, end-to-end encryption |
| Software | Payments-only plan, $0 a month; dashboard reporting |
| Dual pricing | Supported; both totals on screen, price paid on receipt |
| Tips | On-screen tip prompt |
| Price | Dealer-sold; commonly placed at no charge for qualifying merchants |
Compact vs Mini
| Compact | Mini | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Take payments | Run the business |
| Screen | 3.6 inch | 8 inch |
| Menu or inventory | No | Yes |
| Employees, time clock | No | Yes |
| Cash drawer, scanner | No | Through hub |
| Apps | No | Full App Market |
| Software fee | $0 | $14.95 to $89.95 a month by plan, or $0 payments-only |
| Best for | Offices, service counters, second checkout points, businesses with other software | Cafes, small retail, salons, any single-register business that wants a POS |
Who buys the Compact
- Professional and medical offices collecting copays and balances.
- Service businesses that quote and invoice from their own software and take the card at the counter.
- Retail with a legacy register that only needs a modern card terminal beside it.
- A second payment point in a store or restaurant that already has a Station.
- Anyone replacing a leased terminal from a previous processor. This is the most common case: a $40-a-month lease on a decade-old unit, swapped for a placed Compact.
Dual pricing on a terminal
The Compact displays the cash total and card total, the customer chooses, the receipt shows the price paid and tender. Same compliance points as on any Clover: both prices visible before the choice, the card price charged as the price, no fee line. Signage at the counter completes it. Comparison to surcharging is on dual pricing vs surcharging vs cash discount.
Cost through a dealer
Placed at no charge for qualifying merchants, or purchased; never leased. No monthly software fee. Processing at $0 under dual pricing or on interchange-plus. A service business doing $15,000 a month in cards on a leased terminal at 2.9% is paying about $435 a month plus the lease; on a placed Compact with dual pricing it is paying nothing. The comparison method is on the Clover pricing page.