Web & Apps
ROVA vs Loyverse: Which POS Actually Fits a Growing Restaurant?
Updated 3 September 2026 · 8 min read
Short answer: Loyverse is a free, global mobile POS built for counter sales, stock control and staff management — strong for cost-conscious cafés and stalls, but it has no built-in QR ordering or Malaysia e-Invoice support. ROVA is built specifically for Malaysian F&B, with customer-facing QR ordering, a branded ordering page, and pricing that scales with your revenue instead of your headcount. Which one "fits" depends on whether your bottleneck is counter checkout speed or getting customers to order themselves. Here's the full comparison.
Quick verdict
Choose Loyverse if your main need is a free, offline-capable counter POS with inventory and staff clock-in tracking, and you're comfortable adding third-party apps for e-Invoice or QR ordering. Choose ROVA if you want customer-facing QR ordering, a branded ordering domain, and predictable pricing tied to your restaurant's revenue, built in from day one.
What Loyverse offers Malaysian restaurants
Loyverse launched in 2014 as a free, mobile-first point-of-sale app and now serves small businesses in more than 170 countries. It turns an Android or iOS phone or tablet into a POS terminal, with the core POS, dashboard, kitchen display (KDS) and customer display (CDS) apps free to use with no contract. It's a general-purpose retail and F&B tool rather than a Malaysia-specific one, so local requirements like LHDN e-Invoice are handled through third-party marketplace apps rather than natively.
- Free core POS, dashboard, KDS and CDS apps — no monthly fee for the basics
- Works offline and syncs when the connection returns
- Runs on your own Android/iOS phones or tablets — no proprietary terminal required
- Paid add-ons: Employee Management, Advanced Inventory, and third-party Integrations, each billed separately
- No native QR customer-ordering feature — available through marketplace apps such as QR Tiger
- No native Malaysia LHDN e-Invoice support — requires a paid third-party plugin such as MyInvoice2U or JomeInvoice
What ROVA offers Malaysian restaurants
ROVA is built for Malaysian F&B specifically, starting from the customer's side of the counter: a scan-to-order flow that puts the ordering system in the customer's hands rather than only the staff's. Everything runs in a browser, with no proprietary hardware and a dashboard for menu, pricing and theme management.
- Customer-facing QR ordering built in, not an add-on
- Dynamic, session-based QR codes that expire after use, reducing fraudulent orders
- Custom-domain, white-labeled ordering pages instead of a shared provider subdomain
- Revenue-based pricing: a base fee plus a percentage of sales that drops as your plan tier rises
- Free menu import service and no setup fees on any plan
- E-Invoice, food pickup and table reservation are listed as upcoming features, not yet live
Restaurants that also need staff clock-in tracking or deep stock control alongside ordering should weigh that gap against ROVA's QR ordering system directly, since ROVA doesn't currently offer Loyverse-style inventory or employee management modules.
ROVA vs Loyverse: pricing compared
Loyverse's core app is free, which makes a side-by-side "starting price" comparison misleading on its own — the real cost depends on which add-ons a growing restaurant actually needs. Always confirm current rates directly with each provider before switching.
| Plan | ROVA | Loyverse |
|---|---|---|
| Core / entry cost | RM49/month + 2.5% of revenue (Basic) | Free (Core POS, Dashboard, KDS, CDS) |
| Mid tier | RM99/month + 2.0% of revenue (Popular) | Free core + Employee Management (~US$5/employee/month) and/or Integrations (~US$9/store/month) |
| Higher tier | RM199/month + 1.5% of revenue (Pro) | Free core + Advanced Inventory (~US$25/store/month) and other add-ons combined |
| Pricing basis | Base fee + % of monthly revenue | Free core, à la carte add-ons per store or per employee |
| Setup fees | None on any plan | None for core app; third-party e-Invoice/QR plugins billed separately |
Run your own numbers on ROVA's pricing calculator to see how the revenue-based fee compares to stacking Loyverse add-ons for your outlet.
Feature-by-feature comparison
| Criteria | ROVA | Loyverse |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Restaurants prioritising customer-facing QR ordering and a branded page | Cost-conscious counter-service businesses wanting free POS + inventory |
| Hardware required | None; a cloud printer is optional for kitchen tickets | Your own Android/iOS phone or tablet |
| Customer-facing QR ordering | Built in, with dynamic session-based codes | Not native; available via third-party marketplace apps |
| Offline mode | Not a stated feature | Yes, records sales offline and syncs later |
| Inventory management | Not currently offered | Yes, as a paid Advanced Inventory add-on |
| Employee management / clock-in | Not currently offered | Yes, as a paid per-employee add-on |
| E-Invoice (LHDN) | Listed as coming soon | Not native; requires a paid third-party plugin |
| Custom domain / white-label | Yes, on all plans beyond Basic | Not a standard feature |
| Built for Malaysia specifically | Yes | No — general-purpose global POS localized via add-ons |
Which one should you choose?
Pick Loyverse if...
Your priority is a free, reliable counter POS with offline support, and you're willing to add third-party plugins for e-Invoice or QR ordering as those needs come up. It's a solid fit for small stalls and shops where headcount and stock tracking matter more than a self-order experience.
Pick ROVA if...
You want customers to scan and order themselves without a staff member keying in every ticket, you'd rather your ordering page carry your own domain and branding than a shared provider link, and you prefer pricing that flexes with your actual sales rather than stacking per-employee or per-store add-on fees.
Not sure which fits your operation? A free trial of ROVA's QR ordering system can be live in a day, which is often the fastest way to compare against your current setup in practice.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between ROVA and Loyverse?
Loyverse is a free, global mobile POS app built primarily for counter sales, stock control and staff management on Android or iOS devices. It does not include customer-facing QR ordering or Malaysia e-Invoice support out of the box. ROVA is built specifically for Malaysian F&B, with QR ordering, a branded ordering page and dynamic anti-fraud QR codes included from the start.
Does Loyverse support Malaysia's e-Invoice (LHDN) requirement natively?
Not natively. Loyverse users in Malaysia typically add a third-party plugin, such as MyInvoice2U or JomeInvoice, to submit LHDN-compliant e-Invoices, which adds an extra subscription on top of Loyverse itself. ROVA lists e-Invoice as a feature on its roadmap rather than a live capability, so neither system has it built in and ready today without an add-on or update.
Is Loyverse really free to use?
The core Loyverse POS, dashboard, kitchen display and customer display apps are free with no contract. Paid add-ons cover Employee Management, Advanced Inventory and third-party Integrations, each billed separately per store or per employee, so the total monthly cost depends on which add-ons a restaurant needs.
Can customers order directly from their phone with Loyverse?
Not as a built-in feature. Loyverse is designed around staff entering orders at a counter or table using a phone or tablet. QR self-ordering for customers is available through third-party marketplace apps rather than a native Loyverse feature. ROVA's ordering flow is built for the customer to scan, browse and order themselves from their own phone.
Which is better for a Malaysian restaurant that wants QR ordering specifically?
For restaurants whose main goal is customer-facing QR ordering with a branded page, ROVA is built for that use case natively. Loyverse is a stronger fit for businesses whose priority is free, offline-capable counter POS and inventory tracking, with QR ordering added on separately if needed.
See ROVA's pricing for your revenue
Run the numbers on ROVA's live calculator, or book a free demo to see the QR ordering flow end to end.
View pricing plansRelated reading: What is a QR code POS system? · More from the ROVA blog