Comparison

Alto’s POS & Inventory System vs Ref Containers

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Alto’s POS & Inventory System

This app provides a comprehensive point of sale and inventory management system for cafes, restaurants, bars, shops, and retail businesses. It offers features like sales tracking, inventory control, employee management, and customer relationship management to help businesses operate efficiently and increase profitability.

Highlights
  • Point of Sale system
  • Inventory management
  • Employee time clock
  • Customer debt management
  • Sales analytics
  • CRM with loyalty program
  • Barcode scanning
Features
Read full description

Alto’s is a FREE Point of Sale and Inventory management app designed to fit your restaurant or retail business. It’s easy-to-use and intuitive. It offers a valuable set of features to help you increase your business profitability. Point of Sale system: Work with any device - Access your Alto’s POS account on any iPhone, iPad and Mac, as well as on any web browser Returns and refunds - Provide your customers with an option to return items and receive a refund based on the receipt Payment options - Let your customers choose from multiple payment methods: cash, card, or any other integrated payment system Print or send digital receipts - For the convenience of your customers, print out or send receipts via email Keep working even when you are offline Scanning barcodes - Use the built-in camera of your iPhone or iPad to scan barcodes of items during a sale Hardware compatibility - POS system supports Ethernet or Bluetooth receipt printers, Bluetooth or USB barcode scanners, cash drawers and POS terminals Manage inventory from anywhere - Track inventory in one or multiple locations Fast report generation - View real-time sales data and generate reports on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis Inventory Management: Enjoy automatically generated inventory reports Create purchase orders and instantly share them with your suppliers Stocktaking - Conduct inventory counts manually or with a barcode reader. Reveal and apply changes (damages and losses) in stock levels Production - Create items with multiple components and ingredients Labelling - Print and apply barcode labels on items to speed up sales, purchasing and inventory processes History of inventory movement by product/ingredient Employee Management: • Employee time clock • Analyze data on workload per hour to better manage your personnel • Evaluate employee performance • Set roles and manage access rights for each employee Customer Debt Management: • Allow customers to make partial payments • Set a standard debt limit for all or customize it for individual customers • View outstanding balances and manage customer debt in one place • Record debts seamlessly through credit sales and by splitting charges Sales Analytics: • Sales trend analysis • Tax calculator • Save your time with automated tax reports • Receipts record - Check receipts history to review all transactions • Shift report - Check the cash register and match it against actual sales at the end of the shift • All-level data analysis - Get hourly, daily or weekly business reports on key performance indicators to keep up with the status of your business CRM: Customers & purchase report - Evaluate your customers based on the number of visits and purchases they have made. Get to know them better by looking at their purchase history Loyalty program - Offer motivational bonus points to loyal customers on every purchase they make with their points cards POS Systems for Restaurants and Retail Back Office Inventory Management - Track stock and supply Kitchen printer/display - Help your staff keep track of orders using a kitchen printer or kitchen display system (KDS), or both Dining options - Offer different dining options to your customers: eat-in, takeout and/or delivery --- Alto's is free, but you can subscribe to "Starter", "Advanced" or "Pro" to get more "Business Locations", "POS devices", and "Products". --- Price may vary by location. Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Where applicable, your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Subscriptions may not be canceled during the active period. Manage your subscriptions in Account Settings after purchase. --- Send feedback: altoscloudpos@gmail.com Get Help: https://www.altospos.com/docs/ Privacy Policy: https://altospos.com/privacy-policy/ Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Ref Containers

Read full description

Checking & maintenance of Reefer Containers onboard the vessel. The application was made for seamans, who is carrying the reefer containers onboard the vessel during sea voyages. It can be used in every charter company (MSC, CMA CGM, Maersk, EverGreen, ZIM, One...) - only what you need is to have correct Reefer List in CSV-file. The application has following functions: 1. Import the lists of reefer containers (in CSV-files) into the program. 2. Loading the reefers to vessel (accounting & checking them). 3. Checking the reefers during sea voyages (including checking of temperatures & alarms). 4. Showing history (temperatures & alarms logs) of all reefer containers onboard.

Screenshots

Alto’s POS & Inventory System4 screens
Ref Containers2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ref Containers at none against Alto’s POS & Inventory System's 4. Alto’s POS & Inventory System's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 8 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Alto’s POS & Inventory System sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $13.99 per month. Ref Containers asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Alto’s POS & Inventory System ships an update weekly, Ref Containers every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Alto’s POS & Inventory System versus Ref Containers: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAlto’s POS & Inventory SystemRef Containers
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (21 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings21 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 8 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size111 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPromoTechARTEM VASYLIEV

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Alto’s POS & Inventory System

Subscriptions4
  • Basic - monthly$13.991 Month
  • Starter - monthly$23.991 Month
  • Advanced - monthly$48.991 Month
Show 1 more
  • Pro - monthly$98.991 Month
None

Ref Containers

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Alto’s POS & Inventory System free?
Alto’s POS & Inventory System is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ref Containers free?
Ref Containers is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Alto’s POS & Inventory System or Ref Containers have ads?
Neither Alto’s POS & Inventory System nor Ref Containers shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Alto’s POS & Inventory System or Ref Containers?
Alto’s POS & Inventory System ships an update weekly, and Ref Containers every 8 months. Most recently, Alto’s POS & Inventory System was updated on October 27, 2026 and Ref Containers on October 25, 2026.

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