Esplanda vs City Hive
City Hive alternatives: register and online shop in one
Your online shop sells from the same stock count as your counter, and Esplanda takes no percentage of your online sales.
Esplanda POS and your website are free to start, with no card needed. Add paid tools only when you want them.
Illustrative example
Side by side
Esplanda vs an online store added on top of your register
Choosing between City Hive alternatives starts with one question: add an online store on top of the register you have, or run the counter and the shop as one system. Here is the difference, job by job.
| What you're deciding | Add-on on top of your register | Esplanda |
|---|---|---|
| The register | A separate system from a separate company | Esplanda POS, free on desktop, iOS and Android, with the migration, on the computer, tablet or phone you already have |
| Stock in the online shop | Copied across from the register by a sync, with two counts to keep in step | The online shop sells from the same stock count as the register |
| Last bottle sold at the counter | Stays listed online until the next sync | Comes down online on its own |
| A price change | Made in the register, then carried across to the shop | Made once: a price change at the counter shows online too |
| Online orders | Ask whether the plan adds a percentage on each online order | No percentage of online sales: free hosting, then 99¢ an order, capped at $299 a month. |
| Customers and marketing | Online customers in the add-on, counter customers in the register | Counter and online customers in the same records, ready for email and text with Marketing — Do It Yourself |
| Age checks | An online age check in the add-on, and a separate check at the register | ID-scan age checks at the register; online, an age-gated checkout and ID at handoff |
| At the liquor counter | Whatever your current register already does | Bottle and container deposits, case breaks and mix-and-match deals built in, and it keeps selling offline |
| Plans and logins | Two companies, two plans, two logins | One system and one login, with unlimited users and no charge per user |
| Contract | Two agreements, one for the add-on and one for the register | Month to month, no annual contract, no setup fee |
| Your customer data | Split between the add-on and the register | You can export all of your data, any time — products, customers, sales, purchase orders, suppliers. If you leave, you take everything. |
One system
One stock count, from the counter to the online shop
Esplanda runs the counter and the online shop as one system, so a bottle sold at the register is a bottle gone from the website.
- The register comes with it. Esplanda POS is free, with the move from your old register, and runs on desktop, iOS and Android, on a desktop, tablet or phone you already have, or on tested hardware you buy once and keep. See our POS system with inventory management.
- One stock count, counter and online. Your online shop for pickup, curbside and local delivery runs from the same stock count as the register, and sold-out items come down on their own. One set of numbers means no inventory drift, no nightly reconciliation and no matching queue. More on our POS with online ordering.
- No percentage of online sales. Every online order is yours. Esplanda charges 99¢ an order, capped at $299 a month, and never a percentage.
- Built for the liquor counter. ID-scan age checks, bottle and container deposits, case breaks and mix-and-match deals are built in, and the register keeps selling offline and syncs when the connection returns. Online, the checkout is age-gated and the ID is checked at handoff. See the liquor store POS system.
Illustrative example
The whole store
Ordering, pricing, marketing and loyalty in the same system
Esplanda covers your whole store, from the free register to the paid tools you add. The online shop is one part of that system, working from the same products, prices and customers as your counter.
Prices set once
The counter and the online shop share one catalog, so a price change at the register shows online too. No second price list to update.
Email and text marketing
With Marketing — Do It Yourself, a paid tool, email and text go to online customers and your counter regulars from the same records, and text carrier fees are passed through at cost. See email marketing for small business.
Loyalty and gift cards, free
Loyalty and gift cards come free with Esplanda POS, built from your register sales and kept in the same customer records as the rest of the store.
Card processing, your choice
Payments are optional: every Esplanda price is the same on the processor you already have. For credit card processing for small business, Esplanda processes card payments as a reseller for First American Payment Systems, a Deluxe company.
Ordering and invoices, free
Run-out warnings, purchase orders drafted from what sold and invoices checked by photo come free with Esplanda POS, on the same stock count as the online shop.
You stay in charge
Nothing changes a price, sends or spends without your OK unless you set limits for it, anything outside your limits comes to you, and you can switch into approve-everything mode at any time. See why Esplanda is safe to trust.
Cost
What Esplanda costs, next to what you pay today
Comparing City Hive alternatives on price? Add up every line your store pays today for the counter and the online shop, then set that total next to Esplanda: the register free, and only the paid tools you add.
| Cost line | Add-on on top of your register | Esplanda |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly software | The add-on's plan, plus your register's own subscription | Esplanda POS $0. Each paid tool you add is priced on its own, per location per month. Extra locations are free when they process cards with Esplanda, or $49 a month each on another processor. |
| Online orders | Any percentage taken from each online order | No percentage of your online sales: free hosting, then 99¢ an order, capped at $299 a month. |
| The register | Your register's subscription and hardware | Esplanda POS $0, with the migration, on the computer, tablet or phone you already have. |
| Card processing | The rate on online and counter sales, from your statements | The processor you already have, at the same Esplanda prices. Or Esplanda's, from 2.79% + $0.10 in person and 2.89% + $0.30 online |
| Text messages | Any charge per message | Carrier fees passed through at cost |
| Users | Any charge per user or per seat | Unlimited users, no charge per user |
| Setup | Any setup fee | No setup fee |
Work it out on your own numbers. Take last month's bills for the online store, the register and card processing, and add any percentage taken from online orders. Set that total next to Esplanda: the register free, online orders at 99¢ each up to $299 a month, and only the paid tools you add.
Esplanda processes card payments as a reseller for First American Payment Systems, a Deluxe company. First American approves, funds and owns your merchant account. Rates start at 2.79% + $0.10 in person and 2.89% + $0.30 online. Your rate is set when First American approves your account, from your current statement.
- Esplanda POS$0
- Website hosting$0
- Per online order99¢
- Order fees, monthly cap$299
No percentage of online sales · Email and chat support free · Paid tools each on their own, per location per month · Month to month · No setup fee · No card needed to start
See every paid tool and its price on Esplanda pricing.
Before you switch
Switching to Esplanda, on your terms
Month to month, no setup fee, and every record in your store is yours to take with you.
Your data, any time
You can export all of your data, any time — products, customers, sales, purchase orders, suppliers. If you leave, you take everything.
Month to month
No annual contract and no setup fee. Add or cancel any paid tool on its own, from the next billing cycle.
Moving from City Hive to Esplanda
Our POS data migration page sets out how the move works and what comes across. Also looking at app vendors? See BottleCapps alternatives.
Start free before you switch
Esplanda POS and your website are free to start, with no card needed. Or book a demo and see the register and the online shop on a store like yours.
City Hive is a trademark of its owner. Esplanda is an independent company and is not affiliated with City Hive.
Questions
City Hive alternatives: questions owners ask
What is the best City Hive alternative for a liquor store?
Start with what runs your counter. An online store added on top of your register leaves you with two systems and a sync between them. Esplanda runs the register, the online shop and marketing as one system: Esplanda POS is free, the online shop sells from the same stock count as the register, and Esplanda takes no percentage of your online sales.
How much does City Hive cost compared with Esplanda?
Esplanda POS is free, with the migration, and runs on the computer, tablet or phone you already have. Online orders are 99¢ each, capped at $299 a month, with no percentage of online sales, and every paid tool is priced on its own, with no setup fee. To compare, add up the total you pay today: the online store's plan, any percentage on online orders, card fees, and your register's subscription and hardware. Then set that total next to Esplanda.
Does Esplanda take a percentage of online orders?
No. Esplanda takes no percentage of your online sales. Online orders cost 99¢ each, capped at $299 a month. Payments are optional: every Esplanda price is the same on the processor you already have. Esplanda processes card payments as a reseller for First American Payment Systems, a Deluxe company. Rates start at 2.79% + $0.10 in person and 2.89% + $0.30 online. Your rate is set when First American approves your account, from your current statement.
Is there a City Hive alternative with its own POS system?
Yes. Esplanda POS is free and runs on desktop, iOS and Android, on a desktop, tablet or phone you already have. ID-scan age checks, bottle and container deposits, case breaks and mix-and-match deals are built in, and the register keeps selling offline and syncs when the connection returns. The move from your old register comes free with it.
How does Esplanda keep online stock right?
Your online shop sells from the same stock count as the register, so a sale or a price change at the counter shows online too, and sold-out items come down on their own. One set of numbers means no inventory drift, no nightly reconciliation and no matching queue.
Can Esplanda run my marketing as well as my online shop?
Yes. With Marketing — Do It Yourself, a paid tool, each email and text send waits for your approval or goes out inside your limits. Online customers join the same records as your counter regulars, text carrier fees are passed through at cost, and Esplanda takes no percentage of your online sales or ad budget.
Is there a contract or a setup fee with Esplanda?
No. Esplanda is month to month, with no annual contract and no setup fee. You can export all of your data, any time — products, customers, sales, purchase orders, suppliers. If you leave, you take everything.
How do I switch from City Hive to Esplanda?
Start with our POS data migration page, which sets out how the move works and what comes across. Then book a demo to walk through your store, or start free, with no card needed.
One stock count, no percentage of online sales
Start free today, or book a demo and we'll walk through the register, the online shop and your marketing on a store like yours.
Esplanda POS and your website are free to start, with no card needed. Add paid tools only when you want them. Want to see what stores near you charge first? Run the free price check.
