Front-desk retail counter checkout with local SQLite offline speed versus browser cloud-first B2B tax invoicing.
| Capability | Karobari | Swipe Billing |
|---|---|---|
| Offline Counter Resilience | 100% offline (Zero cloud dependency) | Requires active internet connection |
| Thermal ESC/POS Printing | Direct WebUSB & Bluetooth ESC/POS | Standard PDF browser print dialog |
| Barcode Scanner Guns | USB OTG & Bluetooth guns supported | Optimized for keyboard typing |
| Counter Privacy Shield | 1-Tap 'H' key margins & cost masking | No customer-facing screen masking |
| Galla Reconciliation Wizard | Built-in cash drawer float milao | Manual daybook calculations |
| Lifetime Cost | ₹0 forever (Zero subscription tiers) | Annual subscription for multi-users |
Karobari is purpose-built for physical retail counters: sub-3-second local checkout, direct ESC/POS thermal printing with clean formatting and no watermark, USB barcode guns, and true offline operation when market Wi-Fi dips. It has ₹0 lifetime subscription fees.
Swipe is a popular modern web-first invoicing application focused on simple GST invoices and online payment links. While great for remote B2B freelancers and small traders creating invoices on a desktop, it relies on an active internet connection and lacks dedicated counter features like parked bills, cash drawer reconciliation, or privacy screen masking.
Paper cash memos require no subscription, but provide no automated tax calculations, no customer khata ledgers, and no barcode product lookup.
The columns above describe categories, not products, and that is deliberate. A claim about somebody else's app is true on the day it is written and stops being true the week they ship something — so a page with a rival's name on it ages into a false statement that we then have to be told about. What is described instead is a pattern of behaviour you can check against whatever you are actually using, in about a minute, without taking our word for any of it.
No card and nothing to cancel. Install it, sign in with your phone number, and the shop is yours from the first bill.